Luke Pierson | Act Like Men

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Good afternoon, apology of church. Oh, you guys are on it.

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Thank you. I am grateful for the opportunity to preach to you guys today. After Man Camp this year, it became very apparent to your elders that the men of our body want more.

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Our husbands and our fathers, even our young men, want to be challenged to be better men.

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This has been an incredible blessing and encouragement to us, but also means that we, as your shepherds, need to be more intentional.

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Hopefully you all have noticed some of that. We've put forth a more concerted effort to do so.

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This message has stemmed from this desire to be more directly involved with the men that God has placed under our care.

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And if I'm being honest, since COVID, God has impressed upon my heart the need for strong, courageous, and Christ -like men in our churches.

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I truly believe that one of the main reasons our culture is literally going to hell is because overall

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Christ's Bride is lacking brave men who love their Savior. The heroic men of yesteryear have faded into folklore, whether it be our fearless founding fathers, the gutsy

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GIs of the two world wars, or the persistent pastors throughout our nation's history, all of whom the aforementioned men look to for guidance and direction.

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I fear that gone are the men with the courage of George Washington, the boldness of George Patton, and the ability to preach like George Whitefield.

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Instead, our culture idolizes effeminate men like sodomites George Michael and Boy George and liberty -hating

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George Soros. Now, I'm not at all saying that old blood and guts was a

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Christian, but I am saying that he was brave, and I am saying that he was a hero who risked his life for the pursuit of liberty and to put an end to evil.

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There is a reason those men have been called the greatest generation, but sadly they are all gone now.

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And I'm concerned that the younger, me first, snowflake millennial generation has all but forgotten them.

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Some of you may have seen a recent article I wrote for the Republic Sentinel about my great uncle

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Charles Krieger, which by the way, an article dropped today on the Sentinel called

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Lessons in Manliness from Rooster Cogburn. I wasn't planning that, it just happened to drop today when

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I was getting ready to preach this sermon, so if you read the article some of this may sound a little bit familiar. But the one

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I'm talking about was a few weeks ago. Again, it was about my great uncle. I'm blessed to carry his namesake.

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My middle name is Charles, I was named after him, and I've passed this heritage down to my son Jonas. My uncle

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Charles has always been one of my heroes because he lived out many of the qualities I will be discussing today.

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Charles was a second -generation, full -blooded German American who was raised on a farm in a

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German community in Waterville, Michigan. In 1940, as a senior in high school, he enlisted in the

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Army Air Force and ended up serving as a tail gunner in the B -17 Superfortress.

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Now I actually just learned a funny story about him. I was talking to my aunt, his wife, who is still alive, and she told me that when the draft was coming, he was still a senior in high school, and he hated to walk.

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He didn't like to walk anywhere. So instead of joining or being drafted into the Army, he enlisted in the

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Air Force so that he wouldn't have to walk, which is, I love that story. But all that to say, what happened to him is he was, like I said, a tail gunner in B -17.

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He was flying a bombing raid over Germany. His plane was shot down. He was forced to jump from the plane then with only his chest parachute.

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No weapons, no guns, no knives, nothing, just his parachute. And he ended up getting stuck in a tree by his parachute.

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He's hanging in a tree, and a German farmer found him, held him captive by a pitchfork, and he ended up finishing the rest of the war as a prisoner of war, marching through German fields, surviving off of whatever he could find to eat, like rotten potatoes and cockroaches.

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And I often, he never really liked to talk about what happened. I always wish he would have told more, but at the end of his life, he was able to, there's actually an interview, it's up online, he was able to tell this story.

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But he, as a child, he would never, never talk about it, except every once in a while, one of his kids would be like,

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I'm starving, and he'd be like, you're not starving until you eat rotten potatoes or cockroaches. Yes, you're right.

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Not only was my uncle a proud, card -carrying member of the Greatest Generation, but he also loved Jesus. Charles finished his race well, as a faithful member of his local church, and a longtime

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Gideon. To this day, I actually brought one with me. I still have a number of these

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Gideon's New Testaments that he constantly was handing out. I don't even know how many I have, but I found one on my shelf, so I thought

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I'd bring it. My uncle Charles was a faithful man to his God and to his family. He was a hard worker, and he understood selfless sacrifice.

