Is It Manly to be a Christian?

I think that men face a real quandary when it comes to attending a church, let alone becoming an active member.  In fact it seems that men are facing a challenge of being men from all sorts of directions in our culture. 

An interesting article was written by John J Miller in Hillsdale College’s Imprimis (http://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/file/archives/pdf/2013_09_Imprimis.pdf) entitled, “Football and the American Culture.” It is not news that football and many contact sports are under scrutiny these days because of the threat of serious injuries. This conflict over violent sports has a history. Miller ends up taking the line of Theodore Roosevelt that football is a positive social good that ought to be preserved. There is something culturally good about manly sports.

I never was good at sports. I have enjoyed watching some sports including football so I found the above article interesting. I was never motivated by sports though. I was one of the guys that would be found in the marching band at the football game. For me music and the theater were the place my imagination could run. Being able to play the part of hero or villain was motivation for me. We’ve all been caught up in a movie or musical where the music builds to the suspenseful tension or victorious climax. History is full of manly men being public speakers and actors.

Unfortunately the Church appears to have become another accomplice in the attack on manliness.  Missouri-Synod Lutheran pastor Jonathan Fisk in a recent “Worldview Everlasting” video (http://www.worldvieweverlasting.com/2013/10/18/when-relevancy-fails/) gives an example of how men are being marginalized in the Church. It seems the Church has moved to presenting a childish religion that may well be driving young men out of the Church. Christian faith ought not to be trivialized by sing song music, mere emotionalism, or silliness in order to cater to children or others. I fear that many evangelical churches have unwittingly marginalized manliness in favor of more contemporary acceptable views of human behavior. What is a man to do?

May I suggest the manliness of reformation theology? The reformers were no mere book worms or sensitive males looking to get in touch with their feelings. When Luther defended himself and stood on his conscience that was bound only to God’s word, he stood against the powers that ruled the world. Martin Luther was a man’s man. Jesus called his disciples to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Peter was no weakling and Paul no effeminate (2 Corinthians 22-28). The Church is under attack by its foes; false religion and humanism. It needs men to be men and for boys to grow up to be men. We are in a warfare ( 2 Corinthians 10:3-6) that needs men to be strong, thoughtful, and courageous leaders.

This is not to say the Church doesn’t need women. By no means. The Church needs both. The Church needs men and women who know the difference and the skills, callings, and talents that each give.

Holiness:

I've recently finished reading through the Old Testament book of Leviticus and the Bible Student's Commentary (English translation of Korte Verklaring) of the same book by A. Noordtzij. While there are some issues in Noordtzij's perspective that I disagree with (see the publisher's note) I found the study worth while. Many of us neglect the reading of the Pentateuch except to gain a sense of the history of the people of Israel. We get lost in the varied regulations of the law that we deem inappropriate to our Protestant ears as being far too legalistic and regulated to a immature time in the life of the people of God (Gal. 4:1-4).

There are at least two things that stand out in the reading of Leviticus that I think are helpful to us as believers in Jesus Christ. The first seven chapters outline the regulations of the various required offerings in the old covenant. I would encourage you to read this section. You can gain a deeper understanding of the significance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His offering of himself means much to us as believers. Seeing Jesus as the focus and fulfillment of the Old Testament law (Luke 24:27) reveals not only the complete work of Jesus Christ but also our sin and the sin damaged relationship we have with God, our creator. It helps us to take our sin more seriously.

This leads me to the second point. If we come to take our sin before God (Psalm 51) more seriously we understand his covenant of grace in love toward us more too. We also come to understand the characteristic of God's holiness more. All too often we take God less seriously than we ought. A father in the faith, Dr. Arnold Frank, wrote a fascinating book, The Fear of God: A Forgotten Doctrine (http://www.amazon.com/The-Fear-God-Forgotten-Doctrine/dp/0979673658). Part of the right fear of God, reverence, is related to understanding holiness. We as sinners understandably don't understand holiness. Our lack is not excusable. In fact the law of the Old Testament is written for us to gain an understanding of God's holiness and thus true reverence (Proverbs 1:7).

Our lack of reverence and godly fear has seeped into our worship. I am not suggesting a ritual oriented worship. I do think how we think of God affects our worship of Him. A good reading of the Old Testament help us. God is same forever. He doesn't change. And a good reading of the Old Testament reminds us that we as those transformed by the gospel ought to be a holy people (I Peter 1:13-19). That has been the challenge to me. Rethinking holiness and desiring to really glorify God by being holy; only by grace yet really in life that I live in Jesus Christ.