Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Prepared Hearts

Christian Manhood

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2002-08-18

Synopsis: John Weaver examines John the Baptist as the biblical model of Christian manhood, contrasting it with worldly definitions. He outlines five characteristics: a solitary man willing to stand alone for truth, a strong man who lifts his voice against wickedness, a separated man who avoids sin, a straightening man who makes things right, and a satisfying man whose life points others to Christ. The sermon emphasizes character, using historical examples like Robert E. Lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest to illustrate these traits, and calls believers to pursue godly manhood.

[John Weaver] I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, this morning to the book of John, chapter 1. John, chapter 1. And let's begin reading it, verse 6. John 1, verse 6. And we'll go from there. John 1, verse 6. Notice, if you would please, the Word of God says, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. Now let's skip down to verse 19. And this is the record of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

[John Weaver] And he confessed and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he said, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

[John Weaver] Now skip down, if you would please, to verse 35. Again the next day after John stood and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. I wanted to bring a message today which I've entitled Christian Manhood. I brought this message several weeks ago at the memorial service in Memphis, Tennessee. And I've had not only our people to ask for it, but other people who heard it there to ask for it. And when I preached the message there, I certainly did not record it. I think it's very imperative that we understand there's a vast difference between what the Word of God says about Christian manhood than what the world today says. If you look at verse 6, the Bible simply says this, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. In other words, we could look at that verse and see God looking at John the Baptist and saying, there was a man.

[John Weaver] John the Baptist was certainly unique. John the Baptist was certainly the subject of Old Testament prophecy. He was born by miraculous intervention, you will remember. And he was designated to be the forerunner of Jesus Christ. And the interesting thing is this, when the Jews sent people to ask him, who art thou? He could have blown up his chest and said, well, don't you know who I am?

[John Weaver] I mean, look at this man. Here I am in the Old Testament. I'm to be the forerunner of Christ." He could have done all of that, but he did not. He just simply said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Now, the point I want to make just simply by way of introduction is this. Just because an individual happens to have bulging muscles does not necessarily make him a man. Just because an individual happens to be 6'4 and weighs 250 pounds does not necessarily make him a man, at least not biblically speaking.

[John Weaver] When you and I stop and think about our ancestors, about our forefathers, we have to admit there was something totally different about them. They certainly had more character. They had more common sense. They had far more strength than you and I have today. There is a vast difference between people even of a hundred years ago and people of the day. There's a vast difference between people of 75 years ago and people today. Let me tell you something. The people that went through the Great Depression as a whole were honest people and were willing to work for food. If the same thing happened today, you're talking about riots. in trouble, because now today everybody thinks the government ought to give it to them, and if the government doesn't, then they'll take it from whomever they can take it. There's a vast difference between the 1930s and 2003. Now, General Robert E.

[John Weaver] Lee often equated Christianity with being a Southern gentleman. He could not see any difference. If you were a Christian, you were indeed a man, a gentle man, because they were one in the same. He did not separate them.

[John Weaver] Now, when God looked at John the Baptist, He said, there was a man. Let me just show you from the Bible the characteristics of a biblical man. Look, if you would please, at verse 23. John 1, verse 23. Verse 22, they said unto him, Who art thou that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? And the very first thing John responds is this, I am the voice of one.

[John Weaver] Let me put it like this. God's man, first and foremost, is a solitary man. I am the voice of one. John was willing to stand alone. He was not ashamed to stand outside of the crowd. Do you realize, biblically speaking, Christian manhood, first and foremost, is demonstrated by being willing to stand for truth and for that which is right, even if we have to stand alone. You see, the truth is most people are willing to do what's right as long as people are around them to encourage them, to help them, to support them. But God's kind of man is a man who's willing to stand even if no one else stands. He's willing to take the heat even if no one else is willing to take the heat. He's willing to stand and stand alone if it's absolutely necessary. He said, I am the voice of one. Do you realize one of the greatest reasons that we do not stand today for truth and for righteousness is simply because we lack the character? We are so much weaker today than people were 100 or 200 years ago.

[John Weaver] It is absolutely pathetic. Now, everyone laughs at me because I can sleep in a freezer. I mean, I like it cold. Thirty degrees, that's short-sleeved weather for me. I like it like that. Let me tell you something. I have often wondered how Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, all those men fought in those wool suits. Can you imagine fighting in the summer in a wool suit? I have one made out of light wool.

[John Weaver] I can put it on, wear it for 4 or 5 minutes, or 15 or 20 minutes, take it off, and wring my shirt out. They were made of a different caliber than we are today, I can assure you. Just simply that fact. But the truth of the matter is this. Biblically speaking, and comparatively speaking, The people, they have no backbone, they have no character, they have no intestinal fortitude, or to say it in South Georgia terms, they have no guts, compared to the way our forefathers did, and certainly the way John the Baptist did.

[John Weaver] You've heard the old saying, a man who will not stand for something will fall for anything. And that's true. But see, God's kind of man is the man who's willing to stand, And he's willing to stand alone if necessary. And the reason he's willing to stand alone is because he has character. Now let me tell you something about character. Character is what a man is in the dark. If you tell me what you would do, if you knew that no one else would find out about it, I'll tell you exactly what you are. You say, well, if I knew no one else would ever find out about it, I'd go down to that bank and I'd take every dollar out of it. Well, you're a thief. Well, if I knew no one else would ever find out about it, I'd run off with so and so. Well, you're an adulterer. Character is what a man is in the dark.

[John Weaver] Do you realize character day really doesn't mean too much to most people? I hate to think I would hate to think that character didn't mean anything to me. I want to do what's right, even if no one else does what's right. You see, the test of your character is what it takes to stop you. Now, if that is true and it is true, most people may have very little character. Do you realize all it takes to stop the average individual is to talk about them? Make fun of them. Ridicule them. Say something about it.

[John Weaver] And then they develop this attitude, well, if that's the way you feel about it, if that's the way you're going to talk, I'll just take my marbles and go home. And they quit. Because they have absolutely no character. The test of your character is what it takes to stop you. Can you imagine how John the Baptist was mocked and ridiculed? Can you imagine how our forefathers were mocked and ridiculed? And yet they just kept on keeping on.

[John Weaver] You see, listen carefully, this is very important. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Someone says, well, that battle sure made a hero out of that fellow. Oh no, he was already a hero in his heart, the battle just revealed him. Someone says, well, the battle made a coward out of that man. Look how he ran. No, no. He was already a coward in his heart. The battle just revealed him.

[John Weaver] You want to know what you are, you get in the fires of tribulation and persecution, and your real, genuine character is going to come out. Because circumstances never make or break a man. They only reveal him. You've heard me say this before. Sin does not slip up upon an individual. It does not take him by surprise. Usually what we do, we think about it and we plan it before we ever engage in it. And the reason we continue to think about it and plan it is because we don't have the character as old, who's Andy Griffith's buddy? I forget. Barney Fife would say, nip it in the bud. Nip it, nip it in the bud. No, we don't have the character to do that. We want to play around with it in our minds, and we want to think about it, and then the next thing you know, we're executing it. We're planning it.

[John Weaver] You know, Nathan Bedford Forrest was not a Christian, and I'll repeat this a little bit later, he was not a Christian during the war. And Nathan Bedford Forrest used some bad language from time to time during the war. But Nathan Bedford Forrest did have a little bit of character about him. He didn't have a little bit, he had a lot. When one of his staff officers, it was rumored, was having an adulterous affair, Nathan Bedford Forrest called him into his tent.

[John Weaver] And he asked the man point blank, was it so? And the man kind of laughed and grinned and, yeah, yeah, so like, you know, look at me. And when the man got through admitting that it was so, Nathan Bedford Forrest looked at him and said, Sir, you will pack your bags and get out of my tent and off my staff and out of my camp within the next few hours or I will kick you out. He said, I will never have anyone on my staff who will mistreat women and mistreat his oath to his wife the way you do. Sir, you are no longer welcome in my camp." And he rang off. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. You look at a man like Daniel. Do you remember that?

[John Weaver] They passed a law saying that no man could ask any petition to any God, save the king, for 30 days. Do you know what the Bible says?

[John Weaver] Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he knelt and prayed three times a day as he did a four time. Do you know how to pray effectually when you're in trouble? Be used to praying before you ever get into trouble. And Daniel had rather face a den of lions than cease praying. He'd rather disobey man than disobey God. Do you remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?

[John Weaver] Nebuchadnezzar had built that image in the plain of Dura. And they wouldn't bow. They stuck out like a sore thumb. Do you realize how those boys could have gotten around that? You know, I've thought about this. Shadrach could have looked at Meshach and said, I tell you what, let's just sit down and rest. And these stupid heathens will either think we're halfway up or halfway down. They'll never know. A mendigo could have said, I've got a better idea. Let's just lie down on our stomachs and take a nap. And these heathens will think we're just staying prostrate on our face before their false god. They'll never know. They could have done any of those things, but they didn't. They just stuck out like a sore thumb. And when Nebuchadnezzar confronted them, They told him point-blank why.

[John Weaver] He said, look, at what time do you hear the sound of the sackbolt, the dulcimer, the harp, and all manner of music? If you fall down and worship my idol, well, if not, what God is He who will deliver you out of my hand? And here's their answer. Be it known unto you, O King, our God can deliver us. Whether He does or not, that's His business. But be it known unto you, O God, our King can deliver us, but Be it known unto you, we will not bow down."

[John Weaver] And they would rather be thrown into a fiery furnace. Why? Because they had the character to realize that idolatry was wicked and wrong, and God had forbidden it, and they were certainly not going to engage in it. You see, John's attitude was this. I'm going to stand even if I stand alone. If nobody stands with me, I'm going to stand for what's right. Do you remember Sam Davis?

[John Weaver] Hanged at 21 as a spy. He was not a spy. He was a Confederate scout. He was captured in full uniform. And the reason he was hanged was because he refused to divulge who his captain was. He had rather be hanged himself than be accused of being a traitor to his country, to his captain, to his cause. Twenty-one years of age! And the last time Levi-Naron offered him his life for the information, he was sitting on his coffin. sitting on the casket.

[John Weaver] And he said, you can hang me a thousand times and I'll never betray a friend. You don't have character. And most of us today, especially with the new world order and the homeland security, they want to turn us into a nation of informants. I'm telling you folks, the people a hundred years ago, the people in Bible times had far more character than we have today. John said, I'm willing to stand even if I stand alone. Now watch this.

[John Weaver] Look back in your Bibles to verse 23. John said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. God's kind of man is not only a solitary man, he is also a strong man. He was crying in the wilderness. You know the Bible says in Isaiah 58 verse 1, lift up your voice like a trumpet and show my people their sins and the house of Israel their transgression. Not only was he willing to stand alone, he was not ashamed to lift up his voice, literally, and cry out.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something. I learned this a long time ago, and it's really helped me. And being strong is tied right in with being solitary, that is, having character to stand alone. Because if you're not strong, you're not going to stand alone, okay? But are you listening to me? You can borrow brains, but you cannot borrow character. I'm not a veterinarian, but Doc is. So, if I've got a problem with one of my horses or one of my cows, I could call him and he could tell me what to do. But if I don't have the character to go out and actually do what he tells me, all the information is useless and worthless. Say, I could call Hobie and ask about a mechanical problem, but if I don't have the character to follow through, all the information is worthless. So you can always borrow brains, but you can't borrow character. And let me tell you young people something. Listen to this.

[John Weaver] God will use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, He's going to use you on character, and if you don't have any character, you can put it down, God will never use you. God's kind of man is a strong man. He's willing to stand. He's willing to do what's right. And He's willing to do it with all of His strength.