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I praise God for preserving his life, and for the legacy he left for me and for my children. I fear that the majority of young men in our culture lack these qualities.

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I'm concerned that most of these men would have just given up if faced with the same adversity.

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So I hope this message today can serve as about a spark to fight against this trend. But before going any further, the verse that I want to focus on today, it's in the bulletin, 1st

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Corinthians 16, 13. Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

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Please bow with me as I pray. Lord, thank you so much for this opportunity to preach today.

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I ask that this message would bring you glory, that you'd use it in mighty ways for your glory and for your kingdom,

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Lord, to spur on the men at this body and those who are watching online. Lord, I ask that you'd get me out of the way, and we ask this in Christ's name, amen.

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So I want to start with a definition. Very simply, the Apostle Paul defines a man as one who is watchful, who stands firm in the faith, and who is strong.

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Looking at the original Greek, the word for watchful means to be on the alert or to be awake. The language for stand firm is literally to be in the standing position, firmly committed in conviction or belief.

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The New Oxford American Dictionary describes firm as having a solid, almost unyielding surface or structure.

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The Greek for act like men means to act courageously. And lastly, be strong means to become strong or strengthen.

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So, to give you the LBSV, which is the Luke the Bear Standard Version, translation,

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Christians, Nicoletta, I knew you'd like that. Christians, be watchful, be alert, stay awake, standing firmly committed to the faith, having unyielding conviction, act courageously like men, become strong and strengthen one another.

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Men, this is for all of life, whether at home, work, church, the gym, do not give in, do not act like cowards, be courageous, act like men.

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When the going gets tough, the men get going. Matthew Henry, in his commentary on the whole

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Bible, has this to say, a Christian should be fixed in the faith of the gospel and never desert nor renounce it.

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It is by this faith alone that he will be able to keep his ground in an hour of temptation.

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It is by faith that we stand. It is by this that we must overcome the world, both when it fawns and when it frowns, when it tempts and when it terrifies.

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We must stand therefore in the faith of the gospel if we would maintain our integrity. Paul didn't just tell us to act like men, but he actually lived that out with his own life.

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Although we do not know exactly how he died, tradition claims that he was martyred under the reign of Emperor Nero, most likely around 68

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AD, probably being beheaded. But prior to being murdered, we do know the hell he survived.

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In 2 Corinthians 11, 24 through 27, he recounted the trials he endured.

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He wrote, Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes, less one. Three times

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I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day

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I was adrift at sea. On frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers.

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In toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

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Paul knew precisely what it meant to be watchful. He lived every waking moment of his life alert and on a lookout from men trying to arrest him or even to take his life.

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He knew exactly what it meant to stand firm in the faith. Despite the lashings and the beatings, even being stoned,

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Paul never backed down. He continually stood resolute in his convictions and just like Christ, he set his face like flint, even to the point of death.

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He knew what it meant to be courageous. He understood what it meant to act like a man. Even until the end of his life, he remained strong.

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All the while strengthening everyone he could along the way. Both of the

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Corinthian letters were written 10 to 15 years prior to his death and the example

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Paul left us was not short -lived, but roughly two decades long. Likewise, written just a few years before his execution,

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Paul also wrote his letter to the Philippian Church. In chapter 1 verses 18 through 22, he wrote,

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What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

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Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation hope that I will not at all be, excuse me, that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always

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Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live as Christ and to die is gain.

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If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet which

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I shall choose I cannot tell. I believe that it is safe to say that Paul lived out his hope.

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He remained unashamed and courageous. Even when faced with public execution, he never once fainted in the day of adversity.

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His strength was never small. He honored Christ both in life and in death. The Apostle Paul, who will probably go down as one of the most influential men of all time, acted like a man.

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Brothers, we must follow Paul's example. Now I just referenced another really important verse for this conversation, which is

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Proverbs 24 10. If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

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This of course precedes verses 11 through 12, which we are all very familiar with here at Apologia, as this is the key passage for an abortion now, which verse 11 through 12, rescue those who are being taken away to death.

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Hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, behold, we did not know this, does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

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Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will he not repay man according to his work?

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But again, verse 10 is what I want to focus on today. A biblical man is one who does not faint in the day of adversity.

