The Alex McFarland Show-58-Biblical Manhood and Masculinity

The spiritual condition of America, politics, culture, and current events, analyzed through the lens of Scripture.

Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. Why does the Bible refer to God in masculine terms? We're going to talk about that on this edition of the Alex McFarland program, but I'll ask another question. Is masculinity, maleness, and biblical manhood, is it in danger of being lost in our society? And what are the repercussions of the feminizing of our society?

Hi, Alex McFarland here. And you know, if there's one thing that I've learned in traveling to more than 2,000 churches, more than 200 American universities, and really I could not count how many hundreds of media interviews over the decades, it's that maleness is really viewed by the secular world with contempt. Look, you've seen this. I mean, look at prime time television over the last two and a half, three decades. The male figures in entertainment are either villains or buffoons. I mean, a male that is masculine is either viewed as a calculating antagonist, a villain, or a goofball, a buffoon. And positive role models, especially positive Christian male role models, are so rare. We've talked oftentimes about the enforced egalitarianism, and now with transgenderism being mainstreamed.

And any time little boys want to be little boys, rambunctious boys, and get a stick off the ground and shoot it like a gun, that's toxic masculinity. And yet, the Bible affirms, yes, the personhood of both men and women, but the Bible affirms masculinity, maleness, biblical manhood in the lives of boys and men. Now, in 1 Corinthians 16 verse 13, the Bible says, be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong. Oh my goodness, can you imagine if there's a verse that would trigger 21st century woke moderns, the Bible verses that talk about being a man, being who you are, living out the identity God made you. But what I'm going to do in this program today, I'm going to give seven areas that define manhood biblically in the eyes of God.

I'll show what these are. And I divide these seven areas into five categories. Listen carefully, please, about biblical manhood. Personal, familial, spiritual, communal, and consequential.

Now here are the areas of manhood as defined by scripture. Personal, two things. That's reverence to God and self-control. Then familial, your family. Protecting, your spouse and family. Work and providing for your family.

And then leading the family. Then spiritual, your service to the Lord. And part of that is being in a local church, knowing your spiritual gifts, and serving. And then communal, being a positive service in the community. And then really, an eighth area that I would add on to these previous seven.

Consequential, leaving a legacy. Now I'm going to come back to these, but I want to talk about masculinity as God defines it. And of course, God himself, in the Bible, is referred to always in masculine terms. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Now we're living in a time of very imaginative, deconstructive, and reconstructive worldview. Philosophy, theology. Deconstructing what the Bible really says. Imaginatively reconstructing a Christianity cast in the lens of 21st century secularism.

But let's talk about what truth is. And you know, the word male in Latin is masculine. Masculinity. Now the principles of biblical manhood, it is in our interest to know these and to defend these, because volumes of research, folks. Volumes of research talk about the ills that our society is struggling through really relate to the breakdown of the family. And the breakdown of the family relates to the fact, a lot of problems, a lot of mitigating factors, but men are not being men because as boys, they were never shown what positive manhood looks like. Well, the world might be trying to erase masculinity.

The world might be trying to castrate generations of men. But I want to set forth what the Bible says. And let's begin by talking about God himself. In the Bible, in his written revelation, God is referred to in masculine terms. Now why is this? Why is God revealed in terms of maleness? Well, there's an answer.

And the answer is this. This is how God has chosen to reveal himself to the human race. God, obviously being spirit, God doesn't have sexual characteristics like human beings have, but God consistently in his word shows forth himself in the masculine gender. Now, the Bible does say, as a mother hen would have gathered her chicks to herself, Jesus would have looked after the children of Israel, but they would not.

And so I understand, like a nursing mother loves her children. God cares for his children that he is raising up. But all throughout the Bible, we read about God in terms and titles that invoke masculinity, fatherhood, husband, master, bridegroom, husbandman, king, and of course, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, C.S. Lewis has talked about the fact that God is so powerful and so masculine that really all human beings are feminine by comparison. God is stronger than we are. God is wiser, more powerful.

But in his word, and as one great scholar said, we must trust that God knows who he is. God has revealed himself in masculine terms. Now, the Bible says in Genesis 1-27 that God created male and female.

