A Mighty Man’s Life

“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”

I Corinthians 16:13

#1: SPIRITUAL DUTIES

  1. Do you read your Bible by yourself daily in a prayerful, meditative way (Job 23:12; Ps 1:1-3)?
  2. Do you pray daily by yourself, other than at meals (Ps 55:17; Dan 6:10; Eph 6:18; James 5:16)?
  3. Do you examine and judge yourself with the Lord’s help (Job 34:31-32; Ps 139:23-24; I Cor 11:28)?
  4. Do you confess your sins thoroughly every day (Job 33:27-28; Ps 32:5; Prov 28:13; I John 1:9)?
  5. Do you pray for God to fill and control you with the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13; Eph 1:17; 3:16)?
  6. Do you sing or listen to godly music regularly (Psalm 104:33; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16; James 5:13)?
  7. Do you delight in the Lord God on a personal and intimate basis (Ps 37:4; Jer 9:23-24; Job 22:21)?
  8. Do you walk with God and seek His face like the great men (Gen 5:22-24; 6:9; 17:1; Ex 33:11)?
  9. Do you fulfill the will of God for your life in the matter of giving thanks (Eph 5:20; I Thes 5:18)?
  10. Do you keep your heart with all diligence and focused on things above (Prov 4:23; Col 3:2)?
  11. Are you praying to grow in grace and in the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 3:14-19; Jas 1:5; II Pet 3:18)?
  12. What is your biggest temptation to compromise holiness (Ps 19:13; Heb 12:1; Prov 5:19; Col 3:19)?
  13. What costly steps have you taken to fight this temptation (Ps 101:3-8; Matt 5:29-30; Rom 13:14)?
  14. What hinders you the most in walking with God daily (Luke 8:11-18; I John 2:15-17; Rom 13:14)?
  15. Can you recall sermons that convicted or instructed you (Ps 119:11; Prov 3:1-4; 6:20-22; 7:1-3)?
  16. Is your reputation in the church one of spirituality or carnality (Ps 37:37; Phil 3:17-21; Gal 6:1)?
  17. Do you speak often and consistently to others about the Lord (Malachi 3:16-17; Heb 10:23-25)?
  18. Do you bear the fruit of the Spirit visibly for others to behold (Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:9; Acts 6:3)?
  19. Do others know you are a Christian by the good conduct of your life (Matt 5:16; I Pet 2:11-12)?
  20. For more help, consult the sermons about David’s heart, delighting in the Lord, and so forth.

#2: MARITAL DUTIES

  1. Rate your marital happiness from 1 to 10. If not happy, then change it. You must as the man.
  2. How would your wife rate it, if she could tell the truth? Which truth the Lord already knows!
  3. How would her parents and children rate it, if they could tell the truth? God already knows!
  4. Are you keeping all of God’s intimate duties in your marriage (Prov 5:19; I Cor 7:1-5; Heb 13:4)?
  5. Are you cherishing and nourishing your wife as you do your body (Eph 5:28-29; I Peter 3:7)?
  6. Are you both happily married and fulfilled in intimate matters (Solomon Song 2:4-7; I Cor 7:1-5)?
  7. Is your wife with you because she fears God or because she loves you? Consider it carefully.
  8. Do you have any problems or temptations with pornography (Job 31:1; Ps 101:3; Prov 5:19)?
  9. Do you know God loaned you a woman, and you will give account (Prov 18:22; Mal 2:10-16)?
  10. Do you cherishingly love your wife away from the bedroom (Deut 24:5; Eph 5:28-29; I Pet 3:7)?
  11. Do you remember your wife, if she is a mother, and works 24/7 while you only work 7/5?
  12. Are you managing your marriage by being your wife’s loving leader (Gen 3:16; I Cor 14:35)?
  13. What is the biggest difficulty in your marriage? Are you solving it? Is it better than ever?
  14. Do you pray with your wife for your marriage and for your family (Matt 18:19; I Cor 9:5)?
  15. Have you eliminated all bitterness from her and you (Col 3:19; I Pet 3:7; Mal 2:13; Jas 2:13-18)?
  16. For more help, consult your marriage covenant, the marriage handbook, or marriage sermons.

