“‘This is a a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church’ (Eph. 5:31-32). Those who want the formation of this great mystery to be reeduced to a simple checkoff list want something that cannot be. For those who have no hands, wisdom has no handles” (Future Men, p. 147).
How Many?
“Unless wisdom governs, words are like proverbs in the mouth of a fool — like the legs of a crippled man (Prov. 26:7). So it doesn’t matter if it is called courtship, biblical courtship, or covenantal dating. What matters is more intangible. Unless wisdom governs, as I am fond of saying, courtship means that six …
Preconditions
“Fathers who want to control the details of their sons marrying are, ironically, behaving in a way that will make a very poor husband out of any son who puts up with it. When a man marries, he is stepping into headship and responsibility. He cannot do this well if he has never done it …
Sexual Impatience
“All this is serious business, but it should not obscure what is being done. The Christian faith does not say no to a young man’s sexual urges just to be a killjoy. Rather, it is more like a mother telling her son that he cannot have a bag of chips half an hour before dinner. …
Kidding Yourself
“There is no way that young men can watch, and be entertained by, movies which include displays of nudity, steamy sex scenes, and so forth, without being aroused by them. A boy who tells his mother that he can ‘handle it’ is using what astute theologians in former ages used to call ‘a lie'” (Future …
New Hearts or Old?
“We are not born again because we have repented and believed. Rather, we have repented and believed because God has given us the new birth. If our old hearts were capable of repentance and belief, then we would not need new hearts” (Future Men, p. 139).
A Gibbering Ape
“Christian parents (and particularly mothers) must recognize that the temptations to lust comes down to us from our father Adam, from our members which are on the earth (Col. 3:5). They do not originate with the world or with Hollywood. The world can and does enflame these lusts, but the world does not create them. …
Feminism Rips Off Women
“The cultural discipline of honoring women is very important. It is no accident that feminists have succeeded in getting women treated ‘equally’ with men, and now that women are no longer singled out for honor, that the men around them just go with their lusts. The results have not been at all favorable for women. …
The Catnip Effect
“A boy can seem to be developing into an almost rational creature, but then when girls come into the picture we see what might be called the catnip effect. One moment he is upright and strong, a most promising young man, and the next moment, after a glimpse of her, he is barging into furniture …
Troublemakers
“Girls cause a lot of trouble. If it weren’t for girls, we would have no moms, and if there were no moms, we would have no boys — and boys cause a lot of trouble” (Future Men, p. 135).