S2Ep1 - Adam: Responsibility Starts Here

Season 2 of Coffee Break Theology, “Men of the Bible: Godly Masculinity,” kicks off with Pastor Greg Griffith and Marcus Nathan, and a strong first pour on Adam and the responsibility he dropped in the garden. This episode shows how Christ, the second Adam, takes responsibility where we fail — and calls men to step up, not stay silent.

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Season Two And The Big Theme

SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to Coffee Break Theology, a King of Kings podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Hey friends, welcome back. Dude, it is season two. Can you believe that? Here we go. My gosh, season two of Coffee Break Theology. I'm so excited for this season. Um, we're gonna talk about godly masculinity. And I'm Greg and excited to kick off season two. Let's go. Heck yeah, I'm Marcus.

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Uh, I gotta say, very, very excited about this series, this season. Godly masculinity is something that I've been looking into for 10, 15 years. Yeah. Um, I love it. So, what we're gonna do this this season, we're gonna look at 10 different guys in the Bible. Um, we're gonna look at masculinity and how it plays out in their lives. Um, we're gonna look at all the the good, the bad, the ugly, the the man, what what in the world were you thinking moments? Um, because they all had them. Yeah, and so I'm very excited

Men’s Study Invite And Why It’s For Everyone

SPEAKER_02 1:02

about this for sure. And and you do a men's Bible study, right? We do. And so this When is that? It's it's Monday mornings. Monday mornings. It's at Concordia at Northwest Campus, Northwest. And we start we start at six now. It was 5 30 in the morning, but now it's it's 6 a.m. So anybody listening to this, you want to come, come on out. Yeah, uh, we're actually starting a uh a new book, and it's based on a favorite Bible verse of mine, I'll get to in a minute. But um, that's all we talk about. So, what does it mean to be a man?

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Oh, I love that. I love that. So yeah, and and we are while we're gonna be talking about masculinity and we're gonna be talking about men, um, just a reminder, this isn't only for men. Matter of fact, women, I would invite, like this is good for you to listen in to join in the conversation um here and and you're not left out in this. I think I think there's a lot of a lot of skills and a lot of uh learnings that we're gonna teach uh from the scriptures that are gonna apply to you. But um godly masculinity is something that the scriptures do teach about. And men have a have a call to lean into the way God designed them. Um, and we're called to be accountable to that um from one another and and from men and women to uphold to our masculinity and and our call as men, and then also uh to God. Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

And I think our calling, like you said, man to man, we can call each other out because we know what that responsibility is. But the women in our lives can do that just as much. And sometimes that that calling of theirs usually impacts us more. Yeah, when they hold us to a to a standard to that accountability, it it it brings forth better biblical manhood principles.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Yeah. So I'm saying to my wife Lori, hold me accountable even more. Yeah, like even giving her permission on that.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Lori, even more than you do now. I know that's hard to think about, but I need that's all I do. Yeah, it is a full-time job. It is a full-time

“Act Like Men” From 1 Corinthians

SPEAKER_02 2:58

job. Uh so let's jump in. Uh, I mentioned my favorite verse. It's yeah, it's 1 Corinthians 16, 13. It says, be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. There's a ton here. And in that Bible study, I I've gone through, I called it my manhood manifesto. But it we go through that verse and and go through scripture like crazy. Um, there's a lot that you can glean out of there. Uh, but the one phrase, act like men, that that explicitly says what we're trying to accomplish with the series. So, so what does it mean? How do you how do you act like a man? What does it mean to be a man of God?

SPEAKER_01 3:35

I gotta admit, I've I've never in in reading that scripture um multiple times, many times, um, that act like men has never like popped out like at me. And so I'm gonna read that now completely differently um when what's there. But you know, I think when we talk about act like men, like what does that mean? Well, I think we gotta start with with the very first man. We gotta start with Adam. Yep. Um, he literally had everything perfect. He had the perfect garden to live in, he had the perfect wife to love. Um, and uh and I I mean I don't love bashing in-laws, but he didn't have any in-laws, right? Like, like life was perfect and he still blew it. Yep, he still followed.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Every time I read Genesis 3, it's it's the creation story, it's you put you in the eating in Eden in the garden. Your life is perfect. You're with God, you're walking with God. And so it's like, man, Adam, all you had to do is trust God. Just listen to what he says, just do what he says. Yeah, and and you're gonna be fine. And then the serpent comes along and when all you had to do was say no.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Yeah. And he didn't. Yeah, and that's our that's what I think the first big point of this is,

Adam’s Job Was Cultivate And Protect

SPEAKER_01 4:45

is is you want to know what godly masculinity looks like. It's called taking responsibility. Yep. And so masculinity starts with responsibility. And Adam's failure wasn't just eating the fruit, not an apple, probably a fig, that will be later. But it was it was a failure to lead, to protect, and to obey, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:04

Uh Genesis 2.15 says the Lord God took the man, Adam, put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. So we're getting to the the design of what manhood is, what God had in mind when he made man. Uh, the first job description of what what we are as men is here. Uh, to work it and keep it. And what does that mean? Cultivate and protect. And and I think there's there's a lot to to learn there, and there's a lot of different sources here, but but Martin Luther has probably got a yeah a pretty good start on.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