[John Weaver] Thirdly, look in your verse 23. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Thirdly, God's kind of man is a separated man. Where was John? He was in the wilderness. He wasn't in town at the dance halls and the saloons and the juke joints and the liquor stores. No, he was out in the wilderness. He was only willing to stand alone. He was only willing to lift up his voice against that which was wicked and wrong, but he was also willing to separate himself from sin. You see, most people like to dabble with You know, it's kind of like I preached last week. Most people really don't want to go out and actually commit sin, per se, because we know that it's wicked and wrong, but we want to be excited and titillated by it, and we want everything that leads right up to it, thinking that we can experiment in all of this and then all of a sudden quit. You know the Bible says in Hebrews 7 verse 26 concerning Jesus Christ, that He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.

[John Weaver] And that's exactly the way we should be. We should be holy, we should be harmless, and separate from sin. We've got to understand, as I told you last week, when God forbids any sin, at the same time He forbids everything that leads up to it. That's why the Bible says in Romans 13 and verse 14, make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. God's kind of man is a separated man. What does the Bible say in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 33?

[John Weaver] Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners. Let me translate that for you. That means if you play around with sinners and those who are wicked, You're not going to elevate them. You're the ones going to be corrupted. You're not going to pull them up. They're going to drag you down. It's just that simple. It's impossible to live a holy, godly life, inwardly and outwardly, if we align ourselves with that which is wicked and wrong.

[John Weaver] Do you remember Psalm 119, verse 11, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word, with my whole heart have I sought thee. Oh, let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." I heard a long time ago about an extremely wealthy man who lived high up on a mountaintop, had a beautiful mansion, and his buggy driver left him. So he placed an ad in the paper for a buggy driver, and since it was a good job, three men applied. And the wealthy man said, look, he said, I have to have the best driver.

[John Weaver] He said, I live on this mountain. And he said, you see that edge right over there? Yes. He says, a thousand foot drop down to those rocks. He looked at the three men, he said, I want to know how close you can come to that edge without going over with the horses running. He said, I want the best driver available. The first man said, well, sir, I'm so good that I can have those horses running and I can spin that buggy around and come within a foot and never go over the edge. The old man said, well, let me see you do it. So he stood back while the man got the horses running in the buggy. Sure enough, he spun that buggy around. He came within a foot and never went over the edge. He looked at the second man, he said, how close can you come to it? He said, sir, I'm such a good driver, I can come within six inches and never go over. He said, let me see you. So the man got the horses running.

[John Weaver] Sure enough, he spun that buggy around. He came within six inches, never went over. He looked at the third man, he said, sir, how close can you come without going over? Third man said, I don't know. And I ain't stupid enough to try to find out. The rich man said, sir, you're hired. The man that drives my buggy, I want him to stay as far away from the edge of that cliff as he can. I want you to understand something, folks. God wants us to be as far away from wickedness and sin and ungodliness as we can be by the grace of God. God may use us some But God will use us far more greatly, the purer and the more holy and the more godly we are.

[John Weaver] Do you remember that passage in 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9? Let me just quote it for you. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth that he might show himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him. God is looking for individuals with a perfect or a holy heart. God's kind of man is a solitary man. God's kind of man is a strong man. God's kind of man is a separated man.

[John Weaver] Abstain from all appearance of evil. Stonewall Jackson, one of my favorite men during the Mexican War was entertained by a Mexican family and the house is very beautiful the food was delicious and after a while Stonewall Jackson took the host to the side and said I appreciate all your kindness toward me and all your courtesies and all your hospitalities, but he said, sir, I just wanted to inform you that I will no longer be able to come back to your hacienda.

[John Weaver] And the man said, well, why? Have I offended you? Have I done something wrong? Stonewall said, no, no, you've done nothing wrong. He said, your daughters are too beautiful. And I find myself too attracted And it's time that I leave. I want you to see something. Here was a man who was not too proud to admit his own weakness. But yet at the same time, he had strength enough and character enough to know what to do. And he separated himself.

[John Weaver] What does the Bible say? Flee youthful lusts. Instead of saying that, He just simply took himself out of the way.

[John Weaver] Now, watch in your Bibles back to John 1 in verse 23. When they asked John, who art thou? He said, I am the voice of one, a solitary man, crying, a strong man, in the wilderness, a separated man. And then here's fourthly, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. God's kind of man is a straightening man. What do I mean by that? John basically was to straighten out things.

[John Weaver] He was to prepare for the coming of Christ. God's kind of man is an individual who makes crooked things straight. If things are wrong, He makes them right, and He does so gladly. You know, one of our problems is this, folks. We don't try to make things right. Look at all the ill feelings and heartache and bitterness and resentment that has been built up simply because we don't make things right.

[John Weaver] I want you to see this. I can quote it, but I want you to see this. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Matthew 5 and then to Matthew 18. Matthew 5 and then Matthew 18. Matthew 5. And let's begin looking there at verse 23. Matthew 5, verse 23. Now, I want you to help me out on this one. You're going to have to think, okay? Matthew 5 verse 23, Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remembers that thy brother hath ought against thee, now watch it, you don't have anything against your brother. Your brother has something against you. And there remembers thy brother hath ought against thee. Leave there thy gift before thine altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, then come and offer thy gift." Now my question is this, if you remember your brother has something against you, whose responsibility is it to resolve it? Yours. Yours. Now, look in Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18, and let's look at verse 50. Matthew 18, verse 15.

[John Weaver] Watch carefully. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, now he doesn't have anything against you, you've got something against him. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. So now, if you've got something against your brother, whose responsibility is it to straighten it out? Yours. You see what I'm trying to show you? If your brother's got something against you, it's your responsibility to straighten it out. If you've got something against him, it's still your responsibility to straighten it out. It doesn't matter how it started or who started it, it's your responsibility to straighten it out. Our responsibility is literally to make things right. So that means if we've lied, straighten it out. If we've cheated, straighten it out. If we've stolen, straighten it out. Whatever it takes, straighten it out.

[John Weaver] I have a shirt, and I wear it occasionally. A number of years ago, I was with Ron Wilson, who is now the commander-in-chief of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. We were at a flea market, and the very first thing that caught my eye was this big beautiful picture of Nathan Bedford Forrest on the back of his t-shirt. And I said, I must have that t-shirt. And then Ron said, but look at what is on it. And I'm going to quote what is on the t-shirt, OK? I don't use this type of language, but I'm going to quote what is on the t-shirt. And I'm going to tell you what I did, and I'm going to tell you why. When I read the quote, I told Ron, I said, well, I'm going to buy it anyhow, because I know the story. But here's this beautiful picture of Nathan Bedford Forrest, and right under it is this quote from him. And here's the quote, No damned man kills me and lives.

[John Weaver] Ron said, You going to buy that t-shirt? I said, I surely am. I said, Let me tell you why I'm going to buy that t-shirt. And I've worn it just several times. I don't wear it often, but I've worn it several times. And inevitably, invariably, someone asks me about that quote. And I get to tell them the story.

[John Weaver] Now you've got to remember that Nathan Bedford Forrest was not a Christian during the war. He only became a Christian after the war. But Nathan Bedford Forrest had a young officer under his command who kept wanting to be promoted, and Bedford Forrest kept passing him over. On the last Passover, he confronted Bedford Forrest when he was at one of the headquarters buildings, and he asked him if he was going to promote him. And Forrest says, no, I'm not going to promote you. He said, why?

[John Weaver] He said, because you don't have the character. You don't have the discipline. He said, you are not qualified to be promoted. And the boy became so angry, he pulled out his pistol and shot Forrest in the stomach. Which, by the way, just proves Forrest's point. He didn't have the character or the discipline. Forrest was shot in the stomach. He thought he had been killed. So he reaches in his pocket, he pulls out his pocket knife, and he opens it and he swipes at the boy's stomach, and that's when he makes the statement, no damn man kills me and lives.

[John Weaver] In other words, you kill me, I'm going to kill you. Well, when the boy was cut, the boy then turned around and started running down the street, bleeding, naturally. Here Bedford Farrer sits right behind him, chasing him down the street, bleeding, with a bullet stuck in his stomach. And finally, the boy runs into a store and Forrest overtakes him. And he knocks him down and gets on top of him. And the men by that time have caught up with him and they pull Forrest off the boy. Well, both of them are taken to the same hospital. Put in the same room. Forrest lives. But the boy develops peritonitis and is dying. General Forrest went to see the young man.

[John Weaver] And he said, son, it grieves me that I acted so irrationally and so wickedly. And the young man said, sir, It grieves me that I did what I did. He said, you were right. I did not have the character. I did not have the discipline. Had I had such, he said, I would not have started this fight. But he said, sir, for the cause of the Confederacy, I'm glad that it's me who is dying and not you. And with that, Forrest bent over the young man and wept for him.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something, folks. As wicked as Forrest was, as wicked as we all are before our conversion, the least you could say is it took character to forgive a man who just tried to kill you. But he was willing to straighten it out. How many times Have you and I let opportunities go by? You know, the Bible says in James 5 and verse 16, confess your faults one to the other. Confess your faults one to the other. In other words, be willing to make things right. Be willing to forgive each other.

[John Weaver] I was preaching in Panama City, Florida. And the chapel service, it was at a Christian school, chapel service began I think it was 8.30 that morning. And they had allowed an hour, it was a week of special meetings from 8.30 to 9.30, was the time allotted for me to preach. I dealt with this subject. Before I closed in prayer, I asked, is there anyone who has anything to say? And lo and behold, this little 11th grader stood up, said, yes, sir, I've got something to say.

[John Weaver] He said, I wish to publicly apologize to my teacher and call her name. He's because I have been spreading rumors and lies about her. He said, there was a misunderstanding. He said, I've said things about that woman, and I've said them, and he named several people, and they're not true. And he said, I want to ask the Lord to forgive me. He said, I want to ask her to forgive me. You know, that woman stood up in tears, and she said, and son, I want to ask you to forgive me because I knew that you were saying those things about me, and I never confronted you.

[John Weaver] She said, I just let bitterness and resentment build up in my life. And when they met each other, they hugged, were weeping. Here stood up another student, another student, another teacher. It was 12.30 in the afternoon before we ever got out of there. The whole morning, young people were getting right with each other, with their teachers, Some even went to the phone and called their parents.

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying? You look at all the bitterness, the resentment, the wickedness that is in our lives today, just because we won't straighten things out. The Word of God says in the book of Leviticus chapter 19 verse 17, Thou shalt not suffer sin upon thy brother. We're not to allow sin to destroy us. God's kind of man is a straightening man. Now, one last thing. I want you to look down in your Bibles to verse 35. God's kind of man is not only a solitary man, a strong man, a separated man, a straightening man. Verse 35. Again, the next day after John stood in two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. God's kind of man is a satisfying man.

[John Weaver] Now, what do I mean by that? You know, this is what absolutely amazes me. Never had to cajole. He never had to beg. He never had to plead. He never had to argue. He just spoke. And men followed Jesus. Isn't that amazing? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just speak, and folks would follow Christ? I want you to see, folks, how these things are intimately tied together.

[John Weaver] I'm going to give you a couple of illustrations. But do you realize, in order to be a satisfying man, you must also be a straightening man, and a separated man, and a strong man, and a solitary man. They all are interconnected and go together. We can never be the last. until we're the first four. Let me show you. Let me give you an illustration. I'm going to read this because these are the words of a northern soldier. Four paragraphs long.

[John Weaver] He's giving an actual account of his encounter with Robert E. Latham. He says, long after the war, a northern Grand Army man told of meeting Lee in the field at Gettysburg under circumstances which revealed the true heart of the southern commander. Here's what the federal officer said or the federal man said. He said, I had been a most bitter anti-South man and fought and cursed the Confederates desperately.

[John Weaver] I could see nothing good in any of them. The last day of the fight, I was badly wounded. A ball shattered my left leg. I lay on the ground not far from Cemetery Ridge, and as General Lee ordered his retreat, he and his officers rode near me. As they came along, I recognized him, and though faint from exposure and loss of blood, I raised my hands and looked Lee in the face and shouted as loud as I could, Hurrah for the Union! The General heard me, looked, stopped his horse, dismounted, and came toward me.