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A godly man is one whose strength is great. And just to be clear, I am not necessarily referring to one's physical strength, but his ability to stand in the storm, his fortitude.

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Strong men do not run away. They do not faint. They do not collapse in the corner and suck their thumbs.

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Instead, they make themselves resolute. They ground themselves in this biblical principle. As I mentioned earlier with Paul, they set their faces like flint, just as Isaiah 50 describes

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Christ for us. You see, Jesus exemplified this for us. He literally bore the weight of all the sins of all of his people for all of time on his shoulders as he hung on that Roman cross and died the most cruel death possible for us.

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If you're a Christian, he died for you and he died for me and he did so willingly. He embraced it and did not faint.

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His strength indeed was not small, but great. Greater than any strength we could ever summon from the innermost part of our beings.

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Let's just be real honest here. How many of us have ever sweat blood? I'm willing to bet that none of us have.

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So let's quickly look at the text itself in Isaiah 50 that I just mentioned. This is a prophecy of Christ describing the travail that he would endure some 700 years later.

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Verses 5 through 8 say, the Lord God has opened my ear and I was not rebellious. I turned not backward.

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I gave my back to those who strike and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard. I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting, but the

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Lord God helps me. Therefore, I have not been disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like flint and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

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He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is my adversary?

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Let him come near to me. There's much that could be said about this passage, but for now

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I want to highlight a few things. As we know, Christ was the only perfect man who has ever lived.

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Yes, he lived 33 years on this life perfectly without sin, but he also lived perfectly as a man.

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Christ was and is our example, our ultimate example of what it means to be a biblical man.

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While facing down the trial of all trials, he didn't turn backward but instead face forward.

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He did not hide his face but looked it into the eyes of his accusers. He set his face like flint.

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He became resolute. He knew what he needed to do and took full responsibility. Instead of hiding from this trial, he called for its contenders to stand with him toe to toe.

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Instead of shying away from his adversaries, he called them to himself. Not only did he embrace the adversity that was coming, but he did so while looking it square in the face.

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Matthew Henry in his commentary on this passage said that Christ went on with his work as mediator with unshaken constancy and undaunted resolution.

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He did not fail nor was discouraged and here he challenges all his oppressors.

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I think this perfectly defines what it means to set your face like flint. Now some of you may be asking why flint?

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Why would Isaiah choose the stone as the example? Flint is a very hard rock used figuratively in Scripture to express the toughness of something, like the firmness of a horse hoof in Isaiah 5 or the difficultness of a seemingly impossible task in Deuteronomy 8 and Psalm 114 or the rigidness of unalterable resoluteness in Ezekiel chapter 3.

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You therefore must have unshaken constancy no matter the degree of storm in which you stand, no matter the strength of the wind, no matter the amount of arrows flying at your face, your feet remain firmly planted.

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You cannot be shaken. Your strength is constant. You have undaunted resolution. Merriam -Webster defines undaunted as courageously resolute especially in the face of danger or difficulty.

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I love this definition. I'm gonna read it again. Courageously resolute especially in the face of danger or difficulty.

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So when facing a day of adversity you are courageous, you'll resolve to boldness, you are steady like an anchor, you are not a coward and just like Christ you look directly into the eyes of the face of danger.

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Like a mighty oak of Bashan you can withstand the storm. Christ also faced all the same temptations we as men now face and defeated them all.

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He bled, he sweat, he cried, he built calluses on his hands through hard work and I'm willing to bet he had to pull splinters from those same hands.

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He was cut and bruised before building his kingdom here on earth. He had to first learn how to build a chair from scratch using tools he probably also built.

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Existing as the pure manifestation of love he loved his friends and family selflessly and sacrificially.

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When faced with temptation by Satan himself after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights despite being hungry he defeated his archenemesis by quoting

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Scripture. This is what it looks like to act like men.

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At this point I want to transition to my next point. Many of you probably are already familiar with Voddie Bauckham's four

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Ps of biblical masculinity. A godly man must be a priest, he must be a prophet, he must be a protector and he must be a provider.

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This wisdom does not just apply to current husbands and fathers but also to those young men who desire one day to be husbands and fathers.

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George Whitefield said this, every governor of a family ought to look upon himself as obliged to act in three capacities, as a prophet to instruct, as a priest to pray for and with, and as a king to govern, direct, and provide for them.

