In this sermon titled 'Why Young People Reject Christ,' Scott Brown addresses the common objections that arise in the hearts and minds of young people to dissuade them from turning to Christ. Using the story of the rich young ruler as a key text, the preacher highlights the misconceptions and fixations that hinder young people from fully understanding the commandments. He presents ten objections raised by young people, including concerns about pleasure, faithfulness, trials, reproach, prosperity, being unfashionable, time, and the existence of multiple paths to God. However, he refutes these objections with biblical truths and emphasizes the lies of the devil. The preacher encourages young people to overcome these roadblocks and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation and true fulfillment.

So let's turn to page 149 in early piety I Really like this chapter. I can relate with it. I've seen it. I've heard it. I've had it particularly when I was a young person.

And I've seen this very same thing that he speaks about here in probably every young person that I've ever talked to about the Lord. So he's dealing here with a very common problem among youth and that is that objections arise in the hearts and in the minds of young people to dissuade them, to give them fears about turning to Christ, to plant all kinds of dumb ideas in their minds so that they would delay, giving them many reasons, hundreds of reasons why not to turn to Christ now. This is what the devil does. He knows that if he can get a young person to delay, that he can defile them on their way. And so he seeks he seeks them early By giving them various objections To turning to the Lord.

So here in chapter 7 is called objections answered and there are just so many powerful influences in this world to discourage young people from turning to Christ. And the father of lies is very active in planting thoughts in young people's minds. And I think that every person who's been converted in their youth can relate to this. Perhaps you could say that youth isn't the only time that these kinds of objections arise, but they absolutely do in days of youth. And if you happen to be someone who hasn't turned to Christ yet, you'll relate to these.

These are the ways you know that the devil is speaking lies into your ears So the key text in this chapter is Matthew 19 22 which comes out of the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus Christ and asked him a question and the verse though of this of this example that the preacher gives is really the conclusion of the story. And so it's recorded that when the young man heard that saying, Jesus went away sorrowful. So it's a picture of a young person who goes away sorrowful because they could not turn to the Lord even though after hearing the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords the wisest most marvelous communicator ever said the truth and and it was rejected. And so there's this very hopeful, sober-minded, well-mannered young gentleman who was also rich and he came to Jesus and he says, good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life that's recorded in Mark chapter 10 Verse 17 and this young man was well instructed in Bible doctrine he had Christian ease down pat And he at the same time felt some lack so he comes running and he then he comes kneeling To the Lord and he says good master.

What shall I do? So you have this marvelous picture of a young person going to Jesus saying what shall I do? It's everything your heart desires to see in a young person. And the Lord Jesus Christ answers that young man by saying, if you want to enter into life, then keep the commandments. And the young man says, which ones?

And the Lord Jesus Christ Mentions several of them that come from the second table of the law the first table of the law the first Commandments have to do with your relationship with God. The second table of the law have their focus on your relationship with man. Love God, love your neighbor as yourself. That's the pattern that you find in the law. So the Lord Jesus Answers him by giving him several of the commandments in the second table of the law You shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal You shall not bear false witness honor your father and mother and love your neighbor as yourself.

And so the Lord Jesus goes really to the heart of his behavior and the meditations of his heart regarding real life, real actions, and his relationships with people. And the young man says, well all these things I have kept from my youth I'm not an adulterer I'm I'm not a murderer I don't bear false witness I I've honored my father and my mother and He says that he hasn't broken any of these commandments from his youth. Which makes it very clear that he didn't understand the commandments. He didn't understand that they were more than just externals. That the command not to murder means more than you didn't stab your friend and kill him.

To commit adultery was more than just the physical act. He was fixated on externals only. And so he says I haven't broken any of those from my youth. So here's a young man who hasn't been stained by scandalous sin and really devastating physical moral and relational sins But the problem was he was fixated on the external not the internal so the Lord Jesus Christ says to him if That he must be ready to sell what he has and gives to the poor which really bears witness to what the problem was. He loved this world.

It was probably the pride of life that had gripped his heart and had him. And so he went away sorrowful because following Christ was too much of a burden for him and so he left. So This is a picture of a young person who by some objection turns away. This objection had to do with materialism. This young man wanted to keep his stuff.

