No, we don’t need perfect men, but we do need better men. Even though Christ is the only perfect man and the sole head of the church, the body of Christ needs men of integrity and grit.
Although this book is written with love and goodwill, it is a direct call to war. It is a call for Christian men to make war against the things that belittle the glory of God, wound their wives and children, and disqualify them from fruitful ministry.
At the outset, I want to lay down a gauntlet by urging you to examine yourself. Has the gospel of Jesus Christ come to you in power? By God’s grace, have you come to grips with the evil of sin in light of God’s law? Have you fled to Christ for refuge, pardon, and forgiveness?
This book is for my own soul as much as it is for other men. Everything that is to follow in this book is written by a fellow sinner, saved by grace, who has experienced the life-changing power of the gospel.
I face the same temptations that you do: laziness, anger, lust, pride, and so on. I live in the same sex-crazed culture that you do. I am painfully aware of the availability of pornography and the danger it poses to my marriage.
Nevertheless, I have consistently found strength and hope to fight sin and love my wife by the power of the promises of God’s Word applied by the power of the Holy Spirit living within me.
May we lay hold of the grace of God and step up to the joyful calling of being intentional, humble, Christ-exalting, self-denying husbands.
Excerpted from Man Up, Kneel Down: Shepherding Your Wife Toward Greater Joy In Jesus by J. Aaron White.