In his image, he made the human race. Male and female created them. I mean, you think about Jesus and all believers, Christ and the church. And the church is called the bride of Christ. Well, bride is inherently feminine. Bridegroom is inherently male. Now, a marriage involves a man and a woman. Despite what the Supreme Court might try to adjudicate, and despite what pop entertainment and secular education say, marriage of necessity. Marriage is the union of a man and a woman. And the Bible speaks about a marriage, folks.

Think about it. History is about a marriage. The bride and the bridegroom, Christ and the church. Now, all of this is being severely, dangerously blurred in our culture.

And what's the fallout? Well, the lives of people and the souls of people. When we come back, we're going to talk further about masculinity, what it means to be a man, and why this is important. And believe it or not, the feminizing of the culture is really an attack on God's created order, and why it is not wrong to assert biblical manhood. In fact, it's something that the church must urgently do in this era of history. Stay tuned.

We're back after this. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Over the last several decades, it's been my joy to travel the world talking with children, teens, adults, people of all ages about the questions they have related to God, the Bible, Christianity, and how to know Jesus personally.

Hi, Alex McFarland. I want to make you aware of my book, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. You know, we interviewed hundreds of children and parents and families to find out the questions that children and people of all ages are longing to find answers for. In the book, we've got practical, biblical, real-life answers that they have about how to be a Christian in this modern world.

My book, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask, you can find it wherever you buy books or at resources.afa.net. He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to The Alex McFarland Show.

Welcome back to the program, Alex McFarland. Here we are talking about biblical manhood. You know, in our camps that we do every year, we talk about gender roles. We have female counselors talk to the girls about being a Christian woman. We have male, very experienced male counselors and camp leaders to talk to the boys about what it means to be a man.

And my heart really goes out because so many of these young people that are in our camps, they've never lived under the roof with their biological mother and father. And 25 years ago when I was renting auditoriums and doing work with Bill Glass, the evangelist, he's in heaven now, Bill Glass wrote a book, Crime is a Father Problem, and that is so true. I remember two and a half decades ago where we had a former NFL football player coming to speak to youth.

We brought in coach Tom Landry and people said, oh my goodness, this is toxic masculinity and promise keepers. And we had blessing services of boys and praying over them as they became young men. And people who protested, well, they're showing that not only do they not know truth, they really don't know the Lord, because God is God of order, and God made, yes, little girls to become young ladies and women, but boys to become godly men. Now, let's talk about this, because God is a wise God, God is a sovereign creator, and God is a good God. And everything he does about the social and spiritual structure, the family and the church, it's for his glory and our good.

And God is always working to bring us into a knowledge of himself. And that's one of the reasons that I'm just going to say culture and an unsaved world, but Satan himself. Satan has attacked the family, because the family is the church in miniature. I've often said this, the second greatest gift God ever gave the human race, second only to salvation, is marriage and family, a Christian family.

Now, that's being marginalized, put to the side, attacked, because Satan knows that if he can destroy the family, he will ultimately destroy the church and the souls of millions of people. But let's talk about masculinity. First of all, there's some social expectations of being a man. Masculinity refers to roles, behaviors, characteristics that are appropriate for boys and men within society. And you know, these things, oh my goodness, with companies hiring transgender celebrity spokespersons, men, that they would not even be competitive in men's sports, but they get put and forced into women's sports and they dominate. My goodness, I don't know how they can face themselves in the mirror or have any self-respect. But let's talk about the expectations of being a man.

All right. Masculinity is defined in these ways. Biologically, socially, historically, psychologically, spiritually. Okay, obviously biologically, sexually, males are different than females. Dr. Francis Jensen of the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, one of America's preeminent neuroscientists, not some right-wing radio preacher, but Dr. Francis Jensen in her book on the teenage brain, she says that men and women are different biologically is quote, indisputable.

So masculinity obviously is defined in biological and sexual terms, but in social terms. So I mean, for all of the posturing and talk of the academic world about the equality of men and women, and there are no differences, you know, how many men give birth or experience menstruation? None.

Zero. You know, it's interesting, I've got a medical journal article right now about testicular cancer in trans women. Now, listen carefully, you have to use your imagination. What the world would call a trans woman is a man that acts like a woman. Now, prior to about 2021 or 2022, there was no such thing as testicular cancer in a woman. Now there is.

