Dear Prof, I have a group of Christian young people who don’t see a problem in getting up to all sorts on a Saturday night, and in fact most of the week outside of church. They know it’s wrong but they don’t care; they know that their youth group still accepts them and Jesus still forgives them. How should we respond?
The Prof. responds:
Every youth worker has to work out how to handle what we might call blatant sin and it’s not easy to get it right. The young people who believe they can know the forgiveness of Jesus are partly correct. In 1 John 1:8-9 we are told that if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is wonderful news for us all.
But the New Testament distinguishes between those who err and struggle (as we all do) and those who deliberately and persistently shun God’s grace in favour of sin as your young people are.
Let me explain. We are saved by Jesus through putting our confidence totally in him. Part of God’s work is to change us from the inside out and we cooperate with what he is doing; we grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18), and work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12,13). We are warned that those who opt for a lifestyle of sin will not ‘inherit the kingdom of God’ (Gal. 5:19-21). Indeed there are grave warnings to those who know the grace of God and yet persist in sin (Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-31).
Churches differ in their view on whether a person who comes to true faith in Jesus can drift away. But whatever you conclude, the young people are not correct in thinking they can wantonly sin, ask for forgiveness and all will be well – how do they know they will always come back to God?
So how should we think about young people who ‘get up to all sorts’? Well they may not be Christians yet and their behaviour is merely flagging this up. It’s no surprise that they have no desire to stay away from sin, if the Holy Spirit is not within them providing his guidance and strength. It may be worth explaining again the good news of Jesus’ love for them, the relationship he offers, and the power he provides to live differently.
If they are Christians and sinning (e.g. sleeping around, drinking underage), then maybe they don’t really understand the nature of the new life they have. When we follow Jesus we turn away from all that is wrong and put our confidence in him. We are not made perfect overnight, but there will be a desire to do what is good – the Spirit within is after all the ‘Holy’ Spirit.
Your challenge is to be clear and firm with those who need warning of the gravity of sin, and sensitive with those who really want to do what is right, but know they struggle. It sounds like most of your young people are in the first category.
Jesus was wonderfully patient with his followers. Luke 9 describes times when they are competitive (v46), fractious (v49), and even suggest wiping out a town that didn’t receive their message (v54-56)! Yet he didn’t give up on them. He lovingly drew people into relationship by pointing out the great benefits of knowing God and his kingdom. Note his reaction to the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). Jesus doesn’t condemn in the way the Jewish leaders want him to. His attitude is one of love and compassion. But neither does he condone. He tells her to go and leave her life of sin.
In gentle conversation you will need to be clear on God’s power to help and that he is utterly gracious and loving. Explain that Jesus is looking to help us not only say no to sin but develop our hearts to the point where we won’t want to sin, because good living is far more attractive. You may want to share any sin struggles you have faced at this point. Explain that changing habits is very tough, and will take time, but it won’t kill them to stop doing things that seem to give them pleasure, especially if replaced by good stuff. You might offer to mentor them through the change, if you have time. And of course assure them God will be with them every step of the way.
Andy Peck is a writer and tutor at CWR and former student worker.
What to say to the young person: Yes, Jesus is wonderfully forgiving. Isn’t he great! But the best kind of life is one where we stay away from stuff that we know he says is not good for us, even if we enjoy it. It can be tough to say ‘no’ when friends are egging us on, or deep down we want to disobey God. But our real problem is with our hearts. How can we imagine a different kind of life for you that will avoid the bad and embrace the good? Do you have any ideas? How can we start to ask God to help you in this?
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