Piper on Biblical Masculinity

In a recent message, "Some Sweet Blessings of Masculine Christianity," John Piper defined Biblical masculinity this way:

By “masculine Christianity,” I mean (though words are inadequate): The theology and the church and the mission are marked by over-arching male leadership and an ethos of tender-hearted strength and contrite courage and risk-taking decisiveness and readiness to sacrifice to protect and provide for the community—the feel of a great, majestic God making the men lovingly strong and the women intelligently secure.

From that statement, he made the following observations and conclusions (which I've abbreviated):

1. Men are freed to have feminine traits without being effeminate and women are freed to have masculine traits without being tomboys.

2. Men are more properly attracted to the Christian life when it does not appear that he must become effeminate to be a Christian.

3. Women are more properly drawn to a Christian life that highlights the proper place of humble, strong, spiritual men in leadership.

4. We are freed to celebrate strong, courageous women of God who love the biblical vision complementarity, without and sense of compromise.

5. Men are awakened to their responsibilities at home to lead the family and protect the family and provide for the family.

6. Youth leaders and parents will catch a clearer definition of how to answer the question of a boy: “Daddy, what does it mean to grow up and be a man and not a woman?” And a clearer definition of how to answer the question of a girl: “Mommy, what does it mean to grow up and be a woman and not a man?”

7. The meaning of masculinity and femininity in singleness will be clearer and a lifetime of singleness without sexual intercourse will be more understandable and livable.

8. The corporate worship teams are not dominated by women and the songs chosen are not dominated by a one-sided feel of intimacy or majesty.

9. The God of the Bible will be more fully portrayed and known than where the tone is more feminine.

10. Preaching is more readily prized.…The fear of strong preaching is part of the effeminizing of the church, and the full range of the way God is and appears on the Bible is not known where preaching is simply casual and conversational.

11. A wartime mindset and a wartime lifestyle will feel more natural. And that is what the world needs from us—a readiness to lay our lives down for a great and global cause making all the sacrifices necessary to push the word of Christ into the most inhospitable places.

The entire sermon is worth hearing for men who want to be Biblical in their manhood.