A Masculine Crisis answered by a Masculine Calling (Part 2)
By Jay Wegter
INTRODUCTION: when people went to church a hundred years ago, they heard the truth concerning what we owe God. In a word, they went to church to discover what they needed to repent of. Today people tend to go to church as spiritual consumers—to hear how to improve their lives. The century-long assimilation of popular culture has replaced theology with psychology—placing mankind at the center of things. This state of affairs is reminiscent of what Donald Grey Barnhouse said nearly 70 years ago: the mind of man has an immense steel beam; when God is up, man is down, and when man is up, God is down.
Today, God is calling believing men to reclaim the ‘big picture’ which only the robust theology of God’s transcendence can provide. For, theology is the systematic study of God and His truth which equips us to live wisely unto Him, and to teach those around us to prosper (2 Tim 3:16-17).
Let’s review from part one in this series the five qualities of a faithful man from 2 Timothy chapters one and two. Here are the five qualities of a faithful man: 1) He is a steward of the sacred trust of Scripture (2 Tim 1:13-14). 2) His life is dominated by Christ’s grace (2 Tim 2:1). 3) He has an unwavering dedication to the ministry of multiplication (2 Tim 2:2). 4) He is committed to a disciplined life, and therefore he is willing to endure hardship since all is to be done to please God (2 Tim 2:3-6). 5) He is living as a clean and available vessel (2 Tim 2:19-22) (Moore, Multiplying Disciples, p. 54).
The faithful man alluded to in 2 Timothy 2:2 is a spiritual influencer, able to wield the Sword of Truth on others by way of encouragement, edification, exhortation, and admonishment (2 Tim 3:16-17). There is an essential pathway of obedience necessary for the faithful man to occupy his transcendent calling as a spiritual influencer. By becoming experienced at wielding the Sword of Truth on himself (he has learned to be masterful at biblical self-confrontation), he becomes equipped to spiritually influence others.
The pervasive problem today in the church is that we have so many Christian men who are harmless to the powers of darkness—their swords are permanently corroded and held fast in their sheathes by years of disuse. They’ve just been neutralized, they’re not spiritual influencers; they are paralyzed spiritually. They have forgotten that to follow Christ is to wage war by means of the Word of Truth. Waging war spiritually is what a Christ-follower does.
A true disciple is constantly battling and waging war by means of the Words of God (2 Cor 10:3-5). This not only involves boldly contending for the truth in the public arena, but also ‘warring’ against the lusts which remain within his own heart: “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul” (1 Pet 2:11). A true follower of Christ is a fisher of men, a disciple-maker, a soldier, and a spiritual influencer (Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17).
IV. The Community
The exercise of our full godly masculinity depends upon bringing the story of God to all around us because our world is perishing—it is immersed in the darkness of this present evil age.
Without this vision to spiritually influence others by means of Holy Scripture, a believing man is walking around with only half of his godly masculinity enlisted and engaged. God defines believing men as His ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20), as His witnesses (Is 43:10-12). This world is getting darker every day (Gal 1:4; Eph 6:12). So, the challenge is this: “Men, will you confirm the fruits of faith?” The only species of faith that can take you to heaven is a faith that is confirmed by fruits of good works (James 2:14ff.). The only kind of faith that can take you to heaven is a faith that is zealous for good works (Acts 26:20).
The cross produces this zeal for good works in every true believer (Titus 2:14). According to the parable of the soils, genuine faith is tied to the Word of God which dominates exceptionally so that it brings fruit to harvest (Mt 13:23). You do need to examine yourself (2 Cor 13:5). If you are apathetic about serving God, if you are unconcerned about fruit-bearing, and if you are listless about abiding in Christ, then that does not bode well that you have the right kind of faith (Jn 15:6; 1 Jn 2:28).
God has set forth a clear plan in Scripture that fellowship in the Body of Christ be spiritual fellowship (as opposed to social only). This spiritual fellowship involves building with Christ by edifying one another. The strength of any individual local church depends upon whether or not the men are committed to Christ’s mandate to grow fully formed disciples through spiritual fellowship (Mt 28:18-20).
Obedience to Christ’s discipleship mandate is only possible if we prayerfully speak the Word of God to one another and train one another. “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Col 3:16-17). “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another” (Rom 15:14).
By their lives and message, Christian men are to exert gospel-based moral authority in their spheres of influence—this is spiritual leadership by means of truth.