Yeah, Luther, Luther said in his Genesis commentary, he just talked about before sin, Adam's work was pure joy, without toil or without trouble. It was the greatest of works for him to hear the word of God and to keep it. Um, so Adam's calling wasn't just physical work, which by the way, we are called to work. Like, like that means even if you retire from your full-time vocation, there's still a calling to work, not only physically, but also spiritually in the word of God. Um, and that's the other spiritual responsibility. Like, like being a man of God means standing up for the word of God and putting it into play. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 6:15

Uh, and that's the small catechism comes and it speaks to that as well. So, Luther, in his explanation of the first article of the Creed, he reminds us he also gives me clothing, that he there is God. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. So, what God is doing there, he's actually passing on down to us. Correct. There's a lot of that that that that we are now called to do to mimic what he's done for us. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

And I think this is the the right, the responsibility we have is to be the image bearers of God. And that means where God provides and protects, we do that. And and men are called to reflect that care. So a true masculine man is a man who cares for others. Right. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

Uh, I've heard this calling put this way, it's explained this way to provide an environment for our wife and kids to flourish. I love that. To put them in positions where they have opportunity to thrive. Now, you can do that a lot of different ways, but a lot of guys they'll say, Hey, this is the way I live. This is what I like to do, this is what I want you to do. It's not necessarily like that. It could be the same things that you were good at or you you thrived in, but for the most part, your kids are going to be different than you. Your wife is definitely different than you. Everybody needs the opportunity to flourish and to do well. So, our job as husbands, as dads, as community leaders is to put people in positions where they can do well. We're we're trying to figure out hey, I know you're a child of God. You know, for my kids, you are my child. Those those are biblical hard truths that matter. But at the same time, it's like I'm gonna put you in an environment where you can explore and you dictate the terms of your success.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Yeah. I like that. John A. Cough said it this way. He said, he said, there's great power, and he was talking to dads. He said, Dads, when you speak into your children's lives and say, I believe in you, I trust in you, you can do this, right? And then and then I will be here for you no matter what the outcome is. Yep. And and I think that's that's where we help, you know, our wives, our our children, and others flourish. When we say that to someone, it truly empowers them because we speak up for them and empower them, and they know they're not alone in that journey. And and this is the thing that Adam just didn't do. When the serpent tempted Eve, Adam was there. Yeah, like Genesis 3.6, it says she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Yep. The killer there is with her. Yeah, he was like he was right there. Yep, he was present, but he was passive. He was like, Oh, I wonder what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

Yeah, exactly. Uh Dietrich Bahnhofer, uh great pastor, uh leader during World War II in Germany. Uh, he said, Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. God will not hold us guiltless. Um Adam's silence was costly. He he didn't do what he was supposed to do, and it turned very badly.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:21

Um, there was a uh a billboard out northwest of town here on the way to Fremont, and it said the only thing that evil needs to succeed is for good men to do and say nothing.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

So the the the responsibility that we have is to stand up for truth, to stand against evil.

unknown 9:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

And when we don't do that, bad things happen. We we wonder, like, hey, there's so much evil, somebody should do something about that. That's our job. Yeah. And there's different ways of doing that and different levels to what that is, but personal responsibility for for the people around you, you stand up for truth. You stand up against evil.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Yeah. Yeah, it's so important that you know it it's it's easy to kind of say, well, I just won't say anything because I don't want people to be mad at me, or I don't want and and the reality is the courageous thing is to actually stand up and and defend the weak, the widowed, the orphaned, the oppressed, um, and and where evil is flourishing, to stand up and say, no longer will I allow this to flourish, you know. And and really, and that's the piece, is like when we fail on that, we've got to accept that blame, take responsibility. And that that's not that's not what Adam did.

SPEAKER_02 10:30

No.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Um, when God came and was looking for them and said, What, you know, where are you? Uh Adam said, The woman you put me here with, she gave me some of the fruit. And so what Adam did is he cast a blame to Eve, and then he cast the blame to God. He's like, I'm actually not responsible for any of this, God. Uh, you gave me this woman, she did this, and you were the one that did that. Right. I always I I preach on this in a lot of weddings that I'll do. And I always say, this is kind of where like Adam puts his hand in the small of his wife's back, pushes her forward, he tapes a step back and says, The woman you gave me here um did this. I I'm pretty convinced that that was the first night man ever slept on a couch. No, believe it. Like, I I think their marriage bed was not happy that evening. No, I don't think so.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

Yeah, so so what did he do there? What he did was he took the the call of responsibility that God gave him and he tossed it out the window. Yeah, he said, No, thanks, I'm not doing it. Um, we're not saying it's easy, it's it's definitely hard, but um, something else that's interesting to note about the command to not eat from that tree. It actually happened before Eve was created. God told Adam not to eat from that tree. Right. Eve wasn't even around yet. Man, um that that's something that a lot of people don't know. And when I learned that, yeah, yeah, it's it it changes a lot. It does. It's just it cements the fact that the responsibility is the man's. So yeah, Eve would have known the command. Adam taking his responsibility for that part of telling her, Here, here's here's the groundwork, this is the rules, this is what God said. We're not gonna eat from that tree. Great. Well, when it actually came time, in the moment that temptation came, he shirked his responsibility and said it, you know, it's not up to me, and then blamed everybody else around him for his his mistake. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

You know, and if we just left it here, like then we'd just be in trouble.

