Here’s the fourth and final installment.

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Closing Reflections on Manly Sainthood

It is also the case that godly men don’t run on tediously, so let me cast about now for a way to close. In his epistle to Titus, Saint Paul tells us that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Note those three words: self-controlled, upright, and godly. These lie at the heart of manly sainthood (they lie at the heart of womanly sainthood, too, but that’s not the topic for this evening). Self-controlled refers to sobriety, sober-mindedness, sanity. As prophets, we live sane lives in the wisdom of our God. Upright refers to righteousness. As kings, we live ethical lives under the law of our God. Godly refers to the orientation of an entire life. As priests, we lead worshipful lives in the grace of, and in willing service to, our Triune God who has bought us with the blood of His Son. This is what discipleship means for each of us tonight as men: living sanely, ethically, and worshipfully in the present age.

But if we are to learn and live this kind of manliness, we must renounce – we must say no to – ungodliness and worldly passions. In your time, this means renouncing the ways of Hymowitz’s “child-man”; it means saying no to the infantile thoughts, words, and deeds of your generation of young males, so that you may cultivate and display the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. You will not have an easy time of it, my brothers, but then, a disciple is not greater than his master or a servant than his lord. Christ gave His life to make us new men; little wonder if there is some cost to us in being such men. But if we embrace this cost, we may yet see the tide turn in our waning civilization. We may live to see a generation rise that scorns the child-men of our age, a generation “like plants full grown” in their youth; and we will know that by grace alone we have reared them to be so. May the Lord our God grant it.