INTRODUCTION: Men, let me ask you a question: When was the last time you fixed something with duct tape?

Most of us have used duct tape to hold something together: a leaky pipe, a broken tool, maybe even a bumper hanging off a car. And we’re proud of it! The TRUTH is, duct tape is good for a TEMPORARY FIX, but it won’t hold FOREVER.

The same is TRUE in LIFE. Too many MEN are trying to hold their LIVES, their HOMES, and their FAITH together with SPIRITUAL DUCT TAPE. We need more than a quick patch-up job. We need the STRENGTH, COURAGE, and MATURITY that only comes from WALKING as MEN of GOD.

You can tell a lot about a MAN by what it takes to STOP him. For some, all it takes is a FLAT TIRE. For others, it’s a tough Monday at work. Some MEN are derailed by the SMALLEST FRUSTRATIONS, like when the Wi-Fi goes out, or the lawn mower won’t start.

Paul’s words to the Corinthians CUT straight to the CORE: “…quit you like men…” In other words, ACT LIKE MEN. Don’t GIVE UP. Don’t CAVE IN. Don’t ACT LIKE A CHILD. Be who God has called you to be.

This isn’t about macho bravado or chest-thumping toughness. Paul isn’t telling us to act like tough Hollywood guys or playground bullies. He’s calling us to BIBLICAL MANHOOD—a COURAGEOUS, MATURE, RESPONSIBLE life that GLORIFIES God and BLESSES others.

So, MEN, it’s time to STEP UP, not STEP BACK, and begin to ACT LIKE MEN.

BIBLICAL MANHOOD REQUIRES MEN TO DO 3 THINGS:

1. BIBLICAL MANHOOD DISPLAYS SPIRITUAL COURAGE

a. The phrase “quit you like men” carries the idea of COURAGE under PRESSURE.

i. Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou

dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goes.”

b. Joshua was stepping into Moses’ shoes, a pair of sandals no MAN could naturally fill.

c. But God reminded him: COURAGE isn’t about what you HAVE, but WHO is WITH YOU.

2. BIBLICAL MANHOOD DEMONSTRATES SPIRITUAL MATURITY

a. Part of acting like a MAN is not acting like a BOY.

i. 1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but

when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

b. IMMATURITY in a MAN’S life doesn’t just hurt HIM, it damages EVERYONE around HIM.

3. BIBLICAL MANHOOD EMBRACES GOD-GIVEN RESPONSIBILITY

a. MANHOOD isn’t about PRIVILEGE, it’s about RESPONSIBILITY.

i. Genesis 2:15 “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to DRESS it and to

KEEP it.”

b. From the very beginning, God wired MEN for WORK and PROTECT.

c. Before Eve was created, before sin ever entered, Adam had RESPONSIBILITY.