[John Weaver] I confess, I at first thought he meant to kill me. But as he came up, he looked down at me with such a sad expression upon his face that all fear left me. And I wondered what he was about. He extended his hand to me, grasping mine firmly, and looking right into my eyes said, I hope you will soon be well." If I live a thousand years, I shall never forget the expression on General Lee's face.

[John Weaver] There he was, defeated, retiring from a field that had cost him and his cause almost their last hope, and yet he stopped to say words like these to a wounded soldier of the opposition who had taunted him as he passed by. As soon as the General had left me, I cried myself asleep there. on the bloody ground. Let me ask you a question. What do you think that Union soldier's estimation of Lee's Christianity was after he left him?

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying folks? If we want to be a satisfying voice We've got to be the kind of men that God ordained that we should be. Years ago, Billy Sunday preached a message which he entitled, The Measure of a Man. I'm going to give you his five points. Billy Sunday was the old Presbyterian evangelist. He said you can measure a man by five things. Number one, his character, what he is. That's a fact. Listen, your reputation may be what folks hear about you and think about you, but your character is really what you are. Okay? So the measure of a man, first of all, is by his character. That's what he is.

[John Weaver] Secondly, by his conduct, what he does. By the way, I hope you know that your conduct in reality really reveals your character. Help me out with this verse now. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. So you can measure a man, number one, by his character, what he is. Number two, by his conduct, what he does. Number three, by his contribution, what he gives.

[John Weaver] Some people are always takers. Some men are always givers. So you measure him by his character, what he is, his conduct, what he does, his contribution, what he gives, number four, his creed, what he believes, and number five, his companions, that's whom he associates with. Fools always associate with fools, but as the word of God says, A wise man associates with wise men. How do you measure a man? By his character? By his conduct? By his contribution? By his creed? By his companions?

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. Think about this. If you were alive in the days of John the Baptist, had you rather associate with him or with the Pharisees. If you were alive during the days of the War of Northern Aggression, had you rather associate with Grant and Hooker or Lee and Jackson? Remember Grant was the drunkard? Hooker was where the prostitutes got the nickname Hooker? That's a fact. Fighting Joe Hooker.

[John Weaver] He admitted those ladies of the night into the camp. They at first were known as Hooker's ladies, and then the ladies was dropped and they were just known as Hooker's. So my question is, who do you rather associate with? Do you see what I'm saying? Let me tell you something, folks. Our attitude ought to be this. If no one else does right, We are. If no one else stands for what's right, we will. If no one else does what is right, we shall. And if we're persecuted, prosecuted, hounded, and crucified for doing that which is right, so be it.

[John Weaver] Because God looked at John the Baptist and said, There was a man. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could hear our Sovereign Lord say that concerning us? There is a real man. There is a real woman. There is a real teenager. Godly. Holy, willing to do what's right, under every circumstance, in every situation, for my honor and my glory. May God give us men. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You, Father, for Your love and grace to us. We thank You, Lord, for Your mercies. Lord, how we confess and acknowledge our deficiencies of character, our lack of strength, our not wanting to straighten things out, and how we confess, Lord, the wickedness of our flesh. But Father, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ that You would give us strength to be holy and godly and like our Lord, separate from sin and wickedness and ungodliness. Give us grace to stand for Thee. Make us men and women who are willing to do what is right We ask it for your glory and for our good.

[John Weaver] In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Christian Manhood

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	79031010
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Prepared Hearts
Genre	Sermon
Date	2002-08-18
Dictation Name
Book	Book 136: Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations - Volume 1 — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	66

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: A Man Sent from God

Weaver introduces John the Baptist as God's example of a man, contrasting biblical manhood with worldly standards of physical strength.

I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, this morning to the book of John, chapter 1. John, chapter 1. And let's begin reading it, verse 6. John 1, verse 6. And we'll go from there. John 1, verse 6. Notice, if you would please, the Word of God says,

Scripture Reading — John 1:6

"There was a man sent from God whose name was John."

Now let's skip down to verse 19. "And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?"

"And he confessed and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees."

Now skip down, if you would please, to verse 35.

Scripture Reading — John 1:35-37

"Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus."

I wanted to bring a message today which I've entitled "Christian Manhood." I brought this message several weeks ago at the memorial service in Memphis, Tennessee. And I've had not only our people to ask for it, but other people who heard it there to ask for it. And when I preached the message there, I certainly did not record it. I think it's very imperative that we understand there's a vast difference between what the Word of God says about Christian manhood than what the world today says. If you look at verse 6, the Bible simply says this, "There was a man sent from God whose name was John." In other words, we could look at that verse and see God looking at John the Baptist and saying, "There was a man."

John the Baptist was certainly unique. John the Baptist was certainly the subject of Old Testament prophecy. He was born by miraculous intervention, you will remember. And he was designated to be the forerunner of Jesus Christ. And the interesting thing is this, when the Jews sent people to ask him, "Who art thou?" he could have blown up his chest and said, "Well, don't you know who I am?" "I mean, look at this man. Here I am in the Old Testament. I'm to be the forerunner of Christ." He could have done all of that, but he did not. He just simply said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Now, the point I want to make just simply by way of introduction is this. Just because an individual happens to have bulging muscles does not necessarily make him a man. Just because an individual happens to be 6'4" and weighs 250 pounds does not necessarily make him a man, at least not biblically speaking.

A Solitary Man: Willing to Stand Alone

John the Baptist was willing to stand alone for truth, demonstrating that Christian manhood requires character to do right even when isolated.

Let me put it like this. God's man, first and foremost, is a solitary man. "I am the voice of one." John was willing to stand alone. He was not ashamed to stand outside of the crowd. Do you realize, biblically speaking, Christian manhood, first and foremost, is demonstrated by being willing to stand for truth and for that which is right, even if we have to stand alone. You see, the truth is most people are willing to do what's right as long as people are around them to encourage them, to help them, to support them. But God's kind of man is a man who's willing to stand even if no one else stands. He's willing to take the heat even if no one else is willing to take the heat. He's willing to stand and stand alone if it's absolutely necessary. He said, "I am the voice of one." Do you realize one of the greatest reasons that we do not stand today for truth and for righteousness is simply because we lack the character? We are so much weaker today than people were 100 or 200 years ago.

It is absolutely pathetic. Now, everyone laughs at me because I can sleep in a freezer. I mean, I like it cold. Thirty degrees, that's short-sleeved weather for me. I like it like that. Let me tell you something. I have often wondered how Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, all those men fought in those wool suits. Can you imagine fighting in the summer in a wool suit? I have one made out of light wool.

I can put it on, wear it for 4 or 5 minutes, or 15 or 20 minutes, take it off, and wring my shirt out. They were made of a different caliber than we are today, I can assure you. Just simply that fact. But the truth of the matter is this. Biblically speaking, and comparatively speaking, the people, they have no backbone, they have no character, they have no intestinal fortitude, or to say it in South Georgia terms, they have no guts, compared to the way our forefathers did, and certainly the way John the Baptist did. You've heard the old saying, "A man who will not stand for something will fall for anything." And that's true. But see, God's kind of man is the man who's willing to stand, and he's willing to stand alone if necessary. And the reason he's willing to stand alone is because he has character. Now let me tell you something about character. Character is what a man is in the dark. If you tell me what you would do, if you knew that no one else would find out about it, I'll tell you exactly what you are. You say, "Well, if I knew no one else would ever find out about it, I'd go down to that bank and I'd take every dollar out of it." Well, you're a thief. "Well, if I knew no one else would ever find out about it, I'd run off with so and so." Well, you're an adulterer. Character is what a man is in the dark.

Do you realize character today really doesn't mean too much to most people? I hate to think—I would hate to think that character didn't mean anything to me. I want to do what's right, even if no one else does what's right. You see, the test of your character is what it takes to stop you. Now, if that is true—and it is true—most people may have very little character. Do you realize all it takes to stop the average individual is to talk about them? Make fun of them. Ridicule them. Say something about it.

And then they develop this attitude, "Well, if that's the way you feel about it, if that's the way you're going to talk, I'll just take my marbles and go home." And they quit. Because they have absolutely no character. The test of your character is what it takes to stop you. Can you imagine how John the Baptist was mocked and ridiculed? Can you imagine how our forefathers were mocked and ridiculed? And yet they just kept on keeping on. You see, listen carefully, this is very important. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Someone says, "Well, that battle sure made a hero out of that fellow." Oh no, he was already a hero in his heart, the battle just revealed him. Someone says, "Well, the battle made a coward out of that man. Look how he ran." No, no. He was already a coward in his heart. The battle just revealed him.

You want to know what you are, you get in the fires of tribulation and persecution, and your real, genuine character is going to come out. Because circumstances never make or break a man. They only reveal him. You've heard me say this before. Sin does not slip up upon an individual. It does not take him by surprise. Usually what we do, we think about it and we plan it before we ever engage in it. And the reason we continue to think about it and plan it is because we don't have the character as old—who's Andy Griffith's buddy? I forget. Barney Fife would say, "Nip it in the bud. Nip it, nip it in the bud." No, we don't have the character to do that. We want to play around with it in our minds, and we want to think about it, and then the next thing you know, we're executing it. We're planning it.

You know, Nathan Bedford Forrest was not a Christian, and I'll repeat this a little bit later, he was not a Christian during the war. And Nathan Bedford Forrest used some bad language from time to time during the war. But Nathan Bedford Forrest did have a little bit of character about him. He didn't have a little bit, he had a lot. When one of his staff officers, it was rumored, was having an adulterous affair, Nathan Bedford Forrest called him into his tent. And he asked the man point blank, was it so? And the man kind of laughed and grinned and, "Yeah, yeah, so like, you know, look at me." And when the man got through admitting that it was so, Nathan Bedford Forrest looked at him and said, "Sir, you will pack your bags and get out of my tent and off my staff and out of my camp within the next few hours or I will kick you out. He said, I will never have anyone on my staff who will mistreat women and mistreat his oath to his wife the way you do. Sir, you are no longer welcome in my camp." And he rang off. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. You look at a man like Daniel. Do you remember that?

They passed a law saying that no man could ask any petition to any God, save the king, for 30 days. Do you know what the Bible says? "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he knelt and prayed three times a day as he did aforetime." Do you know how to pray effectually when you're in trouble? Be used to praying before you ever get into trouble. And Daniel had rather face a den of lions than cease praying. He'd rather disobey man than disobey God. Do you remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?

Nebuchadnezzar had built that image in the plain of Dura. And they wouldn't bow. They stuck out like a sore thumb. Do you realize how those boys could have gotten around that? You know, I've thought about this. Shadrach could have looked at Meshach and said, "I tell you what, let's just sit down and rest. And these stupid heathens will either think we're halfway up or halfway down. They'll never know." Abednego could have said, "I've got a better idea. Let's just lie down on our stomachs and take a nap. And these heathens will think we're just staying prostrate on our face before their false god. They'll never know." They could have done any of those things, but they didn't. They just stuck out like a sore thumb. And when Nebuchadnezzar confronted them, they told him point-blank why.

He said, "Look, at what time do you hear the sound of the sackbut, the dulcimer, the harp, and all manner of music? If you fall down and worship my idol, well, if not, what God is He who will deliver you out of my hand?" And here's their answer. "Be it known unto you, O King, our God can deliver us. Whether He does or not, that's His business. But be it known unto you, O King, we will not bow down." And they would rather be thrown into a fiery furnace. Why? Because they had the character to realize that idolatry was wicked and wrong, and God had forbidden it, and they were certainly not going to engage in it. You see, John's attitude was this. "I'm going to stand even if I stand alone. If nobody stands with me, I'm going to stand for what's right." Do you remember Sam Davis?

