R.E.A.L Men Accept Responsibility

Introduction (3 min)

Cade: Review of the REAL acrostic → Reject Passivity, Expect the Greater Reward, Accept Responsibility, Lead Courageously.

Nate: Define responsibility →

Accepting Responsibility means taking ownership for what God has entrusted to you (your life, your faith, your relationships, your school/work).

As we will discuss tonight, that includes:

Stepping up to lead when others don’t

Correcting your mistakes

Seeking forgiveness

Changing to do what is right!

Cade: Tonight → What it looks like for men of God to accept responsibility through Scripture.

Point 1: Adam Failed, Christ Redeemed (5 min)

Cade (Genesis 3:6–12): Adam’s failure in the garden. He blamed Eve, refused responsibility, and sin entered the world.

Nate (Romans 5:12, 18–19): Contrast with Jesus, the “second Adam,” who took responsibility for our sin at the cross.

Something interesting as well Cade, is that as men we are supposed to set the example for others (especially one day for our future families)

Notice that Eve followed the example that Adam gave her. He blamed and so she blamed. Your mistakes can lead others to make mistakes.

But continuing off of Adam’s Failure, we see that the Bible sometimes calls Jesus the “2nd Adam”. So that makes a 1st Adam and a 2nd Adam. No they are not the same person. The point of this is to compare them.

Let’s see the comparison:

Romans 5:18–19 NLT

18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

So Adam from the beginning made mistakes that led to sin and death

Jesus the “2nd Adam” came in to correct these mistakes. His death on the cross provides an escape from the consequences that Adam brought.

Adam ruined relationship with God…Jesus offers restoration and forgiveness with God.

Application: True manhood means we don’t pass blame like Adam but step up like Christ.

Point 2: Nehemiah Accepted Responsibility for His People (5 min)

Nate (Nehemiah 1:4–11): Nehemiah took responsibility for his people’s sin and rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls.

Right guys, so this comparison between Jesus and Adam is great for the subject of accepting responsibility. But we want to show you guys multiple examples tonight. There were other godly men who accepted responsibility well and made big impacts because of it.

So the next example we want to discuss is Nehemiah. This is a guy from the OT.

Let me make a long story short… Here is a little context:

Nehemiah was an Israelite.

During this timeframe in History, the Israelites had been captured by another nation and their people were dispersed all around the world.

But God was about to bring Israel back to their country and start rebuilding it.

Nehemiah was one of the prominent men who took action in leading this.

Israel was in the state that they were (being subject to the control of another empire) because they had disobeyed God and forsaken Him. They let other things become their “gods” and they didn’t obey Him.

After many warnings, God allowed them to be captured and spent a time in exile.

This was based on a promise that God had made with them. If they obeyed and honored Him, their country would prosper. But if they turned away from Him, he would cause them to fail. However, there was always the promise that if they “came to their senses” and returned to serving God and obeying Him, that He would forgive them and restore their country.

Well all of this is back story to tell you that the book of Nehemiah starts by Nehemiah praying to God on behalf of himself and his whole country while he is in exile:

Nehemiah 1:5–11 NLT

5 Then I said, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses. 8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’ 10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.

So what do we learn from this guys?

Real men are willing to acknowledge when they do wrong, ask for forgiveness, and seek to do what is right. And guess what… God honors this!

And guys… you know what. Nehemiah was stepping up for his whole country in doing this. He wasn’t just thinking about himself.

Sometimes someone strong has to stand up to lead everyone else to do what is right.

I wonder, how many of you guys are willing to be humble and responsible enough to lead your friends, your team, your siblings, and others to make right decisions.

It is a hard thing to be the first one to step up and admit fault even if it was everyone who did it together. Its easy to shrink back and let the whole ship sink…But the man who steps up for the group to initiate making things right… he will be the one is the most responsible and the most respected.

Tell me Cade, what else can we learn from Nehemiah?

Cade (Nehemiah 2:17–18): He rallied others to the work because he first took ownership.

Application: Real men accept responsibility for their faith, families, and communities.

Point 3: Joseph Took Responsibility in Every Season (4 min)

Cade (Genesis 39): Joseph owned responsibility as a slave in Potiphar’s house and as a prisoner—faithful with little.

Nate (Genesis 41:37–41): Joseph later took on the responsibility of leading Egypt.

That’s right Cade! Joseph is a great example of a man who took responsibility in each different season of like.

We mentioned his time as a slave and his times and a prisoner. This may not have seemed like much, but when you are faithful with the little things, God is willing to give you greater things to be responsible for. Matthew 25:21

Matthew 25:21 NASB95

21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

As we see the story go on, Joseph is given more… he goes on to become the 2nd in command of all the country of Egypt.

