The Bold Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

To be bold in our world today is a tricky matter.  To take a stand on any matter can improve your reputation or destroy it.  One of the biggest concerns that has come to light is that if the position that anyone takes on an issue will be the wrong one if it is against the majority.  This person is not just on the wrong side and needs their thinking corrected, but must be cancelled.  Everything about them, their history, their present and anything they could do in the future is now pointless and worthless.  But still, should this prevent anyone from taking a stand when it is the right one to take?   How do we know if it is the RIGHT one to take in the first place? We know that, as men of God, we must start with Him and His Word.

To be bold, whether in person or with our online presence, we must begin with understanding how we are to conduct ourselves with our words and our deeds towards other believers and unbelievers.  Being bold is not necessarily holding up a sign on a street corner condemning a particular sin and screaming at the top of our lungs that all that commit it and live in it are going to hell.  It is true, but it is the wrong way to go about it.  Jesus Christ never did it that way.  He went and had a meal with those sinners.  He went and had gentle conversations with them.  That is incredibly more bold than vocal outbursts of harsh words.

Being bold in today’s world is demonstrating true Christ like love.  Our culture is all about love, it is a love-centric love, but it is not a true love, it is the emotional love.  This type of love ebbs and flows with the current of emotions; it is not steady and does not weather the storms like the love of Christ.  We explored the love of Christ a bit in other articles so I do not need to dive deep into it all here.  But it is this true love that drives us to be bold, to get the truth of Christ out into the world. We should have a desire to preach the Word to all creation (Mark 16:15) and to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19).  This does take boldness, especially, in a culture that is more and more hostile toward Christianity, and Christians in particular.

I can write on boldness time and time again and encourage people to be bold out in the world as they go about their business, but it requires so much more.  Being bold does require us to use words, but more importantly it requires our presence, no matter if in the streets, in our place of work, or online.  So how might we be bold men of God in a world that is set against God?  Let us go to the Word, for that is where we must start.  That is our foundation; that is the bedrock of truth that we must stand on that gives us strength for our boldness to withstand the onslaught that will come from back at us.

So, what does the word of God say about being bold?  Oh, it says so much. We can begin with the Old Testament, and particularly the Prophets and how bold they were.  Looking at Jeremiah 7, God calls the prophet to the gate of the temple and calls the people to repent of their sinful ways.  The people for generations have walked in sins making a mockery of temple worship, worshipping Baal along with God, along with many other sins.  The people were going through the motions, but did not truly worship God the way He had prescribed.  God told the prophet what he was to say and then God even warned him of the outcome in Jeremiah 7:27-28.

27 “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.

Let’s look at Daniel 3.  King Nebuchadnezzar made a very large image of himself out of gold.  He gathered all the rulers of his kingdom to come to the dedication of this golden image, and at the sound of the instruments they would bow in worship of the image.  And in all likeness, all the peoples would do the same.  However, as we see in verse 8, Chaldeans came forward and called out the Jews that had been exiled to Babylon.  These Jews that were called out where none other than Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.  We know the story, but we may forget the bigger picture of what is going on.  These men stood up to the commands of a king even if it meant their death, and even if it was a dreadful death.

The law that went forth was that at the sound of music all are to fall down in worship, and who ever does not fall down is to be thrown into the midst of the furnace.  They are to be burned alive.  These young men, who were in their teens when they were exiled, now probably in their twenties, are being confronted by a very angry and hostile king, and being threatened with death if they would not do something as simple as bowing down to a golden statue.  But look at their response in verse 16-18, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 

This is the boldness that we need to have in today’s world, the kind of boldness that does not look at the consequences that may come upon us and influence our actions and chip away at our boldness, at our resolve to live for Christ.  Our light needs to shine bright, especially now, and when we fear the consequences of what this world and the powers of this world might do to us, then we have failed to obey the mandate of the Master.  There will always be consequences for our boldness, but we cannot let that dictate our message to the world, because for every action that we take there will always be consequences.  This is the way of the world that we live in.  There are good consequences and bad consequences, but we cannot let the fear of consequences dictate how bold or how timid we are in living out our faith or preaching the gospel.