Hanged at 21 as a spy. He was not a spy. He was a Confederate scout. He was captured in full uniform. And the reason he was hanged was because he refused to divulge who his captain was. He had rather be hanged himself than be accused of being a traitor to his country, to his captain, to his cause. Twenty-one years of age! And the last time Levi Naron offered him his life for the information, he was sitting on his coffin, sitting on the casket.

And he said, "You can hang me a thousand times and I'll never betray a friend." You don't have character. And most of us today, especially with the new world order and the homeland security, they want to turn us into a nation of informants. I'm telling you folks, the people a hundred years ago, the people in Bible times had far more character than we have today. John said, "I'm willing to stand even if I stand alone." Now watch this.

A Strong Man: Lifting His Voice

God's man is strong, not ashamed to cry out against sin, and acts with all his strength, tied to the character needed to stand alone.

Look back in your Bibles to verse 23. John said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." God's kind of man is not only a solitary man, he is also a strong man. He was crying in the wilderness. You know the Bible says in Isaiah 58 verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 58:1

"Lift up your voice like a trumpet and show my people their sins and the house of Israel their transgression."

Not only was he willing to stand alone, he was not ashamed to lift up his voice, literally, and cry out. Let me tell you something. I learned this a long time ago, and it's really helped me. And being strong is tied right in with being solitary, that is, having character to stand alone. Because if you're not strong, you're not going to stand alone, okay? But are you listening to me? You can borrow brains, but you cannot borrow character. I'm not a veterinarian, but Doc is. So, if I've got a problem with one of my horses or one of my cows, I could call him and he could tell me what to do. But if I don't have the character to go out and actually do what he tells me, all the information is useless and worthless. Say, I could call Hobie and ask about a mechanical problem, but if I don't have the character to follow through, all the information is worthless. So you can always borrow brains, but you can't borrow character. And let me tell you young people something. Listen to this.

God will use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, He's going to use you on character, and if you don't have any character, you can put it down, God will never use you. God's kind of man is a strong man. He's willing to stand. He's willing to do what's right. And He's willing to do it with all of His strength.

A Separated Man: In the Wilderness

John was in the wilderness, separated from sin, illustrating that a godly man avoids evil and makes no provision for the flesh.

Thirdly, look in your verse 23. He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Thirdly, God's kind of man is a separated man. Where was John? He was in the wilderness. He wasn't in town at the dance halls and the saloons and the juke joints and the liquor stores. No, he was out in the wilderness. He was not only willing to stand alone, he was not only willing to lift up his voice against that which was wicked and wrong, but he was also willing to separate himself from sin. You see, most people like to dabble with—you know, it's kind of like I preached last week. Most people really don't want to go out and actually commit sin, per se, because we know that it's wicked and wrong, but we want to be excited and titillated by it, and we want everything that leads right up to it, thinking that we can experiment in all of this and then all of a sudden quit. You know the Bible says in Hebrews 7 verse 26 concerning Jesus Christ, that He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.

And that's exactly the way we should be. We should be holy, we should be harmless, and separate from sin. We've got to understand, as I told you last week, when God forbids any sin, at the same time He forbids everything that leads up to it. That's why the Bible says in Romans 13 and verse 14, "Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof." God's kind of man is a separated man. What does the Bible say in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 33? "Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners." Let me translate that for you. That means if you play around with sinners and those who are wicked, you're not going to elevate them. You're the ones going to be corrupted. You're not going to pull them up. They're going to drag you down. It's just that simple. It's impossible to live a holy, godly life, inwardly and outwardly, if we align ourselves with that which is wicked and wrong.

Do you remember Psalm 119, verse 11,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:11

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."

I heard a long time ago about an extremely wealthy man who lived high up on a mountaintop, had a beautiful mansion, and his buggy driver left him. So he placed an ad in the paper for a buggy driver, and since it was a good job, three men applied. And the wealthy man said, "Look," he said, "I have to have the best driver." He said, "I live on this mountain." And he said, "You see that edge right over there?" "Yes." He says, "A thousand foot drop down to those rocks." He looked at the three men, he said, "I want to know how close you can come to that edge without going over with the horses running. He said, I want the best driver available." The first man said, "Well, sir, I'm so good that I can have those horses running and I can spin that buggy around and come within a foot and never go over the edge." The old man said, "Well, let me see you do it." So he stood back while the man got the horses running in the buggy. Sure enough, he spun that buggy around. He came within a foot and never went over the edge. He looked at the second man, he said, "How close can you come to it?" He said, "Sir, I'm such a good driver, I can come within six inches and never go over." He said, "Let me see you." So the man got the horses running.

Sure enough, he spun that buggy around. He came within six inches, never went over. He looked at the third man, he said, "Sir, how close can you come without going over?" Third man said, "I don't know. And I ain't stupid enough to try to find out." The rich man said, "Sir, you're hired. The man that drives my buggy, I want him to stay as far away from the edge of that cliff as he can." I want you to understand something, folks. God wants us to be as far away from wickedness and sin and ungodliness as we can be by the grace of God. God may use us some, but God will use us far more greatly, the purer and the more holy and the more godly we are.

Do you remember that passage in 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9? Let me just quote it for you.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 16:9

"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth that he might show himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him."

God is looking for individuals with a perfect or a holy heart. God's kind of man is a solitary man. God's kind of man is a strong man. God's kind of man is a separated man. "Abstain from all appearance of evil." Stonewall Jackson, one of my favorite men, during the Mexican War was entertained by a Mexican family and the house was very beautiful, the food was delicious, and after a while Stonewall Jackson took the host to the side and said, "I appreciate all your kindness toward me and all your courtesies and all your hospitalities, but," he said, "sir, I just wanted to inform you that I will no longer be able to come back to your hacienda."

And the man said, "Well, why? Have I offended you? Have I done something wrong?" Stonewall said, "No, no, you've done nothing wrong. He said, your daughters are too beautiful. And I find myself too attracted and it's time that I leave." I want you to see something. Here was a man who was not too proud to admit his own weakness. But yet at the same time, he had strength enough and character enough to know what to do. And he separated himself.

What does the Bible say? "Flee youthful lusts." Instead of saying that, he just simply took himself out of the way.

A Straightening Man: Making Things Right

John prepared the way by making crooked things straight; a Christian man takes responsibility to resolve conflicts and correct wrongs.

He was to prepare for the coming of Christ. God's kind of man is an individual who makes crooked things straight. If things are wrong, He makes them right, and He does so gladly. You know, one of our problems is this, folks. We don't try to make things right. Look at all the ill feelings and heartache and bitterness and resentment that has been built up simply because we don't make things right. I want you to see this. I can quote it, but I want you to see this. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Matthew 5 and then to Matthew 18. Matthew 5 and then Matthew 18. Matthew 5. And let's begin looking there at verse 23. Matthew 5, verse 23. Now, I want you to help me out on this one. You're going to have to think, okay? Matthew 5 verse 23,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:23-24

"Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee,"

now watch it, you don't have anything against your brother. Your brother has something against you.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:23-24

"And there rememberest thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before thine altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, then come and offer thy gift."

Now my question is this, if you remember your brother has something against you, whose responsibility is it to resolve it? Yours. Yours. Now, look in Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18, and let's look at verse 15.

Watch carefully. "Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee," now he doesn't have anything against you, you've got something against him. "Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother." So now, if you've got something against your brother, whose responsibility is it to straighten it out? Yours. You see what I'm trying to show you? If your brother's got something against you, it's your responsibility to straighten it out. If you've got something against him, it's still your responsibility to straighten it out. It doesn't matter how it started or who started it, it's your responsibility to straighten it out. Our responsibility is literally to make things right. So that means if we've lied, straighten it out. If we've cheated, straighten it out. If we've stolen, straighten it out. Whatever it takes, straighten it out.

I have a shirt, and I wear it occasionally. A number of years ago, I was with Ron Wilson, who is now the commander-in-chief of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. We were at a flea market, and the very first thing that caught my eye was this big beautiful picture of Nathan Bedford Forrest on the back of his t-shirt. And I said, "I must have that t-shirt." And then Ron said, "But look at what is on it." And I'm going to quote what is on the t-shirt, OK? I don't use this type of language, but I'm going to quote what is on the t-shirt. And I'm going to tell you what I did, and I'm going to tell you why. When I read the quote, I told Ron, I said, "Well, I'm going to buy it anyhow, because I know the story." But here's this beautiful picture of Nathan Bedford Forrest, and right under it is this quote from him. And here's the quote, "No damned man kills me and lives."

Ron said, "You going to buy that t-shirt?" I said, "I surely am." I said, "Let me tell you why I'm going to buy that t-shirt." And I've worn it just several times. I don't wear it often, but I've worn it several times. And inevitably, invariably, someone asks me about that quote. And I get to tell them the story.

Now you've got to remember that Nathan Bedford Forrest was not a Christian during the war. He only became a Christian after the war. But Nathan Bedford Forrest had a young officer under his command who kept wanting to be promoted, and Bedford Forrest kept passing him over. On the last passover, he confronted Bedford Forrest when he was at one of the headquarters buildings, and he asked him if he was going to promote him. And Forrest says, "No, I'm not going to promote you." He said, "Why?" He said, "Because you don't have the character. You don't have the discipline. He said, you are not qualified to be promoted." And the boy became so angry, he pulled out his pistol and shot Forrest in the stomach. Which, by the way, just proves Forrest's point. He didn't have the character or the discipline. Forrest was shot in the stomach. He thought he had been killed. So he reaches in his pocket, he pulls out his pocket knife, and he opens it and he swipes at the boy's stomach, and that's when he makes the statement, "No damned man kills me and lives."

In other words, you kill me, I'm going to kill you. Well, when the boy was cut, the boy then turned around and started running down the street, bleeding, naturally. Here Bedford Forrest sits right behind him, chasing him down the street, bleeding, with a bullet stuck in his stomach. And finally, the boy runs into a store and Forrest overtakes him. And he knocks him down and gets on top of him. And the men by that time have caught up with him and they pull Forrest off the boy. Well, both of them are taken to the same hospital. Put in the same room. Forrest lives. But the boy develops peritonitis and is dying. General Forrest went to see the young man.

And he said, "Son, it grieves me that I acted so irrationally and so wickedly." And the young man said, "Sir, it grieves me that I did what I did. He said, you were right. I did not have the character. I did not have the discipline. Had I had such," he said, "I would not have started this fight. But he said, sir, for the cause of the Confederacy, I'm glad that it's me who is dying and not you." And with that, Forrest bent over the young man and wept for him. Let me tell you something, folks. As wicked as Forrest was, as wicked as we all are before our conversion, the least you could say is it took character to forgive a man who just tried to kill you. But he was willing to straighten it out. How many times have you and I let opportunities go by? You know, the Bible says in James 5 and verse 16,

Scripture Reading — James 5:16

"Confess your faults one to the other."

Confess your faults one to the other. In other words, be willing to make things right. Be willing to forgive each other.

I was preaching in Panama City, Florida. And the chapel service, it was at a Christian school, chapel service began I think it was 8:30 that morning. And they had allowed an hour, it was a week of special meetings from 8:30 to 9:30, was the time allotted for me to preach. I dealt with this subject. Before I closed in prayer, I asked, "Is there anyone who has anything to say?" And lo and behold, this little 11th grader stood up, said, "Yes, sir, I've got something to say." He said, "I wish to publicly apologize to my teacher"—and called her name—"because I have been spreading rumors and lies about her. He said, there was a misunderstanding. He said, I've said things about that woman, and I've said them," and he named several people, "and they're not true. And he said, I want to ask the Lord to forgive me. He said, I want to ask her to forgive me." You know, that woman stood up in tears, and she said, "And son, I want to ask you to forgive me because I knew that you were saying those things about me, and I never confronted you."

