What is a real man?
Rev. Bruce A. Shields
First Baptist Church
Tawas City Michigan USA
www.tawasbaptist.org
1. How does the world define a Christian Man?
2. How does the world define a Real-Man or Hero?
3. God defines a real man with the following attributes throughout the scriptures.
1. A saved Christian serving God.
Having a personal relationship with God.
Knowing God personally.
Knowing Christ as Savior - II Timothy 1:12 – “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”
Knowing Christ as Lord – Philippians 3:8-10 – “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
In having this relationship with Christ, we obtain what it takes to be a Real-Man.
So what does it take to be a real-man?
Psalm 101 – The Attributes of a Man
Of David. A psalm.
1 I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, O LORD, I will sing praise. (Praising God!)
2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life— (Living according to God’s Word)
when will you come to me?
I will walk in my house
with blameless heart. (Filling his heart with God’s Word)
3 I will set before my eyes
no vile thing. (Watch out for what you are looking at)
The deeds of faithless men I hate;
they will not cling to me. (Won’t live like the word does, being separate)
4 Men of perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with evil. (Do not hang with perverts and evil people)
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,
him will I put to silence; (Don’t allow others to gossip in your presence)
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
him will I not endure. (Watch out for the prideful, do not befriend)
6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, (Believers to surround yourself with)
that they may dwell with me;
he whose walk is blameless (Believers take care of each other)
will minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house; (Rebuke or correct liars)
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence. (Including those around you)
8 Every morning I will put to silence
all the wicked in the land; (Spiritual battles in the world)
I will cut off every evildoer
from the city of the LORD. (Defeat spiritual enemies of God)
So who wrote this?
David.
The same David who was a warrior for God.
The same David who as an inexperienced boy armed with only a stick and a few stones, he confronted the nine-foot, bronze armored Philistine giant, Goliath of Gath.
After skilled warriors (so called MEN by the worlds standards) had cowered in fear for 40 days, David made a slingshot, prayed in God’s name, and killed the giant. After this, Saul took David on as commander of his troops.
Verse 1 – Men should not be afraid to express the love they have for God.
Verse 2 – Men should strive each and every day to walk in God’s word and on the path He lays before us. We should be careful from allowing ourselves to sway from side to side.
Verse 3 – Men should not allow for unholy things or people to place a foothold for evil in their lives.
Verse 4 – Men have their eyes focused on God so that nothing else will influence them.
Verse 5 – Men are careful of the company they keep.
Verse 6 – Men do not allow things that are not of God to enter their houses and have a chance to inflict damage on their family.
Verse 7 – Men get on their knees every day and seek the face of God. They will ask for repentance for things contrary to Gods word that they have committed and will shower their families with prayer.
Paul also tells us some of the signs of a real man.
The fruits of the spirit. We have them not because of what we are, but what God is within us. Anyone who has God has the Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit, you have these fruits of the spirit.
Galatians 5:22
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
1 Corinthians 13:3-8
Long Suffering, doe not envy, not prideful, does not act rudely, is not provoked, does not think or dwell on evil, rejoices in the truth, bears all things, endures all things.
Philippians 4:8
True, noble, just, pure, virtue
Colossians 3:12-16
Bear with one another, forgive one another, let the peace of God rule their hearts, thankful, have the word in them, teach and caution one another.
Do any of these traits sound familiar?
These are the same attributes required of a medieval KNIGHT!
A real man is a soldier, a warrior. A real man is at war with the enemy…Satan.
But for us to be able to fight the battle as a real man, we need to have the right stuff!
First – we must know who our enemy is.
Ephesians 6:10 – 20
The Armor of God
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
OUR ENEMY IS SATAN AND HIS SIRITUAL ARMIES
Soldiers must make the decision to join. - We must make the decision to ask Jesus into our hearts.
Soldiers must pass a physical. The doctor checks their heart. - Our hearts must be right with God.
Soldiers have to go through training camp to get ready to fight their enemies. - In Christ’s training camp we read the Bible, pray, praise and study so we too are ready to fight our spiritual enemies.
A soldiers job is to defend others who may be weaker. - A Christian Soldiers job is to take care of others, their needs such as food, clothes etc..
The only way to fight a spiritual battle is in the spirit with spiritual armor.
We can only get this from the Holy Spirit.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
3. Mr. Rogers or a Gladiator/Warrior? Which is it?
Knights Duties
The Knights had many duties. One of which was protecting the castle. That was probably the Knight’s main duty. If another army attacked the castle, the Knights would fight back. Another duty they had was to make sieges. A siege was an attack on another castle. The Knights would sneak up on the castle and start the battle with the catapults firing at the castle. Then the defending army would rush out to fight. When the defending knights came, the attacking knights would jump in front of them and fight. Another duty was protecting the king. If there was ever a fight, there would probably be eight knights beside the king until the battle ended. These were very dangerous and hard duties.
The Ten Commandments of the Code of Chivalry
From Chivalry by Leon Gautier
I. Thou shalt believe all that Christ teaches, and shalt observe all His directions.
II. Thou shalt defend the Body of Christ.
III. Thou shalt repect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
IV. Thou shalt love the Body of Christ in which thou wast Reborn.
V. Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
VI. Thou shalt make war against the enemy without ending, and without mercy.
VII. Thou shalt perform thoroughly thy feudal duties, and they shall be not contrary to the laws of God.
VIII. Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.
IX. Thou shalt be generous, and give generously to everyone.
X. Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.
The Code of Chivalry
From the Rifts: England Supplement
• Live to serve King (Our Lord Jesus) and Country (Body of Christ).
• Live to defend Crown (Our Faith) and Country (Body of Christ) and all it holds dear.
• Live one’s life so that it is worthy of respect and honor.
• Live for freedom, justice and all that is good.
• Avoid lying to your fellow man.
• Avoid cheating.
• Obey the law of king, country, and chivalry.
• Administer justice.
• Protect the innocent.
• Exhibit self control.
• Show respect to authority.
• Respect women.
• Exhibit Courage in word and deed.
• Defend the weak and innocent.
• Destroy evil in all of its monstrous forms.
• Crush the monsters that steal our land and rob our people.
• Fight with honor.
• Avenge the wronged.
• Never abandon a friend, ally, or noble cause.
• Die with valor.
• Always keep one’s word of honor.
• Always maintain one’s principles.
• Never betray a confidence or comrade.
• Avoid deception.
• Respect life and freedom.
• Die with honor.
• Exhibit manners.
• Be polite and attentive.
• Be respectful of host, women, and honor.
• Loyalty to country, King, honor, freedom, and the code of chivalry.
• Loyalty to one’s friends and those who lay their trust in thee.
All of our power and authority comes from Christ Jesus.
Our spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit.
All this is only possible through God’s Holy Word.
Dagger / Sword?