Let’s look at Acts 4:13, the NASB reads “13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”  That word, confidence, is from two Greek root words, pas meaning “all” and rhesis, “a proverb or statement quoted with resolve, there is a bold resolution to speak all things.  It can also be understood as frankness, bluntness, or publicity.  Now we need to back up and understand what Peter and John were doing before verse 13, so that we might have a full understanding of what “they” saw as the confidence of Peter and John.

In Acts 2, Peter preached the first sermon after the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and many men came to saving faith.  In Acts 3, a lame man is healed and Peter is preaching after the healing.  Now in Acts 4, Peter and John have been arrested by the Sanhedrin and are beginning to address the religious elite with the truth.  Now that takes boldness and courage.  Peter and John are preaching the gospel to men, not behind a curtain of anonymity.  Their identity is totally known and these men may be facing the same fate as their teacher, Jesus Christ, and yet they are preaching to the Sanhedrin without holding anything back.

This is boldness.  This is what we must do.  To let those that need to hear the words of the gospel see our confidence, our boldness in the gospel.  So that no matter what they do to us, it will not shake us, it will not move us off our course.  We have a singular mission and that is to preach, to share that message of salvation.  Not that life on this planet may be better, not that you can have your best life now, or that you will have health and wealth, but that you can be saved from the wrath to come.  For the trials and tribulations that we may suffer here are but momentary light afflictions compared to the weight of glory to come.

The Apostle Paul wrote about boldness in many of his letters to the churches as well, and he endured many trials in his missionary journeys.  He detailed some of his trials in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, “23 Are they servants of Christ? —I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”

These were some of the consequences that he endured just for going about and sharing the gospel to those that needed to hear it.  Many who need to hear it will be hostile to it, but that should not be why we are timid.  2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.  That word, timidity, could be translated as cowardice.  We cannot shrink away when it comes to sharing the gospel. 

We must be bold in our speech, but not overbearing.  It is not the way of Jesus Christ, who is our example, to corner someone and yell and scream and condemn them to hell.  Even though He is God, He has every right to condemn every one of us to hell.  He is a gracious God, who willingly went to the cross to purchase us from the wrath to come, the just penalty that our sins deserve.  That is why we must with all love and gentleness share the gospel.  Sharing the gospel also requires listening and having some understanding of where that other person is spiritually.

We see Jesus’ example after He called Matthew in Luke 5:29-23 “29 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?’ 31 And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.’” Jesus did not just eat with them. He would have had conversations with them about the kingdom, about the good news that comes through faith in the Son of God, that glorious truth that can only come through salvation of what is to come.  We are living in a Romans 1 culture where the wrath of God is being revealed, where good is being called evil, and evil is being called good.  But we must not lose faith or become weary in our resolve to be bold.  We must stand firm, even when we are maligned for the faith that we have in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.  We must stand fast on the Word of God, even when we are told that it is some ancient text written by men.  It is the one book that holds all the truth that is needed for all that we need to know of who our God is, how He has related to us, how we are to relate to Him, and how we are to relate to one another.

The Teachable Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

It is a difficult thing in our culture to have a teachable spirit.  We have an innate belief that we are smart and intelligent and are generally put off when told that we are wrong about something.  This is not having a teachable spirit.  I am, of course, not speaking of learning skills like accounting or plumbing or nursing, but am speaking specifically about those things that we believe.  Although we do want to be teachable in whatever profession or hobby that we might have and enjoy.

A belief is something we hold true based on information that is not entirely conclusive to all.  To believe in something is the same as saying we have faith in that thing being true.  But it also requires a presupposition.  We must have a preconceived notion that what we will eventually come to believe in is true.  To illustrate this, let’s assume that humanity is basically good, that at the core we have a good heart or a good character.  Overall, our good deeds or even just our good intentions will outweigh our mistakes, our misdeeds, and all of those mean-spirited thoughts.