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Now Voddie replaces king with protector he says because that is what a king is supposed to do.

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So I will spend some time discussing these biblical roles for Christian men. Again the first one was a priest.

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A priest represents his people before God. Throughout the Old Testament we see

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Abraham and Isaac and Jacob all doing this, they all represented their people before God. Voddie said he has to be an individual who was an intercessor, who prays for his family, who goes before the throne of God on behalf of this one whom he loves and to whom and for whom he's given his life.

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Here we have an example in Job 1 verse 5 it says, and when the days of the feast had run their course

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Job would send and consecrate them and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all.

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For Job said, it may be that my children have sinned and cursed God on their hearts, thus

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Job did continually. So a priest is a spiritual leader in prayer and worship.

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Christ of course is our great high priest and as husbands we are to love our wives as Christ loved the church.

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Ephesians 5 25 and then verse 29 says, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

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For no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ did the church.

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So men acting as a priest in your household means sacrificially loving your wife, giving yourself up for her, nourishing and cherishing her.

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The second role then is a prophet. A prophet represents God before his people. So here's the contrast from priest.

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Remember a priest represents his people before God. Prophet represents God before his people.

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So not only does a prophet know God's Word but he also instructs his family from it.

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Again back to Ephesians 5 to 25 to 26. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word so that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish.

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A husband as prophet has an obligation to cleanse his wife by the washing of the water with the word.

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And then one chapter down in Ephesians 6 verse 4 we see fathers do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up on the discipline and instruction of the

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Lord. Likewise a husband as prophets also has an obligation to bring up his children in the discipline in the instruction of the

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Lord not provoking them to anger. Here vote he says I think

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Whitfield says it best when he says a prophet to instruct that's the role of a prophet to instruct to warn if necessary.

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Again this goes back to his responsibility in Ephesians chapter 5 to wash his wife with the water of the word also this man will ultimately have the responsibility to bring his children up in the discipline and instruction of the

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Lord. He has a prophetic responsibility to instruct his family in the word.

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The next role then is provider. A provider sees that his people have what they need.

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He needs to have a good biblical work ethic. Vote he says a provider needs to be a whatever -it -takes -do -what -I -need -to - do kind of man in order to provide for those or to provide for whoever he is responsible.

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2nd Thessalonians 3 6 through 12 says now we command you brothers in the name of our

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Lord Jesus Christ that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you receive from us.

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For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us because we were not idle when we were with you nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it but with toil and labor we works night and day that we might we might not be a burden to any of you.

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It was not because we do not have that right but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate for even when we are with you we would give you this command if anyone is not willing to work let him not eat for we hear that some of some among you walk in idleness not busy at work but busy bodies.

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Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

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So a provider does not walk in idleness but toils he labors both day and night in order to provide for his family.

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A provider is not a busybody doing their work quietly earning their own living sorry but it's busy at work doing their own work quietly earning their own living.

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He does not meddle in quarrels not his own but minds his own business. Proverbs 26 17 says whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears and then first Thessalonians 4 9 through 12 it says now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout

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Macedonia but we urge you brothers to do this more and more and to aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs and to work with your hands as we instructed you so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

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So a provider is a good steward not only of money and goods but also of the wife and the children that God has given him.

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Matthew 25 21 his master said to him well done good and faithful servant you have been faithful over a little and I will set you over much enter into the joy of your master.

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So Christian men I ask you this are you being faithful with what God is giving you? And then the last role is protector.

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A protector protects the people God has given him. He puts himself between his people and those who will harm them whether it be physical spiritual or even from technology in the culture.

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He is wise not a fool he is not someone who looks for or invites trouble but he is also not someone that runs from trouble.

