18. Fight Like A Man (And Dress Like One Too)

Welcome to the podcast where we prod the sheep and beat the wolf. This is episode 18 fight like a man. When I began this series on the fall and the recovery of biblical masculinity several weeks ago little did I know that we were about to witness a powerful and yet pitiful example of what fallen and impotent manhood looks like Just as the brave Marines holding the American flag atop the mound of rubble on the war-torn island of Iwo Jima Became a symbol for that entire era.

So too the slap heard round the world became a symbol of the weak and Sickly manhood that is available today. Like the majority of the world. I had actually no idea that another award show filled with pompous opining elites had come and gone.

That is until social media became a flurry with rumors that the fresh prince of Bel-Air had somehow slapped the zebra from Madagascar. Yeah, I was confused. Mildly intrigued. However, I did go to YouTube and I saw the pitiful display with my own blue eyes and Before we continue, I think I just need to give you some Disclaimers about me and about why I'm bringing this up two weeks after the fact you see I actually detest celebrity culture.

I despise award shows I loathe tabloid style gossip that thrives on who's sleeping with who and All of that and I found that my life will actually be so much more productive and peaceful and rewarding If I would just simply focus on the things that God has given me to do instead of worrying about which Celebrity has is in rehab or shipwrecking their life.

Now this may sound insensitive, but I have more than enough already to fill my schedule with growing in love for God fighting to prioritize my family loving my neighbor as myself serving in the church and Being faithful to do the things that God has entrusted me to do.

With the precious seconds that God has given me to use without involving myself in celebrity culture. In fact celebrity culture is so far down the list. It doesn't even crack the top billion for me. Yet I am interested in what happened two weeks ago at the Oscars.

I think that's the right show. Because I think it's so perfectly and poignantly encapsulates the downfall of our society, especially from the vantage point of masculinity now. We're two weeks removed from the event and that's on purpose because I don't want to contribute to the cacophony of opinions on the matter.

About why Will Smith did this or or why Chris Rock said this? I don't want to do any of that. I want to look at this as a as a as an experiment or a microcosm for failed masculinity. And I want to look at this just as an introduction to get us started on what it looks like for real men to fight Biblically because this was not an example of that again I'm no expert on the comings and goings of the Smith family.

But you would need to live under a rock. Much larger than the comedian called Chris wink wink to think that they were hunky-dory in their marriage Will and Jada. And again while it's not my goal to air their dirty laundry here on this episode I do want to point out that smacking Chris Rock for a joke was not at all a masculine act.

That's not how you fight as a man. That's not how you protect a woman as a man. He in fact became the joke that he was rebelling against Masculinity would have been faithfulness in his own marriage. Masculinity would have not to be standing idly by as his life as his wife is sleeping with one of her son's friends.

Masculinity would have provided a home where those children could have grown up not entitled and spoiled and thoroughly perverted by Hollywood debauchery. But raised up in righteousness that would have been masculinity.

In fact after years of abdicating his responsibility as a man. His family has become the butt of the joke. The humor of Chris Rock was just the final straw atop the overly burdened ego of a very spoiled and failed man.

This was not masculinity that we saw on display. This was something else. This was not Defending the honor of his wife. It was something else. It was the petulant temper tantrum of a guilt-ridden man who knows what it's like to play a strong and successful Husband father and man on television, but behind the mask in real life.

He is a weak and pitiful example. This is why I say that this moment was the perfect encapsulation of modern culture and manhood. Mr. Smith represents a generation of spoiled entitled emasculated boys who would rather shift blame onto other people for their failures than face the consequences of their decisions.

Mr. Smith showcased one way to fight. But it was certainly not the way that God intended for a Christian man to fight which is the topic of our present episode. How do you fight like a man? Unlike Will Smith or whatever societal image that you're gonna go with we need to know what it means to fight like a Christian man.

We need to know what the battle is where the battle is and how we're called to fight and that's what we're gonna be exploring Today in those sort of sub handings. So first I want us to understand. What is the battle?

What's the battle that we've been called to as a Christian and it's not watching the Oscars by the way, I Hope it goes without saying that the battle that we've been called to is not to fight with literal weapons.