There are several beliefs that someone who believes this way must bring to the table. Their belief is built on 2 major assumptions, the first being that we must know what good is.  We have a standard of what good is and what good is not, that which is evil. The second assumption is that we know (without measuring and tracking) all the deeds, intentions, and thoughts (good and evil) that have been done throughout the world in all situations and in all history.  This is an impossibility as no one can truly understand the intentions of the heart of another person, let alone all people that have ever lived.

In order to counter this belief, we must look to something other than ourselves to judge what is good and what is evil.  Otherwise, we run the risk of good and evil being abstract.  To the Biblically sound Christian, that standard is the living God and what He has declared in His Word.  He is the very definition of good.  Jesus says so in Matthew 19:17 when he responds to the man asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, “And He said to him, ‘Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’”

I will use a rough illustration to try to explain this.  Instead of using a tape measure to measure something, we use our own feet.  For me and my size 9 ½ shoes, the distance between two points might be the distance of 4 heel to toe feet. However, for someone who has size 14 shoes, their measurement of 4 heel to toe feet will actually be different.  The measurement is only accurate if we are both using the same scale, such as a standard tape measure. 

To be teachable, one must be willing to have their beliefs challenged.  As Biblical evidence is given to a belief or as counter to a belief, one must be willing to submit to the authority of the teaching that Scripture is.  To belief that mankind is basically good would fly in the face of the plain teaching of Scripture.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?”  If the heart is deceitful and sick and that is the center, the source of all that man is, how can he be good?  If a piece of fruit is rotten in its middle how “good” is it in its entirety?  Sure, there are “good” parts, but the whole is contaminated.

Another example that is prevalent today is that women can pastor and lead churches.  Let me start this illustration first by declaring what proponents and opponents of this argument say and what Scripture declares as well.  Men and women are of equal value, but here is where the difference begins – Scripture declares distinctive roles between men and women.  God created them male and female, the male first as the head and the female from male to be his equal and his helpmate.  Woman is not made to be a subject under the rule and authority of the man.  With distinctive roles, we have different responsibilities.  I am not saying that the role of women is to be responsible for the domestic care; men are equally capable.

The basic premise of the belief that women are able to pastor and lead churches is based on humanistic belief structures, not Biblical mandates.  It is based on human value systems and not sound Biblical principles. Scripture again gives ample evidence that they are not to be pastors in the church.  First Timothy 2:12 says “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.”  This does not mean that women are not to speak or that they could not teach or lead a women’s study, or teach a Sunday School children’s class.  What this is speaking to is the fact that a woman is not to have teaching authority over a congregation.  A pastor’s responsibility goes far beyond preaching duties.  They include counselling, modeling, and living a Biblically sound life.  There will be further discussion on this topic later, but I wanted to use this here as an illustration.

It is not easy to have someone come along side and tell us that we might be in error in our thinking.  That stings our pride, but just as Proverbs tells us in 12:1, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.”  If we truly love knowledge, then we must welcome the challenges to our thinking.  We serve a living, gracious God who has provided to us all that we need for life and godliness, and one of those things is His Word.  Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.”  We can and must allow the Word to teach us, to correct our wrong thinking, and we must use the pure unaltered Word of God.  Not allowing the darkened reasoning of the world to filter the Word of God.

The greatest example is the creation account in Genesis.  Did God really say that He created all things in 6 literal 24-hour days or is this an allegorical tale or poetic picture?  The deception is that we look at modern science theory and interject that into the creation account.  By doing this, we are, of course, using worldly views to filter Scripture.  But if we stand on the fact that Scripture is inspired by God, who is infallible and immutable, does not lie, and understands who and what we are, it demands that we read and understand the creation account the way it is written.