#3: PARENTAL DUTIES

  1. Are you a proactive father working for the future lives of your children (Genesis 18:19; Job 1:5)?
  2. Do you have a copy of the Family Planning manual and ever refer to it (Ps 78:1-8; Joel 1:1-3)?
  3. Do you provide a Bible worldview for them on every subject and issue (Josh 24:15; Eph 6:4)?
  4. Have you identified problems in your children, and are you diligently working on them?
  5. How would your wife rate you as a father from 1 to 10? This is likely truer than your rating.
  6. Do you have a regular time for devotions or Bible training (Deut 4:5-10; 6:4-9; II Tim 3:15)?
  7. Do you have a mechanism for frequent instruction on other matters (Prov 1:8; 6:20)?
  8. Do you communicate with your children regularly to purge bitterness (Col 3:21; John 15:15)?
  9. Are you knowledgeable of the value of hope and whether they have any (Matt 7:9-11; Col 3:21)?
  10. Are you taking the necessary time and effort to win their hearts (Deut 6:5; Prov 4:23; 23:15,26)?
  11. Do you pursue them when they do not communicate or have internal problems (Luk 15:28-32)?
  12. Are you vigilantly aware of their lives i.e. friends, music, romance, plans, whereabouts?
  13. Are your children happy and spiritually growing in grace, or sullen worldlings (Ps 144:12)?
  14. Do your children love and care for each other with tender affection (Gen 18:19; Heb 13:1)?
  15. Are you managing their education – emphasizing spiritual over academic (Ps 78:1-8; Eph 6:4)?
  16. Are you praying and working to get them the godliest spouses possible (Gen 24:1-67; 28:1-5)?
  17. Are you helping them prepare for, get into, and succeed at a good profession (Pr 24:27; 27:23)?
  18. Are you helping them be successful at all the other practical aspects of a successful life?
  19. For more help, consult the notebook, Great Fathers for the Lord, issued in October, 2010.

#4: CHURCH DUTIES

  1. Have you missed any assemblies recently without a holy reason (Psalm 42:4; 122:1; Heb 10:25)?
  2. Do you attend assemblies without initiating godly speech with others (Heb 3:12-13; 10:24-25)?
  3. Are you alert, ready, and eager for worshipping during the assemblies (Ps 122:1; Matt 13:19)?
  4. Do you prepare and pray on Saturday nights for assemblies (Gen 35:1-3; Ex 19:9-11; Acts 13:42)?
  5. Are you given to hospitality toward brethren, as commanded (Rom 12:13; Heb 13:2; I Pet 4:9)?
  6. Do you communicate systematically outside assemblies with members (Mal 3:16; Heb 3:12-13)?
  7. Have you settled all disputes with every member to make peace (Matt 5:23-26; Phil 2:1-4; 4:2)?
  8. Are you working on the relationship with your most distant member (I Cor 12:23-24; 13:4-7)?
  9. What could you do better to promote church fellowship and growth in grace (Eph 4:16)?
  10. Do you volunteer to do any of the many small tasks needed by the church (Rom 16:1-2)?
  11. For more help, consult the outlines pertaining to church life and questions for membership.

#5: FAMILY DUTIES

  1. Do you regularly communicate with and honor your parents (Eph 6:1-3; I Tim 5:8)?
  2. Do you regularly communicate with and honor your in-laws (Exodus 18:1-12; I Tim 5:8)?
  3. Do you regularly communicate with and honor any step-relatives that you might have?
  4. Are there any existing conflicts in your family you could resolve as a peacemaker?
  5. What is your relationship with your siblings and your wife’s siblings? Is God pleased?
  6. Are there any indigent persons among your relatives you could help (I Tim 5:8)?
  7. Are you known in your larger family as a spiritual leader or a lazy loser (Gen 18:19)?
  8. Are you known in your larger family as a peacemaker and willing to help anyone?
  9. For more help, consult the outlines about honoring parents and your relationship wheel.