It's not a battle of geography per se where one country's going against another country. Although there is some spiritual dynamics there. But the battle is for the spiritual life and well-being of the world.

We are called to make war with sin to make war against the kingdom of darkness and to herald Christ to all the nations. We are to extend his kingdom So that he will become greater on this earth and so that everything else will become less.

The war that we are called to fight Is a spiritual war. Advanced in the souls of men spreading out to the ends of the earth and putting everything under the feet of King Jesus. But before we can engage in that battle We have to first understand the enemy so that's the second thing I want us to talk about is What is or better yet? Who is our enemy when the Bible speaks about our enemy?

We often get the picture of a Scaly dragon that is roaring about seeking whomever he may devour and that is certainly a part of the story. We really do live in a world with a devil devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whomever he may destroy.

That's first Peter 5 8 and we know the scripture tells us that this beastly fiend is the god of this world Second Corinthians 4 4 and that the world in some ways is still under his dominion and authority first John 5 18 through 19 but it's also important to understand that we live in a world where Christ has triumphed over and disarmed the devil Colossians 2 15 and bound him in order to plunder his kingdom mark 3 27 and has given us the ability and authority to resist him James 4 7.

We also as Christians are gonna get to see Jesus's kingdom. Advancing through the church and triumph over in the kingdom of Satan so that the gates of hell will not stand against the triumph. And the rise of Christ's kingdom.

That's Matthew 16 17 through 19. So While an exhaustive study on the devil would be helpful. The central point that I want us to understand is that we are at war against a real being named Satan. And he's one of our great enemies.

He's a liar he's a deceiver and he wants nothing more than to blind the eyes and to deceive the nations and Christian men as Christian men. We have an obligation and a responsibility to fight and We do that by clinging to the truth by employing the means of grace.

That's the word the sacraments and prayer by participating in the church by contending for the gospel once for all delivered to the Saints and by seeking to see Jesus's kingdom extended to all the nations so that Satan will actually lose territory in our lifetime.

That's the battle that we're engaged in to see Jesus's kingdom gross. Satan's kingdom shrink. We do that by preaching the gospel by discipling the nations by evangelizing the heathens. We do that by being Christians.

Satan is a real enemy and as Christian men. Especially called to lead in the home and lead in the church. We are not called to tremble over the devil, but we are called to wage war in Jesus's name. That's what it means to fight the enemy called Satan, but he's not our only enemy.

The Bible tells us that we actually have three enemies the world the flesh and the devil. The devil is not the only enemy that we have and he's not the only enemy that we fight. The world is another enemy according to scripture and it is the realm of sinful humanity.

It's the realm of those who live by lies and who hate the church and who are opposed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The world is the corporate collection of all who are opposed to God with all of their thoughts and plans and Machinations all culminating together into this world system that hates God.

Think about it this way. Jesus is king over his people the elect and we have become citizens of his glorious kingdom and our job is to do his bidding. But there's two kingdoms on earth. There's the kingdom of Christ and there's the kingdom of man.

There's the kingdom of God and there's the kingdom of Satan. Satan's kingdom like Jesus is trying to advance on this earth and it is trying to to empower his people his Reprobate people to both do his bidding for his pleasure so that he can see his kingdom advance on the earth.

Now we know that Christ is attempting or that Satan is attempting like Christ to gain ground in the world. But we know from the Bible that Satan will not succeed. He will fail his church will advance his.

His shabby gates will fall down as the church militant advances. We know that that's the that's the fate of his kingdom. But we are to engage in the fight. We don't just say okay Jesus wins. Therefore we're gonna go sit on the sidelines or sit on the couch.

We are called to engage in this fight against the world by you know, what simple things? Like maybe attending a church instead of mowing your yard or instead of painting the basement or instead of doing something else instead of staying home and watching a Football game or or taking your child to a basketball game.

Going to church is an act of war. And Real men do it. We participate in Christ's movement of resistance Hebrews 10 24 to 25. We don't neglect the gathering. We publicly and joyfully herald Christ as Lord instead of Caesar Philippians 2 9 through 11.

That means that means in your relationships that means at your job. That means in your you know in your comings and goings. We are willing ready and joyful to share the good news of Jesus Christ with whoever will listen to us.