We must have a high view of Scripture from the onset, that God has inspired it and that it is sufficient for all life, even today, and that it is without error.  With regard to any belief system there will be some foundational presupposition.  Now, what does this mean outside of Biblical Christianity?  With regards to the belief system of evolution, that is being declared fact.  The theory of evolution has no eye witnesses and cannot be repeated; it is not observable.  Proponents of evolution do not belief that they hold a presupposition, but in fact they must.  Since they have no account during all those years of evolution, they must assume certain things.  They look at the fossil record and extrapolate out what must have occurred millions and billions of years ago. 

Most scientists, and really most people who believe in the Theory of Evolution, will not even entertain the idea of belief in the Bible.  This is because things that are spiritual cannot be tested by science, but on the flipside, there are things in the Biblical account that can be tested.  The historicity can be measured up with what we know through non-biblical historians.  However, most of these validations are not considered trustworthy because the accounts are recorded in the Bible and are spiritually based.  I will counter that argument by stating the fact that non-spiritually based writings from the same time periods are seen as creditable, which demonstrates a clear presupposition.

Biblical Christians believe that Scripture is true in every regard and that each word – Old and New Testaments – are true and accurate and there is no error and that God the Holy Spirit was at work in the men who physically wrote the 66 books of the Bible.  On the flip side to that belief is the belief that there is no such thing as God and everything can be explained by science.

To be teachable is to allow others to instruct us, to be able to have our thinking challenged with a humble spirit as we are not all-knowing creatures and can have incorrect thoughts and beliefs regarding some things.  Now let me say this.  Because someone might try and challenge our beliefs, we must be able to defend what we believe is truth.  How do we challenge one’s beliefs and how do we defend our beliefs?  It must always be done based on Scripture.

Again, 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that Scripture will teach us and it will reprove and correct.  Our beliefs, and therefore how we reprove and teach one another, cannot be based solely on feelings of truthfulness or even on life experiences.  It must go beyond and above these things, although they can add to the applicability of Scripture.  The danger of relying on life experiences and emotions is that they can be skewed and lead to a misinterpretation of Scripture.

I leave you with one final illustration of this.  One major counter argument against Christianity or the authority and sufficiency of Scripture is the supposed ill-treatment of women.  But if we search the Scriptures, we can find a plethora of women who are powerful and influential. Quite truthfully, women are honored in Scripture.  How can I say all of this? Read through the Bible and see how many women are dignified through the pages: Esther, Ruth, Mary (Jesus’ mother), the Samaritan woman, and Lydia. 

You may not recall who Lydia is, but I will say that she was financially well off as she was a trader in purple fabric and traveled all over the region.  We may not think much of it, but during that time period, it would not be easy for a woman to lead such a successful business life.  She did these things, not her husband, which suggests that she was not married.  While Paul and his travelling companions where in Corinth, she supported them for an extended period of time.  Meaning Lydia opened her home and provided for all the needs of these men until they left.

Allow the Word of God to instruct you and to change you where needed.  Scripture is sufficient for every area of our lives and for all instances, circumstances, and scenarios that we come across.  We must have a spirit that is willing to be taught and to even unlearn what may be incorrect.  This, of course, takes humility.  Earthly wisdom can cause us to puff ourselves up and become prideful.  We must be wary of this and remain humble, knowing that wisdom is from the Lord.

Come to know and love Scripture.  Seek its truth when you are challenging someone else’s views or beliefs, but also seek it when you are being challenged. See if what they say is true and that you are indeed in error.  This is Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  We are to sharpen one another, by teaching one another and having our wrong thoughts corrected so that we can grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).  I will leave you with this question, are you teachable?

