Strong Man Of God Blog

          Entailing as it does such a magnitude of responsibility from God, it is amazing to me looking back over membership in churches since 1977 that so little instructional importance was attached to parenting and fathering in particular.  New member orientations if any, instead, focused on introducing church leaders, beliefs, responsibilities, programs, activities and service opportunities.  Intensive training and equipping if any, offered in depth Bible study topics and in a few churches, deep theological education.  All of this was done in the quickest possible time frame lest the relative few participants became even fewer!¹  This has been devastating to Christian men and their families.

          Fathering like God is not natural to sinful mortal men as I have painfully discovered in my own journey during these latter days.  Sadly today, it is not widely seen enough either to be emulated or purposely taught among professed Christians and their churches as I opened this post lamenting.  Being a father with all it involves as God the Father exemplifies in His Word and intends for human fathers to imitate is a life skill that is supposed to be intentionally passed on by them to their sons through precept and example as I write in The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics.²  However, with so many sons without their fathers doing this on purpose, fallen human models of fathering prevail.

          Fallen human models of fathering run the gambit of sin driven conduct.  These models are learned from having watched one’s own father (with the family or not) or someone else’s; taking in as well, those portrayed in all forms of media and the streets.³  The fallen human models include, but are not limited to the absent, willfully neglectful, verbally and physically abusive, self-centered, grumpy, harsh, stern, intimidating, controlling, overly disciplinary (which is where I was as I write about in my book), not disciplinary enough or at all, spoiler, pushover, briber, pleaser etc.  Though no fallen father is nor can be perfect before God, those that do better father more like Him.

          Such fathers may have had not only good instruction, but examples from their own fathers.  As maturing Christians, they may have also come to appreciate that childrearing is a sacred and fearful responsibility from God one needs His help with and why in His infinite wisdom He confined procreation to a man and woman committed to each other in holy marriage as the best arrangement for it.  However they came to it, these men consider the business of fathering an important and serious undertaking.  They understand initiating the existence of a new human being is only the beginning of an incredible experience that must be purposely planned for, embraced and carried out.

          Indeed, this is the example of God the Father in the Bible.  From eternity He purposely planned and prepared for the creation of man (Genesis 1:1-26, 2:4-6).  Then, He embraced and carried out initiating man’s existence from the dust (Genesis 2:7).  After this, He led, taught His will, provided for and gave environmental protection first to Adam and then, his wife taken out of him (Genesis 2:8-25).  At the end of God the Father’s creative work, Scripture summarizes it, His marching orders and instruction to the first man and woman as well as presents His appraisal of the momentous occasion (Genesis 1:27-31).  Nothing about the foregoing is done haphazardly or at a distance.

          Furthermore, when the first couple sinned, God the Father brought His promised consequence and then some, while also clearly demonstrating His continuing love for them (Genesis 3).  He purposely displays and teaches His model of Fathering throughout all of the rest of Scripture so that certainly, we that profess to know Him are without excuse for our ignorance.  Yet, four years into being a Christian and church attendance, I entered into marriage and a blended family ignorant.  For nearly another ten years I struggled to walk out God's Fathering learned from the Bible with no church instruction until finally, my then, pastor, began a purposeful teaching on the family out of Scripture.⁴

          At the same time, my pastor introduced us men to the Promise Keepers men’s movement.  Heightened in interest by my need, as a Christian radio announcer and avid listener, I also started paying attention to the instructive counsel about what a father is and does coming from national programs such as Focus On The Family and those produced locally out of Dallas, TX.  Slowly, with my own intentional Bible study on the issues of manhood, marriage and family, the veil of ignorance began to lift; change and growth in my fathering through the help and power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and sinful flesh fed character flaws, attitudes and behavior that continues to this day!⁵

          Even so, though well intended and better than no man and fatherhood church instruction at all in the early 1990s, the growing popular teaching clearly was not fully biblical as I was learning since for example, while God’s order of mankind electing men as leaders was acknowledged, it was not being practiced in the many of churches of American Christianity.⁶  Biblically conservative churches of every hue that will be true to “the whole counsel of God” must repent as I did from departure from it in any teaching of man and fatherhood and their example; dereliction to intentionally present it as the apostle Paul modeled (Acts 20:25-27; Ephesians 6:4, NKJV).⁷  Worse off than I was in ignorance, 21^st century males coming to Christ absolutely need this instruction in a confused culture now, hostile to it!