She said, "I just let bitterness and resentment build up in my life." And when they met each other, they hugged, were weeping. Here stood up another student, another student, another teacher. It was 12:30 in the afternoon before we ever got out of there. The whole morning, young people were getting right with each other, with their teachers. Some even went to the phone and called their parents. You see what I'm saying? You look at all the bitterness, the resentment, the wickedness that is in our lives today, just because we won't straighten things out. The Word of God says in the book of Leviticus chapter 19 verse 17,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 19:17

"Thou shalt not suffer sin upon thy brother."

We're not to allow sin to destroy us. God's kind of man is a straightening man. Now, one last thing. I want you to look down in your Bibles to verse 35. God's kind of man is not only a solitary man, a strong man, a separated man, a straightening man. Verse 35. "Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus." God's kind of man is a satisfying man.

A Satisfying Man: Pointing to Christ

John simply spoke and men followed Jesus; a satisfying man's life draws others to Christ, built on the previous four characteristics.

Now, what do I mean by that? You know, this is what absolutely amazes me. He never had to cajole. He never had to beg. He never had to plead. He never had to argue. He just spoke. And men followed Jesus. Isn't that amazing? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just speak, and folks would follow Christ? I want you to see, folks, how these things are intimately tied together.

I'm going to give you a couple of illustrations. But do you realize, in order to be a satisfying man, you must also be a straightening man, and a separated man, and a strong man, and a solitary man. They all are interconnected and go together. We can never be the last until we're the first four. Let me show you. Let me give you an illustration. I'm going to read this because these are the words of a northern soldier. Four paragraphs long.

He's giving an actual account of his encounter with Robert E. Lee. He says, "Long after the war, a northern Grand Army man told of meeting Lee in the field at Gettysburg under circumstances which revealed the true heart of the southern commander. Here's what the federal officer said or the federal man said. He said, I had been a most bitter anti-South man and fought and cursed the Confederates desperately." "I could see nothing good in any of them. The last day of the fight, I was badly wounded. A ball shattered my left leg. I lay on the ground not far from Cemetery Ridge, and as General Lee ordered his retreat, he and his officers rode near me. As they came along, I recognized him, and though faint from exposure and loss of blood, I raised my hands and looked Lee in the face and shouted as loud as I could, 'Hurrah for the Union!' The General heard me, looked, stopped his horse, dismounted, and came toward me."

"I confess, I at first thought he meant to kill me. But as he came up, he looked down at me with such a sad expression upon his face that all fear left me. And I wondered what he was about. He extended his hand to me, grasping mine firmly, and looking right into my eyes said, 'I hope you will soon be well.' If I live a thousand years, I shall never forget the expression on General Lee's face." "There he was, defeated, retiring from a field that had cost him and his cause almost their last hope, and yet he stopped to say words like these to a wounded soldier of the opposition who had taunted him as he passed by. As soon as the General had left me, I cried myself asleep there on the bloody ground." Let me ask you a question. What do you think that Union soldier's estimation of Lee's Christianity was after he left him?

You see what I'm saying folks? If we want to be a satisfying voice, we've got to be the kind of men that God ordained that we should be. Years ago, Billy Sunday preached a message which he entitled, "The Measure of a Man." I'm going to give you his five points. Billy Sunday was the old Presbyterian evangelist. He said you can measure a man by five things. Number one, his character, what he is. That's a fact. Listen, your reputation may be what folks hear about you and think about you, but your character is really what you are. Okay? So the measure of a man, first of all, is by his character. That's what he is.

The Measure of a Man

Weaver cites Billy Sunday's five measures: character, conduct, contribution, creed, and companions, urging believers to associate with the godly.

Secondly, by his conduct, what he does. By the way, I hope you know that your conduct in reality really reveals your character. Help me out with this verse now. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." So you can measure a man, number one, by his character, what he is. Number two, by his conduct, what he does. Number three, by his contribution, what he gives. Some people are always takers. Some men are always givers. So you measure him by his character, what he is, his conduct, what he does, his contribution, what he gives, number four, his creed, what he believes, and number five, his companions, that's whom he associates with. Fools always associate with fools, but as the word of God says, a wise man associates with wise men. How do you measure a man? By his character? By his conduct? By his contribution? By his creed? By his companions?

Now let me ask you a question. Think about this. If you were alive in the days of John the Baptist, had you rather associate with him or with the Pharisees? If you were alive during the days of the War of Northern Aggression, had you rather associate with Grant and Hooker or Lee and Jackson? Remember Grant was the drunkard? Hooker was where the prostitutes got the nickname "Hooker"? That's a fact. Fighting Joe Hooker.

He admitted those ladies of the night into the camp. They at first were known as Hooker's ladies, and then the "ladies" was dropped and they were just known as Hookers. So my question is, who do you rather associate with? Do you see what I'm saying? Let me tell you something, folks. Our attitude ought to be this. If no one else does right, we are. If no one else stands for what's right, we will. If no one else does what is right, we shall. And if we're persecuted, prosecuted, hounded, and crucified for doing that which is right, so be it.

Conclusion: A Call to Godly Manhood

Weaver prays for God to raise up men and women of character who will do right regardless of cost, that God might say of them, 'There was a man.'

Because God looked at John the Baptist and said, "There was a man." Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could hear our Sovereign Lord say that concerning us? "There is a real man. There is a real woman. There is a real teenager. Godly. Holy, willing to do what's right, under every circumstance, in every situation, for my honor and my glory." May God give us men. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You, Father, for Your love and grace to us. We thank You, Lord, for Your mercies. Lord, how we confess and acknowledge our deficiencies of character, our lack of strength, our not wanting to straighten things out, and how we confess, Lord, the wickedness of our flesh. But Father, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ that You would give us strength to be holy and godly and like our Lord, separate from sin and wickedness and ungodliness. Give us grace to stand for Thee. Make us men and women who are willing to do what is right. We ask it for your glory and for our good.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Biblical Manhood vs. Worldly Standards

Summary: True manhood is defined by character and godliness, not physical attributes or worldly success.

Evidence: Just because an individual happens to have bulging muscles does not necessarily make him a man... at least not biblically speaking.

Character as the Foundation of Manhood

Summary: Character is what a man is in the dark, revealed by circumstances, and essential for standing alone.

Evidence: Character is what a man is in the dark. If you tell me what you would do, if you knew that no one else would find out about it, I'll tell you exactly what you are.

Separation from Sin

Summary: A godly man must separate himself from sin and everything that leads to it, avoiding corrupting influences.

Evidence: He was in the wilderness. He wasn't in town at the dance halls and the saloons and the juke joints and the liquor stores.

Responsibility to Make Things Right

Summary: Christians are obligated to resolve conflicts and correct wrongs, regardless of who is at fault.

Evidence: If your brother's got something against you, it's your responsibility to straighten it out. If you've got something against him, it's still your responsibility to straighten it out.

Influence Through Godly Living

Summary: A satisfying man points others to Christ not by manipulation but by the authenticity of his life.

Evidence: He never had to cajole. He never had to beg. He never had to plead. He never had to argue. He just spoke. And men followed Jesus.

Historical Examples of Character

Summary: Figures like Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Nathan Bedford Forrest illustrate aspects of character, even imperfectly.

Evidence: Stonewall Jackson... said, 'Your daughters are too beautiful. And I find myself too attracted and it's time that I leave.'

Key Arguments

Circumstances Reveal Character

Summary: Circumstances do not create character but reveal what is already in a person's heart.

Evidence: Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him.

Character Cannot Be Borrowed

Summary: While one can borrow knowledge or advice, character must be personally possessed to act on it.

Evidence: You can borrow brains, but you cannot borrow character.

God Uses People Based on Character

Summary: God may use a person on credit early in life, but later usefulness depends on developed character.

Evidence: God will use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, He's going to use you on character, and if you don't have any character, you can put it down, God will never use you.

Separation Prevents Corruption

Summary: Associating with wickedness leads to corruption, not the elevation of the wicked.

Evidence: If you play around with sinners and those who are wicked, you're not going to elevate them. You're the ones going to be corrupted.

Personal Responsibility in Reconciliation

Summary: Scripture places the burden of initiating reconciliation on the individual, regardless of fault.

Evidence: If you remember your brother has something against you, whose responsibility is it to resolve it? Yours.

The Interconnectedness of Manhood Traits

Summary: The five characteristics of a godly man are interdependent; one cannot be a satisfying man without the others.

Evidence: In order to be a satisfying man, you must also be a straightening man, and a separated man, and a strong man, and a solitary man. They all are interconnected and go together.

Scripture References

John 1:6

Context: Introduction of John the Baptist as a man sent from God.

John 1:19-23

Context: John's testimony that he is the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

John 1:35-37

Context: John points to Jesus as the Lamb of God and his disciples follow Jesus.

Isaiah 58:1

Context: Command to lift up the voice like a trumpet and show God's people their sins.

Hebrews 7:26

Context: Christ is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.

Romans 13:14

Context: Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.

1 Corinthians 15:33

Context: Evil communications corrupt good manners.

Psalm 119:11

Context: Hiding God's word in the heart to avoid sin.

2 Chronicles 16:9

Context: God shows Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him.

Matthew 5:23-24

Context: If a brother has something against you, leave your gift and be reconciled first.

Matthew 18:15

Context: If a brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault privately.

James 5:16

Context: Confess your faults one to another.

Leviticus 19:17

Context: You shall not suffer sin upon your brother.

Proverbs 23:7 (implied)

Context: As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

Historical References

Great Depression

Context: People during the Great Depression were honest and willing to work for food, unlike today's entitlement mentality.

Robert E. Lee

Context: Lee equated Christianity with being a Southern gentleman; example of kindness to a wounded Union soldier at Gettysburg.

Stonewall Jackson

Context: Jackson separated himself from a Mexican family because he was attracted to the daughters, demonstrating character.

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Context: Forrest dismissed a staff officer for adultery; later forgave a man who shot him, showing character despite not being a Christian at the time.

Sam Davis

Context: Confederate scout hanged at 21 for refusing to betray his captain, exemplifying loyalty and character.

Billy Sunday

Context: Presbyterian evangelist who preached 'The Measure of a Man,' listing five measures: character, conduct, contribution, creed, companions.

General Grant and General Hooker

Context: Grant was a drunkard; Hooker allowed prostitutes in camp, leading to the term 'hooker.'

Important Quotes

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

Significance: Foundation of the sermon: God's declaration that John the Baptist exemplified true manhood.

I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

Significance: John's humble self-identification, illustrating solitary, strong, and separated manhood.

Character is what a man is in the dark.

Significance: Defines character as inner reality, not public reputation.

Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him.

Significance: Key argument that trials expose pre-existing character.

You can borrow brains, but you cannot borrow character.

Significance: Emphasizes that character must be personally owned and developed.

Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners.

Significance: Scriptural basis for separation from sinful influences.

No damned man kills me and lives.

Significance: Quote on a t-shirt leading to the story of Forrest's character and eventual reconciliation.

He just spoke. And men followed Jesus.

Significance: Illustrates the satisfying man whose life naturally draws others to Christ.

Discussion Questions

How does the world's definition of manhood differ from the biblical model presented in this sermon?

Context: Weaver contrasts physical strength with character-based manhood.

In what areas of life are you most tempted to compromise when standing alone?

Context: The solitary man is willing to stand for truth even if no one else does.

What does it mean to 'make no provision for the flesh,' and how can we practice this?

Context: Separation from sin includes avoiding everything that leads to it.

Why is it our responsibility to initiate reconciliation regardless of who is at fault?

Context: Matthew 5 and 18 teach personal responsibility in resolving conflicts.

How can we cultivate character that remains consistent in private and public?

Context: Character is defined as what a man is in the dark.

What historical or personal examples have you seen of someone who was a 'satisfying man' pointing others to Christ?

Context: The satisfying man influences others simply by his godly life.

How do the five measures of a man (character, conduct, contribution, creed, companions) apply to your life?

