2. Introduction Many males in this country do not know what it means to be a real man. More than one-third of all newborns in America will grow up without a father in the house. Even if they have a father at home, many are not a good role model to their son. A young boy likely has his mother as his main influence and his teacher is likely a woman. If they watch TV, they see comedies that show that men are incompetent, foolish, and incapable of making a rational decision. God created mankind in His own image “the intellectual process of seeking truth or knowledge by inferring from either fact or logic” (AHD)

3. Introduction Bud Light put out a popular series of commercials called “Real Men of Genius.” The world’s idea of a real man today is a beer drinking, pot smoking, skirt chasing, bed hopping, gambling man with tattoos, and earrings. God’s ways and thoughts are much higher than man’s ways and thoughts of what a real man is. (Isaiah 55:8-9) Let us study what God reveals about what it means to be “real men”!

4. Real Men are Resolute God gave us a perfect example in His own Son. Many compromise, but Jesus never did! Jesus Christ was fully resolved and determined to do the Father’s will no matter what the cost! (John 4:34; 6:38; Luke 9:51; 22:42) When King David was about to die, he told young Solomon to be strong and prove himself to be a man by being fully committed to obeying God’s will and not seeking his own glory. (1 Kings 2:1-4) David demonstrated this resolve when he fought and killed Goliath. (1 Sam. 17)

5. Real Men are Resolute But just because you are resolved to do God’s will doesn’t mean that you won’t fail. David committed heinous sins of adultery and murder, yet is called a man after God’s own heart because of his penitent and resolute heart. (Psalms 51:10ff) Solomon had a resolute heart in the beginning, but when he was old he married foreign women which turned away his heart from God. (1 Kings 3:5-13; 11:1) God gave him time to repent. He wrote, “Fear God and keep His commands.” (Eccl. 12:13)

6. Real Men are Resolute But others compromise under pressure. Aaron had been appointed by God to be his brothers spokesman after Moses had told God that he was slow of speech. But when Moses had gone up to Mt. Sinai to receive the Law of Moses, the people became restless and wanted a god to worship and Aaron made them a golden calf. (Ex. 32:1-4) Moses was a resolute man who had the courage of his convictions to expose his brother’s error. (Ex. 32:24ff)

7. Real Men are Enthusiastic Jesus was ready, willing, able, and enthusiastic about doing God’s will! It was through the joy that was set before Him of saving our souls that Jesus endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2-3) But sadly, many are lazy and neglectful about their service to God. They may say, “How tiresome it is.” (Malachi 1:13) But the Bereans had a great eagerness not only to examine the Scriptures daily that the apostle Paul preached but also acted on it. (Acts 17:11-12)

8. Real Men are Enthusiastic David was so confident that the Lord would give him victory over Goliath because he had taunted the armies of the living God that he ran toward the battle line to meet the Philistine! (1 Samuel 17:48) May God help us to have that same enthusiasm for teaching the truth of God’s word when the false doctrines of men are taught. (1 Peter 3:15; 2 Cor. 10:3-5)

9. Real Men are Abased Even though Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, He abased Himself by making himself of no reputation and became obedient to the point of death on the cross. (Phil. 2:5ff) But we are taught by the world that a real man must look out for #1 because no one else will. We are told that if we abase ourselves before others, we won’t survive in this world. But Jesus taught by example and by words that the only way for a real man to be exalted is by humbling himself before God. (Matt. 5:3-4; 1 Peter 5:6-7)

10. Real Men are Abased The Pharisees were always exalting themselves above others because they desired the praises of men and Jesus exposed their hypocrisy for the whole world to witness. (Matt. 23:4-12; Luke 18:9-14; Jn. 12:42-43) How did the Pharisee Saul ever get converted? He learned how to be a “real man” by abasing himself from Christ who strengthened him. (Philippians 4:12-13) Real men are willing to confess their sins rather than cover it up, blame others, or make excuses. (Js 5:16; Pr. 28:13)

11. Real Men are Loyal Jesus Christ was so faithful to His commitment that He was willing to endure unimaginable pain, humiliation, and torture as He endured through scourging and the crucifixion! Real men are loyal to the Lord because He has been loyal to us. He has promised to be with us always! (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5) Real men are faithful to their vows, especially to their wife, and will never divorce them for an unscriptural reason. (Matt. 5:32; 19:6) We can learn this lesson while we are young. (1 Sam. 3:9-10; Eccl. 12:1)

12. Real Men are Loyal God told Joshua to be strong and courageous many times and He promised to be with him as he carefully obeyed the word of God and went into the promised land to defeat the enemy. (Joshua 1:6,7,9) Joshua was loyal to the word of God his whole life along with his family and the elders that survived him. (Joshua 24:15, 31) May God help us to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

13. Conclusion The world has perverted God’s ideal of what a real man is supposed to be. Thankfully, God demonstrated through His Son Jesus Christ what a real man should be. Jesus was resolved to be obedient to the point of death on the cross so that we could be saved even though we were hopeless, helpless, and godless. Through Christ we can learn to be resolute instead of compromising, enthusiastic instead of lethargic, abased instead of arrogant, and loyal instead of treacherous.

14. Conclusion The brethren at Corinth were not only tolerating a guilty fornicator in their midst, they were proud of it. (1 Corinthians 5:1ff) The apostle Paul told them, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13) Many of them acted like men and had the godly sorrow that led them to repentance of their sins. (2 Cor. 7:10) Will you have the same resolute heart that will enthusiastically receive God’s word, abase yourself and be loyal to the Lord?