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Back to Proverbs 24 11 rescue those who are being taken away to death hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter a protector is always ready he's always willing to rescue those who need to be rescued especially those whom

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God has placed under his care. The Good Shepherd Christ is our protector

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John 10 7 through 15 so Jesus again said to them truly truly

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I say to you I am the door of the sheep all who come before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep did not listen to them

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I am the door if anyone enters by me he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy

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I came that they may have life and have it abundantly I am the Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd lays his life down for his sheep he who is a hired hand and not a shepherd who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and fleas and the wolf snatches them and scatters them he flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep

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I am the Good Shepherd I know my own and my own know me just as the father knows me and I know the father

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I lay my life down for the sheep so men we are the shepherds of our homes and should therefore emulate

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Christ the Great Shepherd protector knows his sheep and they know him a protector is the door of the sheep meaning that if anyone is to get to his flock they have to literally go through him a protector is not a hired hand he does not flee when the wolves come protector cares for his sheep and lays his life down for them here vote he said it is it is something to just symbolize this idea that you were called to protect your family you are called to lay it all down if necessary for your family you are called to position yourself between your family in all harm that would come to them physically emotionally and spiritually lastly when

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I say lastly but we're about halfway through I'm not gonna pull a passage f when

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I get to the conclusion that's gonna be the conclusion I promise but I want to make five pastoral pleas here from from everything that we just discussed the first plea is to give up childish ways 1st

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Corinthians 1311 when I was a child I spoke like a child I thought like a child and I reasoned like a child when

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I became a man I gave up childish ways what does it mean to speak and to think and to reason like a child children live in the present they are selfish and impulsive and act without considering future ramifications adults on the other hand should not only consider the now but also look to the future they act selflessly and deliberately while considering future ramifications of their decisions adults should be able to process information weigh their options and value lasting in results more than immediate and temporal gratification so I'm gonna use a donut as an example here anyone that knows me knows the donuts are my kryptonite if my mom was here she would tell you that donut was my first word true story when

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I was a kid if there was a box of doughnuts sitting right there I would probably just keep eating them until they were gone not much different than now it's a sin to let donuts go to waste okay but my point is that when

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I was a kid I didn't care about how it would feel 30 minutes later I wanted those donuts

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I was gonna eat those donuts now when it's an adult if I see donuts sitting there I'm probably it's gonna be a struggle for me but every donut

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I eat I'm like well that's another three days of working out I gotta do for every donut

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I eat so I gotta weigh things in the balance right like is it worth it to eat all those donuts probably not it's a silly example but I think you get the point an entire sermon could be preached on this verse alone and a number of applications could be made but for today

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I want to focus on one aspect there is a cultural cancer that has infected the church and it's spreading like wildfire this type of cancer is called acute childish way stoma and needs to be removed as quickly as possible if we are to see the survival of the church and our culture having spent the last 13 plus years of my life counseling men weekend and week out

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I can experientially attest to this experientially sorry I don't know what word

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I just said experientially attest to this I got donut on the brain this infection of childish thinking has prevented men from acting responsibly children have few responsibilities while men have great responsibilities and the refusal to put away a childish things has severely stunted the growth of the spiritual maturity and old and untold numbers of men in the church it saddens me to see a constant barrage of Christian men who either greatly struggle or flat -out refuse to put this childish mindset to death and adopt one of biblical manhood not only is it stagnated spiritual growth in our families and children but also the effectiveness of Christ's bride in our increasingly ungodly culture far too many

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Christian men have become incredibly comfortable allowing the culture to go to hell while they take comfort in their bunkers of ease and irresponsibility childish thinking has resulted in laziness and cowardice and far too much time reveling and fleeting moments of entertainment instead of participating in long -lasting tilling of the earth instead of men actively practicing the

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Dominion mandate and a real attempt to subdue God's creation they are actively attempting to take

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Dominion over their golf games or the latest PlayStation game or games at the gym now

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I'm not saying that we're not allowed to ever play or rest or exercise in fact

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God has given us a day of rest and we even find our Sabbath in Christ himself and I would argue that we as men should be doing all we can to preserve our bodies for as long as we can for the sake of our families but I am saying this that there should be a hierarchy of things that come before we rest and if placed on a scale our work should far away or play in fact they should not even balance each other out

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God work our families should all take precedence over play and if at any point childish ways replace any of them there is a problem far too many times

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I have seen weekly golf games and softball games placed on the mantle of responsibilities far too often

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I have seen men who can barely provide for the families or maybe even depend on their wives to do so spend large portions of their income on childish things like tobacco drugs alcohol porn or gambling it breaks my heart to see grown men who have wives and children waste countless hours on the false reality of video games and to be clear