Context: Billy Sunday's framework for evaluating manhood.

Applications

Develop Character to Stand Alone

Summary: Cultivate inner character so that you will do right even when no one else supports you.

Evidence: God's kind of man is a man who's willing to stand even if no one else stands.

Separate from Sinful Influences

Summary: Avoid people and situations that lead to sin, staying as far from temptation as possible.

Evidence: God wants us to be as far away from wickedness and sin and ungodliness as we can be by the grace of God.

Take Initiative to Reconcile

Summary: When there is conflict, take the first step to make things right, regardless of who caused it.

Evidence: It doesn't matter how it started or who started it, it's your responsibility to straighten it out.

Live a Life That Points to Christ

Summary: Let your conduct and character be so consistent that others are drawn to follow Jesus.

Evidence: He just spoke. And men followed Jesus.

Evaluate Your Companions

Summary: Choose friends and associates who are wise and godly, as companions reveal and shape character.

Evidence: Fools always associate with fools, but as the word of God says, a wise man associates with wise men.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T17:54:31Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-05T20:27:04Z

Clean Transcript

Christian Manhood

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, this morning to the book of John, chapter 1. John, chapter 1. And let's begin reading it, verse 6. John 1, verse 6. And we'll go from there. John 1, verse 6. Notice, if you would please, the Word of God says, "There was a man sent from God whose name was John." Now let's skip down to verse 19. "And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?"
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"And he confessed and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he said, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees."
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Now skip down, if you would please, to verse 35. "Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus." I wanted to bring a message today which I've entitled "Christian Manhood." I brought this message several weeks ago at the memorial service in Memphis, Tennessee. And I've had not only our people to ask for it, but other people who heard it there to ask for it. And when I preached the message there, I certainly did not record it. I think it's very imperative that we understand there's a vast difference between what the Word of God says about Christian manhood than what the world today says. If you look at verse 6, the Bible simply says this, "There was a man sent from God whose name was John." In other words, we could look at that verse and see God looking at John the Baptist and saying, "There was a man."
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John the Baptist was certainly unique. John the Baptist was certainly the subject of Old Testament prophecy. He was born by miraculous intervention, you will remember. And he was designated to be the forerunner of Jesus Christ. And the interesting thing is this, when the Jews sent people to ask him, "Who art thou?" he could have blown up his chest and said, "Well, don't you know who I am?"
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"I mean, look at this man. Here I am in the Old Testament. I'm to be the forerunner of Christ." He could have done all of that, but he did not. He just simply said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Now, the point I want to make just simply by way of introduction is this. Just because an individual happens to have bulging muscles does not necessarily make him a man. Just because an individual happens to be 6'4" and weighs 250 pounds does not necessarily make him a man, at least not biblically speaking.
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When you and I stop and think about our ancestors, about our forefathers, we have to admit there was something totally different about them. They certainly had more character. They had more common sense. They had far more strength than you and I have today. There is a vast difference between people even of a hundred years ago and people of the day. There's a vast difference between people of 75 years ago and people today. Let me tell you something. The people that went through the Great Depression as a whole were honest people and were willing to work for food. If the same thing happened today, you're talking about riots, trouble, because now today everybody thinks the government ought to give it to them, and if the government doesn't, then they'll take it from whomever they can take it. There's a vast difference between the 1930s and 2003. Now, General Robert E.
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Lee often equated Christianity with being a Southern gentleman. He could not see any difference. If you were a Christian, you were indeed a man, a gentle man, because they were one and the same. He did not separate them.
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Now, when God looked at John the Baptist, He said, "There was a man." Let me just show you from the Bible the characteristics of a biblical man. Look, if you would please, at verse 23. John 1, verse 23. Verse 22, they said unto him, "Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?" And the very first thing John responds is this, "I am the voice of one."
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Let me put it like this. God's man, first and foremost, is a solitary man. "I am the voice of one." John was willing to stand alone. He was not ashamed to stand outside of the crowd. Do you realize, biblically speaking, Christian manhood, first and foremost, is demonstrated by being willing to stand for truth and for that which is right, even if we have to stand alone. You see, the truth is most people are willing to do what's right as long as people are around them to encourage them, to help them, to support them. But God's kind of man is a man who's willing to stand even if no one else stands. He's willing to take the heat even if no one else is willing to take the heat. He's willing to stand and stand alone if it's absolutely necessary. He said, "I am the voice of one." Do you realize one of the greatest reasons that we do not stand today for truth and for righteousness is simply because we lack the character? We are so much weaker today than people were 100 or 200 years ago.
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It is absolutely pathetic. Now, everyone laughs at me because I can sleep in a freezer. I mean, I like it cold. Thirty degrees, that's short-sleeved weather for me. I like it like that. Let me tell you something. I have often wondered how Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, all those men fought in those wool suits. Can you imagine fighting in the summer in a wool suit? I have one made out of light wool.
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I can put it on, wear it for 4 or 5 minutes, or 15 or 20 minutes, take it off, and wring my shirt out. They were made of a different caliber than we are today, I can assure you. Just simply that fact. But the truth of the matter is this. Biblically speaking, and comparatively speaking, the people, they have no backbone, they have no character, they have no intestinal fortitude, or to say it in South Georgia terms, they have no guts, compared to the way our forefathers did, and certainly the way John the Baptist did.
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You've heard the old saying, "A man who will not stand for something will fall for anything." And that's true. But see, God's kind of man is the man who's willing to stand, and he's willing to stand alone if necessary. And the reason he's willing to stand alone is because he has character. Now let me tell you something about character. Character is what a man is in the dark. If you tell me what you would do, if you knew that no one else would find out about it, I'll tell you exactly what you are. You say, "Well, if I knew no one else would ever find out about it, I'd go down to that bank and I'd take every dollar out of it." Well, you're a thief. "Well, if I knew no one else would ever find out about it, I'd run off with so and so." Well, you're an adulterer. Character is what a man is in the dark.
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Do you realize character today really doesn't mean too much to most people? I hate to think—I would hate to think that character didn't mean anything to me. I want to do what's right, even if no one else does what's right. You see, the test of your character is what it takes to stop you. Now, if that is true—and it is true—most people may have very little character. Do you realize all it takes to stop the average individual is to talk about them? Make fun of them. Ridicule them. Say something about it.
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And then they develop this attitude, "Well, if that's the way you feel about it, if that's the way you're going to talk, I'll just take my marbles and go home." And they quit. Because they have absolutely no character. The test of your character is what it takes to stop you. Can you imagine how John the Baptist was mocked and ridiculed? Can you imagine how our forefathers were mocked and ridiculed? And yet they just kept on keeping on.
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You see, listen carefully, this is very important. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him. Someone says, "Well, that battle sure made a hero out of that fellow." Oh no, he was already a hero in his heart, the battle just revealed him. Someone says, "Well, the battle made a coward out of that man. Look how he ran." No, no. He was already a coward in his heart. The battle just revealed him.
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You want to know what you are, you get in the fires of tribulation and persecution, and your real, genuine character is going to come out. Because circumstances never make or break a man. They only reveal him. You've heard me say this before. Sin does not slip up upon an individual. It does not take him by surprise. Usually what we do, we think about it and we plan it before we ever engage in it. And the reason we continue to think about it and plan it is because we don't have the character as old—who's Andy Griffith's buddy? I forget. Barney Fife would say, "Nip it in the bud. Nip it, nip it in the bud." No, we don't have the character to do that. We want to play around with it in our minds, and we want to think about it, and then the next thing you know, we're executing it. We're planning it.
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You know, Nathan Bedford Forrest was not a Christian, and I'll repeat this a little bit later, he was not a Christian during the war. And Nathan Bedford Forrest used some bad language from time to time during the war. But Nathan Bedford Forrest did have a little bit of character about him. He didn't have a little bit, he had a lot. When one of his staff officers, it was rumored, was having an adulterous affair, Nathan Bedford Forrest called him into his tent.
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And he asked the man point blank, was it so? And the man kind of laughed and grinned and, "Yeah, yeah, so like, you know, look at me." And when the man got through admitting that it was so, Nathan Bedford Forrest looked at him and said, "Sir, you will pack your bags and get out of my tent and off my staff and out of my camp within the next few hours or I will kick you out. He said, I will never have anyone on my staff who will mistreat women and mistreat his oath to his wife the way you do. Sir, you are no longer welcome in my camp." And he rang off. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. You look at a man like Daniel. Do you remember that?
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They passed a law saying that no man could ask any petition to any God, save the king, for 30 days. Do you know what the Bible says?
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"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he knelt and prayed three times a day as he did aforetime." Do you know how to pray effectually when you're in trouble? Be used to praying before you ever get into trouble. And Daniel had rather face a den of lions than cease praying. He'd rather disobey man than disobey God. Do you remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?
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Nebuchadnezzar had built that image in the plain of Dura. And they wouldn't bow. They stuck out like a sore thumb. Do you realize how those boys could have gotten around that? You know, I've thought about this. Shadrach could have looked at Meshach and said, "I tell you what, let's just sit down and rest. And these stupid heathens will either think we're halfway up or halfway down. They'll never know." Abednego could have said, "I've got a better idea. Let's just lie down on our stomachs and take a nap. And these heathens will think we're just staying prostrate on our face before their false god. They'll never know." They could have done any of those things, but they didn't. They just stuck out like a sore thumb. And when Nebuchadnezzar confronted them, they told him point-blank why.
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He said, "Look, at what time do you hear the sound of the sackbut, the dulcimer, the harp, and all manner of music? If you fall down and worship my idol, well, if not, what God is He who will deliver you out of my hand?" And here's their answer. "Be it known unto you, O King, our God can deliver us. Whether He does or not, that's His business. But be it known unto you, O King, we will not bow down."
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And they would rather be thrown into a fiery furnace. Why? Because they had the character to realize that idolatry was wicked and wrong, and God had forbidden it, and they were certainly not going to engage in it. You see, John's attitude was this. "I'm going to stand even if I stand alone. If nobody stands with me, I'm going to stand for what's right." Do you remember Sam Davis?
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Hanged at 21 as a spy. He was not a spy. He was a Confederate scout. He was captured in full uniform. And the reason he was hanged was because he refused to divulge who his captain was. He had rather be hanged himself than be accused of being a traitor to his country, to his captain, to his cause. Twenty-one years of age! And the last time Levi Naron offered him his life for the information, he was sitting on his coffin, sitting on the casket.
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And he said, "You can hang me a thousand times and I'll never betray a friend." You don't have character. And most of us today, especially with the new world order and the homeland security, they want to turn us into a nation of informants. I'm telling you folks, the people a hundred years ago, the people in Bible times had far more character than we have today. John said, "I'm willing to stand even if I stand alone." Now watch this.
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Look back in your Bibles to verse 23. John said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." God's kind of man is not only a solitary man, he is also a strong man. He was crying in the wilderness. You know the Bible says in Isaiah 58 verse 1, "Lift up your voice like a trumpet and show my people their sins and the house of Israel their transgression." Not only was he willing to stand alone, he was not ashamed to lift up his voice, literally, and cry out.
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Let me tell you something. I learned this a long time ago, and it's really helped me. And being strong is tied right in with being solitary, that is, having character to stand alone. Because if you're not strong, you're not going to stand alone, okay? But are you listening to me? You can borrow brains, but you cannot borrow character. I'm not a veterinarian, but Doc is. So, if I've got a problem with one of my horses or one of my cows, I could call him and he could tell me what to do. But if I don't have the character to go out and actually do what he tells me, all the information is useless and worthless. Say, I could call Hobie and ask about a mechanical problem, but if I don't have the character to follow through, all the information is worthless. So you can always borrow brains, but you can't borrow character. And let me tell you young people something. Listen to this.
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God will use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, He's going to use you on character, and if you don't have any character, you can put it down, God will never use you. God's kind of man is a strong man. He's willing to stand. He's willing to do what's right. And He's willing to do it with all of His strength.
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Thirdly, look in your verse 23. He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Thirdly, God's kind of man is a separated man. Where was John? He was in the wilderness. He wasn't in town at the dance halls and the saloons and the juke joints and the liquor stores. No, he was out in the wilderness. He was not only willing to stand alone, he was not only willing to lift up his voice against that which was wicked and wrong, but he was also willing to separate himself from sin. You see, most people like to dabble with—you know, it's kind of like I preached last week. Most people really don't want to go out and actually commit sin, per se, because we know that it's wicked and wrong, but we want to be excited and titillated by it, and we want everything that leads right up to it, thinking that we can experiment in all of this and then all of a sudden quit. You know the Bible says in Hebrews 7 verse 26 concerning Jesus Christ, that He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.
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And that's exactly the way we should be. We should be holy, we should be harmless, and separate from sin. We've got to understand, as I told you last week, when God forbids any sin, at the same time He forbids everything that leads up to it. That's why the Bible says in Romans 13 and verse 14, "Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof." God's kind of man is a separated man. What does the Bible say in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 33?
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"Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners." Let me translate that for you. That means if you play around with sinners and those who are wicked, you're not going to elevate them. You're the ones going to be corrupted. You're not going to pull them up. They're going to drag you down. It's just that simple. It's impossible to live a holy, godly life, inwardly and outwardly, if we align ourselves with that which is wicked and wrong.
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Do you remember Psalm 119, verse 11, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." I heard a long time ago about an extremely wealthy man who lived high up on a mountaintop, had a beautiful mansion, and his buggy driver left him. So he placed an ad in the paper for a buggy driver, and since it was a good job, three men applied. And the wealthy man said, "Look," he said, "I have to have the best driver."