The Disciplined Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

When we think of people who are disciplined, we think of professional athletes, and one reason is that they are the pinnacle of their respective sport.  Pick your favorite athlete and consider the amount of time that goes into them practicing, studying, and working out.  They have a very specific, regimented diet that they keep, not to mention the fact that they have been working in their sport for all of their lives. We must also be disciplined in order to be leaders and protectors of our wives and children.  Paul wrote about this in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

In verse 26 Paul is not talking about running an actual race or literally boxing.  He is using an illustration to tell us that there is a purpose to being disciplined.  This discipline is keeping ourselves in control of what we do with our time and our energy.  Use it wisely to maximize our efforts so that we can excel in the things of the Lord.  The apostle is also saying in verse 27 that he must live out what he is preaching to others, and that is where the discipline comes in.

We are to live a disciplined life so that it does not invalidate our testimony.  It should give proof of the power of the One who redeemed us.  There will be outward evidence of a new life, but not what most people think it should be.  We should never be confused about this simple truth.  It is not the discipline within us that will lead us to salvation.  Instead, it is through salvation and being transformed that brings us to want to be disciplined.

So, what does it mean to be disciplined and in what shall we be disciplined?  That is a difficult question to answer as there is not a hard and fast list in Scripture.  We can, however, gather a list of things that we know we ought to have control over and be disciplined in.  Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list.  You can find several other lists out there, many books have been written regarding Spiritual Disciplines.

1. Emotions (Proverbs 29:11)

We are to be in control of our emotions at all times.  Not just emotional outbursts, but the emotions that course through us.  Emotions can be so damaging to those around us, but also to ourselves.  They can leave us bitter and feeling unworthy or unloved.  We must be on guard against rampant emotional outbursts or rampant emotional swings that we hide from one another and never deal with.

2. Words (Ephesians 4:29)

The words that we use can do one of two things.  They can edify, or they can tear down.  They will build up, encourage or challenge someone.  However, they can also tear them apart, deflate them, and cause them to withdraw from the fellowship.  Be careful with the words you use.

3. Thoughts (1 Corinthians 6:18)

Our thoughts are to be pure.  It is, of course, is impossible to keep every impure thought out.  However, when a lustful thought enters our mind, it is not sinful at that moment.  It is sinful when we dwell upon it and toy with it.  Like when King David first laid eyes on a bathing Bathsheba, that glimpse was accidental; it was not sinful.  But the second view and the ensuing lust was.  Sinful thoughts will have an impact on our emotions and on our words.

4. Bible Study (Psalm 119:97, 2 Timothy 3:16)

This is by far one of the most important aspects of discipline for a man of God.  This can be broken down into 2 parts: Bible intake (regular Bible reading) and Bible memorization.  We must be filling our minds with the Word of God so that we might know Him better and meditate on His word (not the empty mindedness of Eastern religions). We are to be filling our minds and thinking on His word, pondering the depth and truth of it.  We are also to hide it in our hearts so that we do not sin against Him.  He has provided a means of escape for every temptation.  And I tell you, if you quote an appropriate verse for a particular temptation in the time of struggle, along with prayer, you will overcome that moment of temptation.

5. Prayer (Hebrews 4:16, Luke 18:1-8, Matthew 21:22)

Speaking of prayer, we should not be lacking in prayer.  Right behind Bible study, we should be known for our prayer life.  The danger is never that we pray too much, but that we pray too little.  One way to jump start your pray life is whenever you get even the smallest inclination to pray, stop and offer up a prayer to God.  It does not need to be a great orated 10-minute prayer.  A simple prayer praising God for being God and for providing you salvation is the greatest prayer.  Communion with your God, that is what prayer is.  The most intimate relationship you should have is between you and your God, not you and another human sinner, even if you are married.  How much and how often you pray tells you how intimate that relationship is.

6. Fasting (Matthew 4:2-4, Matthew 6:16-18)

Yes, fasting is commanded in Scripture and fasting is expected.  Sometimes we fast for health reasons and sometimes we give up things for a time for other reasons.  But I am talking about Biblical fasting, not eating for a day (or longer) and spending that time in prayer or Bible study.  Fasting is about giving something up that is a physical need to demonstrate our spiritual dependence on God.

