Act Like Men
Strong Advice for Tough Times
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Introduction
Happy Fathers’ Day to all you Dads out there
When I realized that I’d be speaking at Gospel Community on Fathers’ Day, I decided to focus my thoughts on men in general instead of only on dads
Of course, what I have to say today will be applicable to all Christians, so I expect the ladies to pay attention as well, okay?
There is a severe lack in our society today of what may be called “mature” people—Just look at the news
Yet another member of Congress behaving badly
Celebrities are acting like children
Even the church is not immune to immaturity
There seems to be a real shortage of mature men
The movie “Second Hand Lions” and the “how to be a man speech”
Our passage today is Paul’s version of “how to be a man” or “how to be mature”
It is strong advice for tough times
All of the statements that Paul uses are commands, they are not options
What do you know about the church in Corinth?
These people were a mess
1. They had divided on doctrinal issues
2. They had split into factions determined by slogans and political posturing
3. They had forgotten what they were taught and become lazy in their spiritual growth/wisdom
4. They had ceased to serve one another and passed judgment on each other to the point of lawsuits
5. They had immoral activity in their church
6. Their marriages were on the rocks
7. They abused their spiritual liberty and hurt one another with it
8. They had no spiritual discipline and had become disorderly in their use of God’s gifts
9. They lost love for one another
10. They had forgotten the power of God’s love and Christ’s resurrection
They needed some mature people to lead them
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
1. Act Like Men/Be Mature
Andrizesthe—Greek term (present tense)
To behave like a man as opposed to acting like a juvenile
Exhibit positive masculine properties
Be mature and be brave
Three characteristics to note here:
a. Spiritual maturity—1 John 2:12-14—John encourages his readers to progress on to a mature position, to leave behind childish things (1 Cor. 13:11-12)—cf. Ephesians 4:13
This maturity comes from the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 John 2:12-14—young men are strong in the Word of God)—this Word of God refers of course to both the written Word (the Bible) and the Incarnate Word (Jesus)—to be spiritually mature requires us to be adept in both (1 Cor. 14:20—the Corinthians need to grow up)
What about us? Where do we need to grow up? Where do we need to stop acting juvenile? What relationships and situations need maturity instead of juvenile selfishness?
b. Courage—John Wesley: “Give me 100 men who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world: I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; and such alone will overthrow the kingdom of Satan and build up the Kingdom of God on earth.”
“Courage is being scared to death, and saddling up anyway.” John Wayne
c. Consistency—a constant process of growth that builds Christ-like characteristics in our lives
The rest of this passage reveals for us what it means to “act like men” or to “be mature” according to Paul
To act like men/to be mature requires us to be on the alert
2. Be on the Alert
“Be watchful” or “be on the alert”—a military term with a strategy in mind that means to be vigilant
It is the opposite of indifference or apathy
It is an active concern to be aware
What happens when those on guard duty fail their watch?
The enemy sneaks in
Others may suffer loss
Someone may die
In the spiritual life of a Christian, watchfulness must be combined with prayer (Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2)
What are the objects of our watching?
a. The enemy (1 Peter 5:8)
b. Temptation (Mark 14:38)
c. False Teaching (2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1)
d. Opportunities to share God’s good news or to do God’s works (Titus 3:1; 2 Timothy 4:5)
e. The return of Christ (Matthew 24:42-44)
To act like men/to be mature means to watch out for each other
Watching out for each other requires a solid foundation in Christ
3. Stand Firm in the Faith
Another “militant” term—Paul is calling on the Corinthians to make a stand, to be recognized, to hold their ground (cf. Ephesians 6:10-11)
1 Corinthians 15:58
There is a connection between being watchful and standing firm
An army on the watch is an army ready to stand
An army caught off guard is an army soon defeated
How do we “stand firm”?
