Male Spiritual Leadership

Christ's love is a purifying love. So should the husband's love be for his wife. But how does Christ purify us - His bride, the church? How does Christ do that? Isaiah 1:18 shows God saying,

"'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord, 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.'"

Christ purifies His bride by taking away her sin.

How specifically did Jesus do that? How did He provide cleansing for His bride? 1st John 1:7 tells us, "And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." Jesus did it by dying on the cross of Calvary - shedding His blood for the remission of our sin. He became our sacrifice. John the Baptist called Him that in John 1:29, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Jesus was our sacrificial lamb. Do you see this? Jesus became our sacrificial lamb. He was our High Priest who sacrificed Himself for us on the cross of Calvary.

This points us to the husbands role as the priest of his home, or should we call it the spiritual leader of his home. The husband is not only to be the provider and protector of his home, but the priest to his family. Certainly, we don;'t have to offer an animal sacrifice anymore. Christ offered Himself once for all as that final and perfect sacrifice. But this does involve sacrifice. This requires that we give of ourselves to both lead our family to Christ and to protect our family from the negative influences of this world. This is our job as husbands.

Unfortunately, this is the area that the typical husbands fails in so badly. They work hard to provide for their families, but they never protect or lead them spiritually. Way too many husbands are passive when it comes to spiritual things in the home. they defer to their wives the leadership in this area. If she doesn't lead spiritually, it doesn't get done.

On the face of it, this might seem logical. wives generally are more spiritually sensitive than their husbands, we all know that. So why shouldn't they lead? Wives are generally more sensitive in most things, aren't they? So doesn't it make sense to let her do this for us? The answer is, "No!" Because God didn't design the home that way.

Obviously, God made the woman more sensitive. Most often the woman is easier to reach with the Gospel than a man. That's why so many churches are female dominated in our country. That's why we see so many women and so few men in most churches. And most of the time she sees the the need for spiritual leadership within the home first, and she is eager to provide it.

Men are more analytical. The man doesn't usually react to emotional appeals as well. He has to be intellectually convinced. He's from Missouri, the show me state. Which is precisely why God gave men the responsibility to be the priest in their home. It's because, since the wife is more easily moved spiritually, she is also more easily deceived. she needs that balance of her analytical, show-me husband. You can see this in 1st timothy 2:14, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression."

Here's what typically happens in the home. The man doesn't feel capable of leading spiritually compared to his spiritually sensitive wife, so he becomes passive. This same hard charging business man who is incredibly competitive at sports, becomes passive in the home when it comes to spiritual things. He backs away leaving it up to the wife to lead the home spiritually. He doesn't teach his family about God. He doesn't lead them to love and serve God by his example. He doesn't protect his family from the evil influences of the world. But he must! That is the way God designed it. Men, God will hold you accountable.