Why? It's not because women can develop testicular cancer, but a male who has told himself and those around him that he's a woman might. But there are clearly biological and social factors in maleness. Historically, prior to the delusional 21st century, historically, we knew what a man was.

There was no ambiguity as to what a man was. Psychologically, men think differently than women. Women can be logical and reasonable and rational. Men can be emotive and histrionic.

Men can be reasonable and rational. Women can be histrionic. You know, histology and hysterectomy, those are words that often are associated with females.

And the word histrionic, though we use it now to mean somebody who's like emotionally out of control, but originally the word was used 2,000 years ago in Greece to refer to a woman being emotionally riled up. But psychologically, as a rule, men think differently and communicate differently than women. Women think differently and communicate differently than men.

I'm not saying one is better than another. I'm just saying there are psychological attributes to maleness. There are psychological attributes to femaleness. And then of course, in addition to biology and sociology, history, psychology, but spiritually, the things that lead men to a relationship with Jesus very often are somewhat different than the things that lead women to desire a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now it all boils down to being born again, being saved, sins being forgiven. But let me say, church, the body of believers and families, we need to celebrate the uniqueness of masculinity and manhood. We need to help little boys navigate into godly young men. And this is a time when as the culture becomes more and more dark and more and more lost, and it just seems like the lostness and the cluelessness of a culture uninformed on biblical truth as it sets in all the more deeply, that's all the more opportunity for the church to affirm and acknowledge marriage, family, gender roles.

Because what we're doing, we're affirming reality. And let's help boys be boys, and they can become godly men. Now when we come back, I'm going to talk about what the Bible says about maleness. Do you know what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 16, 13?

Act like a man. We'll talk about what that means on this edition of the Alex McFarland program. Stay tuned. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert.

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She's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to The Alex McFarland Show. Welcome back to the program, Alex McFarland, thanking you for listening. By the way, I want to remind everybody, please pray for our youth camps. By the time you hear this broadcast, our youth camps will already be in process, and we'll have roughly 1,250 teenagers in seven camps around the country.

Please be in prayer that many would come to know the Lord, and then those that are saved, that they would give their life to stand for Christ, stand for God and country. And by the way, your prayers and financial support enable us to do what we do. We're in front of many, many thousands of people every year. We're in front of millions of people every day by virtue of radio, television, video, and we ship out thousands and thousands of books and pamphlets.

It takes a lot. Our small staff of five people, we're doing all that we can do to evangelize and equip and to help young people know truth. So please, if you would, you can give securely online at my website, which is alexmcfarland.com, or you can mail a tax-deductible check-in if you just write it to TNG, as in Truth for a New Generation. Just TNG, mail it to P.O. Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. P.O.

Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, zip code 27313. Thank you so much for standing with us. I do want to remind you, Angie and I will be at the Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center in western North Carolina, July 7-9. Love to see you there. The theme of this summer's conference, thriving till he comes. Join with hundreds of people from throughout North America, and we'll have great fellowship. We'll get into the Word of God. We'll pray together. I'd love to see you at the Cove.

You can go to the website, thecove.org, T-H-E-C-O-V-E, thecove.org, and you can register there. Well, we were talking about gender. And the two genders, male and female, that's all there are, male and female, together really they represent who God is. And it's interesting, neither on its own, maleness alone or femaleness alone, on its own is a full representation of the nature of God. One of the reasons that God gave the human race marriage, a man and a woman, a husband, a wife, a bridegroom, a bride, is very significant because a masculine man and a feminine woman serving each other, submitting together to Christ.

That's why the Bible clearly says marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. You know, when First Corinthians 16, 13 contains the phrase, act like a man, in other words, be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man and be strong, the words in the English translated, act like a man, four words, it's one Greek word, andrii zomai, one Greek word. And what it means is to be fully grown, fully formed. It also means, andrii zomai, to make oneself brave. Now, I want to be very clear what this word is not. There's a similar Latin and Greek word androgynous. Now it's interesting, the word androgyny is very popular in rock music and movies and transgenderism to be its gender ambiguity, right? Now this is from two Greek words, andros, which means man, and guine, g-u-n-e, woman.

