SERMON NOTES
Sermon notes from First Baptist Church of Bronston — new notes are added here each week. Watch the full sermon on Facebook or YouTube.
ACT LIKE MEN
Sunday, November 8, 2026 · Preached by Nathan Arthur · Main text: Genesis 2–3 · Part of a series on personal revival
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” — 1 Corinthians 16:13 (ESV)
THE BIG IDEA
Personal revival means living out what the Bible says our lives should look like. What does the Bible say it means to act like a man? The answer starts with the first man — Adam, in Genesis 2 and 3.
1: MADE BY GOD, FOR GOD’S PURPOSE (GENESIS 2:7)
We were created by God, for His purpose. “Formed” pictures God gathering the materials together to make man — that is where the name Adam comes from. God breathed into man’s nostrils — face to face. We started face to face with God, and that is how we should remain. The first thing that makes a man: make God central to your life.
Warning: we chase jobs, football teams, hobbies more desperately than God’s purpose — and make those things central instead.
2: WORK TO ENJOY (GENESIS 2:15)
The first thing God gave man: work to enjoy. God planted the garden, then put the man in it to work it. Work predates the Fall — God gave man work before sin entered the world. Work gives a man purpose and ambition.
3: A WILL TO OBEY (GENESIS 2:17)
The second thing God gave man: a will to obey. We are all submitted to some kind of authority — a father, a mother, a boss, a government. Obedience was part of the original design, not a punishment.
4: A WOMAN TO LOVE (GENESIS 2:24-25)
The third thing God gave man: a woman to love. God’s creation culminated with the woman. Leave and cleave: the relationship is between a man and his wife. You want to act like a man? Love your wife well.
Two choices: “You can act like a man, or you can act like a boy.”
For the young people: “They got married and then they got naked. That’s the biblical model.” If you love her that much, get married first.
5: THE FRACTURE: PASSIVITY (GENESIS 3:6)
Everything God gave that made man a man became fractured in Genesis 3. Adam was right there with her. The only thing Adam did was partake in what he knew to be wrong. He stood by, passive. Man tried to fix it himself — fig leaves. But leaves dry out and fall apart.
“I don’t know — we’ll figure it out” is one of the worst things a man can say. It is passivity dressed up as confidence. They hid from God (Genesis 3:8) instead of running to the Father who could fix it. We have a generation of passive men around us — men who won’t say ‘that’s wrong’, who just let things go and see what happens. The Bible doesn’t tell us to be passive. It tells us to be proactive: provide for your household (1 Timothy 5:8), dwell with your wife with understanding and honor her (1 Peter 3:7), contend for the faith (Jude 3).
“Being passive, though, will take your manhood away.”
6: THE CURSE — AND THE PROMISE (GENESIS 3:15)
The curse fell on everything God had given: the relationship with his wife (3:16), work became toil (3:17), the relationship with God broken.
“I feel like I should be farther along in my spiritual journey than I am… I should be closer to God.” Paul felt it too (Romans 7). But in the middle of the curse, God gave the first promise: Genesis 3:15 — someone from the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head: the Lord Jesus Christ.
THE COVERING (GENESIS 3:21)
Man’s covering — fig leaves — would fall apart. God gave coats of skins, something sufficient that would last. For the first time, innocent blood was shed for the guilty — God killed an animal to cover their sin and shame. God has given us a covering: the Lord Jesus Christ — His death on Calvary. Innocent blood shed for the wicked, a covering that lasts forever. All we had to do was believe in Him.
“If you want to act like men of God, come and bow your knees to King Jesus.” Come and kneel at the foot of the cross. The most dangerous thing we can do as men is go it on our own. Start at this altar, at the foot of the cross.
VERSES TO REMEMBER
Genesis 2:7, 2:15, 2:17, 2:24-25, 3:6, 3:15, 3:21; 1 Corinthians 16:13; 1 Timothy 5:8; Titus 2:2.