Some of you guys know the story… Pharaoh is looking for someone who can interpret his dream for him.

Joseph was able to not only tell Pharaoh what God was trying to tell him, but he also gave really good advise on how to succeed.

Because of this, Pharaoh takes Joseph the prisoner and turns him into the single most powerful and important man in all of Egypt second only to the Pharaoh himself.

Joseph saw the need for this role to be filled and he took it. He sought God and used the wisdom that God gave him to lead an entire country. And because of how well Joseph did at this, he actually ended up saving many other countries when a time of famine and trouble came on the whole place.

So one of the key takeaways for you guys is this: Always take responsibility! Step up to the plate and trust God for help… even as a middle or high schooler. If you cannot be trusted with simple things like homework, or cleaning your room, or mowing the grass… how on earth can you expect God to give you greater responsibilities?

    •    Application: Faithfulness in small things prepares us for greater things.

Point 4: Accepting Responsibility When We Fail (4 min)

Cade (Psalm 51:1–4): David sinned with Bathsheba but took responsibility before God—no excuses, full confession.

Nate (1 John 1:9): God promises forgiveness when we confess. Accepting responsibility means admitting failure and turning back to Him.

I can tell you this guys: It is the weak and insecure men in this world who are unable to apologize and accept responsibility.

It is a sign of strength and self awareness to see your flaws, and make changes to fix them.

It is the man who knows who he is…who knows that he belongs to Jesus and knows that he is fully accepted and known by God… This is the strong man… this man doesn’t care what other people say or think about him. He simply does what is right because he has confidence in God!

And there is great confidence when we know that God won’t just give up on us or tell us we are failures. Instead, look at what God tells us in 1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 NLT

9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

You get that??? God is guaranteeing something to you… he doesn’t want you to make mistakes or sin, but no matter how many times you slip up, He invites you to come back to Him again and again. Confess your sin to God, He is faithful to forgive you each time!

But don’t stop at confession… God knows when you are being fake or aren’t actually sorry. Change! That’s what the word repent means… turn away from sin.

Application: Real men don’t hide sin or blame others—they own it, repent, and grow.

Point 5: Jesus Shows Us the Ultimate Example (3 min)

 Nate (John 10:11, Mark 10:45): Jesus took ultimate responsibility as the Good Shepherd, laying down His life.

As we bring this thing to a conclusion guys, its only right for us to look at Jesus one more time!

Jesus gave us the best example to follow. He was a man of responsibility and did whatever He needed to in order to make us right with God again.

Mark 10:45 tells us:

Mark 10:45 ESV

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.”

Jesus was a servant and Jesus gave up even His own life to serve and save us… this is responsibility. Laying aside his privileges of being God to do what was good in God’s sight…and your passage explains this even more Cade… tell us about it!

Cade (Philippians 2:5–8): He humbled Himself, took responsibility for our sin, and obeyed the Father fully.

Application: The ultimate measure of manhood is following Jesus’ example.

Conclusion & Challenge (3 min)

Cade: Recap → A real man rejects passivity, expects the greater reward, accepts responsibility (even in failure), and leads courageously.

Nate: Challenge → Where do you need to accept responsibility?

Guys… let me be very clear with this… The WORLD needs men to step up and accept their roles and responsibilities seriously. I am beyond tired of seeing women have to step up and fill the roles that men should be fulfilling.

Is it because women are incapable? Clearly not…because they are doing it now.

So why am I tired of it? Because it is not their responsibility to lead. That is the God given responsibility for men to be good leaders in their own lives, their families, and their communities.

We do not need another generation of weak, passive, pathetic men who hide and shrink back from anything that requires work and responsibility. We need YOU to be that next generation that will take initiative for your own faith, that will become good husbands and fathers and will lead people towards Jesus!

Guys, listen to the words of Jesus:

Luke 12:48 NASB95

48 ….From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

You guys know the truth. You have been given the truth. You are not ignorant or unknowledgeable of what Jesus has done for you and what you need to do. One day, the bible tells us that all people will stand before God and give an account for the decisions they made.

You guys have been given much! You have been given the truth… God will expect and require that you do something with what He has given you!

Take ownership, be responsible, be REAL GODLY MEN!

Okay, that was my little rant… Cade, if you had one final word of encouragement for these guys, what would it be?

Cade: Final encouragement → Don’t pass blame like Adam. Be like Nehemiah, Joseph, David, and Jesus—accept responsibility and trust God to strengthen you.