By Dustin Neeley
Like many other pastors, I recently began our annual “journey toward Bethlehem” by preaching from Matthew 1:18-25. During my study I began to notice some exciting—and somewhat unexpected—landmarks in the life of Joseph, each relating to the subject of biblical manhood.
As the heading in any of our Bibles will tell us, this story is clearly about the birth of Christ, not biblical manhood. However, just because the birth of Jesus is the “main point” doesn’t mean it’s the only point. I don’t believe we should shy away from making the other points so long as we’re faithful to expound the main one.
In this article I want to share five lessons we can learn from Joseph’s life about what it means to be a godly man.
1. Godly men care about God’s Word.
Matthew tells us Joseph was a “just man” (v. 19). While we may read this phrase simply as “Joseph was a stand up guy,” the word here for “just” is describing Joseph’s posture and orientation toward the law. As a devout first-century Jew, he cared deeply about what God had to say about life. As we might put it today, Joseph was a godly man who cared deeply about the Bible and wanted to live it out.
Could the same be said of us? Are we devoted to God’s Word and living it out in daily life? If not, why not? What might need to change?
Read more at http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/12/18/what-joseph-can-teach-us-about-biblical-manhood/