Older Men

Introduction:

Body:

Meaning of older man?

More than just an age, though age is a factor.

“Older men” here refers to a station in life.

An older man is a man who is old enough to have raised a family, who now has adult children, and who’s children are beginning to start their own families.

The Marks of Masculine Maturity of godly older men

Temperate (Sober)

This word originally referred not being drunk from alchonhol, but eventually it’s meaning expanded such that when it is used to describe a person it means they are, as a general rule, in control of themselves, and are not regularly given over to their passions, emotions, or desires.

With regard to the older man, what this means is that over the course of his life, by the grace of God, he has developed the discipline of mastering his emotions, he has rightly ordered his desires, and he has a long pattern of waring with his sin.

For the Christian man being temperate means being ruled by the Lordship of Christ, and striving to bring the whole of who you are under His headship, and walking steadfastly toward Him despite your feelings or circumstances.

Dignified (Reverent)

This word means to be serouse. It means to be worthy of respect.

A godly older man takes things serouse serously.

He gives things careful consideration before determining a direction. He gives his words careful consideration before he says them. (Slow to speak) He gives his course of action careful consideration before he acts.

With reference to manhood, this word means there’s something do this man. There’s firmness to him. There’s a strength to him. He is a man of substance. He is steady, strong, and able to be depended on by those who he is responsible for.

What comes with this is a sense of gravitas. People are drawn to him because of the kind of a man that the is. Women are drawn to him because he is safe, children are drawn to him because he is strong, and other men are drawn to him because he is capable and they know they can depend on him and learn from him.

Sensible

Sensible is that which most aligns with wisdom and prudance.

He’s the kind of guy who does things that make sense.

The Marks of Spiritual Virtue in godly older men

Sound in:

Notice the word “in” is repeated here before every word that follows.

Soundness describes the way in which this man carries out the virtues of the Christian life.

He is sound, that means he is healthy, and he is steady with regard to these three virtues.

Faith

This a man who trusts the Lord.

He has learned to trust the Lord through his years of walking with the Lord.

Over the course of his Life, as he has struggled, as he has succeeded, has he has suffered, as he has had to watch others in his life suffer, he has learned the faithfulness of the Lord in all things, and He trusts the Lord.

He believes the promise of God, and he has confidence in the Lord’s abiding purpose in all that happens in his life.

love

Two different kinds of love mentioned here.

For older men love is duty. Love here entails taking responsibility for that which God has placed under your care.

Ephesianas 5:

He cares for his wife, and loves her sacrficially, he loves his children by rasing them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, he loves his grandchildren by helping provide stability and direction to his own children and so on.

perservance

This one is interesting, because in the scripture we see faith, hope, and love repeatedly mentioned together with one another. Those are the three foundational Christian virtues.

But here, the word hope is replaced with the word perservance. And that is because perseverance is the outworking of hope. Since we are talking about an older man here, that means we are talking about someone who has had some years of walking in hope, such that he has demonstrated perservance.

The importance of Older men

Notice, that the Apostle Paul addresses many stations here over the course of this chapter, but he starts with the older man.

R.C. Sproul says of this passage “Older men are the first group addressed, which makes sense because Scripture lays upon men the primary responsibility for servant-leadership at home and in the church.”

Older godly men serve as a stabilizing agent in families, churches, neighborhoods, and societies.

Notice though, I said older godly men.

The world is desperate for older men of God right now. Not men who will stand idly by and just quietly oberve. But men who take younger men under their wing, and disciple them. Men who will sacrifice of themselves for the good of their neighbor. Men who will bodly stand for truth.

Especially boys and young men need the help of older men. Douglas Wilson has rightly said “if boys don’t learn men won’t know.” And friends, boys will not learn if men do not teach them.

Today, I want to call you older men to a high standard.

Conclusion: Christ our Example