7. Confession (Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:9)

We are commanded to confess sin.  First and foremost, we are to confess our sins to Christ.  He is our Great High Priest who has been tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin, so He knows our struggles.  We are to confess sin to someone else, a trusted fellow Christian who can help and pray with and for us, especially if it is a sin that we are repeatedly falling into.  Along with confession comes repentance.  We are called to repent, but again repentance does not happen in a vacuum that no one is supposed to know about.

8. Worship (Matthew 4:10, Matthew 28:17, Philippians 2:6, 1 Chronicles 16:29)

God has declared how He will be worshipped.  He is a God of order; He is a God of Holiness.  He will be honored as God, and He expects us to come to Him with offerings of praise from our lips and from our hearts.  We do not get to choose how we will honor and worship Him, for He has declared the how.  But because God has created us with creative minds, we have been granted some leeway in the means of worship.  That is to say, we can choose the style of music, the instruments, the furniture, the lights, and even our attire.

9. Fellowship (Acts 2:42, John 10:24-25)

I am separating fellowship and worship as I believe they are two different disciplines.  Fellowship is about being engaged in the lives of one another; worship is about being united together to honor and praise Jesus Christ.  We cannot be engaged with one another unless we are around one another and having everyday conversations.  But it also requires us to have more than just everyday conversations as well; we must challenge one another in the things of the Lord.

10. Rest (Psalm 127:2, Proverbs 10:5, Proverbs 6:9-11)

This is a strange one as we do not think we should need to be disciplined in getting rest.  But we humans are the worst in all of creation in getting proper rest.  We either get too much (and become lazy) or do not get enough rest (and get burned out).  Improper rest leads to other issues with our thoughts and emotions, which lead to other issues with our service, worship, and fellowship.  God created us to work 6 days and rest 1 day.  We must balance how much we work and how much we rest.

11. Celebration (1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 11:19)

Celebration is the fun that we have.  It is also those life events that we truly celebrate, weddings, births, graduations, etc.  I have never known such events where there was not food present.  Sometimes there is alcohol present, and it is easy to get caught up in eating too much or drinking too much.  But do not forget that the sin of gluttony is not limited to just consuming too much food.  This sin is about obsessing over food too much, so do not make food or the drink too big of a priority to the celebration.

12. Service (Colossians 3:23-24, Mark 10:45)

Service to the people of God is important.  It is important because it demonstrates our love and devotion to the Lord by our love for His people.  It also demonstrates our submission and obedience to His command to serve one another; it takes discipline to do it.  Serving others stings pride, but through our serving, it can also build pride.  So we must be mindful and disciplined to be watchful of that.  Also, I want to point out that we are commanded to serve, but our service should never, ever replace corporate worship.  When serving in a capacity during a time of corporate worship service, we are removed from that worship.  Serving is a type of worship, but it cannot replace corporate worship.

13. Evangelizing (Mark 15:16, Matthew 28:19-20)

Evangelizing is not just for missionaries in far off countries, and it is definitely not for Pastors on Sunday mornings.  Sunday mornings are meant for the proclamation of the Word of God and the Worship of Jesus Christ.  In general, unsaved people do not come to a church service to hear the truth about God.  That is up to all of us.  We are to go and preach the gospel to all of creation and to share the truth about people’s condition without Christ, but that they have eternal hope with Him.  This is the first step in making a disciple, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, and not just our personal testimonies of coming to faith.

14. Disciple-Making (Matthew 28:19-20)

Disciple-Making is an important discipline for the man of God.  I am not merely speaking of sharing the gospel and getting a confession of faith.  What I am saying is a long-term relationship of making a disciple of Jesus Christ.  This is a multi-year long relationship, where one mature man of God works with a young in faith man of God (and disciple making is not limited to men only) to teach him the things of the Lord.  We are not gifted spiritual disciplines and Biblical understanding upon conversion.  There will be questions and problems that the new Christian will face.

