The crisis of manhood isn’t that men want to be strong — it’s that the Church has failed to show them what true strength looks like in Christ.
The modern man stands at a crossroads. On one side lies the seductive promise of counterfeit masculinity — as seen in Andrew Tate’s false gospel of dominance, wealth, and exploitation. On the other side stands the cross of Jesus Christ, where true manhood is both crucified and resurrected.
Too many Christian men, starved of biblical instruction and pastoral leadership, are choosing the former. It’s time to call them back to the latter.
The crisis is not that men desire to be strong, courageous, and purposeful. The crisis is that the Church has failed to show them that these desires find their ultimate fulfillment not in the alpha posturing of cultural charlatans but in the person and work of Jesus Christ — the most masculine man who ever lived.
The Crisis: Men Seeking Heroes in All the Wrong Places
The statistics paint a sobering picture: Men account for 79 percent of all suicides. In 1950, 97 percent of prime-age men (25–54) were in the workforce, but today, it’s just 89.4 percent — a sharp decline in male engagement during their most productive years. In addition, Church membership among men has plummeted to historic lows. These aren’t just numbers. They represent millions of men who are lost, broken, and desperately searching for meaning — and finding their examples in all the wrong places.
While churches remain silent, young men are turning to podcasters, influencers, and self-proclaimed alpha males for guidance on what it means to be a man. They’re studying Jordan Peterson instead of Paul the Apostle. They’re following Joe Rogan instead of Jesus. They’re emulating UFC fighters instead of the Ultimate Fighter, who conquered sin and death.
Into this void of desperate, directionless men steps a parade of predators. Andrew Tate is the latest in a long line of false prophets peddling poison to starving men. But these cultural charlatans didn’t create the masculinity crisis, they merely exploited it.
For decades, our culture has systematically dismantled biblical manhood, replacing it with either toxic aggression or effeminate passivity. The result? A generation of men disconnected from their God-given identity and desperate for someone — anyone — to tell them that being a man matters.
The Counterfeit Gospel of Cultural Masculinity
The false prophets of pseudo-masculinity preach a gospel of external dominance: wealth accumulation, sexual conquest, physical prowess, and ruthless ambition. Social media feeds are flooded with “motivational” content from men who promise to teach others how to become “high-value males,” “alpha leaders,” and “sigma grindset” warriors. These influencers tap into men’s God-given desire to be strong but twist it into a self-serving caricature that destroys everything it touches.
Young men are being discipled by gym bros who worship at the altar of physical strength while their souls waste away. They’re learning leadership from business moguls who build empires on the backs of broken relationships. They’re studying confidence from entertainers whose bravado masks deep insecurity and spiritual emptiness.
This brand of “manhood” is ultimately hollow — masculinity without Christ, strength without purpose, and power without love. It feeds the ego but starves the soul, leaving a trail of broken relationships, exploited women, and spiritually dead men in its wake.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth the Church must face: These counterfeits succeed because they tap into legitimate masculine desires that God Himself placed in the hearts of men. The desire to lead, protect, provide, and fight for what matters — these are not toxic impulses to be suppressed. They are divine blueprints to be sanctified.
The Church’s Failure: Offering Weak Substitutes
For too long, the Church has offered men two equally destructive alternatives: either embrace a watered-down, feminized faith that apologizes for masculine strength or retreat into cultural stereotypes of aggressive dominance. Neither reflects the biblical vision of manhood.
We’ve preached meekness while forgetting that, yes, Jesus was meek, but He also cleansed the temple with a whip. We’ve emphasized gentleness while ignoring that the gentle Savior also called the Pharisees a brood of vipers. We’ve taught men to be nice while failing to show them how to be good.
The result is catastrophic. Men leave churches in droves to find masculine examples elsewhere, or worse, they stay but check out spiritually and emotionally. While pastors preach about being “gentle and lowly,” young men are watching Andrew Tate teach them how to be wolves. While churches host potluck dinners, the culture is waging war for the souls of our sons.
When the Church fails to present Christ as the ultimate example of masculinity, men will inevitably seek their examples elsewhere. They’ll find them in athletes, actors, entrepreneurs, and Internet personalities who offer strength without righteousness, success without service, and power without purpose.
The True Example: Christ as Perfect Masculinity
Here’s where the Gospel transforms everything: Jesus Christ is not just our Savior; He’s our supreme example of what masculinity should look like. While the culture offers counterfeit heroes, Christ offers the real deal.