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He said, "I live on this mountain." And he said, "You see that edge right over there?" "Yes." He says, "A thousand foot drop down to those rocks." He looked at the three men, he said, "I want to know how close you can come to that edge without going over with the horses running. He said, I want the best driver available." The first man said, "Well, sir, I'm so good that I can have those horses running and I can spin that buggy around and come within a foot and never go over the edge." The old man said, "Well, let me see you do it." So he stood back while the man got the horses running in the buggy. Sure enough, he spun that buggy around. He came within a foot and never went over the edge. He looked at the second man, he said, "How close can you come to it?" He said, "Sir, I'm such a good driver, I can come within six inches and never go over." He said, "Let me see you." So the man got the horses running.
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Sure enough, he spun that buggy around. He came within six inches, never went over. He looked at the third man, he said, "Sir, how close can you come without going over?" Third man said, "I don't know. And I ain't stupid enough to try to find out." The rich man said, "Sir, you're hired. The man that drives my buggy, I want him to stay as far away from the edge of that cliff as he can." I want you to understand something, folks. God wants us to be as far away from wickedness and sin and ungodliness as we can be by the grace of God. God may use us some, but God will use us far more greatly, the purer and the more holy and the more godly we are.
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Do you remember that passage in 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9? Let me just quote it for you. "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth that he might show himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him." God is looking for individuals with a perfect or a holy heart. God's kind of man is a solitary man. God's kind of man is a strong man. God's kind of man is a separated man.
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"Abstain from all appearance of evil." Stonewall Jackson, one of my favorite men, during the Mexican War was entertained by a Mexican family and the house was very beautiful, the food was delicious, and after a while Stonewall Jackson took the host to the side and said, "I appreciate all your kindness toward me and all your courtesies and all your hospitalities, but," he said, "sir, I just wanted to inform you that I will no longer be able to come back to your hacienda."
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And the man said, "Well, why? Have I offended you? Have I done something wrong?" Stonewall said, "No, no, you've done nothing wrong. He said, your daughters are too beautiful. And I find myself too attracted and it's time that I leave." I want you to see something. Here was a man who was not too proud to admit his own weakness. But yet at the same time, he had strength enough and character enough to know what to do. And he separated himself.
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What does the Bible say? "Flee youthful lusts." Instead of saying that, he just simply took himself out of the way.
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Now, watch in your Bibles back to John 1 in verse 23. When they asked John, "Who art thou?" He said, "I am the voice of one," a solitary man, "crying," a strong man, "in the wilderness," a separated man. And then here's fourthly, "Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah." God's kind of man is a straightening man. What do I mean by that? John basically was to straighten out things.
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He was to prepare for the coming of Christ. God's kind of man is an individual who makes crooked things straight. If things are wrong, He makes them right, and He does so gladly. You know, one of our problems is this, folks. We don't try to make things right. Look at all the ill feelings and heartache and bitterness and resentment that has been built up simply because we don't make things right.
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I want you to see this. I can quote it, but I want you to see this. Look in your Bibles, first of all, to Matthew 5 and then to Matthew 18. Matthew 5 and then Matthew 18. Matthew 5. And let's begin looking there at verse 23. Matthew 5, verse 23. Now, I want you to help me out on this one. You're going to have to think, okay? Matthew 5 verse 23, "Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee," now watch it, you don't have anything against your brother. Your brother has something against you. "And there rememberest thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before thine altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, then come and offer thy gift." Now my question is this, if you remember your brother has something against you, whose responsibility is it to resolve it? Yours. Yours. Now, look in Matthew chapter 18. Matthew chapter 18, and let's look at verse 15.
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Watch carefully. "Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee," now he doesn't have anything against you, you've got something against him. "Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother." So now, if you've got something against your brother, whose responsibility is it to straighten it out? Yours. You see what I'm trying to show you? If your brother's got something against you, it's your responsibility to straighten it out. If you've got something against him, it's still your responsibility to straighten it out. It doesn't matter how it started or who started it, it's your responsibility to straighten it out. Our responsibility is literally to make things right. So that means if we've lied, straighten it out. If we've cheated, straighten it out. If we've stolen, straighten it out. Whatever it takes, straighten it out.
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I have a shirt, and I wear it occasionally. A number of years ago, I was with Ron Wilson, who is now the commander-in-chief of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. We were at a flea market, and the very first thing that caught my eye was this big beautiful picture of Nathan Bedford Forrest on the back of his t-shirt. And I said, "I must have that t-shirt." And then Ron said, "But look at what is on it." And I'm going to quote what is on the t-shirt, OK? I don't use this type of language, but I'm going to quote what is on the t-shirt. And I'm going to tell you what I did, and I'm going to tell you why. When I read the quote, I told Ron, I said, "Well, I'm going to buy it anyhow, because I know the story." But here's this beautiful picture of Nathan Bedford Forrest, and right under it is this quote from him. And here's the quote, "No damned man kills me and lives."
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Ron said, "You going to buy that t-shirt?" I said, "I surely am." I said, "Let me tell you why I'm going to buy that t-shirt." And I've worn it just several times. I don't wear it often, but I've worn it several times. And inevitably, invariably, someone asks me about that quote. And I get to tell them the story.
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Now you've got to remember that Nathan Bedford Forrest was not a Christian during the war. He only became a Christian after the war. But Nathan Bedford Forrest had a young officer under his command who kept wanting to be promoted, and Bedford Forrest kept passing him over. On the last passover, he confronted Bedford Forrest when he was at one of the headquarters buildings, and he asked him if he was going to promote him. And Forrest says, "No, I'm not going to promote you." He said, "Why?"
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He said, "Because you don't have the character. You don't have the discipline. He said, you are not qualified to be promoted." And the boy became so angry, he pulled out his pistol and shot Forrest in the stomach. Which, by the way, just proves Forrest's point. He didn't have the character or the discipline. Forrest was shot in the stomach. He thought he had been killed. So he reaches in his pocket, he pulls out his pocket knife, and he opens it and he swipes at the boy's stomach, and that's when he makes the statement, "No damned man kills me and lives."
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In other words, you kill me, I'm going to kill you. Well, when the boy was cut, the boy then turned around and started running down the street, bleeding, naturally. Here Bedford Forrest sits right behind him, chasing him down the street, bleeding, with a bullet stuck in his stomach. And finally, the boy runs into a store and Forrest overtakes him. And he knocks him down and gets on top of him. And the men by that time have caught up with him and they pull Forrest off the boy. Well, both of them are taken to the same hospital. Put in the same room. Forrest lives. But the boy develops peritonitis and is dying. General Forrest went to see the young man.
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And he said, "Son, it grieves me that I acted so irrationally and so wickedly." And the young man said, "Sir, it grieves me that I did what I did. He said, you were right. I did not have the character. I did not have the discipline. Had I had such," he said, "I would not have started this fight. But he said, sir, for the cause of the Confederacy, I'm glad that it's me who is dying and not you." And with that, Forrest bent over the young man and wept for him.
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Let me tell you something, folks. As wicked as Forrest was, as wicked as we all are before our conversion, the least you could say is it took character to forgive a man who just tried to kill you. But he was willing to straighten it out. How many times have you and I let opportunities go by? You know, the Bible says in James 5 and verse 16, "Confess your faults one to the other." Confess your faults one to the other. In other words, be willing to make things right. Be willing to forgive each other.
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I was preaching in Panama City, Florida. And the chapel service, it was at a Christian school, chapel service began I think it was 8:30 that morning. And they had allowed an hour, it was a week of special meetings from 8:30 to 9:30, was the time allotted for me to preach. I dealt with this subject. Before I closed in prayer, I asked, "Is there anyone who has anything to say?" And lo and behold, this little 11th grader stood up, said, "Yes, sir, I've got something to say."
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He said, "I wish to publicly apologize to my teacher"—and called her name—"because I have been spreading rumors and lies about her. He said, there was a misunderstanding. He said, I've said things about that woman, and I've said them," and he named several people, "and they're not true. And he said, I want to ask the Lord to forgive me. He said, I want to ask her to forgive me." You know, that woman stood up in tears, and she said, "And son, I want to ask you to forgive me because I knew that you were saying those things about me, and I never confronted you."
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She said, "I just let bitterness and resentment build up in my life." And when they met each other, they hugged, were weeping. Here stood up another student, another student, another teacher. It was 12:30 in the afternoon before we ever got out of there. The whole morning, young people were getting right with each other, with their teachers. Some even went to the phone and called their parents.
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You see what I'm saying? You look at all the bitterness, the resentment, the wickedness that is in our lives today, just because we won't straighten things out. The Word of God says in the book of Leviticus chapter 19 verse 17, "Thou shalt not suffer sin upon thy brother." We're not to allow sin to destroy us. God's kind of man is a straightening man. Now, one last thing. I want you to look down in your Bibles to verse 35. God's kind of man is not only a solitary man, a strong man, a separated man, a straightening man. Verse 35. "Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus." God's kind of man is a satisfying man.
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Now, what do I mean by that? You know, this is what absolutely amazes me. He never had to cajole. He never had to beg. He never had to plead. He never had to argue. He just spoke. And men followed Jesus. Isn't that amazing? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just speak, and folks would follow Christ? I want you to see, folks, how these things are intimately tied together.
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I'm going to give you a couple of illustrations. But do you realize, in order to be a satisfying man, you must also be a straightening man, and a separated man, and a strong man, and a solitary man. They all are interconnected and go together. We can never be the last until we're the first four. Let me show you. Let me give you an illustration. I'm going to read this because these are the words of a northern soldier. Four paragraphs long.
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He's giving an actual account of his encounter with Robert E. Lee. He says, "Long after the war, a northern Grand Army man told of meeting Lee in the field at Gettysburg under circumstances which revealed the true heart of the southern commander. Here's what the federal officer said or the federal man said. He said, I had been a most bitter anti-South man and fought and cursed the Confederates desperately."
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"I could see nothing good in any of them. The last day of the fight, I was badly wounded. A ball shattered my left leg. I lay on the ground not far from Cemetery Ridge, and as General Lee ordered his retreat, he and his officers rode near me. As they came along, I recognized him, and though faint from exposure and loss of blood, I raised my hands and looked Lee in the face and shouted as loud as I could, 'Hurrah for the Union!' The General heard me, looked, stopped his horse, dismounted, and came toward me."
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"I confess, I at first thought he meant to kill me. But as he came up, he looked down at me with such a sad expression upon his face that all fear left me. And I wondered what he was about. He extended his hand to me, grasping mine firmly, and looking right into my eyes said, 'I hope you will soon be well.' If I live a thousand years, I shall never forget the expression on General Lee's face."
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"There he was, defeated, retiring from a field that had cost him and his cause almost their last hope, and yet he stopped to say words like these to a wounded soldier of the opposition who had taunted him as he passed by. As soon as the General had left me, I cried myself asleep there on the bloody ground." Let me ask you a question. What do you think that Union soldier's estimation of Lee's Christianity was after he left him?
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You see what I'm saying folks? If we want to be a satisfying voice, we've got to be the kind of men that God ordained that we should be. Years ago, Billy Sunday preached a message which he entitled, "The Measure of a Man." I'm going to give you his five points. Billy Sunday was the old Presbyterian evangelist. He said you can measure a man by five things. Number one, his character, what he is. That's a fact. Listen, your reputation may be what folks hear about you and think about you, but your character is really what you are. Okay? So the measure of a man, first of all, is by his character. That's what he is.
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Secondly, by his conduct, what he does. By the way, I hope you know that your conduct in reality really reveals your character. Help me out with this verse now. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." So you can measure a man, number one, by his character, what he is. Number two, by his conduct, what he does. Number three, by his contribution, what he gives.
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Some people are always takers. Some men are always givers. So you measure him by his character, what he is, his conduct, what he does, his contribution, what he gives, number four, his creed, what he believes, and number five, his companions, that's whom he associates with. Fools always associate with fools, but as the word of God says, a wise man associates with wise men. How do you measure a man? By his character? By his conduct? By his contribution? By his creed? By his companions?
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Now let me ask you a question. Think about this. If you were alive in the days of John the Baptist, had you rather associate with him or with the Pharisees? If you were alive during the days of the War of Northern Aggression, had you rather associate with Grant and Hooker or Lee and Jackson? Remember Grant was the drunkard? Hooker was where the prostitutes got the nickname "Hooker"? That's a fact. Fighting Joe Hooker.
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He admitted those ladies of the night into the camp. They at first were known as Hooker's ladies, and then the "ladies" was dropped and they were just known as Hookers. So my question is, who do you rather associate with? Do you see what I'm saying? Let me tell you something, folks. Our attitude ought to be this. If no one else does right, we are. If no one else stands for what's right, we will. If no one else does what is right, we shall. And if we're persecuted, prosecuted, hounded, and crucified for doing that which is right, so be it.
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Because God looked at John the Baptist and said, "There was a man." Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could hear our Sovereign Lord say that concerning us? "There is a real man. There is a real woman. There is a real teenager. Godly. Holy, willing to do what's right, under every circumstance, in every situation, for my honor and my glory." May God give us men. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You, Father, for Your love and grace to us. We thank You, Lord, for Your mercies. Lord, how we confess and acknowledge our deficiencies of character, our lack of strength, our not wanting to straighten things out, and how we confess, Lord, the wickedness of our flesh. But Father, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ that You would give us strength to be holy and godly and like our Lord, separate from sin and wickedness and ungodliness. Give us grace to stand for Thee. Make us men and women who are willing to do what is right. We ask it for your glory and for our good.
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In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T17:54:31Z

