Boys to Men

Psalm 37:23-31 / 1 John 2:12-14

Little Children

Not by years

Children of the Devil

John 8:41–44 “41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Children of God

1 John 2:12 “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

1 John 2:13 “…I write to you, children, because you know the Father.”

Young Men

1 John 2:13 “…I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one...

1 John 2:14 “…I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

The Word of God

Matthew 4:4 “4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ””

Matthew 4:7 “7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ””

Matthew 4:10 “10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ””

THIS is what makes young men (and women) strong: when the Word of God abides within them.

Ephesians 6:16 “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;”

This is how the defeat of Satan by Christ truly becomes our victory: when we learn to combat sin with The Word.

When we learn The Word, we see sin in our lives. We come to hate sin in our lives. When we believe what God’s word says about us and about Christ, we repent of our sins. We look to God for guidance, for strength, and for mercy.

These are the markings of a people growing and maturing in faith.

Also, the understanding that participation in a local church is necessary, vital to any life that should be called Christian.

You can’t be just as good a sailor without a boat. You can be a swimmer and a diver, but not a sailor. So too, you cannot be Christian in any biblical or meaningful way apart from Christ’s Church.

Ephesians 4:11–13 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,”

Fathers

1 John 2:13 “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father.”

1 John 2:14 “I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning…

John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

Job 42:5–6 “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.””

"Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior?” - Polycarp ~ 155AD

Our prayer is not only that you would be saved; become a child of God, but that you would grow and learn more about the Lord God. That you would indeed overcome sin and thee evil one through Christ, and that you would grow into a mature faith