Godliness, Manhood And Leadership, Part 1 Series

Adam chose passivity. We’ll talk about that attribute much more this afternoon, but let me tell you this right up front. It doesn’t matter what you’ve observed in most men in most churches and Christian circles in America. Passivity is not godliness. The quiet, sweet, submissive man in the corner is not demonstrating leadership nor love nor godliness. When it’s time to act, it’s time to act. Passive men don’t.

What we draw from that is simply this: As a man, as our first father, and as an influence in our lives through inherited sin, Adam abdicated and men have leaned toward abdication ever since. He took the one fruit God withheld out of his wife’s hand, he bit and he fell into sin.

The NT says, Eve was deceived, but it was Adam who sinned. And why? Because, like we saw, he was the one to whom God delivered the command. He was the one who did not make absolutely certain that she had God’s command down pat. When the crafty

serpent misquoted and misconstrued, she didn’t have the weapon of Truth in her armory.

Adam’s abdication continues. They ate, then hid -- God came looking for Adam -- verses 8 and 9 of chapter 3 -- notice it says, God walked in the garden in the cool of the day and….

The Lord God called to the man and said, “Where are you?“ God sought Adam out because Adam is the one to whom God looked for leadership. Man and woman were both in hiding. Instead of owning up, Adam ran.

God finds them, confronts them and again -- zero leadership. No ownership of sin.

Adam blames his wife, in reality he blames God. The first words out of his mouth were this woman you gave me.

So what did we inherit from our first father? Obviously a sin nature. But when it comes to manhood, our sin nature brims over with selfishness, with the urge to have my desires fulfilled. I want what I want, when I want it. I want to be served. I run from responsibility. We blame others for problems. We ditch the Truth. We prefer passivity. We let life happen and we respond only if and when it’s necessary. We avoid responsibility for the people around us who are ours to lead.

We have an inheritance which betrays us. There’s another force to reckon with, if we’re going to be what God wants us to be as men.

2. We have a culture which confuses us

Let me mention just a couple of significant cultural factors which have dramatically influenced modern men in the West.

One is what’s been called the “fatherless” generations. The impact on sons, and our current 3 generations of males is significant. The trend likely began with WW II -- first fathers went off to war -- those who returned, returned to work away from home 50 or more hours a week; they powered the engine of the economic miracle of the 1950’s. The fruit of men gone from their kids’ lives was a generation of sons -- my own generation of Baby Boomers -- who had much less influence of fathers in our lives. Divorce became acceptable, materialism ran rampant -- the end product was vital relationships and influence got sacrificed on the altar of that materialism.