He was so obsessed with it that he would trade eternal life for the bells and the whistles of this world and it was an objection that rose up in his mind so the preacher here gives ten objections You see them right there in the pages. And I'm just going to mention them and ask yourself, have I ever encountered these? Or am I encountering them right now? Are any of these things keeping me from turning to Jesus Christ? So the first objection that rises up in the heart of a young person is they say to themselves I'll be deprived of pleasure.

I won't be able to have the pleasure that I want and he says it like this objection number one if I am religious in my youthful days a young person may think and say I shall I shall debar and deprive myself of those pleasures and delights of life in which youth is the proper season for the taste and the enjoyment of and the answer to that objection is that the truth is life in Christ does not keep you from the delights and the pleasures of this life. It's a lie that the devil tells. And the preacher says, you know, young people may use the diversions and pleasures of this life as long as they keep within the bounds of innocence and moderation." In other words, as long as the pleasures of this world are engaged in a godly way, in a holy way, and if a person really understands what true pleasure is, that Everything everything has its particular pleasure with the Lord And he quotes this statement in Ecclesiastes go eat your bread with joy and drink Your wine with a merry heart for God has accepted your works let your garments always be white and let your head lack no oil and so he's speaking of the fact that God does not deprive true pleasure from his people it's a lie of the devil He really says what pleasures really are lost and he says the pleasures that you get don't fulfill their promise and He talks about Solomon who surrounded himself with every earthly pleasure you can imagine Solomon got to the end of his life, and he said it didn't work.

I tried it. It doesn't work and then he speaks about the pleasures that are actually gained that the pleasures gained exceed any pleasures of sin so that's objection number one and then objection number two is That faithfulness to God is impossible and he states it this way the work of godliness is very hard and difficult And I fear that if I try I shall find it impossible and not be able to go through with it. And the preacher here acknowledges that there it's not always an easy thing to live the Christian life because it is the life of fighting and wrestling against sin and it does require patience and it does require labor and there are temptations and things like that that one has to endure but the truth is that those who follow Christ are given a helper and they're able to go through anything with him because he upholds you with his righteous right hand the truth is it is possible and The alternative is slavery that the alternative is a troubled sea of rebellion. But the help that the Lord gives is the help of an easy yoke. His commandments are not burdensome.

He says my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And so whatever troubles you might think are out there, there's help in the midst of all of those troubles and he gives you sweetness and pleasure and reward as a result and then the third objection is that you'll you'll have trials and tribulations he says in the third on page 158 but religion will expose me to many troubles and sufferings for it is through much tribulation that we must enter into the kingdom of God and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution the answer that the preacher gives is that Troubles can be found everywhere. They're not just in the Christian life. They're part of life Everyone experiences some level of affliction and so don't think that becoming a Christian is going to bring you more affliction. It's part of life.

God uses it in different ways and the Lord uses them all He also makes it plain that sufferings are normally very short They are but for a moment quoting the Apostle Paul in 2nd Corinthians 4 17 and then the fourth objection is that you'll be reproached that you will be derided and scoffed at and your friends will reject you if you become serious about the Lord and he answers it's not a disgrace to be derided and mocked at but only when one deserves it the best men have been derided such as David Job Jeremiah Paul and others whom the world was not worthy. So actually he acknowledges that yes, there are definitely reproaches, but the wise men and women of the world rather than reproach you they will admire you and you also you know will be comforted by the Lord who said blessed are you and they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven and So well there are reproaches in this world God comes around and gives his own presence to bless you and then the next objection is that you will not be prosperous.

That's at the bottom of page 160. And the objection reads like this, religion is no friend of prosperity. I must expect to be poor and low in the world if I become religious. For I observe that most who are religious are so, are poor. And he answers that with the reply that we shouldn't be so shallow and so foolish to trade external considerations for matters of eternal concern.

And he quotes that statement of Jesus, what shall it profit a man if he gained the whole world but lose his own soul? And what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Well it's insanity to trade temporal things for eternal things. And then he also says it's also a false objection because the truth is Godliness is a friend to outward prosperity and is profitable to everything. You know there really are many promises of various kinds of prosperity in the Bible and to think that godliness is an enemy to earthly prosperity is not true.

