What follows is an excerpt from a recent sermon which I had the pleasure to give on the subject of Biblical Masculinity.
"The word upright suggests a man who stands firm upon the Word of God. The image I get of the upright man is a man who stands firm and erect no matter how tough, miserable, or challenging life gets. Even when the world threatens him, even when he doesn't know what to think, even when the world repeatedly tries to knock him down, he remains steadfast. However, it's very important that the upright man stands firmly rooted upon the authoritative Word of God, not upon his own ability or any strength that he has in and of himself. He is not tossed in any direction by any worldly doctrine or whim of man, because he is rooted in the Truth. Even when every part of his sinful nature is pulling at him, begging him to submit to his own selfish desires, he as a citizen in the Kingdom of God, child of the Most High, and soldier in the Kings royal army, faithfully affirms his allegiance to the King; even if it means rejection or death. Listen to Psalm 11:7, 'For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.' (ESV). Once again, Jesus Christ HImself is our example, no man was as upright as he. Even though Job suffered extreme affliction, and is proclaimed to be upright in Job 1:1, his affliction pales in comparison to that which Christ endured for the whole world!"
This is by no means an exhaustive definition of an upright man, however what is critical is that the upright man LOVES the Word and seeks solely by the grace of Jesus Christ to live his life in a way which brings the utmost glory to His Savior.
This picture, I believe, provides a visual image of the upright man. Look at the picture, there are many "hidden" messages in it!
Stand fast men, be upright!
In Christ, Josh
4 comments:
Josh,
I have a question. What three things you would say is needful for a man to stand upright today?
Hi Yuri!
I don’t know that I could narrow it down specifically to three things...There is so much involved in being upright, but I’d say above all is the grace of Jesus Christ! The ability to walk in an upright manner is not something that comes naturally, nor is it something we can do in our own strength. I fall short all too often of the standards God has set for me as a man, but because of the incomprehensible grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I know that He will pick me up with His strong arms and set me on course again. But, not only that, it is He that grants us the strength necessary to run the race.
Additionally, constant prayer and communion with God are essential to keeping our minds focused on serving Him. All too often, we fall into sin because we fail to keep our eyes fixed on Christ.
Colossians 4:2 “Be devoted to prayer, being watchful and thankful...”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray continually.”
Colossians 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Besides the grace of Jesus Christ and prayer, a man must develop a passion and love for the authoritative Word of God. If he does not love the Word, he will not know how to walk in uprightness. God’s Word defines for us what is good and what is evil, what God loves and what God hates. If we don’t read it and desire with all our hearts to live (solely by the grace of Christ) according to its standards, we won’t know the difference between good and evil, right and wrong; we won’t know what God loves and what God hates. For much more insight than I could ever give, I highly recommend reading Psalm 1.
Aside from these three things, which I believe are paramount to walking uprightly, there are other characteristics of a godly man that Paul outlines for us in Titus 1:6-9. In my sermon, I labeled these as the “He Must Not’s” and the “He Must Be’s” of manhood. I encourage you to read them. Take each word and meditate on it. Then ask yourself, what do I need to do, what changes do I need to make in order to become a more biblically masculine man? In doing this, remembering all along that you can’t do any of this in your own strength, you will become a more upright man!
Hope this answers your question!
In Christ, Josh
Josh,
Thanks for replying to my question. I agree with you that continual prayer and studying YHWH'S word is indispensable to being upright.
Do you think that praying without ceasing, with a daily study YHWH'S (God's) Word, and living out the principles learned (in the home and in the throng), (by God's grace through faith in Yahshua)will day by day reproduce the Character of Yahshua in the soul?
Do you believe that if one closely adheres to the three points mentioned in the previous paragraph; then the "....other characteristics of a godly man that Paul outlines for us in Titus 1:6-9" would be achieved?
Shalom In Messiah,
Yuri
Hi Yuri!
Though I don’t think any human being is capable of reproducing the character of Christ, I do think that by doing the things you mentioned, we conform more unto the image of our Savior. In other words, we become more like Him. So, although we will never and can never reach the height of Christ’s character, by His grace we can strive, in Him and by His grace, to become more like Him.
As far as your second question...Although I can’t guarantee that a man who prays without ceasing, lives according to the principles of God’s precious Word, and recognizes that his strength is in the grace of Christ will achieve those characteristics, I would definitely say that such a man is more likely to achieve those things Paul mentions. I really stressed this in my sermon and I think it is an important point to clarify; what I’ve given is not “Josh’s Guide to Being Upright.” My goal is to simply pull out some of the principles in God’s Word on this important topic, and encourage my fellow brothers to join me in this challenging race. Uprightness is not achieved through a checklist, or by adhering to a few principles (if that were the case we’d be like Pharisees). Uprightness ultimately boils down to the condition of a man’s heart, how much He fears God, and how much guts He has to stand in the face of sin and say “no!”
“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” – Job 1:1
“Solomon answered, ‘You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.” –1 Kings 3:6
“My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know.” – Job 33:3
“My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.” – Psalm 70:10
“Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” – Psalm 32:11
Thanks once again for your comments Yuri!
In Him, Josh
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