We now find ourselves living in post-Christian nation which is increasingly hostile to the claims of our Creator. The apostle Paul describes the satanically energized world system as, “this present evil age” (Gal 1:4), “a crooked and perverse generation” (Phil 2:15). We live in a society of crass materialism, anti-God postmodern relativism, and sexual idolatry. The holy angels won’t change this downward slide. God has appointed His people to be both salt and light which is to expose and to hold back the decay of society (Mt 5:12-16). We desperately need to exhort believing men to takes risks for the cause of Christ—to exercise their godly masculinity as worldview-changers in a society that has turned its back upon God.
The truth proclaimed by godly men, backed up by their holiness of life radically shapes the collective social conscience of any community. But, when men abandon their transcendent cause, society undergoes a moral revolution in the direction of evil. In our own nation, the paradigm shift from Christian worldview to secular humanism, to full-blown paganism is now manifesting itself in the push for normalizing homosexual marriage. This involves new laws, the legislation of vices if you will. The prophet Isaiah described this kind of perversity over 2500 years ago. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Is 5:20).
In every age in which there is a massive departure from the truth, God lays the blame at the feet of the men for abandoning their role as spiritual influencers. “Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? But they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers” (Jer 44:9-10). Faithful men will not sit still while the world around them decays further into unbelief and corruption.
The faithful man spiritually influences all those around him that they might catch fire, that they might be ignited and the desires of their heart might be aligned with God’s Word. We call this “theologizing.” In other words, it is bringing theology and doctrine to life in your conversations and relationships. Theologizing brings the biblical lens to all of life so that the partitions in your personal compartmentalized world are kicked down and the Lord of glory begins to define every area of your life. The benefits are matchless. Not only do we begin to enter a more fully unified Christian experience, but we grow exponentially in our ability to provide a theocentric worldview to those around us. This is not reserved for pastors and missionaries. This is to be the transcendent cause and calling of every Christian man.
Our fellowship in the Body of Christ is designed to build with Christ that we might move each member to maturity. “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (Col 1:28-29). This is an immense part of our godly masculinity, men need to be empowered to wield the Sword of Truth and spiritually influence others with the truths of Scripture. Believing men are called by God to devote themselves to Bible doctrine so that they might grow to be examples in exercising spiritual leadership.
Power comes through submission to Christ. This is the great issue in our lives: what is most important to you? What matters most? What does God demand that my life look like?
What does God require of me as a disciple surrendered to Him? This is theology brought to all of life. Our Lord requires of me that I take up my cross, that I practice self-denial as I follow Him (Lu 9:23-26). That’s the only way that you are going to discover your biblical calling, your biblical role in the Church. There is no other way of effectively finding your place in the Body of Christ than by unconditional surrender to Christ.
The Word enjoins the formation of partnerships for the purpose of discipleship (spiritual parenting). As we edify one another through the gospel, we will want to make the sacrifices necessary to grow a culture of discipleship. The apostle Paul demonstrates precisely what this disciple-making endeavor looks like in Thessalonians 2:1-13.
The conditions necessary to empower men are best learned and communicated in a relational space of life-on-life soul care. God’s design is that deep change take place within discipleship relationships. As believers, our relationships exist to bring others closer to Christ. God has invited us into His redemptive plot wherein we live upon Christ in order to build with Christ (Gal 2:20). Growth in the knowledge of Christ increases as we abide in Him (Phil 3:7-11). Receiving His love stirs up in us a compelling desire to love others and to invest in the people of God. Therefore, we need to be regularly speaking the evangel so that Christ may be exhibited to the saints and that the image of God might be recovered in fallen sinners.
EXAMPLES OF THEOLOGIZING QUESTIONS:
- Why are believers commanded by God to be transformed? How does that transformation take place?
- What does it mean to glorify God? Why does God want us to glorify Him?
- Describe from Scripture God the Father’s testimony about the value of the blood of Christ.
- What has to happen for a true believer to enjoy God?
- How is assurance of salvation achieved?
APPLICATION QUESTIONS FOR MASCULINE LEADERSHIP:
- How can the promises and resources in the gospel get us past our excuses not to lead?
- Explain how God’s plan for godly masculine leadership reverses an ‘upside down’ world in which men are spiritually passive, and women tend to fill the gap left by male abdication of leadership.
- Describe several things in your life that you would need to change in order for you to develop a controlling vision for spiritual leadership (note the five qualities of a faithful man).
- Review above the cost of becoming a ‘faithful man’. Why are these five qualities inseparable from loyalty to Christ Himself? How do you plan to develop these ‘faithful man’ qualities in yourself and in others?