1 Though I write here primarily of churches I did not also serve as pastor, in full transparency I acknowledge coming up short of and not doing more to reach the instructional

   mark I write about when I was a pastor. 

2 The  book  is  published  by Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. and available in print or digital formats at major internet booksellers.  You can also purchase a print

   copy along with its companion, The Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study for in-person or virtual use in the Strong Man Store.

3 Physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually present or absent, biological fathers teach our sons and daughters whether we purposely intend to or not.  Writing in my book

   and  other places, it is the standing and force of authority God has given to and designed men with that is the source and cause of this.  Read especially my June 21, 2015

   part one post, Mama’s boys, under the category, Black History.

4 Very importantly, with church instruction also came a sense of accountability, empathy and group support. 

5 Without making excuses for  myself or any professed Christian not an active rebel (writing the following only to clarify the biblically taught reality of the marathon journey we

   are on), Christians are not fully formed at new spiritual birth anymore than a physically newborn human being.  Christian fathers as redeemed sinners develop and grow over

   time  (some  slower  than  others) into this role as all of our other roles through the often painful process of uncovering and being convicted by God about sinful thinking, atti-

   tudes and conduct in putting “off the old” and putting “on the new  man,” (Ephesians 4:17-32, NKJV).  We struggle with sin aroused by the Law within and righteousness and

   must  have  our minds renewed putting on the new man as a conscious and deliberate decision every moment to walk in the Spirit our Helper (John 14:15-18; Romans 7:12-

   8:13; Galatians 5:16-25).

6 See the three-part post beginning January 8, 2017, In God’s Revival Men Are Restored, under the category, The Cause.

7 Read the September 20, 2020 post, What Will It Profit A Man?, under the category, The Cause.

            “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit,” (Psalm 32:1-2, NKJV).  Hallelujah!  I continue to rejoice in God’s salvation as I experience the awesome reality of His forgiveness of all my past sins when I first believed the Gospel and every day since as I have obeyed His Word to “confess” and repent from them as they occurred or upon later conviction (Psalm 32:3-5; 1 John 1:5-2:2, NKJV).¹  While God’s salvation begins with forgiveness, its blessed benefits do not end there.  As biblical Christianity, they bountifully and gloriously expand reaching into eternity!

            God’s forgiveness opens the way for sinners to be reconciled to and enjoy familial relationship with Him as well as to receive all of His promised benefits.  Of the many benefits as spiritual blessings God has packaged in His salvation from sin by grace through faith in the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ, forgiveness of all past sins is foremost and foundational (Romans 4:5-8, 5:10-11; Ephesians 1:1-10).  As David testifies, God’s forgiveness for sins committed thereafter is absolutely essential to avoid the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical issues that consequentially arise from being unwilling to confess them to Him in all repentance.  Sin guilt will make you sick and destroys!²

            Enjoying peace with God by His forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ,³ the saved in Him are also indwelt and brought to spiritual life by the Holy Spirit; having an eternal inheritance as adopted sons (John 3:1-8; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 8:14-17).  The spiritual life we have by the indwelling Holy Spirit is nothing short of the very life of God dynamically and eternally flowing as “rivers of living water” in our inmost being (John 7:37-39, NKJV)!  There is nothing in all of human experience to which this can be compared.⁴  This is uniquely of God “the fountain of life,” “everlasting” and abundant David and the Lord Jesus speak of (Psalm 36:7-9; John 4:7-14, 10:10, NKJV).

