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2. Biblical Honor, Part 3

3. A man’s gotta have a code, a creed to live by. --John Wayne

4. Biblical Honor Demands an Honor Code
Public honor is bestowed by another who may or may not be a part of the group. (1 Timothy 5:17)
How do we know that the person being honored deserves it? A set of requirements.
Widow in deed (1 Timothy 5:5, 9-10, 11)
Doubled-honored elders (1 Timothy 5:17; Titus 1:5-9)

5. Biblical Honor Demands an Honor Code
Scripture contains honor codes for the groups within it.
Sometimes, the code is universal. Otherwise, it is limited to within the group.
For example, the code for a male to be a man and a female to be a woman is universal since both male and female were created by God. (Genesis 1:27-28)

6. Biblical Honor Demands an Honor Code
God portrays the lower virtues of both the male and female.
Both men and women are rational and capable of speech, they can observe beauty, and they have a consciousness and self-reflection. These characteristics are non-gendered.

7. Biblical Honor Demands an Honor Code
God is a warrior (Exodus 15:3), valiant (Psalms 108:13), mighty (Genesis 49:24) and strong. (Isaiah 40:10)
Scripture uses these characteristics to describe males who are men, universally.

8. Biblical Honor Demands an Honor Code
God comforts us as a mother (Isaiah 66:13) and midwife (Psalms 22:9-10) and experiences the fury of a mother bear. (Hosea 13:8)
Scripture uses these characteristics to describe females who are women, universally.

9. Biblical Honor Demands an Honor Code
God created both the male and female in his image or characteristics.
The characteristics that God displays as a man apply to men and the same is true for feminine characteristics.
These things are gendered.

10. Biblical Honor Demands an Honor Code
The honor code refers to it as the lower virtue(s).
In this sense, it refers to the basic virtues needed for a male to be a man and a female to be a woman.

11. Honor Code for Men
Not every male will become a Christian, husband or elder and not every female will become a Christian or wife.
Thus, the standard of what it means for a man and woman to be a Christian does not apply to what it means for a male to be a man or a female to be a woman.

12. Honor Code for Men
This does not mean Scripture does not have the answer.
The virtues for being a man and woman are separate categories from what it means to be a Christian.
The lower virtues are a matter of the physical creation.

13. Honor Code for Men
The higher virtues are a matter of spiritual creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
God applied words like mighty, valor and warrior to both Jews and Gentiles. (2 Chronicles 17:16, 32:21).

14. Honor Code for Men
Being a Christian does not define either masculinity or feminism.
There is no such thing as “Biblical manliness” or “Christian masculinity.” There is just masculinity.

15. Honor Code for Men
The Bible clearly refers to the work that a male as a man can do if they are a Christian, but it is assumed that he is masculine. (Elder, military, preacher, husband)
Biblically, women are not permitted to pursue these because they are not masculine.

16. Honor Code for Men
The moral standard of being a Christian is meant to temper our actions.
We are commanded not to lie to other Christians. (Ephesians 4:25)
This command does not make a male a man (masculinity), but it makes a male who is a man a faithful Christian in the Lord’s sight.

17. Honor Code for Men
We can determine this by asking a simple question: Why are the Biblical positions of preachers, elders, military and husbands male-centric?
Each position is considered a shepherd’s work and he does two primary things for the flock.
Protect: Nahum 2:12; Acts 20:28-31 (1 Samuel 17:34-37)
Provide: Genesis 46:32 (1 Samuel 17:15)

18. Honor Code for Men
What must a man possess to physically protect someone?
Even the world agrees with Scripture that there are “tactical virtues” that every warrior and hunter needs to be successful.

19. Honor Code for Men
What three tactical virtues are essential to fighting and winning?
Valor (strength); good physical strength. (1 Chronicles 5:24)
Courage; the courage to kill or be killed. (Joshua 1:9; 2 Samuel 10:12; Jeremiah 48:41, 51:30)
Mastery; the warrior can succeed only when he masters the tools of his trade.

20. Honor Code for Women
This refers to what is considered honorable for a female as a woman. These lower virtues transcend relationships.
The weaker vessel (1 Peter 3:7)
The husband is commanded to honor his wife as the weaker vessel.
Vessel means body. (Romans 9:21-23)
Weaker refers to the strength of the body in comparison to the husband’s. (1 Corinthians 1:25)

21. Honor Code for Women
God created the male body to be stronger than the female’s. Why?
In the Old Testament, two of the man’s responsibilities were to guard the perimeter and hunt for provisions.
In that day and time, these were the two most difficult and deadly jobs a man could employ.

22. Honor Code for Women
How does the husband honor his wife in this situation?
The entire case is about bodily strength.
God made the woman’s body weaker for several reasons making them unable to guard the perimeter or hunt for provisions on a long-term basis.

23. Honor Code for Women
The husband honors his wife by protecting and providing for her.
What if man refuses to protect and provide? 1 Timothy 5:8
He is as an infidel and this pertains to religion.
What makes one worse? Maybe because he violates the reason he was created.

24. Honor Code for Women Two things to keep in mind
A woman will “protect” herself, her children and even her husband under certain circumstances. (Judges 4:21, 4:4)
Even with some overlap, in both cases a man was not available.
A woman has the strength and is capable under the right conditions to kill another person or animal, but she was not created to do this long-term.

25. Honor Code for Women
Example: Jael was home by herself. Because Israel was at war, her warrior husband was away fighting the enemy.
Still, she does not confront Sisera in a face-off.
Instead, she uses subterfuge to get him to relax and lull him into a sense of safety and then, she struck! (Judges 4:19)

26. Honor Code for Women
Example: Deborah was surrounded by men, but they were not masculine because they refused to fight. (Judges 4:8)
Deborah goes to the battle, but there is no indication that she fights.
Instead, she follows Barak to support the campaign as Israel’s judge.

27. Honor Code for Women
Being a man is about having the strength for combat and hunting.
A woman’s body does not need that such strength since her body was created for nurturing.
The exception is that the woman has the limited strength to provide for and protect her own when she is alone.

28. Honor Code for Women
A woman can be the provider for her family, and even her husband under certain circumstances. (Proverbs 31:10)
The woman’s honor is based in her help to provide for her husband and family. Her work is domestic in nature. She does not fight nor hunt.

29. Honor Code for Women
Any provisions she supplies the family seems to assist her husband by allowing him to have time to work to the village rather than having to do extra work. (Proverbs 10:23)

30. Honor Code for Women
Being a man is about having strength for combat and hunting.
A woman’s body doesn’t need that kind of strength since her body was created for nurturing.

31. Honor Code for Women What about our modern society?
Some things have changed, but some have remained the same.
Natural catastrophes suffered by the U.S. have reminded us that men still need to be skilled in hunting.

32. Honor Code for Women
Police cannot always protect you. No officer has stopped a crime except by accident. The man (husband, father, brother) is the first line of defense.
A woman has the limited strength to provide for her own when she is alone.

33. Shame Dishonor Oddities of Honor
Next Week
Shame Dishonor Oddities of Honor