It's a lie and many godly people do experience tremendous prosperity in this world. The sixth objection is that you'll be unfashionable. This is the fear of being out of it, being sort of a freak, being some kind of a goofy person. He states it this way, religion is no fashionable thing as there are but few that really mind it, or any age or quality. And so he answers like this, serious Religion and strict godliness is an unfashionable thing in the world yet.

It is of infinite concern To us that we hardly Embrace it And he talks about how foolish it would be to be damned for all eternity because of fashion. And he also makes mention of this fact that you can't find people who turned away from this world and at the end of their life were on their deathbeds and thought oh I wish I had been more fashionable. You just don't find that because the true value of things is known. And then number seven is that you won't be able to keep it up for very long If I'm religious in my youthful days, I will die young This is what Satan has sometimes buzzed in the ears of some seriously disposed young persons to scare them and to deter them and He says that Walking with the Lord seeking him doesn't necessarily Grant you long life in this world, but it never shortened anybody's life either. We're often kept from excesses that would shorten our lives.

And how many people do you know who died young because of the sins of their youth? And they kept them up. And it caused tremendous physical problems. Sin does have a hard and bad influence on the body. I think the average homosexual without AIDS lives to age 42.

The average homosexual with AIDS lives to like age 41. So it's a pretty harmful lifestyle. It's actually bad for you. And so this objection, if I'm religious in my youthful days, I'll die young and I'll miss out. And then objection number eight, if I begin to be religious now It may be that I will not continue so many have apostasized from good beginnings And it were better never to have known the ways of God than to wickedly depart from them.

And what he says is that a true convert never really totally apostatized. That God preserves his children and God will sustain his children and he will see you to the end. He says a young hypocrite will prove an apostate but the young saint will prove to be an angel when he's old. And then the next objection is, I have time. Number nine, there will be enough time for me to be religious.

I am young and have many years before me. And he he says this is probably the most common objection and I think he's right about that to make the devil trying to make you pretend that you have all the time in the world and You don't have all the time in the world You only have the amount of time that God grants and there's so much to be lost when one waits and then number ten the last one there are many ways to God even if I had a mind to be religious There are so many different paths in religion that I should be at a loss which one to take. Some cry this way, others that way, so that I know not which to choose and to fall in with. And he answers in this way, I'm afraid that those who object after this manner only pretend the differences in religion to excuse their declining that which they really hate, for they are only the lesser matters wherein Christians differ and it is unreasonable on the account of these to forsake those great and necessary things wherein all are agreed And so those are ten objections You'll be deprived of pleasure number one Faithfulness to God is impossible number two number three.

You'll have trials and tribulations number four You'll be reproached number five. You will not be prosperous number six. You will be unfashionable Number seven you will die young and miss all the fun. Number eight, you will not be able to keep it up for very long. Number nine, you have plenty of time.

And number 10, there are many ways to God. There are many roadblocks and fears and questions that assault the minds of those who have not turned to Jesus Christ. That's a fact. It's always been that way and it always will be and the devil wants to appear so rational but he's irrational and he's a liar from the beginning and He wants to divide you from the fellowship that you could have with God There's no greater pleasure or sweetness to carry you through this life in fellowship with God. And the devil just wants only one thing.

He wants you cast into outer darkness with him, to suffer for all eternity. And while he does not know the time, he knows that he can gather his disciples to him and he would hate to see you happy and so he breathes lies into your brain so that you'll delay and you'll keep on doing what you're doing rather than turning to Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ has a different opinion. He says, come to me, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." Now that is truth right there. The Lord Jesus Christ desires to save sinners, to relieve them of their troubles, of the problems of their future, and to help them make their way in this world.

Here's the truth about God. He will get you through whatever he ordains. Here's the truth about the devil. He will rip you to shreds through everything that he takes you through. And so don't listen to the objections.

Look at the roadblocks and kick them over because they're lies, lies from the devil who wants to destroy your soul. Thank you.