Hebrews 6:1-2 “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (2) of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”
We have seen in the previous section that the three main characteristics that identify baby believers; is their lack of understanding of God’s word, their weak faith and their carnal behaviour. In the same manner we can identify young adults in the Christian faith by looking at those same three characteristics. And so the first characteristic of young adults that we want to discuss is their understanding of God’s word. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christians that understand the six foundational doctrines of the Christian faith are able to go on to perfection. The word translated “perfection” in this passage is the same word that is also translated “maturity”. And so the Holy Spirit is telling us in this passage that once believers understand the six foundational doctrines of Christ they can then move on to maturity. In other words believers who fall into this category can be identified as young adults, for they are no longer babes in Christ but they are also not yet mature adults. And so we can see that one of the characteristics identifying young adults in Christ is their clear understanding of the six foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.
Romans 14:16-22 “Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; (17) for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (18) For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. (19) Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. (20) Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. (21) It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. (22) Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”
The second characteristic that identifies young adults in Christ which we want to discuss, is their level of faith. To that end we saw in the section dealing with baby believers, that the bible classified babes in Christ as being weak in the faith. Obviously young adults, having moved on from being babes in Christ, are no longer classified as being weak in the faith. So how do we identify a young adult’s level of faith? The answer lies in the way in which they walk in their faith. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul advises certain believers to have their faith to themselves before God. So what does Paul mean by that statement? The context of this passage is that Paul is addressing those who, having a greater understanding of God’s word have therefore grown in their level of faith and are thus able to walk in a far greater degree of liberty. In other words these believers are no longer babes in Christ having weak faith, but rather having grown in their faith, they have become young adults in Christ. Nevertheless not yet being mature, these believers tend to walk in the liberty of their stronger faith, not taking into account the impact of their changed lifestyles on their weaker brothers in Christ. And so we can see that one of the characteristics of young adults in Christ is that although they have developed their faith, they have not yet learnt that when their faith has the potential to negatively impact their weaker brethren, to rather walk in a manner that doesn’t offend their weaker brothers, thus having their faith to themselves before God.
2 Peter 1:5-10 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, (6) to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, (7) to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. (8) For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. (10) Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.”
The third characteristic that identifies young adults in Christ which we want to discuss is the way in which they behave. We have seen earlier that the bible contrasts carnal behaviour and spiritual behaviour as being two complete opposites. We have also seen that baby believers tend to display carnal behaviour and the reasons for that. As we will see in the following section, mature believers tend to display spiritual behaviour. And so it is therefore self evident that young adults fall in between the two extremes of carnal behaviour and spiritual behaviour. In other words, in the process of their transitioning from carnal to spiritual behaviour, they no longer display mainly carnal behaviour, but neither do they yet display mainly spiritual behaviour. We saw earlier that spiritual behaviour is a manifestation of the fruit of the born again human spirit, and we said that fruit is not produced overnight but rather that it takes time for fruit to grow. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Peter lists various fruit of the spirit, and he speaks of that fruit abounding or increasing in the life of the believer. And so we see that believers can increase in the amount of spiritual fruit which they produce. Clearly this passage is addressing the behaviour of young adults in Christ, who having begun to display the fruit of the spirit in their lives, are being encouraged to continue along that path and indeed increase in the display of that fruit. And so we see that young adults in Christ display behaviour that is no longer purely carnal, but they have also not yet reached the point where their behaviour is completely spiritual either. They are somewhere in between.
Michael E.B. Maher
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