As I have stated before, this is not an exhaustive list, and even the descriptions are not as deep as we could have gotten into. I really wanted to get your minds working so that you could evaluate our own walk.  How are you doing in these disciplines, are you as disciplined as you think you are?  If you need something more, there are plenty of good books out there.  The one that I would recommend is “Spiritual Disciplines” by Don Whitney.

The Loving Man of God

Posted on by brettyamaji

Watch any modern television show or movie and you will see men portrayed in a number of ways that are anything but what they should be, men.  These versions of men are usually shallow and singularly minded.  Now depending on the plot, these men may be self-focused, dim witted, short sighted, uncaring, chauvinistic, and on I could go.  But even the “good guys” seem shallow and marginally relatable to an actual living breathing male.

Generally, I think there are several different views of what men are to be. Even if I say a loving man or a man of love, that imagery is still not necessarily what I am attempting to get at.  We have to use different terms that better define what we are looking at to get a clearer picture of the contrast in worldview.  And my main categories here are just that, worldviews.

Category 1: The Secular Man

We can break this category down into 2 main subcategories.  We see these in much of our culture.  These are displayed time and again on the most popular television sitcoms and movies.

Subcategory 1: The Brute Man

The Brute Man is best summed up in “big on brawn but light on brains.” You could also describe him as tall and muscular with an overbearing attitude.  Physicality defines the mightiness of one’s manliness.  The old football saying that football is a “man’s man” sport would define the Brute Man’s mentality.  Men of this class can tear apart a car engine with ease and reassemble it, but cannot find their way around the kitchen, or know how to run the washing machine. 

These men are intelligent men in the field of “manly” things, but are not suitable for home living.  They are incapable of grocery shopping or other simple tasks like picking up the kids from school.  The Brute Man can only handle so many tasks in a day and only tasks that are repetitive in nature and require little brain power and, of course, only to his liking.  This is one of the versions that modern man has devolved into.

Subcategory 2: The Domiciled Man

The Domiciled Man is best summed up with the “yes man” adage.  The Domiciled Man does not want to rock the boat, as it were, and so does as he is told no matter how he is treated.  Sometimes he is rewarded for being obedient, but many times it is just expected behavior. Another way to describe this one is as a defeated dog.  The dog still has that drive to be a dog, but when he hears the masters voice, all the fight in the dog melts away.

The Domiciled Man is also portrayed on television and in movies.  He is usually a husband who wants to be the head of the house but is easily “put in his place” by the withholding of food or sex by his wife.  The Domiciled Man tries in vain to hold his ground, to put his foot down.  But inevitably, within days or sometimes within hours, he will cave, and usually to his own humiliation and to the laughter of everyone else. Many standup comedians use this approach; many sitcoms do the same thing.  The Domiciled Man is what all Husbands turn into because of the power that their wives hold over them, through food and sex. 

Category 2: The Biblical Man

The Biblical Man, as I have called him, differs from the Secular Man described above in one major characteristic; his love.  The Biblical Man starts there, with the Bible, the Holy Scripture, the special revelation from God Himself.  And we are image bearers of God.  Therefore, we are to love as He loved.  But before I get into all that let me say this:  God is not a God OF love.  He IS love, but He is also grace, mercy, goodness, and righteousness.  We must not forget that He is a God of judgment, a God of wrath, and He is holy, and one day He will deal with unrepentant sinners.  My point here is that we can only love because He first loved us, 1 John 3:16-18:

 16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

Verse 16 is the key verse here.  We can only know love because He loved us, we see His example, and should seek to follow it. This means to sacrifice for one another, and not specifically and only speaking of the ultimate sacrifice, but any type of service rendered to a Brother or Sister in Christ.  Verse 17 is an example in how we might live it out, and verse 18 is encouragement that we must go beyond intentions and thoughts.