#6: PROFESSIONAL DUTIES

  1. Have you acquired, or are you working on a proven transferable skill (Prov 24:27; Acts 18:1-3)?
  2. Are you content with your present position and wages in a godly way (Luke 3:14; I Tim 6:6-10)?
  3. Was your last review/raise indicative of diligence and virtue (Gen 39:4,22; 41:39-40; I Kgs 11:28)?
  4. Are you considering the future and seeing any trends against your profession (Pr 27:23-24)?
  5. Are there any severe temptations in your present position (Gen 39:12; Rom 13:14; II Tim 2:22)?
  6. Do your colleagues and employer know you are a Christian by conduct (Matt 5:16; I Pet 2:12)?
  7. Do you serve your master with all your heart and might to honor Christ (Ep 6:5-8; Col 3:22-25)?
  8. Does your job conduct adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour (I Timothy 6:1-2; Titus 2:9-10)?
  9. Do you keep your job or business where it belongs, well down your priorities (I Tim 6:6-10)?
  10. Are you thankful for work and income, or can you only complain about your situation?
  11. Are others excited and interested to hear about your job, or sick and tired of hearing?
  12. For more help, see the outlines about a Christian work ethic and the Bible and employment.

#7: FINANCIAL DUTIES

  1. Are you paying God first? Systematically? Generously? Cheerfully? See Prov 3:9-10; Mal 3:7-12.
  2. Are you paying yourself second? Systematically? Leaving it inviolate? See Prov 6:6-8; 30:25.
  3. Is your biggest problem working hard, working smart, foolish spending, no saving, or what?
  4. Do you have problems with debts? Are you the head or the tail (Deut 28:13; Pr 22:7; Rom 13:8)?
  5. Does your credit score reflect a Christian man or worldly fool (II Cor 8:21; Col 4:5; I Thess 5:22)?
  6. Do your payment habits reflect a Christian man or a worldly fool (Gen 39:6; Dan 6:4)?
  7. Are your financial records current and in good order, to track expenses and plan wisely?
  8. Does your present professional position provide enough income (I Thess 4:11-12; Eph 4:28)?
  9. Do you know how many children you can afford, and do you have less than that number?
  10. Are you content with what you have and seeking godliness (Matt 6:33; I Tim 6:6-10; Heb 13:5-6)?
  11. Are you wisely insured to protect against catastrophic loss (Pr 6:1-5; 22:26-27; Luke 4:9-12)?
  12. For more help, consult the Bible Economics outline and other men’s meeting materials.

#8: SOCIAL DUTIES

  1. Are you at peace with all neighbors and colleagues outside the church (Rom 12:18; Gal 6:10)?
  2. Do you have an honest report of all those outside the church (Acts 6:3; I Tim 3:7; III John 1:12)?
  3. Do you live peaceably with all men, including personal enemies (Matt 5:43-48; Rom 12:17-21)?
  4. Are your good works visible to men, and such that they glorify God (Matt 5:16; I Pet 2:12)?
  5. Are you known by neighbors, peers at work, and others as very gracious (Ps 22:11; Col 4:6)?

#9: PERSONAL DUTIES

  1. Are you as fit as you should be for your wife, energy, and health (I Cor 6:19-20; Eph 5:28-29)?
  2. Are you guilty of food intemperance by indulgence or by obesity (Prov 23:20-21; I Cor 9:24-27)?
  3. Do you have any health problems that you should prudently attend to (Prov 11:17; 27:12)?
  4. What is your greatest temperamental weakness? And are you fighting it hard (Prov 16:32)?
  5. Do you have any ungodly temptations to alcohol, tobacco, food, or drugs (Pr 23:21; I Cor 6:12)?
  6. Are your house, cars, and other assets in the condition they should be in (Prov 12:27; 18:9)?
  7. If you were to die tonight, are your will, papers, and insurance in good order (Pr 22:3; Is 38:1)?

#10: CIVIL AND NATIONAL DUTIES

  1. Do you pray for our president and other leaders as godly men would (Jer 29:4-7; I Tim 2:1-3)?
  2. Do you strictly avoid speaking evil of dignities (Ecclesiastes 10:20; II Pet 2:10-12; Jude 1:8-10)?
  3. Do you avoid those that meddle with changing government (Prov 24:21-22; Eccl 8:2-5)?
  4. Do you submit to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake (Rom 13:1-7; I Pet 2:13-17)?
  5. Are you clean with the IRS and any other taxing authorities (Matt 22:15-22; Rom 13:1-7)?
  6. For more help, see the outlines about the Christian and taxes, the IRS, and civil government.