____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ August 25, 1991 ____________________________________________________ Concerning Our Young People by Tom Edwards It is that time of year again when many of our young people are heading back to school. Most of these have obeyed the gospel within the last two years and have become fellow saints in the body of Christ. We are thankful for all of our young people and pray God's blessings to be with them now and always. School can be challenging: not only in view of the new studies to be learned, but also in the social arena. It is a time when one's commitment to the Lord and one's stand on ethical issues is often tested by fellow peers. For some strange reason, there are numerous young people who seem to believe it is a sign of maturity to think, talk, and live immorally and ungodly. Sometimes through mean ridicule or the thought of social ostracism, one timidly succumbs to this way of the crowd and, thus, violates his own conviction and turns his back on Jesus as a price for acceptance. If our concern, however, is more for pleasing God rather than pleasing man then peer pressure will not be as great and our fellowship with the Lord will not be easily broken. Peer pressure is not a fear common to only young people. It is also that which has sometimes influenced grownups who have been described as being ``well-to-do,'' ``dignified,'' ``mature,'' and ``successful.'' What this shows is that a person can really have his life ``all together,'' but still sometimes fall prey to the snare of man. Probably some of the most prominent people of the Lord's day were the rulers who had attained to the top steps on that social ladder of prestige. Yet, note how many of them reacted in John 12:42,43. Here we are shown that because many of them had loved the approval of man more than having the approval of God, they shamefully denied the Lord -- even though they had believed in Him. The passage further explains the reason for this to have been that they feared they would have been ``put out of the synagogue'' if they had confessed their faith in the Savior. Obviously, these were climbing -- and perhaps as bootlickers -- the wrong ladder of worldly praise and acceptance due to their cowardliness. We want our young people to know that they need not be ashamed for siding with Jesus Christ -- though the world remain opposed. The teachings of the gospel that we each must embrace are always relevant, regardless of our age or background. It is a common standard to be shared by all who love the Lord and seek to please Him by their obedience to His word, whether they be at school, at home, on the job, or elsewhere. It should, therefore, always be our desire to be a friend for Jesus and not deny Him by sinful actions or wrongful thoughts; and if this means losing other friends as a consequence, then they were not really the right kind of friends to have to begin with. As Paul lovingly warns, ``Do not be deceived: `bad company corrupts good morals''' (1 Cor. 15:33). Times have changed since many of us have been in school, and since then the meaning of student unruliness in many places has also been drastically redefined because of the shameful, shocking, and deplorable acts by some of these rebellious children who seem to suffer from a scholastic lethargy and a disciplinary indifference. This obstruction is often merely an unwillingness to learn and a repugnance toward submitting to any regulations but their own. Be concerned young people -- just as we who are older also must be -- with whom you choose for your intimate friends. If those whom you are associating with make it too difficult for you to remain as a Christian or they are continually belittling our Lord who gave His own life for us, then you are definitely with the wrong group, and you should seriously consider finding a better circle of friends. This does not mean total isolation from those who live by a different standard of ethics, but it does emphasize caution. The Christian today is to be an example-setter, regardless of age or social background. Not only in one's relationship to the government is the saint to be law-abiding (Rom. 13:1-6), but in every area of life. As Jesus states in Matthew 5:16, ``Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.'' When Paul wrote to Timothy, he told him in 1 Timothy 4:12, ``Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.'' Striving to live this exemplary life is a full-time job and not just something to be dabbled in. When the life you live matches up with the truth of the gospel you teach, you then become more influential and your possibilities of helping some of your fellow peers to accept God's way of salvation is also increased. Not much is said about the younger days of the Lord, but Luke sums it up by stating, ``And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men'' (Luke 2:52). This verse speaks about four different areas in which the Lord developed: ``in wisdom'' (mentally), ``in...stature'' (physically), ``in favor with God'' (spiritually), and ``in favor with...men'' (socially). By far, the most important of these four is to grow spiritually. It is more needful than mental, physical, or social development; but still we see Jesus Himself growing in these other areas as well. Should we not also, if we are striving to be like Him? The fact that they did not finish school is a common regret among many drop-outs across the nation. Unfortunately, this is sometimes not realized until a few years after having quit. Young people, you can learn from their mistakes; strive to do your best; study hard. School is a time of considering new ideas, weighing values and theories within the balance of truth, grappling with difficult equations, trying to get a hold on what might appear as ever-changing grammatical rules, and not only learning in a wide array of subjects, but also acquiring the tools to be able to better learn; and though many of us continue with these processes throughout life, our first major steps were often made in school. Let us, therefore, strive to better ourselves and make our temporary goals attainable by our efforts, while our ultimate desire -- and our cardinal basis for righteous living -- is set far higher on that eternal goal of everlasting life with God and all the redeemed in eternal bliss. ___________________________________________ Tame the Tongue by Chuck Bartlett Peter wrote, ``For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile'' (1 Pet. 3:10). The tongue is one of the hardest members of the body to tame. James says, ``But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison'' (3:8). This makes it clear as to the trouble the tongue can cause. The tongue can be, and is often, used for destruction; it can also be used for edification. Saints sing to admonish each other (Col. 3:16), give words to console (Gal. 6:2), exhibit words of joy to share in the rejoicing of others (Rom. 12:15), etc. There is no doubt that the tongue can hurt and scare people. It is used for lying, slander, gossip, swearing, sarcasm, jesting, self-adoration, complaining, criticizing, arguing, putting down, bitterness, accusing, abusing, and assuming, etc. It is easy to say words that fall into one of the above categories. Every effort must be used to control our speech. Paul said, ``Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers'' (Eph. 4:29). So often the lesson of the tongue centers around the speaker. Consider the hearer. Just because we are not the one doing the talking, we may be all ears and encouraging the speaker to go on, thus we become partakers of his evil deeds (2 Jn. 11). Corrupt speech can come from, lack of thought before one talks, listening to corrupt speech, speaking too soon, evil desires, and a lack of self-control. Magazines thrive on the evils of half-truths and lies. Movie makers incorporate foul speech to satisfy the ``audience.'' Many song writers use lyrics that are unbecoming for any Christian to utter. The question is, are we generating a proper example of speech or do we fit right in with the world? Let us conclude this article with some straight forward words taken from James the third chapter. ``Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell'' (vv. 5,6). ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________