The Biblical Man is motivated by love to sacrifice for the well-being of others.  He has that love because that love has been placed in him since the Spirit of Christ – the Holy Spirit – resides in him.  We must be motivated by love. The love I am referring to is the love that Jesus Christ demonstrated by leaving the throne of heaven, by living a sorrow-filled life, and by dying on a cross.  This was not an emotional love, the feeling love, that motivated Him.  No, this was a love that interfered in the lives of those who needed His intervention. He loved others so much that He stopped and interjected Himself and His love, grace, and mercy into their lives.  Vast contrast from what so many are demanding we do today in the name of love.  But, men, how are we to love others?  If we are married, we are told very clearly in Ephesians 5:25-29:

 “25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church.” 

Now, obviously there is a tremendous amount that we could unpack here.  And in context, Paul is writing about what Christ accomplished for the universal foundation of the church on this side of glory.  But marriage is to be a picture of this.  The love and devotion of the husband in the marriage union is to be a picture of what Christ accomplished and the continual relationship between the church and Jesus Christ.

Husbands, love your wives sacrificially.  I know it is difficult, but we are not talking about ‘me’ time.  Men are to be leaders and servants.  You are to demonstrate what it takes to run the house by running the house.  You are to demonstrate unselfish love by loving unselfishly, and “me” time is by definition, selfish. If we look at the meaning of the word husband a little bit, we can get a better understanding of the responsibilities that we have.

Husband is related to the Latin word we get husbandry from and it speaks to the care and cultivation of gardens or crops.  This is the care and cultivation of our wives, continuing to bring her up spiritually.  It means to defend her spiritually, to keeping the weeds and pests and the vermin out that would destroy and eat away at the roots or prevent her from blossoming fully.  This, of course, does not mean that our wives are less valuable than we are, but that they are less than what they can be.  Since men are to be the head and the example, we must be spiritually sound ourselves.  You cannot be a leader in something unless you are knowledgeable. It is just that simple, and simple acts can mean a world of difference to your wives. 

Verse 28 and 29 speak to how we men are to treat, cherish, and nurture our wives.  It is how we would cherish and nurture our own bodies.  We are to (and if it were possible) present our wives blameless and spotless before the True and Just Judge.  That means our wives must know sound Biblical doctrine and we must teach it, we must live it, and we definitely must exemplify it.

But a man is not to start demonstrating a selfless love only when he gets married.  He should be doing that long beforehand.  Those that are not yet married are to conduct themselves as if preparing for marriage by keeping themselves pure before a Holy God.  They should also be learning what they can in how to be a man of God, and what it takes to exemplify the love of Christ to his bride day in and day out.  For those of us who are married, let me pause and echo the Apostle Paul and exhort all of us to excel still more in that selfless love to our wives, children, and folks that we interact with every day.  Now, obviously as married men we should not be showing the same type and devoted love that we have for our wives to just anyone.  But we are to still show that selfless love.  How do we do that? Let me call you back to 1 John 3:17, “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

It is a simple act of a phone call to check in and see how others are doing, or getting together for lunch.  Help out a brother or sister with chores around the home when they are unable.  A demonstration of our love for one another does not require us to go to great lengths.  A word of encouragement and stopping by to pray with one another is a great way of demonstrating that we love one another.

A man of God is known because he loves the Lord and he loves His people. John 13:35 says that, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Let your love be known in your marriage, in your homes, and in your places of work.  But in order to love as Christ loves, you must not leave out Christ.  Jesus must be the center and the reason for your love.  You must communicate Him by preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to those that need to hear the true gospel, repent, believe, and be saved.

One of the greatest ways to love one another is to be involved in one another’s lives.  Help with chores and provide for needs, but knowing what is going on in the lives of the Brethren means that you are connected.  Pray for one another, communicate, confess sin to one another, be a community of believers working through the sanctification process – daily working toward the ultimate goal of becoming more Christlike.  We do not become more like Christ by ourselves.  We need the Word of God, we need the work of the Spirit, we need one another, and we need men of God who love.