Christian Manhood

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver examines John the Baptist as the biblical model of Christian manhood, contrasting it with worldly definitions. He outlines five characteristics: a solitary man willing to stand alone for truth, a strong man who lifts his voice against wickedness, a separated man who avoids sin, a straightening man who makes things right, and a satisfying man whose life points others to Christ. The sermon emphasizes character, using historical examples like Robert E. Lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest to illustrate these traits, and calls believers to pursue godly manhood.

Introduction: A Man Sent from God

Weaver introduces John the Baptist as God's example of a man, contrasting biblical manhood with worldly standards of physical strength.

Scripture Reading — John 1:6

"There was a man sent from God whose name was John."

Now let's skip down to verse 19. "And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?"

Now skip down, if you would please, to verse 35.

Scripture Reading — John 1:35-37

"Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus."

A Solitary Man: Willing to Stand Alone

John the Baptist was willing to stand alone for truth, demonstrating that Christian manhood requires character to do right even when isolated.

A Strong Man: Lifting His Voice

God's man is strong, not ashamed to cry out against sin, and acts with all his strength, tied to the character needed to stand alone.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 58:1

"Lift up your voice like a trumpet and show my people their sins and the house of Israel their transgression."

A Separated Man: In the Wilderness

John was in the wilderness, separated from sin, illustrating that a godly man avoids evil and makes no provision for the flesh.

Do you remember Psalm 119, verse 11,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 119:11

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee."

Do you remember that passage in 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9? Let me just quote it for you.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 16:9

"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth that he might show himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him."

What does the Bible say? "Flee youthful lusts." Instead of saying that, he just simply took himself out of the way.

A Straightening Man: Making Things Right

John prepared the way by making crooked things straight; a Christian man takes responsibility to resolve conflicts and correct wrongs.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:23-24

"Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee,"

now watch it, you don't have anything against your brother. Your brother has something against you.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:23-24

"And there rememberest thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before thine altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, then come and offer thy gift."

Scripture Reading — James 5:16

"Confess your faults one to the other."

Confess your faults one to the other. In other words, be willing to make things right. Be willing to forgive each other.

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 19:17

"Thou shalt not suffer sin upon thy brother."

A Satisfying Man: Pointing to Christ

John simply spoke and men followed Jesus; a satisfying man's life draws others to Christ, built on the previous four characteristics.

The Measure of a Man

Weaver cites Billy Sunday's five measures: character, conduct, contribution, creed, and companions, urging believers to associate with the godly.

Conclusion: A Call to Godly Manhood

Weaver prays for God to raise up men and women of character who will do right regardless of cost, that God might say of them, 'There was a man.'

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Christian Manhood

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	79031010
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Prepared Hearts
Genre	Sermon
Date	2002-08-18
Dictation Name
Book	Book 136: Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations - Volume 1 — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	66

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: A Man Sent from God: Weaver introduces John the Baptist as God's example of a man, contrasting biblical manhood with worldly standards of physical strength.
A Solitary Man: Willing to Stand Alone: John the Baptist was willing to stand alone for truth, demonstrating that Christian manhood requires character to do right even when isolated.
A Strong Man: Lifting His Voice: God's man is strong, not ashamed to cry out against sin, and acts with all his strength, tied to the character needed to stand alone.
A Separated Man: In the Wilderness: John was in the wilderness, separated from sin, illustrating that a godly man avoids evil and makes no provision for the flesh.
A Straightening Man: Making Things Right: John prepared the way by making crooked things straight; a Christian man takes responsibility to resolve conflicts and correct wrongs.
A Satisfying Man: Pointing to Christ: John simply spoke and men followed Jesus; a satisfying man's life draws others to Christ, built on the previous four characteristics.
The Measure of a Man: Weaver cites Billy Sunday's five measures: character, conduct, contribution, creed, and companions, urging believers to associate with the godly.
Conclusion: A Call to Godly Manhood: Weaver prays for God to raise up men and women of character who will do right regardless of cost, that God might say of them, 'There was a man.'

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Circumstances Reveal Character

Circumstances do not create character but reveal what is already in a person's heart.

Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him.

Character Cannot Be Borrowed

While one can borrow knowledge or advice, character must be personally possessed to act on it.

You can borrow brains, but you cannot borrow character.

God Uses People Based on Character

God may use a person on credit early in life, but later usefulness depends on developed character.

God will use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, He's going to use you on character, and if you don't have any character, you can put it down, God will never use you.

Separation Prevents Corruption

Associating with wickedness leads to corruption, not the elevation of the wicked.

If you play around with sinners and those who are wicked, you're not going to elevate them. You're the ones going to be corrupted.

Personal Responsibility in Reconciliation

Scripture places the burden of initiating reconciliation on the individual, regardless of fault.

If you remember your brother has something against you, whose responsibility is it to resolve it? Yours.

The Interconnectedness of Manhood Traits

The five characteristics of a godly man are interdependent; one cannot be a satisfying man without the others.

In order to be a satisfying man, you must also be a straightening man, and a separated man, and a strong man, and a solitary man. They all are interconnected and go together.

Scripture References

John 1:6: Introduction of John the Baptist as a man sent from God.
John 1:19-23: John's testimony that he is the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
John 1:35-37: John points to Jesus as the Lamb of God and his disciples follow Jesus.
Isaiah 58:1: Command to lift up the voice like a trumpet and show God's people their sins.
Hebrews 7:26: Christ is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.
Romans 13:14: Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.
1 Corinthians 15:33: Evil communications corrupt good manners.
Psalm 119:11: Hiding God's word in the heart to avoid sin.
2 Chronicles 16:9: God shows Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him.
Matthew 5:23-24: If a brother has something against you, leave your gift and be reconciled first.
Matthew 18:15: If a brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault privately.
James 5:16: Confess your faults one to another.
Leviticus 19:17: You shall not suffer sin upon your brother.
Proverbs 23:7 (implied): As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

Historical References

Great Depression: People during the Great Depression were honest and willing to work for food, unlike today's entitlement mentality.
Robert E. Lee: Lee equated Christianity with being a Southern gentleman; example of kindness to a wounded Union soldier at Gettysburg.
Stonewall Jackson: Jackson separated himself from a Mexican family because he was attracted to the daughters, demonstrating character.
Nathan Bedford Forrest: Forrest dismissed a staff officer for adultery; later forgave a man who shot him, showing character despite not being a Christian at the time.
Sam Davis: Confederate scout hanged at 21 for refusing to betray his captain, exemplifying loyalty and character.
Billy Sunday: Presbyterian evangelist who preached 'The Measure of a Man,' listing five measures: character, conduct, contribution, creed, companions.
General Grant and General Hooker: Grant was a drunkard; Hooker allowed prostitutes in camp, leading to the term 'hooker.'

Important Quotes

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

Foundation of the sermon: God's declaration that John the Baptist exemplified true manhood.

I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

John's humble self-identification, illustrating solitary, strong, and separated manhood.

Character is what a man is in the dark.

Defines character as inner reality, not public reputation.

Circumstances never make or break a man, they just reveal him.

Key argument that trials expose pre-existing character.

You can borrow brains, but you cannot borrow character.

Emphasizes that character must be personally owned and developed.

Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners.

Scriptural basis for separation from sinful influences.

No damned man kills me and lives.

Quote on a t-shirt leading to the story of Forrest's character and eventual reconciliation.

He just spoke. And men followed Jesus.

Illustrates the satisfying man whose life naturally draws others to Christ.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the world's definition of manhood differ from the biblical model presented in this sermon?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts physical strength with character-based manhood.

[Question]

In what areas of life are you most tempted to compromise when standing alone?

[Context]

The solitary man is willing to stand for truth even if no one else does.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'make no provision for the flesh,' and how can we practice this?

[Context]

Separation from sin includes avoiding everything that leads to it.

[Question]

Why is it our responsibility to initiate reconciliation regardless of who is at fault?

[Context]

Matthew 5 and 18 teach personal responsibility in resolving conflicts.

[Question]

How can we cultivate character that remains consistent in private and public?

[Context]

Character is defined as what a man is in the dark.

[Question]

What historical or personal examples have you seen of someone who was a 'satisfying man' pointing others to Christ?

[Context]

The satisfying man influences others simply by his godly life.

[Question]

How do the five measures of a man (character, conduct, contribution, creed, companions) apply to your life?

[Context]

Billy Sunday's framework for evaluating manhood.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-05T20:27:04Z