Jesus The Second Adam Takes Responsibility

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Like there'd be no nothing coming back. But as Christians, we do get the joy of being able to look at everything in a rearview mirror, right? And we get to see that there is good news. Um, Jesus was called the second Adam in 1 Corinthians 15. And where Adam failed to take on responsibility, Jesus succeeded, and he took on full responsibility even for sins he didn't commit. Right now, there's a great theologian, John Piper, and he says it this way manhood is a sense of the benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for, and to protect uh women in ways appropriate to man's differing relationships. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

So there's a Bible commentary, Matthew Henry, he's really good. He's good. He's talking about how Eve was created, and he kind of it shows just even the fact that God made her this way, it points to what his calling of responsibility to the man was. He says this Eve was made from God from Adam's rib. She wasn't taken from the head to rule over him, she wasn't taken from his feet to be trampled on, but from his side to be his companion, his equal, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved. And that that's not macho, that's not that's not toxic, that's not out of date, you know, all those things that people want to throw at masculinity. Yeah, that's Christ-like, that's true biblical masculinity.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

Yeah, yeah, I love that. And and again, that's our our our call and our responsibility. Luther kind of expounds on that in a little different way as he's talking about the fourth commandment, which is to honor your mother and your father. And he says, this is a high and noble calling and a precious office that one would know it's the highest treasure to be given by God. Responsibility is a gift that we have, and it's not a burden. It's not, oh, I've got to take it's a it's a it's a gift that we've been given. And so I'm reading a book right now, actually called Um Rules of No Rules, and it's about Netflix. And uh one of the key parameters they have is like they're like, be innovators, take risks. It's okay to fail. But they say when you fail, you have to take responsibility. Nice. And and so they were they were caught talking about someone who failed miserably in something. And she was on vacation with her dad, and her dad's like, Are you gonna get fired for doing that? And she goes, No, because I'm gonna take responsibility. She said, I would get fired if I didn't own up to this. Right. And and that's that's that responsibility is a gift, not a burden. Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Yeah, that it goes from ah man, this is what I gotta do. Yeah, it's gonna put a dent in my day or it's gonna make me feel this way. No, it's it should be joyful.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

Just like Luther said, Yeah.

Three Steps To Live It

SPEAKER_02 15:14

Um, so how do we live this out? How do we how do we act like a man? How do we take care of our responsibilities? Well, here's three quick steps. Own your mistakes. We just talked about that. Yeah, no blame shifting. Right. It it's nobody else's responsibility. Your responsibility is yours. Uh you're gonna fail. So turn to God. That's what repentance is. It's turn back to God, turn away from your sin. Protect and provide for those entrusted to you. We talked about how that how that looks. And then lead spiritually. Open your Bible. Yeah, pray with your family. Yeah, those are really easy things. Yeah, they're difficult because they take time and they take effort and they take head space and and all that stuff. But prioritize it. Um speak truth when it matters, and it matters, it matters all the time. God's word is truth. Yeah, and so if if you're not in it, I tell people all this time, all the time. If you're not in God's word, how can you speak it? How can you live it out?

SPEAKER_01 16:07

That's good. That's a good one. That's good. Yeah, I think one of the questions to ask ourselves, a challenge I would say to all of our listeners, a challenge for myself, a challenge for you, would be like asking at the end of the day, did I take responsibility for what came but today, or did I avoid it? Yeah. And uh a godly man would be saying, I need to take responsibility. Right. Oh, that's a good way to put it.

SPEAKER_02 16:31

Uh Luther said it this way daily return to your repentance, to your baptism. Daily. When you screw up, confess it. Take responsibility, take ownership, take that forgiveness that's freely offered to you, and then start afresh. Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

That's good. So I want to challenge everyone today to pick an area in your life where you've been neglecting responsibility, and then and then do what we talked about. I'm gonna change the the words from you know, live spiritually to spiritually live, right? OPS, own it, provide and protect, and then uh spiritually lead. Awesome through that.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

I like it. Nobody else will do that. No, it's it's your your calling to lead is yours. I can't do that for you. Lori can't do that for you, right? Mine is mine. Joe can't do that for me. Nobody can do my responsibility. So in Christ, you have everything that you need to step up. Yeah, you've got it all.

SPEAKER_01 17:27

Yeah.

Final Challenge And Noah Preview

SPEAKER_01 17:28

So that's it for today. Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus, the true model of our manhood and masculinity. And can't wait to talk next week.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

Yeah, next time we're gonna look at Noah and how to make everyone around you think you have a couple screws loose. Oh, I've already got a leg up on that one. Got that one down. I'm good at that.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Thanks for listening to Coffee Break Theology. Be sure to tune in next time and remember to check out our other podcast series available on every major podcast listening service.