Because we want to see his kingdom advance. We're not cowering. Like a subjugated and conquered people. We're not in hushed tones whispering in the back of back alleys. We are living triumphantly proclaiming the gospel and sharing it with all who are lost because we want to see Jesus raise all who are lost back from the dead and Bring them into the kingdom that we now live in the kingdom of light.

We don't fight by being conformed to the world's patterns of thinking Romans 12 to we resist pagan ideologies philosophies and lies about gender and sexuality and any standard that the world is trying to get us to conform to that doesn't conform to Scripture, that's Colossians 2 8.

We fight by engaging the world with the gospel. But never becoming friends with the world or never accepting the world in that way that's James 4 for you see as men we fight the world by rejecting ungodly depictions of sex of Truth of manhood think about it that way.

We can fight by rejecting the unbiblical notions about manhood and upholding a godly biblical vision of masculinity. That's the one way that we can fight. Essentially what you need to understand is that we fight the devil and we fight the world.

With the truth of the Word of God we live as people of the truth who love the truth. And who? Proclaim the truth. That's how we fight. The final enemy that we're called to fight is the most personal of them all.

It's that old man that lives inside of you that you carry around on a daily basis that stinking rotting Corpse of your old man that is called in the Bible the flesh. And I'm not gonna spend much time on this particular aspect of it because I think Romans 8 13 says it's so clearly.

This is what Paul says. For if you are living according to the flesh you must die. But if you are by the Spirit putting to death the misdeeds of the flesh, then you will live. Here's how we break this down.

God has given you his Holy Spirit to put to death your flesh and Your job is to pick up the spiritual weapon. And put to death your flesh. You were to deny your flesh deprive your flesh kill your flesh murder your flesh.

John Owen used to say it it be killing sin or sin will be killing you. You have to understand that. One of the battles that you're gonna face in this life is that your sin is going to want to triumph over you and rise Up against you and conquer you and put you down and you have to daily be going to war against your flesh.

So what we've seen here is there's a triad of enemies that we are called to fight. Our war is waged in three realms against the devil against the world and against our own flesh and we are called to fight.

Not as isolated individuals, but alongside the church. We're called to fight with spiritual weapons see Ephesians 6. We're called to fight with scriptural fidelity. Employing the word the sacraments in the prayer and prayer all the way to the ends of the earth so that we plant Jesus's flag To the glory of Christ on every square inch of this planet.

That's the fight that we are to be engaged in and As we do that we will get to see Jesus's kingdom come. This is what it says in 1st Timothy 6. I want to read this to you. This is verses 11 through 16, and I want you to notice how the fight.

The temporal fight that we've been called to will end in the glory of Christ on his great day when he returns. This is what Paul says. But flee from these things you man of God and pursue righteousness godliness faith and love perseverance and gentleness fight the good fight of faith take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and You made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

I charge you in the presence of God Who gives life to all things and of Christ who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate that you? Keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ Which he will bring about at the proper time.

He who is blessed the blessed and the only sovereign the king of kings and the Lord of Lords who alone possesses Immortality and dwells in inapproachable light whom no man has seen or can see to him be honor and eternal dominion forever amen.

Our battle is Fault by simply being a Christian and doing that until Christ returns and it's time For men to stand up in this culture to stop being passive in our faith weaken our leadership and boys in our maturity.

To stand up and lead the charge in this great battle and to do that by being involved in the local church. It's time for boys to capture a vision of growing up and being a deacon in the church or for boys to have an aspiration a godly aspiration to be an elder or a pastor for Boys to dream of one day starting companies that are going to advance the name of Jesus for boys to to dream of being a medical doctor who's going to go into the medical field and it's going to live for the glory of Christ and who's going to going to operate on people for the glory of Christ as a way of Subduing the world and in reigning and extending Jesus's dominion to even over sickness and death.

We've got to capture a vision of what it means to train up boys. To not work for themselves to not even work for their families to not work for their glory. But to work for the glory of Christ, whatever we do, whether it's whether we eat or whether we drink.

We've got to capture a vision of what it means to equip men to do everything for the glory and the renown of Christ. Our job men and I'm speaking directly to you. These scriptures also apply to women as well.