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I'm not at all saying that we as men cannot play golf we can't play softball we can't play video games or that we can't drink beer or whiskey or smoke cigars none of these things are inherently evil and should all be enjoyed to the glory of God but I am saying that if any of these things or anything like them take antecedents over any of the four

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P's they are idols and should be put to death just as Gideon tore down his father's ash or a pole so should we tear down these idols and rebuild them in a way that glorifies

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God at any point any of the roles of priest prophet provider a protector is replaced with prepubescent player you have a problem it is high time you put away your childish ways and become a man now here's my second plea don't be a victim personally

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I believe that one of the greatest plagues on the church in this culture is the victimhood mentality and mindset in this feminized culture that we live in men men are abandoning their

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God -given roles of leaders shepherds head of their homes at staggering rates it is much easier to be a coward and lazy and forego responsibility than it is to be courageous and hard -working and accept responsibility it is much easier to play the victim than it is to play the victor quickly

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I want to look at the first instance in Scripture of a man pulling his victim card didn't take very long

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Genesis chapter 3 verses 1 through 12 now the servant was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the

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Lord God had made he said to the woman did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden and the woman said to the servant we made of the fruit of the trees in the garden but God said you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden neither shall you touch it lest you die but the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and then it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was desired to be desired to make one wise she took what's fruit and ate and she gave she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths verse 8 and they heard the son of the

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Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the man and his wife hid him hid themselves from the presence of the

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Lord God among the tree trees of the garden but the Lord God called to the man and said to him where are you and he said

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I heard the sound of you in the garden I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself he said who told you that you were naked have you eaten of the tree of which

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I commanded you not to eat the man said well the woman you gave to be with me she gave me the fruit of the tree and I ate then the

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Lord God said to the woman what is this that you have done and the woman said well the serpent deceived me and I ate so notice immediately after the fall during the very first conversation

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God has with Adam he pulls his victim card not only did Adam attempt to pin his sin on Eve but he also had the audacity to try to blame

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God himself the woman whom you gave to be with me now keep in mind that when

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Eve sinned by eating the fruit as I mentioned Adam was right there beside her he was failing to properly lead his wife probably because of one of three things or maybe all of them he was either being a coward or he's being lazy or he just didn't want to take responsibility for his wife so naturally following her husband's lead

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Eve does the exact same thing by pulling her victim card and blaming the serpent what was the serpent he deceived me and I ate this next point is so important to see

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Adam and Eve sin unfortunately did not stop with them but carried over to their children so then we look at Cain and Abel a couple chapters down actually one chapter down chapter 4 1 through 12 now

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Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore Cain saying I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord and again she bore his brother

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Abel now Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain a worker of the ground in the course of time

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Cain brought the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground and Abel also brought the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions and the

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Lord had regard for Abel in his offering but for Cain in his offering he had no regard so Cain was very angry his face fell the

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Lord said to Cain why are you angry why has your face fallen if you do well will you not be accepted and if you do not do well sin is crouching at the door its desire is contrary to you but you must rule over it

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Cain spoke to Abel's brother and that when they were in the field Cain rose up against his brother

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Abel and killed him then the Lord said to Cain where's where is

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Abel your brother he said I do not know am I my brother's keeper and the

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Lord said what have you done the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground and now you are cursed from the ground which is oh which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand when you work the ground shall no longer yield you its strength but shall be a fugitive you shall be a fugitive and wanderer on the earth so the first thing

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I want us to see here is that our children will carry our sins with them into the next generation if we do not put an end to them men if we do not want our children to repeat our failures we must correct them now we must train up our offspring to fear

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God and obey his statutes secondly God was not pleased with Cain's offering because it wasn't his best

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God was pleased with Abel's offering however because it was of his firstfruits he had faith that God would bless him and his work

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God even even warned Cain that sin was crouching at the door I love that imagery there and to rule over it but she clearly did not

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Cain then being jealous of his brother murdered Abel and when asked about it instead of owning what he did what did he do he immediately played the victim passing the buck back to God am

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I my brother's keeper that's your job God why are you asking me I don't know I'm gonna quote here my friend

