One of the main problems in Christian America today is men are not stepping up and taking responsibility for their faith, families and future. Part of this problem is not only caused by society; it is how men are brought up to be weak in America’s Church. Church leadership today is focused on teaching men to be loving, holy, and filled with piety but this is not there yet. This seems good to the uniformed leaders who imagine the church needs more men who are loving and holy. This is not teaching and encouraging strong men to show and live out the whole character of Christ. Thus, guiding men to always check their manhood at the door before entering into their faith of Jesus Christ. This neutered unbiblical version of what a true Christian man is, is a half-truth because one side of Christ was loving, peaceable, and holy. He had another whole masculine demeanor, another whole side, and this was bold, courageous and unstoppable.
Every shepherd should fear getting caught up in half-truths because demons’ traffic in half-truths. They sponsor comfort saying ‘God is love’ and erase “teaching men they have to be bold to obey everything Christ has commanded them” (Matt 28:20). Demons champion grace and then try to gag men from boldly speaking the truth of Christ in public. Demons sponsor lukewarm clergy, so normal biblical Christianity becomes radical. They obviously know the power of God’s word better than these shepherds because they sponsor keeping ministers from “…rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Jesus’s true character was exposed when He came “into the world, He came to boldly bear witness to the truth” by defending God’s truth (John 18:37 Paraphrased). Jesus knew His witness would create conflict, as it does today, and He and His disciples would be hated (John 15:18). When He expelled the money changers He was defending and restoring the temple’s God-ordained function, He showed the world He was bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1). He used a whip, turning great tables over to drive out the money changers (Matthew 21:12). Doing right in the face of conflict is the bedrock of the character of Christ. He empowered all His disciples with the greatest power known to mankind, the Holy Spirit of truth, (Acts1:8) so they could witness His truth to the ends of the earth. Biblical manhood has to have the spirits power to overcome evil because evil wins when good men do nothing.
Some clergy seem to dream up a biblical revision of Christ and His manhood. In their sermons and men’s groups they guide men to the love and compassion side of Christ and away from knowing they are called. They are called by the spirit of God to be the future courageous and righteous men like David of old, and the Apostle Paul. Men, who take on the full character of Christ and fulfill Christ’s command while being empowered by the Holy Spirit and take His gospel to the ends of the earth (Matt 28:19 – Acts 1:8). This cannot be done by weak men but only by men who can face and overcome great obstacles. Therefore, all revisions of biblically bold and courageous men delude and whitewash Christ’s truth and is hyperbole (saying things that sound impressive but are dead wrong). Devaluing man’s role as the physical, spiritual leaders and defenders of the faith in our Christian culture, is Satan’s lie of biblical proportions.
Shepherds need to teach and encourage men to be strong and courageous. Male Christians are the warriors Christ needs to fulfill His mission on earth. There is an old powerful and historically true Chinese saying that is biblical; “It’s better to be a warrior in a garden than to be a gardener in a war.” The Apostle Paul put it better, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:10-11). Both statements are talking about being prepared for reality, rather than what is imagined, invented, or theoretical. All reality comes from God and real men have to be ready to fight the good fight (2 Timothy 4:7), ready to stand for righteousness and ready to withstand the worst life can throw at them and their families. This preparedness is the demonstration of the ability to resist an immediate action in favor of planning a more valuable and lasting reward. Preparedness is the wisdom of first things first (Haggai 1:1-15), equaling self-control, which is how the fruit of the Spirit is measured (Galatians 5:22-23). In order to prove this, how can one love the unlovable and still have joy, internal peace, while exerting patience, kindness, and maintaining our faithfulness in Christ without self-control? Self-control begets the ability to do good deeds are without self-control we are in “…our sinful nature and a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:25).
This acknowledgment is the reality of men, living in the real world, where the righteous and strong are able to survive, and protect their families and prosper. Warriors prepare for the worst, because they understand the fight will inevitably come. Jesus, confirmed this by preparing for possible conflict when He said to His Disciples “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one (Luke 22:36). Jesus is telling His male disciples that preparation is necessary and being prepared for self-defense is lawful when encountering great dangers. When Jesus said, “But now’ He was telling His disciples in the future they were to go out into the world, among thief’s, trials, dangers, and violent principalities and they would need to be prepared. The time was near that Jesus Christ was to die and encouraged His disciples to make provision, and be prepared for what was before them.
In my experience it seems many church leaders, who are not and do not teach men to be courageous, come to think they are the divine example and ignore the reality of evil. This is sad and puzzling. They seem to focus on their own piety, mentally placing themselves inside some sort of holy box, seeing themselves as separate from reality. This permits them to ignore the truth of the ever present risk of harm. When the certainty of conflict can begin at any time, when we least expect it, and if not prepared and trained we lose and maybe die. Some clergy delusionally forget evil is always active, attacking and accusing. He lies from his very nature, to steal, kill, and destroy God’s righteous peoples. This is evil’s goal, no matter what delusions people create in their own minds. Once this reality kicks the self-professed holy gardener right in the face, they quickly change their tune because they have met evil face to face. Sadly, for them and their charges, it is too late to learn to be a warrior.
True men, who are Disciples of Christ, have to arm themselves with the sword, the sword of the spirit. Through this they learn to be courageous as they use the power of the word of God. God’s Spirit is now the covering and through the spirit men are now emboldened to believe, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalms 23). This is the faith of strong men, filled with Christ whole character that enables them to courageously speak and act for Him. These men are peacemakers and boldly honor and represent Christ to the ends of the earth.
Biblically learned men now have the chance to have faith like David of old. David had to know God was with him when he said, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26). One cannot overlook David’s fierce zeal to defend God, his family and his people’s honor. Evil’s condescending actions were a deeply spiritual motivator for David, and should resonate today with every God fearing man. David did what every man should do, he bristled with righteous indignation that generated righteous action. This is truly an example of man’s faith in action and their refusal to let evil go unrestricted and unchallenged. This shows why men have to learn to actively and boldly emulate the whole character of Christ. This is walking in the spirit of God, using God’s offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, who guides men into all truth, comforting them, and telling them what is to come. It is through this relationship that men, deep in their souls, know that the Spirit of God is interceding for them as they walk through the valley of the shadow of Death! Amen!
David Howard, Foxhole Ministry
Please note: this article is from the front lines of the cultural and spiritual war. We are committed to speaking these hard truths without compromise, but this is not free. Please partner with Foxhole Ministry to insure our radio program, The Voice of Truth’s Wake-Up Call, is spoken on the public airways across America.