But you are called to be a leader. I'm challenging you to stand up and to lead and To be involved in the local church if you're at Shepherds Church be at the church when the church gathers. Learn study your word pray pray with your wife pray with your children.

Do acts of small? aggression against the kingdom of Satan. Wage war in ways that that you can manage in your life in the small ways that you can and do them Consistently over a lifetime and you will be a soldier of Christ.

You will be the kind of man who? fights in the kind of man that the Lord will look at and instead of your life being burned up by wood hay and stubble. Like it says in first Corinthians your life will will have something to show for it.

You'll stand before Jesus and you'll say well done my good and faithful servant. You'll lay down your your crowns and your gifts at his feet and you'll say Lord. I did all this for you it's for you Lord and and Then you'll enter into his rest.

That's the kind of life. I'm calling you to live brothers. It's to it's to not be passive in your faith. But to fight like a man now in closing I do want to address an adjacent issue that that is certainly relevant to what the topic is fighting like men and all of that and and I want to kind of go at this from from what are we supposed to wear in the battle and there's two sort of realms that we need to Be thinking about when it comes to what we wear to the battle in the Bible.

There's a physical and a spiritual clothing that a man is supposed to be dressing himself with. That cannot and must not be overlooked when we're talking about how do you fight like a man? We need to talk about how are you supposed to be clothed as a man and we'll begin with the spiritual clothing.

In Ephesians 6 10 we're told that we are to put on the strength of Christ and other passages were told to be clothed in The royal robes of Christ. These are not physical robes that you can go to Target or or wherever people shop.

But you put on the spiritual clothing you're clothed with Christ. You're identified with Christ. You are in union with Christ. You're clothed in his strength and his royalty. That's the first thing that you need to put on you also need to put on the full armor of God.

Ephesians 6 11 that armor is spiritual in nature and includes things like putting on The breastplate of righteousness so that you can avoid the fiery darts of Satan. But also girding up your loins a symbol of your God-given masculinity with truth.

Isn't it funny that The thing that makes you male the center of your Sexual identity the center of your gendered identity is where truth is Supposed to come in truth comes in to the most intimate area of your life.

So you fight like a man by girding up your loins your masculinity in truth. That's Ephesians 6 verse 14. We're also to shod our feet with the intensive preparation for the work of the gospel of peace.

That's Ephesians 6 15 we are not called to put on the shoes of of career and to put on the shoes of corporate and to put on the shoes of Self-advancement and and all of the stuff like yeah. We have to work in the world and we do things in the world.

But those aren't our shoes our shoes are the preparation of the gospel. I'm gonna say it like this. Every single man in the church in Christ is supposed to be equipped in the gospel. That means equipped by the church that means discipled by another believer maybe that means Studying the scriptures and yearning to know who God is if you're a man.

Then you are to know God and you are to know doctrine and you were to know your Bible if you don't know your Bible. You're abdicating your own masculinity. It says even right here that we are in Ephesians 6 15 that we are to be equipped with intensive preparation for the work of the gospel of peace if You're not equipped to work in this way.

Go to your pastor go to a friend go to someone who can challenge you and help you and you know What be a man and open up your Bible and read it. Because you don't actually Need someone holding your hand through it.

I mean you need help and there's people who are there to help you. But one of the biggest things you can do is help yourself open your Bible. Stop making excuses wake up early. Get in the Word of God and know your God that is that is a truly Masculine thing that you can do to fight the world the flesh and the devil.

It also says that we are to take the shield of faith in unfaithful times. It's Ephesians 6 16. We are to gladly and unashamedly wear the helmet of our salvation. You know helmets are one of those things that people see when you're walking around.

They may not see a breastplate of righteousness if you've got it on underneath a tunic or underneath the cloak. But they're gonna see your helmet. People ought to be able to know that you're a Christian when you go out in public.

They ought to see the helmet of salvation that that guards you from the enemy's attacks. And they ought to know that it's gonna propel you into battle. You know. One of the things that we know about soldiers is when they wear armor.

We know that they are men who fight men of valor men of glory men of honor. Well men, what are you wearing in this culture? Are you wearing compromise? Are you wearing cowardice? Are you wearing a conviction less approach to truth or are you wearing the helmet of salvation?

