The Emasculated Church and the Call for Men to Repent
Recovering Biblical Manhood in an Age of Softness
The weakness of the modern church is the fruit of soft men. Scripture lays this out in Genesis 3. Adam’s silence was covenant breach by the man appointed to guard the world God entrusted to him. He stood by while the serpent deceived his wife. Adam failed to take responsibility for the garden and for his wife, and that failure marked all who came after him.
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife… cursed is the ground because of you.” - Genesis 3:17
Every generation repeats that pattern unless God intervenes. Men often shrink back from the responsibilities God gives them. They step away from leadership, avoid hard words, and leave their households exposed. That’s why households collapse and churches soften. The fall taught men how to hide.
Effeminate Pulpits Produce Effeminate Churches
A church cannot be stronger than its pulpit. When preaching avoids the weight of God’s Word, men learn to avoid the weight of God’s call. Scripture teaches that shepherds answer directly to the Lord for what they refuse to say.
“Be strong and act like a man… keep the charge of the Lord your God.” - 1 Kings 2:2–3
When the pulpit refuses the weight of God’s Word and sets aside discipline, the Lord withdraws His favor and leaves a people to the consequences of their blindness.
A church takes on the character of the pulpit that feeds it. If a pastor refuses to speak with courage, the men entrusted to him slowly adopt the same posture. If he treats correction as optional, households will eventually do the same. If he fears the world’s judgment, the men under him will learn to fear it as well. The consequences are detrimental. Churches weaken. Families split. Children grow up without godly leadership. We can trace the pattern. A community without strong preaching eventually becomes a community without strong men.
The Fear of the Lord Restores Strength to Men
Scripture teaches that strength in men begins with the fear of God. I will repeat that because it carries the entire weight of biblical manhood: strength begins with fearing the Lord. The man who trembles before the Lord can stand before any enemy. The man who trembles before men will abandon every duty God assigns.
“Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9
Joshua was told to be strong because God Himself would walk with him. David told Solomon to act like a man because obedience to God’s law was the only way he could carry the weight of the throne. Paul urged men to stand firm because they belonged to the risen Christ. These men were not naturally bold. God made them strong as they learned to fear Him.
“Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong.” - 1 Corinthians 16:13
These commands rest on a single truth. Strength grows where the fear of God abides.
Modern men collapse because they fear embarrassment, rejection, conflict, or cultural hostility. Scripture calls men to fear the Lord instead. That fear produces real courage. That courage produces obedience. And that obedience produces stability for households, churches, and communities. There is unmistakable beauty when God’s design starts working as He intended.
The Household Is the First Place Where Masculinity Fails or Flourishes
A man’s first realm of responsibility is his household. Scripture commands men to lead family worship, guard doctrine in the home, discipline with justice, protect with wisdom, and provide with faithfulness. These duties are the ground on which all other responsibilities stand.
“He must manage his household well.” - 1 Timothy 3:4
Many households collapse because fathers abandon these basic commands. They stop shepherding the souls under their roof. They hand their children to institutions that despise the Lord. They avoid discipline because they fear their own disobedience being exposed. They outsource spiritual leadership to their wives. They become spectators in their own homes. Scripture calls this failure sin. It is imitating Adam’s passivity in a world that still suffers from the consequences of his failure to protect.
Christ Restores Failing Men
The hope of Scripture is found in the One who restores what sin destroyed. Christ empowers men to stand firm when their surroundings decay, and He prepares them to take part in the rebuilding of a world that belongs to Him.
“The cowardly… will have their part in the lake that burns with fire.” - Revelation 21:8
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9
Cowardly apostles became bold preachers. Fearful disciples became martyrs. Unsteady men became pillars of the early church.
Repentance is the path to restored masculinity. Shame does nothing. Guilt achieves nothing. It’s repentance that reconciles a man to God’s design. It aligns a man’s life with the dominion mandate that God gave to Adam and fulfilled in Christ.
The Future Belongs to Faithful Men
Christ is raising up men who will lead their households with courage and conviction. He is purifying His church by removing the softness that has weakened the witness of entire denominations. He is calling men to reject passivity, embrace responsibility, confront evil, protect women and children, teach their households, guard their churches, and refuse to bow to the spirit of the age.
“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” - Ephesians 6:10
The future belongs to men who obey Christ. We don’t need better programs or new strategies. We need men who fear the Lord, repent of their passivity, and take responsibility for the households and communities entrusted to them.
Christ is purifying His church. He is strengthening His people. He is raising up men who reflect His courage, His authority, and His love for righteousness.
Walk in the strength God gives. Stand firm. Lead your home. Guard the truth. Take your place in Christ’s advancing kingdom.
Jesus is on His throne.