Consider the masculine qualities displayed perfectly in Christ:
Courage — John 18:4-6 shows Jesus facing His arrest without flinching. He confronted powerful religious leaders, calling them “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27). This wasn’t the false bravado of social media influencers; this was genuine courage rooted in righteousness.
Strength — John 2:15-16 records Jesus cleansing the temple: “And making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen.” He later endured brutal torture, as predicted in Isaiah 53:5 and described in John 19:1-3. This wasn’t the superficial strength of gym culture; this was strength with purpose.
Leadership — Mark 1:17 shows Jesus calling His disciples: “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Matthew 28:18-20 records His final commission with “all authority in heaven and on earth.” This wasn’t the self-serving leadership promoted by business gurus; this was servant leadership that culminated in sacrifice.
Protection — John 10:11 declares, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” This wasn’t the territorial protection of alpha posturing; this was protective love that cost everything.
Self-Control — Hebrews 4:15 testifies that Christ was “tempted as we are, yet without sin.” This wasn’t the manufactured discipline of self-help mantras; this was perfect self-mastery rooted in divine purpose.
This is masculinity perfected — not masculinity eliminated. Jesus was not some androgynous figure who transcended gender; He was the ultimate man who fulfilled everything God intended masculinity to be. While cultural examples offer partial truths wrapped in destructive lies, Christ offers the complete package: strength and gentleness, courage and compassion, leadership and service.
Living as Men Under the King
Living under Christ’s kingship means rejecting a counterfeit version of manhood and embracing a life of inner transformation — because true strength starts in in the heart. Here are three things men must do.
Guard Your Heart
Biblical masculinity begins in the heart. Proverbs 4:23 commands, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Instead of filling your mind with the toxic masculinity of cultural influencers, saturate it with Scripture. Instead of seeking motivation from men who measure success by material accumulation, find your identity in Christ.
Fight for Purity
Single men, a king who cannot rule his own desires cannot rule anything else. Sexual purity is not about weakness or repression — it’s about kingly dominion over the most powerful force in your life. First Thessalonians 4:3-4 commands, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.” The man enslaved to pornography, hookup culture, or sexual compromise has already surrendered his crown. He cannot prepare for marriage when he’s ruled by lust. He cannot fight cultural battles when he’s fighting losing battles with his own flesh.
Consider Joseph, who fled sexual temptation by declaring, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). His purity wasn’t prudishness — it was the foundation of his strength to one day rule Egypt. Every click, every compromise, every moment of sexual sin is a man voluntarily kneeling before an idol instead of standing as a king under Christ. The pure man walks in freedom, authority, and unshakeable confidence. The compromised man skulks in shame, weakness, and spiritual impotence. Which will you choose?
Lead Your Family
The first place a man’s character is tested is in his own home. Biblical masculinity means spiritual leadership — leading family worship and modeling what it means to follow Christ. It means sacrificial love — putting wife and children’s needs ahead of personal comfort. As Joshua declared: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
Fight in the Culture
Biblical masculinity extends into the public square. When schools push gender ideology, when workplaces demand compliance with anti-biblical mandates, when communities attack parental rights, biblical men must stand and fight. But they fight with the weapons of righteousness, not the tactics of cultural warriors.
The Ultimate Battle: What’s at Stake
At its core, biblical masculinity is about spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6:12 declares, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness.”
The enemy’s strategy is devastatingly clear: offer men counterfeit examples of masculinity that promise strength but deliver destruction. While young men follow false teachers who promise to make them into “alpha males,” they’re being led away from the Alpha and Omega who offers true life.
The stakes could not be higher. Your sons are being discipled by culture while the Church remains silent. Your daughters are being influenced by men who measure women’s worth by their utility. Your culture is being handed over to ideologies that would have horrified previous generations of Christian men.
The Call to Rise
Men, the time for excuses is over. The culture has given you counterfeits; Christ offers you the real thing. You were not created to find your examples in gym bros, business moguls, Internet personalities, or Hollywood characters. You were created to be image-bearers of the living God, warriors in His army, and builders of His kingdom.
The Andrew Tates of the world offer you strength without purpose, power without principle, and success without soul. Christ offers you something infinitely better: strength channeled by love, power constrained by righteousness, and success measured by service.
When Jesus returns, He’s not coming back as a gentle shepherd; He’s coming back as a conquering King. Revelation 19:11-16 shows us the ultimate vision of masculinity: “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The One sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.”
This is your moment. This is your calling. This is your King. Stop looking to culture for examples of manhood and look to Christ — the most masculine man who ever lived.
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