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Toby Sumter he has a lot of really good to say at this point he said if you have been around here long at all you have heard and read any number of warnings about the current sacred victim culture we live in this is a false gospel if there ever was one it offers justification and holiness to any and all who will claim the status of victim this is a form of self justification since a victim must claim relative innocence and this is also a form of crowdsourcing your justification by popular vote but perhaps most importantly this is a refusal to accept responsibility we must also be aware of certain flanking attempts where Christians are offered various victim club cards but we must see every offer of victimhood is an offer to join the anarchy to become assistance to the insanity victimhood leads to anarchy or life absent from government including self -government

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Toby then went on to say we must refuse and reject every offer of victimhood not because real injustice cannot be perpetrated against us but because we are never truly innocent and we have a better offer and this is because we have a better victim

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Jesus is the better victim because he was completely innocent and willing and therefore he his sacrifice was an act of taking responsibility in order to present us to God with all glory because Jesus took responsibility for us we are completely justified by faith our sins are washed clean and the obedience of Jesus is imputed to us this is why

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Paul says that even when we are victimized we are more than conquerors through him who loved us that's

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Romans 8 36 237 as it is written for your sake we are being killed all day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered no and all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us

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Jesus truly was a victim of slander and betrayal and abuse and even murder but was also truly innocent the point is that even if we are sinned against in a conflict we are always truly sinful in general and never truly innocent now of course there are legitimate instances of being a victim of someone else see

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Jesus but what we want to avoid is a victimhood mentality where everything is everyone else's fault this mindset allows you to blame all your struggles including your sin on everyone around you going back to the garden when the serpent tempted

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Eve with half God said Satan has continually attempted to create moral and ambiguity and here at this point

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Toby said moral ambiguity is frequently closely aligned with evading responsibility people have a bad habit of trying to justify sin with ambiguity and confusion this can be done by straightforward evasion and relativism but this can also be done by claiming that everything is everyone's responsibility which ultimately means no one is responsible for anything because you are not infinite omniscient omnipotent and short you are not

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God be assured that the attempt to do this will always result in various attempts at playing

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God but this will ultimately result in apathy and paralysis in the end evading responsibility only alienates yourself from all of your friends your loved ones and even your pastors because you begin to reject all forms of accountability this is a tremendous plague upon the church cowardice men who refuse to own their failures

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I could give you numerous examples of men who have refused to own their own sin blaming everyone else including their kids their wives their pastors even

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God I've literally had someone stand before me and say it's the kids that God has given me it's their fault it's like no nobody it's your fault you're the one that's being sinful lastly

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Toby said this and God's ordering of things personal responsibility is the basic building block of culture men are tempted to try to trick power out of evasion of responsibility by blaming others by claiming to be victims but that is a black hole of chaos and anarchy so the opposite of victimhood is personal responsibility which goes all the way back to good self -government is taking ownership of marriages of your children of your work of your relationships by admitting when you're wrong and not just admitting fault but fixing it and making it right by truly owning it when we have sins crouching at the door as Cain did we need to put them to death by ruling over them just as God instructed 1st

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Peter 2 24 says he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds you have been healed

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Christ willingly became the victim of our sin so that we no longer have to be personal responsibility is being a good steward of the things that God has given you by stamping your name on them victimhood is being a poor steward of the things

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God has given you by continually passing responsibility on to others tragedies seem to somehow always end in victimhood if you guys ever notice when there's a mass shooting that the shooter is almost always immediately a victim of something take the recent

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Nashville shooting for example this is where a young woman pretending to be a man walked into a private

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Christian school and murdered nine innocent people including three children immediately all the spheres the government were blamed except for the self governmental sphere family church civil government all became guilty of the horrendous crime she committed because she somehow became the victim of them in situations like this the real victims are almost always forgotten ultimately see no real justice as the perpetrator is made out to be the victim of everyone and everything else leaving them with no real responsibility the culture desperately wants us to be a victim of something except for white cisgender males of course because everyone else is a victim of us somehow but scripture calls us to trust in the better victim who has already carried the responsibility of those who trust in him to the cross and paid for them with his life now very few things frustrate me more than men who play the victim card who cry up a storm every time somebody's mean to them on Facebook when they have a bad day at work when their wives treat them poorly or when their kids are difficult to manage and a culture we're drawing your victim card faster than dog holiday at the

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OK Corral is the morally righteous thing to do I say that Christian men should not even own a victim card and if you do leave from here and go burn it