Are you wearing the breastplate of righteousness? So that people will see that you are really a soldier of Christ and that you're not going to compromise in the same ways that the world Compromises. It also tells us in this passage that we're to wield the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

Listen. When you go into the army and I was there Several years ago almost 20 years ago now when I went into basic training actually, it's more than 20 years ago. It's 21 years ago when I was in basic training they hand you a weapon and The first thing that you do is you learn how to hold it.

You learn how to carry it you learn how to you know, you that weapon almost sort of becomes a Extension of yourself. You take it with you you march with it. You learn how to how to Maneuver it. You learn how to how to stand at salute with with the weapon.

You you learn how to go to the range and and you learn etiquette on how to use the weapon. You learn how to fire The weapon. You learn how to excel at the weapon. You you spend hours and hours of your life Interacting with this weapon.

How much more so should we as Christian men interact with the Word of God? Hold it carry it know it read it spend time with it orient ourself towards it. Know how to know how to wield it appropriately instead of inappropriate like like so many pastors that are out there today.

Listen we've got weapons of warfare as a Christian spiritual things that we are to put on clothing weapons and whatever else that God has called us to. Will you have the courage and the tenacity and the boldness and the conviction to do it?

That's the spiritual clothing that we're supposed to wear but There's also in the Bible Physical clothing that is important for us as men in order to wear if we're gonna fight the battle and You know, I almost like did not bring this up because I feel like that.

It certainly should be obvious, but we live in a culture that is perverting biblical masculinity so the habits and the and the holy grooming and in the way that men are supposed to carry themselves with their clothing and Their hairstyles and their beards and whatever else.

I really need to mention those things here because every generation Almost every generation universally has has understood this by common sense and by nature. But yet for some reason this culture that we live in can't even say what is a woman without having a biology degree.

It's utter foolishness. So we're going to be looking at What does the Bible say? about men and the way that they're supposed to dress and carry themselves as a part of fighting in this culture and at this Peculiar time that we live in.

Now for instance the unified message of Scripture is that men are supposed to dress and look like men if You're dressing in such a way that makes you look feminine. That brings out your feminine side, which is a repugnant thing indeed.

Well, then you need to repent of that and dress like a man you need to have a masculine hairstyle so that no one confuses you for a woman and Listen before we get all antsy and say well, you know I'm a man can have long hair and that can look masculine and and you know, all of this stuff I want us to see actually what Scripture says about these things because I don't really care what society says I don't care society says that that men can look masculine with long hair.

I I want to see what Scripture says and I want to tell you brothers what Scripture says because My my hope is is that you would you would want to obey what Scripture says you would want to live like Scripture says and.

And you know, I'm not making this on law for you, but I am saying this is what the Bible says and it's not cultural. You see sometimes what we can do is we can look at these passages that that say things like You know men should not wear dresses and and we'll get to that one in a moment and we can say oh well.

That's cultural and that doesn't apply today. No, it's not listen to what Paul says in 1st Corinthians 11 14. He says does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him.

Paul is going beyond the distinctiveness of different cultures and in different preferences and he's making an argument of human nature. He's saying that it should be obvious to us as gendered beings that men.

It is not a glory or an honor for them to have long hair. It's actually disgrace and Along with the natural disgrace of it. That's a very sharp verse and I would you know. It's a that anyone who can read that verse and say that it's an honor for a man to have a long hair is doing.

Is is so far gone in the way that they read the Bible that even what I'm getting ready to share won't matter. But for those of us who are serious, I want us to understand That the Bible actually gives no positive example of a man with long hair.

There's not a single positive example of a man with long hair. Think about it this way. It was the long hair of Absalom that led to him getting hung up in a tree in 2nd Samuel 18 and murdered. It was a curse to him that he had long hair.

It was long hair on Nebuchadnezzar that was an example of his downfall in his Insanity in Daniel 4 he was cursed by God for his arrogance and pride. So he was not allowed to shave or cut his hair for seven years.

And it says that he looked it looked he looked like a monster almost in Both cases long hair was was a shameful thing for these men. That's those are the only two examples the Old Testament that I could find.