            The life of God in us by the Holy Spirit is evident in the display of the divine eternal nature beginning with love, character and power (Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 3:14-21, 5:9; 1 John 4:8).  The presence of the Holy Spirit in believers seals us not like contents in a closed jar that cannot escape, but as a living imprint that marks us out as belonging to God.  Too, He is “the guarantee” and earnest payment of the Father fulfilling all He has promised us in His great salvation!  As our eternal “Helper” (Comforter) and Companion, He oversees and actualizes our regeneration as well (John 14:16-17; 2 Corinthians 1:3, 19-22, 3:17-18, 5:17; Ephesians 1:11-14; Titus 3:4-5, NKJV).

            As if the foregoing were not enough, the Holy Spirit carries out the will of the Father and Christ in answering our petitions for protection and deliverance (Psalm 32:6-7).  He is also our Teacher teaching us the riches of God’s way in Christ through the written Word; guiding us with His “eye” that has seen and knows all past, present and future if we will be submissive to learn (Psalm 32:8; John 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, NKJV).  Believers as disciples are not to be stubborn, resistant and without understanding like an unbroken “horse” or “mule” that have to be forcefully “harnessed” and controlled or “they will not come near you” much less be teachable (Psalm 32:9, NKJV).

            Submission to learn is God’s perfect will for everyone He saves!  A submissive heart to learn describes Christ who is the perfect display and example of what a disciple is (Isaiah 50:4-5; John 8:28-29) and who commanded that His disciples be taught (Matthew 28:18-20).  Further, being taught the Word of God leads to spiritual growth and maturity which are still more benefits of God’s salvation (Ephesians 1:15-23; 2 Peter 1:1-11)!  Otherwise, any professed Christian that will not be taught walks in the way of the unbroken horse, mule and "the wicked" suffering “many sorrows” in contrast to those who submit to and obey God’s will through faith and experience His "mercy," (Psalm 32:10, NKJV).

            Indeed, for those believers who submit to and obey God’s will through faith--even every aspiring strong man and great woman of God in the image of Christ--the Holy Spirit willingly serves as our Intercessor interceding for us with the Father when in weakness we have no clue (Romans 8:26-27).⁵  He is also our Equipper and Source of ability to serve God and fellow man through spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-11).  In briefly addressing just some of the benefits of God’s salvation as biblical Christianity, it should be easily seen why those of us that are His “righteous” by grace through faith are “glad in the LORD” “and shout for joy,” (Psalm 32:11, NKJV)!  Forgiveness of sin in Christ is only the beginning of these blessings that create the joy of salvation in us!  Won’t you share in our joy?

1 It is deceit for any unsaved person or professed Christian to believe one can hide or God not notice or care about their sins no matter how small in human eyesight!  There

   is  no  possible way to deceive God so, why try?  “...you have sinned against the Lord; be sure your sin will find you out,” (Numbers 32:23, NKJV). Christians are supposed

   to  walk  before  God  and  “worship in spirit and truth,” (John 4:23-24, NKJV).  And forget the "nobody is perfect" argument--He already knows this while still expecting our

   sold  out  heart  attitude  to  obey  His  whole  Word  (not just the parts we agree with) out of love (John  14:15).  His way freely offered in love is for us to own our rebellion, 

   missing of the mark of His perfect righteousness and perversion of His straight ways so that He can forgive these in Christ!

2 For the professed Christian David says particularly in Psalm 32:4a about the time he spent refusing to confess and repent from his sins: “For day and night Your hand was

   heavy  upon  me,”  (NKJV).  There  is  no  way  a  blood  bought, Spirit-filled believer can sin without sooner or later experiencing His convicting work which may be quietly

   resisted in denial and pretense nothing was done wrong, but as David is explaining, this does not turn out very well for the person doing so.

3 Peace with the living God is a blessing beyond description since it includes not having to fear the Day of His wrath!

4 Having been an abuser of drugs and alcohol and committed hedonist in my unsaved youth, I know what I am saying.

5 Read about the aspiring strong man of God and great woman of God in the image of Jesus Christ in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, published by Open

   Door Communication Ministries, Inc. and available in print or digital formats at major internet booksellers.  You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store.