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I want to pose this question men were you beaten today were you stoned

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I don't mean marijuana where you shipwrecked did you sign a righteous covenant in your own blood no

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I don't think you did then stop fainting in the day of adversity stop throwing your hands up in the air and utter despair stand firm in the faith be strong act like a man here's my third plea brothers how are you honoring

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Christ as a man are you courageous are you resolute as Paul described in Philippians 1 being alive means having fruitful labor are you bearing fruit if you have a family are you pointing them to Christ are you man enough to lead them in family worship if you do not have a family are you pointing others towards Christ are you remaining strong and strengthening others or are you relying on the strength of others are you standing strong in the faith or bowing out at the slightest hint of persecution do your friends and family know you're a

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Christian what about your co -workers if not then you're most likely not honoring Christ with your life fourth plea the ancient

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Greek historian Herodotus has been quoted as saying this

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I love this quote soft lands breed soft men

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I don't know if there could be a more accurate description of our land and the men it is currently breeding as the last remnants of the greatest generation and effects thereof slowly fade into the corridors of time we are left with a weak selfish and lazy brood of soft boys who can shave this effeminate generation of males looks for handouts like a hog looks for table scraps lazily wallowing in the mud of their own creation fattened by the ease of life established by our founding fathers our faithful founding fathers through the sacrifice of their own comforts blood and even their own lives these lifetime basement dwelling gamers wouldn't know a two -by -four if it hit him upside the head the only thing they know how to build is a virtual fortress on Minecraft the only calluses they have obtained on their hands strikingly resemble that of an

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Xbox controller the only enemy they know how to defeat is on the latest version of Halo instead of building themselves up through prayer and the reading of the word and preparation for spiritual warfare they strive tirelessly day and night to beat the most recent edition of Call of Duty this is the plight we have in front of us one that can only be defeated by raising up our young men and the light of Paul's admonition with Christ is our standard last plea our soft land is bleeding or excuse me breeding it is bleeding our soft land is breeding soft men because of a soft church and we have a soft church because of soft pastors if we expect our land to be strong and produce strong men then we need a strong church and that must start with strong pastors once again leading the charge from the pulpits like Christ we must be willing to get our hands dirty we need to quit our weekly golf games and learn how to bleed and sweat we need to love our wives and our children as Christ loved his family tirelessly faithfully and sacrificially we must intentionally train up our boys to be men who know what hard work looks like who can design and build something from scratch who aren't afraid to pull a splinter from their tired worn hands who can pick themselves up after being knocked down bruised and battered and who don't look for handouts but ways to better themselves and finally who respect authority our boys need to be anti gamers capable of building something real and defeating real enemies and understanding the reality of spiritual warfare we must love and protect our daughters enough to never let them leave the house dressed like inner -city prostitutes we must show them an example of what a godly man looks like so that they will look for that same type of man to love and respect as their future husbands we must love our wives as Christ of the church cherishing them and washing them in the water of the word when faced with temptation by the enemy we must know enough scripture to defeat him when facing the accusers of the woke mob we need to courageously look them in the eye grounded on the principles of God's Word we must set our faces like flint towards persecution instead of cowardly running away and hiding in our spiritual bunkers and if we're going to expect to be treated with respect not only in our homes but also in our churches and in the world then we need to live as respectable men and respectable men are watchful they stand firm in the faith and they are strong this is what it means to act like men and in conclusion

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I'm just going to leave you with a passage from 1st

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John 2 12 through 14 I am writing to you little children because your sins are forgiven for his namesake

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I am writing to you fathers because you know him who was from the beginning I am writing to you young men because you have overcome the evil one

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I write to you children because you know the father I write to you fathers because you know him who was from the beginning

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I write to you young men because you are strong and the Word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one so from future men to old men be watchful stand firm in the faith act like men and be strong please bow with me

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Lord I thank you again for this opportunity to bring this message today Lord I ask that you would use this message to spur on men here and young men here and across the internet whoever sees this

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Lord to be courageous to stand firm in the faith to be strong Lord to act like men

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Lord I know that our culture needs this your church needs this and ask that we as the elders here at Apology would be able to lead by example and do this in our own lives with our own families and be good stewards of what you've given us

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Lord and we ask that through all this you would be glorified we ask this in Christ's name