And there's nothing at all positive about the endorsement of it. Now, you'll say what about Samson? I'm gonna get to that one that that's another example. He's the only positive case of a man who has a lifelong commitment to a Nazarite vow.

We're gonna get to that in a second. And that's an important thing. The Nazarite vow does allow for a time period. It's his number six five for a specific time period for men to have To not cut their hair.

It's a vow that they give to the Lord. But as soon as the vow is over and it's always a temporary vow there to cut their hair. There's another example in Acts 18 where Paul undertook a very serious oath before the Lord.

And he does not cut his hair for a season of time. And as soon as that vow is over Paul cuts his hair now this peculiar case of Samson in the Old Testament who's the only man ever recorded under a permanent and lifelong Nazarite vow is Certainly a peculiar one indeed, but I Will say this it was his hair that became his downfall.

His hair led to his being being betrayed by his wife Delilah by being Arrested by the Philistines and having his eyes poked out and being the laughingstock of their entire nation. His hair was his downfall.

There is and I challenge you to do this and and I will come on here and I will say differently but there's not an example of a long-haired man who does not while he has long hair end in shame or Meet the ultimate punishment of death for for his ways now I'm not saying that his hair was the sole reason because of that.

But I am saying there is no positive example of a man with long hair in the Bible. That's what I'm arguing. Some of you are gonna object and say that you know Jesus has long hair in the movies and you know, who am I to argue with the theological acumen of a film director?

You know, I get it, but I would challenge you to find a single verse that tells us that Jesus had long hair. I Would challenge you to think about the irony of it because Jesus who is betrayed in these movies is an overly Stoic meterosexual white effeminate wuss in a bathrobe is not the Jesus that we actually see in Scripture.

I mean do we really believe that our Lord the Lion of Judah who carried his own cross uphill after receiving the kind of beat Beating that most of us would have died under was no more than the ancient version of a Harry Styles.

Let us not place such a disgusting and unworthy image upon our King just because the he's to pray. He's portrayed that way in the movies. There's not a verse that tells us that Jesus had long hair. There are verses in the Old Testament that tell us that it's an honor for a man to have short hair that that men are to Groom themselves like we see in Leviticus.

So it's likely that Jesus was was a typical Jewish male with a well-groomed head and a beard. That that's what Jesus would have looked like not this effeminate nicely shaven girly man that we see on Camera and on screen and listen if you think about it, this is where the irony comes in if you were Satan.

Wouldn't you want to dress Jesus up this lion of Judah this this beacon of godly masculinity? Wouldn't you want to pervert him and dress him up like he was a girl? Like he was womanly like he was effeminate.

Of course you would. Because those things are abominations in the scripture. Those things are shameful in Scripture. So I would say it's shameful for these film directors who are casting Jesus in this way.

Beyond the second commandment violation of of casting an image for the Sun. Beyond that second commandment violation. It's also a violation of just of just masculinity in general to cash Jesus in such an effeminate Way, it just is it's foolishness to me.

The point we must remember is that God made men to look like men and not to look like women. And when men look like men, it's a glory for them and it's an honor to them. But when men look like women, it's a dishonor to them.

It's a disgrace to them as the manifold witness throughout scripture and it even goes into the way that we dress. Deuteronomy 22 5 is a passage that I was talking about in referencing earlier Moses by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says that a woman shall not wear a man's garment.

Nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak. Whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God. There's no lack of clarity here if you do this you're an abomination if you dress in ways that cloud your Masculinity or if you're a woman and you dress in ways that cloak your femininity if you blur or obfuscate your engendered Ness.

Then you are not only acting in an abominable way. But you're also becoming a stench in the nostril of God. These are the kinds of sins that polluted the land of Israel. That caused the great fury of our Lord to be poured out on his people and we as a society will be no different if we don't recover biblical masculinity and while there's other things that we could certainly consider in this such as earrings and reasonableness of whether or not a bite the Bible expects men to have a beard or or Baldness and shape.

I mean, there's all these things, right? I believe the point is clear that the Bible expects men to act like men to worship like men to participate in the advance of Jesus's kingdom like men to adopt the weapons of warfare like men and to show up looking like a man.