Thoughts for Young Men -4

Hey Guys,
This is the final chapter of Thoughts for Young Men. I hope you enjoyed reading through the book.

Chapter 4: Special Rules for Young Men

• For one thing, resolve at once, by God’s help, to break off every known sin, however small.
• Resolve, by God’s help, to shun everything that may prove an occasion for sin.
• Resolve never to forget the eye of God.
• Be diligent in the practice of your Christianity.
• Resolve that whatever you are you will pray.

The small sins of life, J.C. Ryle says, “darkens the mind, and deadens the conscience.” It is often the little sins that ruin the immortal soul. Many overlook these sins, but in reality, this should be our greatest concern to our own hearts.


I do not want anyone to misunderstand me concerning the fight against sin. It is not the fight that saves; it is because we are saved that we fight sin. As we have heard from the pulpit: apple trees do not become apple trees because they bear apples; rather, it is a proof that the tree is an apple tree. In the same way, works serve to prove that our faith is real. I plead with you this day to consider your own heart. At the judgment, I pray that you do not hear that your life was a “whitewashed tomb.” Instead believe on the Lord Jesus who died to pay the price for our sin and rose again triumphantly to prove that sin was conquered. Because of his death, we may truly say, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" The price has already been paid; the chains already broken. Believe and you will be saved. Jesus Christ has promised to give us life through his blood. He promised to make us perfect and complete someday. In this light, I hope to discuss our fight against sin: not as a means to grace, but as an evidence of grace.


Allowed sins will ruin the immortal soul. The call to Christians is to fight ALL sin not just the big sins. Pray daily for the strength to fight the sin that dwells in your heart. Pride, selfishness, lust, bitterness, anger, malice, envy, scorn –all these contribute to the destruction of our souls. Reading the list of sins one must do away with in Ephesians 4 can be very discouraging. My first response was: “OK, Paul, now how many do I really have to put away?” But Jesus calls us to do the impossible so that in our weakness, His strength may become clear. Paul says that, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” And remember Jesus’ promise to us through Paul, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Never quit fighting the small sins in your life, for God will give you the strength to continue fighting. Another way God strengthens us to fight our battles with sin is godly fellowship. Godly fellowship contributes to our soul’s welfare by allowing others to see our blind spots. For the past few years I have benefited greatly from the accountability offered by both my parents and my small group. Young men, do not scorn the accountability to your parents. It will serve you both in this life and also the life to come. If you, or I, feel a lack of easy communication to our parents, the answer is not to turn elsewhere. The answer is to honestly discuss with them our need for a stronger relationship. Oh, that fathers would turn their hearts toward their children, and that we would seek their help!


Does this mean that I would say that all peer accountability is bad? To the contrary, I feel that many of my friends have added to my spiritual well-being rather than taking away from it. For the past several years, I have met every two weeks with a small group of brothers for the express purpose of holding each other accountable. It has been a refreshment and a joy to draw closer to God together while helping each other see the blind spots in our lives. I am so thankful to God for them.

The final point that I wanted to mention is the importance of prayer. I don’t feel that this can be emphasized enough. Jack and Daniel have prepared our hearts to come before Him who answers before we call, yet each of us has the responsibility to pray for God’s blessing on the conference. Make it a priority to look to Jesus and ask Him to be with us and with the speakers as we continue to prepare for the conference. At times, we may feel small and inadequate for the task ahead, weighed down by the cares and responsibility of leading each of our areas. God calls us to look past the physical challenges, to His support for those who are in His will. This makes me think of the story of Elijah and his servant when they were surrounded by their enemies. Elijah did not fear the physical obstacles and enemies that were seen before him; instead, he looked past them to the God that was on his side. He trusted in a good God who was sovereign over all things. This God will be the same for you as he was for Elijah. As we prepare for this conference, pray diligently that the Lord of hosts would be pleased to shower His grace on this effort and that we, as His servants, would seek to glorify His name above all other names.

In Christ,
Andrew