In Canada, the so-called Young Offenders' Act protects delinquent youth from serious penalty. Is it possible that there is a kind of spiritual YOA in the church? Do young people believe they can sin without consequences, since many excuse their behaviour on account of their youth? This article explains the impact that this thinking can have on the youth, and then makes plain that scripturally speaking, the Lord does hold also young people responsible for how they live.

Source: Clarion, 1994. 2 pages.

Young Offenders' Act in the Church

Recently I heard from the police about a gang working my neighbourhood. The gang specializes in stealing electronic appliances from homes when the owners are away at work. The leader of this gang is a middle-age male. The interesting thing is that all the other members of the gang are under the age of sixteen. The leader never steals a thing himself. Instead, he sends out the young people to do this work for him.

This gang leader has intelligent reasons for recruiting young people to do the actual stealing. He knows that the young people really have nothing to lose if they are caught. Under the Young Offenders' Act (YOA) of Canada, the young thieves are largely immune from serious penalty.

In recent months, much has been written in the Canadian press about the YOA in Canada. Notably the Reform Party of Canada has focused the spotlight on the problem of youth crime. This problem, say the Reform MPs is getting worse due to the lack of a sufficient deterrent. Young people, they say, can commit crimes without fear of consequences. They are protected by the umbrella of the YOA.

It's not my interest to now address youth crime. I would only like to ask: Is there a kind of spiritual Young Offenders' Act in the church? Do young people sometimes live in sin because they think there will not be any consequences? Is it the belief of some that they can sin with impunity because they will not have to deal with the repercussions of their behaviour?

It may even be that older folks in the church sometimes encourage this Young Offender mentality. Sometimes we hear people say things like, “O well, they have to have their fun when they are young,” or, “O well, they'll change when they get older.” I've even heard this line: “Maybe if he finds a good wife he'll straighten out.”

With this kind of talk, the youth can hardly be blamed if they come to see their teenage years as a time of irresponsibility. They can live as they please without being held accountable. They know that their sinful deeds will be whitewashed with the explanation that they are still young.

Insulting to Teens🔗

As a young person, don't you feel insulted to have your sins excused simply because you are young? Why should your sinful weaknesses be taken for granted because you happen to be, say, less than 20 years old? As if youth guarantees sinful living!

Indeed, it needs to be stressed that the Lord does not allow youth to serve as an excuse for sin. The Lord always deals seriously with His covenant youth. He isn't kidding around when He declares to them His promises and commandments. Because the Lord is always serious in what He says, no young person is ever exempted from the responsibility of believing His promises. Nor are they at any moment free from the obligation to obey the Lord. Not when I'm thirteen and not when I'm sixteen or nineteen can I pretend I'm not responsible to keep the holy commandments of God.

I think young people should resent anyone, whether parent or elder or teacher or friend condoning their sins just because they are young. This sort of attitude degrades young people! As if young people don't know the Lord's promises and commandments! As if they don't know the calling to believe and obey! As a young person, I would demand that people honour my position in the church by insisting that I show consistent obedience to God.

On the other hand, if people fully expect me to behave irresponsibly, perhaps I will. If there really is an unspoken Young Offenders' Act in the church, what is there to lose? If sin has no consequences, why strive for purity and holiness? I can do what I want and nothing happens anyway. I can do what I want and all will still be well with God, with parents and with church. Especially young people might say: “O, I plan to live quite differently when I'm twenty or when I get married.”

No Exemptions for Youth🔗

From Scripture, it is very clear that the Lord does hold young people responsible for the way they live before Him. The youth are not exempt in any way from the calling to obey their God. If a person is old enough to understand the promises of the covenant and the commandments, then that person is responsible to believe and obey. The more you know, the more responsible you become.

And the truth is that, as Reformed young people, we know quite a lot. From earliest childhood, we hear about the incredible works of the Lord for our salvation. From day one, we are confronted by His will for our lives. With our parents, we attend worship services in which the promises of the Gospel are spelled out to us in great detail. We also attend catechism classes in which the Scriptures are further explained to us. In addition, many of us are able to attend Christian schools in which we receive further encouragement and instruction to walk in holiness.

In all these ways, the Lord addresses us as young people. He deals with us seriously. He calls us to believe and urges us to obey. Faith and repentance: this is what God demands of young people. Nor does the Lord give any indication that a failure to repent and believe will be excused for some years, say until age 25 or so.

The consequences of unbelief and sin are the same whether a person is 16 or 30 or 100. In the first place, the sinner makes God angry. He offends God by his sin. As long as there is unrepented sin, the sinner can have no joy in God. He cannot experience any sense of the nearness of God. In addition, the unrepentant sinner, young or old, injures his conscience. A person who excuses his sin on the grounds that he is young and therefore prone to error, makes it all the easier to commit further sin. Soon a process of hardening sets in with the result that the sinner becomes completely insensitive to the will of God.

It is true that consistories are usually more patient with a young member who is blatantly disobedient than with an older brother or sister in the congregation who lives in sin. As far as official discipline is concerned, the churches tend to wait for the young person to come to maturity before they would think about excommunicating such a person.

However, in terms of consequences for God and self, there is no delay. Young offenders as well as older ones incur God's anger and risk His judgment. They also rob themselves of much comfort and joy.

No Delay🔗

The Bible says: “Today when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:7, Hebrews 3:7). Today, not tomorrow. The Scriptures also say: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6). Delay is dangerous. There may be no chance tomorrow. Procrastinating in faith and repentance is the devil's favourite way of taking people to hell. Before God, nobody will be able to claim the protection of a Young Offenders' Act. The excuse, “But I was only eighteen” won't stand before the holy God.

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