Douglas Bond has this call to arms for young men in Fathers and Sons, Hold Fast in a Broken World:
Self-controlled young men have sanctified affections. They love what they should love; they walk by faith informed by truth; they live for an audience of one–God; they value Christ and his salvation more than all the allurements of the world.
Self-controlled young men take sin seriously. They don’t see how close to the edge of the cliff they can cavort. They’re aware that the devil and sin are nothing to flirt with. They avoid sin, its occasions, and its companions because they know how devious the devil can be. (p. 18)
Young men must learn how to stand firm and hold fast in a culture that is treacherous:
Yours is a culture of death expressed in art and music, and in the legalized slaughter of the unborn children by the millions. Yours is the culture that stands in defiance of God’s authority and truth, seen in the normalizing of homosexuality and the relentless push to deconstruct marriage. Yours is the culture desperate to legitimize homosexual perversion by passing laws that make same-sex marriage a thing to be celebrated. Yours is a culture systematically redefining words in an effort to silence Christians–especially Christian men! (p. 20)
So, young men, stand firm! Take sin seriously, know the devil’s schemes and resist him along with the world and the flesh. Keep your eyes on Christ and your destiny in Christ: heaven.
“For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” (Hebrews 3:14, ESV).
