Gospel Manhood

The Cultural Narrative Our culture tells men: You are useless. You are unnecessary. You are the problem with society.

It points out everything men do wrong.

It tells men to stop being men, to act more like women.

Instead of valuing the strength, protection, provision, and leadership men bring, culture tells them: be quiet, fade to the back, stay out of the way.

And so men begin to believe it. They see themselves as part of the problem, not the solution.

“When a man believes he is useless, dangerous, or unnecessary, he takes himself out of the equation. Some lose themselves in their hobbies. Some lose themselves in their work. Some walk out on their families. And some end their lives altogether.”

Every year, 40,000 men in America die by suicide — that’s 110 every single day. And men make up 80% of all suicide deaths. Why? Because they believed the lie the world told them: you are the problem.

The Truth of God’s Design But here’s the truth: men are not the problem.

Sin is the problem

Men are God’s solution to many of the problems in our world.

Most of the issues in our society would be solved by men being husbands, fathers, and examples of God’s good design for humanity.

To strengthen society, we don’t need more government, we need more men who will be men.

From the beginning, God designed men to reflect Him and shape the world.

But sin twisted that design, and instead of building, men broke. Instead of protecting, men abandoned. Instead of leading with love, men led for self. Sin turned men into wreckers of the world.

But here’s the good news: the Gospel restores what sin ruined. The Gospel renews us as men to reflect God and reshape the world.

Big Idea: The Gospel restores men to reflect God and reshape the world.

I want you to take out your Bibles and turn to Gen. 2.

What we are going to do is look at God’s design in the beginning and how he intended for men to shape the world

Then we will see how the reality of sin has caused us to embrace lies and live contrary to God’s design

And we will see how the gospel restores us to reflect God and reshape the world.

[The Gospel as new creation]

[Bridge Question] What does the Gospel restore?

The Gospel restores me to…

Cultivate

Design

2:15 - “Work” the garden = Cultivate

Take what is good and make more of it

It was God’s design in the beginning that men would invest in things and people

And it would come naturally - “Put” = Rest

Fall

Rather than being cultivators, we became consumers of the very creation we were created to steward

And the things we were meant to cultivate begin to suffer

Passively letting things fall apart around us and making things about us

Hobbies take our attention while our families suffer

Gospel

Renewed in Christ to cultivate life in our homes, our workplace, our communities

What has God placed in your life to cultivate?

The world tells men to be consumers - The Gospel restores us to cultivate

Protect

Design

2:15 - “…and keep” - Protect from corruption

Men were designed to protect what God values.

What does God value?

His glory

His creation

His people

Fall

The serpent went after the woman

Adam was with her and was silent

The same failure repeats when men are passive

Passive about their wives and kids

Passive about their own sin patterns

Passive about our church

When we are passive, we can’t protect

To often, the desire for peace leads us to be permissive and passive

Gospel

When we embrace and live according to Gospel truth, we can protect again

We are first led by God - Then we can lead and protect those God has entrusted to us.

Protecting our families by teaching them truth and standing up for truth

Husbands and dads, you are going to have to say no to things and be the bad guy sometimes if you are going to protect your families.

The world tells men to be passive - The Gospel restores us to protect

Lead

Design

Gen. 2:16-18 - The man was given the task and the command before the woman was ever made

The woman was then to learn the task and command from her husband.

What does this mean?

It means that God’s design for men is that they lead people toward God’s design

We are to lead those entrusted to us toward God’s good design, according to his commands

Fall

But because of the fall, the man and the woman choose self and are in conflict with one another

The woman’s curse is that she will not freely submit to her husbands leading, but she will seek to usurp it

And too many men today are more than happy to allow their wives lead the home.

Gospel

But the Gospel enables us to restore God’s design for the family, men leading toward Christ while their wives and kids follow.

And that leadership looks like sacrifice

Jesus told his disciples Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Gospel manhood is sacrificial for the sake of those entrusted to us

the world says be selfish - The Gospel restores us to lead by serving

Live

Design

God made man in His image (Gen. 1:26–27) — to live in such a way that the world could see God’s character reflected in him. True life is found in God and lived for His glory.

Fall

Sin caused men to live for themselves, projecting self-image rather than reflecting God’s image.

Today it looks like chasing career success, personal comfort, or the approval of peers approval, all the while neglecting eternal purpose.

Gospel

In Christ, we are “being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18). The Spirit restores us to real life — life that displays God’s glory.

We reflect God by living according to his word and his design

We reshape the world by embodying His character where He’s placed us.