Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I would like to spend these next two exhortations discussing briefly what it means to be real men and real women in the Church of Christ. Let me address the men this morning. There is an ideology of masculinity that has replaced the Christian faith as the true religion of men. This type of masculinity finds the church repulsive and un-masculine. Certainly, there is truth to this statement, but the fact is true masculinity is not anti-church, rather embraces the church. You do not have to abandon the church to become man; the opposite is true. You embrace the Church to become truly man. Even Charles Spurgeon saw this problem over a hundred years ago when he said: “There has got abroad a notion, somehow, that if you become a Christian you must sink your manliness and turn milksop.” The reality, of course, is that true masculinity is church masculinity. Real men are churchmen. Real men delight in the church, support the church, delight in the ministry of the church, and desire the victory of the church. This is Pentecostal Manhood; men who are led by the Spirit and committed to leading their families to love the Bride of Christ. This is true manhood and everything else is a false imitation.
Pentecostal Manhood causes fathers to train their children to love everything about the church; to even tolerate her imperfections, because just as you are maturing in your walk, so is the church maturing in her wisdom and love for her Groom; because just as your wife accepts your imperfections and does not leave you when she discovers you are imperfect, neither do you leave the Bride of Christ when you come to the realization that she is not perfect. Pentecostal, Biblical manhood means that the Church carries a central role in the life of the man. He sings with passion, even when singing is not his gift, he sets the model for his wife and children of what a good parishioner looks like. He may not have 40 hours a week to study the Scriptures, but he has 4 hours a week to do so and to instruct His family.
For us, Jesus Christ is the first Pentecostal Man, because He sent the Spirit to make us like Him. He did not leave us as little babes; He called us by His Spirit to become mature men; men who embrace the passion of the Psalmist and the wisdom of God in the community of saints.