a. Be a disciple/learner—spend time learning the great truths of God from the Bible—search the Scripture to find God’s plan
b. Know what you believe (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
c. Know why you believe it and be ready to offer a reason (1 Peter 3:15)
d. Once you know what and why, act on it—do the truth
Standing firm is like a tree planted with deep roots—it is solid because it has a strong foundation—our foundation is what God accomplished through Jesus and the revelation of his truth in the Bible
Our faith (belief and action) should be an anchor for us (2 Timothy 2:15)
To act like men/to be mature means to make a stand in what God has done
Standing in God’s work requires and results in strength
4. Be Strong
Krataio—refers to a strength in action rather than simply strength in possession
It isn’t how much you bench press, it is how you act when strength needed
The biggest muscles will freeze up if there is no strong character
Ephesians 6:10—”be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might”
Three kinds of strength here—empowerment (be endued with the Lord’s power), strength (a similar word as used in 1 Corinthians), and power (might or muscle)
We must gain power from God, act on what he gives us, and use it to accomplish his purposes
2 Corinthians 10:3-6—we pull down fortresses
What does this strength look like in action? Philippians 2:3-4
God’s power properly applied usually acts on behalf of others
Which brings us to our final point
We have all these “militant” terms, then Paul calls us to love
How do militant ideas fit with a concept of love?
To act like men/to be mature we must be strong—but strength must be always be tempered with love
5. Do All in Love
What’s love got to do with it?
Only everything
God at his most powerful is also God at his most vulnerable
John 1:1-3, 14—God who created all things revealed his glory, grace, and truth by becoming one of us and revealing God among us (i.e., “Immanuel”)
Philippians 2:5-8--Jesus' kind of love
a. Equal with God, but didn’t take advantage
b. Emptied himself, and became a servant
c. Incarnated as a human, he humbly obeyed even to the point of dying for our sins on a cross
How did Jesus love? He gave himself so others could live
That’s the love Paul refers to here
To act like men/to be mature requires us to do all things in love
The Corinthians certainly needed this kind of love (Paul even discussed it in chapter 13 of this book)
Their divisions had caused factions and fighting
They had become rivals instead of brothers
They were engaging in lawsuits instead of love
They were acting like children
They were not watching out for each other
They were not standing firm in the truth Paul had taught them
They were giving in to weakness
Where do we need love? Where do we need to show love?
To act like men, we must learn to do all things in love
That little three letter word “all” is difficult isn’t it?
“All” things—even my marriage? My kids? My job? My business relationships? Even with those who don’t “love” me? Even in situations where showing love could result in a loss for me?
What do you think?
Acting like men/being mature is not easy
No one said growing up would be simple
Paul’s advice here is tough
What Does Love Do?
In our world today, love is not only an important element, it is THE MOST IMPORTANT element.
Without love, watchfulness can deteriorate into a judgmental spirit.
Without love Paul’s commands could lead us to be militant but hardhearted.
Love keeps our firmness from becoming hardness and our strength from becoming authoritarian domination. It keeps our maturity gentle and considerate. It keeps our right doctrine from becoming obstinate dogmatism and our right living from becoming smug self-righteousness. It makes us like Christ.
Love is not easy. In fact, love cost Jesus his life. We need to remember, however, that sometimes the toughest task produces the sweetest results. Look at how God’s love redeemed you!
As Phillips Brooks said, “Never pray for an easier life—pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers—pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then doing your work will be no miracle—you will be the miracle!”
Conclusion
So what do we do? How do we respond to this passage?
Our circumstances are not so different from the church in Corinth
We live in a divided society, live in divided families, even attend divided churches
We have people around us acting like juveniles—blaming others for their problems or only looking out for themselves—we have a lack of “grown ups”—we need some mature men
We have problems creeping in, temptations attacking, people falling, we need someone to be on the watch
Our society and our churches seem at times to be slipping into all kinds of problems or errors or sin. Nothing seems to be solid or firm. We need folks who are on a solid foundation
We need strength tempered by love
We need mature men and women who will
a. Watch out for the church and for others
b. Take a stand for God’s truth and be bold
c. Be strong in God’s power to accomplish God sized tasks
d. Love God and love others as Christ commanded
Our response to this passage is simple
We must act like men, we must be mature and brave
We must go to our homes, our churches, our neighborhoods, our jobs, and embody the principles Paul has described here
We must be willing to be a solid foundation, a trustworthy people, a group of men and women who love each other as Christ loves each of us
This will require us to be creative, to reach out to those others have deemed “unreachable” or “untouchable”
We will need to imitate the life of Jesus in our everyday lives
We must be humble servants looking to bless others with God’s grace
Will we risk it?
If we don’t, who will?
What will our families, our churches, and our world look like if we do?
I’d like to see that!
Thanks for reading!
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