And by the way, guine or guine, we get words like gynecology. Now androgen is a mix of male and female characteristics, and the word androgynous, this Greek word, means really gender confusion. But in the word of God, it's andrii zomai, act like a man, be what God made you men. You know, in 2 Samuel 10 verse 12, Joab, one of David's military commanders, said to his men, be strong, show yourselves courageous. In other words, be manly, and fight for the people of God and for the cities of God, and may the Lord do what is good in his sight. A similar word is in 1 Kings 2 verse 2, where David, nearing death, says to his son Solomon, be strong and show yourself a man. Now throughout the word of God, manhood is affirmed.

Not toxic, not squelched, but God lays down what masculinity and biblical manhood is to look like. Now I mentioned five categories. Personal, familial, spiritual, communal, and consequential. Alright, let's go through these because they're really seven and really eight things I want to bring out.

Personal, because I would argue, folks, as I share this list, there are millions of genetic males that aren't really being men. And I would say this, and my friend Josh McDowell said this in a conference two years ago in Nashville, Tennessee, but he said the crisis of black America has been the breakdown of the family and fatherlessness. And, you know, I mean it was like the apocalypse, and Josh was just castigated even by Christian leaders.

But Josh McDowell was right. And whether it be the black community or any ethnicity, human beings need a family made up of a mother and a father. Children need to be raised by their parents.

And may God bless the single parents that are valiantly doing what they can do. But God's design is the right design. Now, what is manhood? Okay, personally, reverence to God and self-control. And these are attributes the Spirit of the Lord works in the life of a young man to have humility and reverence to God and self-control. Then family, protecting your spouse and family, providing for your spouse and family, leading your family, and yes, being the spiritual leader and being the role model of fidelity to Christ before your spouse and your kids. Then spiritually, a godly man knows his strengths, his spiritual gifts, and he's willing to humbly, obediently, sacrificially use those in the church. Every man, if you're a godly man, you are to be in church and using your gifts and abilities for the work of the Lord. Every Christian has a role to play in the Great Commission.

Then communally, positive service to the community. How many of us we could think of, you know, maybe it was a mayor or a principal or a coach or the guy that ran the hardware store or maybe just the gentleman down on the corner who waved at us as he mowed his yard. But we can all think of people we knew that that was a godly man. You know, our neighborhood was blessed to have that gentleman here. He was the man that shoveled the sidewalks in the winter. Look, a godly man is somebody that, even if you don't know him by name, you know that's a stand-up guy. And we've all known that.

I mean, I think about the people in my community. There was an older gentleman named Mr. Taylor. He lived on the corner. And he was just one of these guys that he was an old man, but somehow you instinctively trusted him.

Turned out back during World War II, he had been like the sheriff in this neighborhood that later would become part of Greensboro, North Carolina. Well, he was a positive service to the community, a godly man. And then another area that defines manhood in biblical terms, not just personal, familial, spiritual, communal being in the church, but consequential leaving a legacy.

It's been said that everybody either makes a mark or leaves a scar. And so folks, if you're a man, let's be a godly man. And if you're a boy, understand whether or not you have a father or a godly role model in your life, you turn to Jesus and he will build you up and you'll make a difference. So folks, please pray for our country. Please know truth and have the courage to stand for truth. Let's let God's power work through us, God's truth be in us, and God's Word define us.

And yes, popular or not, let's take a stand for the rebuilding of the family, which includes the affirmation of biblical manhood. Alex McFarland Ministries are made possible through the prayers and financial support of partners like you. For over 20 years this ministry has been bringing individuals into a personal relationship with Christ and has been equipping people to stand strong for truth. Learn more and donate securely online at alexmcfarland.com. You may also reach us at Alex McFarland, P.O.

Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404. Or by calling 1-877-YES-GOD-1. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again on the next edition of the Alex McFarland Show.

Do you have a desire to deepen your faith, better understand Christian apologetics, or to get a biblical perspective on current events? Well, I've tried to make it simple for you to do just that. On my website, alexmcfarland.com, there's a new section called Ask Alex Online. It's simple, it's clean, and you can read my answers to common questions about God, faith, and the Bible. So visit the website alexmcfarland.com and look for the section that says Ask Alex Online.