The Right Youth Group III: The Individual (Part 1 of 2)

Review: The Right Message and the Right Members

We're continuing our series on the right youth group. Previously, we focused on having the right message: "Pay close attention to the things that you have heard lest you drift away from them." We also examined two types of people in a youth group—those who are the right members and those who are not.

The right members are in love with God and demonstrate that love by serving God's people. You can see if someone loves God by how they treat His people. This is a key theme in 1 John: fellowship with God is tied to fellowship with other Christians. Sinners lack fellowship with God and show it by abandoning fellowship with His people.

You cannot separate love for God from love for His people. The remarkable difference between the right youth group and the wrong one is a group focused on serving and loving each other to show their love for God.

We all have needs, especially our greatest need as sinners. The primary way we serve each other is by helping one another with sin, and also with physical needs like food, clothing, and shelter. God sometimes provides these through His people. The right youth group watches out for these needs.

Getting Personal: Examining the Individual

Now we're getting up close and personal, shifting from groups to individuals. Are you contributing to or taking away from the right youth group? We'll examine this from Hebrews 3:12-13.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

These are warning passages urging action concerning your relationship with Jesus. We're examining if these realities exist in your life: Do you have an evil, unbelieving heart that could lead you to abandon the faith? It's not because Christianity failed you, but because of an evil, unbelieving heart all along.

We'll expose this in three ways: the possibility, the problem, and the solution.

1. The Possibility

The text warns of a real possibility—not that the genuinely saved can develop an evil heart, but that some in the group might have one. "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you..." addresses the group but targets each individual.

Hearts that do not trust God, not convinced Jesus died for them, hardened and stubborn against Scripture—this is possible in any youth group. We're commanded to constantly watch for it in ourselves and others.

Why warn if it's obvious? Unbelievers can blend in unnoticed. You can't assume everyone in church is a Christian or sinless. Every genuine church has sinners and problems. The right church recognizes, exposes, and deals with them.

Someone can attend pretending to be a Christian, but Christianity isn't a hobby or choice like a school, job, or spouse. It's a total life transformation. Early Christians in Acts 2 devoted themselves daily to teaching and fellowship, excited about their new life. They couldn't get enough.

Today, we get bored with long sermons, skip church easily, but prioritize work, movies, or sports. What do you value most? First Christians lived as if they didn't belong to the world, doing activities with other believers.

Community is attractive—Mormonism thrives on it despite heretical doctrine. People can join Christian community without being saved, enjoying benefits without Christ.

Others aren't even pretending, like youth forced to attend. Watch for evil, unbelieving hearts that fall away from God.

2. The Problem

The problems are an evil heart and an unbelieving heart, leading to hardening by sin's deceitfulness.

Biblically, "evil" means worthless or pointless, not just blatantly wicked. Life is black-and-white: good or evil, no neutral. Consistent activities not benefiting salvation are evil, even if not sinful—like wasting time.

Romans says all have sinned and become worthless. Atheism sees life as pointless cosmic goop. Only in Christ do we gain infinite worth—God's love for His Son imputed to us, making us most valuable and enjoyable.

An unbelieving heart doesn't trust God or that Jesus saves from sin. Unbelievers reject it: "That's not for me" or "I don't want it." They want Christian community without the Savior.

The Bible shows hypocrites who look Christian outwardly but lack inner faith—like the fig tree Jesus cursed, leafy but fruitless.

Sin deceives, promising fulfillment but delivering ruin. It minimizes itself: "This isn't that bad." People reject the Bible because it exposes sin (John 3:20). They love sin more than Jesus, hardening their hearts and falling away.

3. The Solution

Take care—watch intentionally for evil hearts. The solution: "Exhort one another every day." Exhort means call alongside for help, strongly encourage to know and do right.

This harmonizes with loving God by serving His people. Help with sins and needs—don't expel, but warn and encourage.

In the right youth group, everyone focuses on helping others. If all participate, everyone is cared for. Exhort one another in the gospel—how often do you do this?

Daily Encouragement in the Gospel

Some of us meet on Sunday for the main service. Some come on Wednesday nights. Some do home fellowships. But that's got to be it, right? There really can't be any other time to encourage one another because we're too busy. We have other things going on. So obviously it's just whenever you get the chance—exhort one another when convenient, during normal gathering times for church.

Of course, no Bible says that. Encourage one another every day, as long as it is called "today"—which is every day. You're not supposed to go yesterday, and you don't worry about tomorrow. Every day that you're living in, encourage one another.

Notice the benefit, the result, the promise: If you encourage one another every single day—not just when convenient, not just at gathering times, but every day; if you call for help, come alongside each other, get involved in one another's lives every day with the gospel, not just hanging out doing worthless things, but ministering and serving for spiritual value—none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

The Danger of Sin's Deceit

Do you see the incredible advantage in this life? It might not seem like an advantage if we're not consciously aware of what sin is. Sin is not just missing the mark—a pretty harmless definition. But in the biblical context, sin is to offend God by breaking His law, with that which is offensive to Him and not enjoyable in the first place. Sin itself is ruinous and miserable. It causes ruin and misery in your life, and it is an offense to the Holy God who controls our eternal destiny. It's a very significant concept.

If we don't recognize the nature of all sin and the sin within our lives, we won't see how this is an advantage. But if we listen to the Word of God, we realize how much of an advantage it is: Encourage one another every single day, as long as it is called today, in order that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 3:13 – "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness."

You will know what sin is, how bad it is, and you'll have the advantage of dealing with it if we follow this instruction on how to be the right youth group.

The Assumption of Need in the Right Youth Group

There is an assumption in the right youth group that everyone who walks through the door is in desperate need of help with their sin, with understanding and enjoying the gospel. Everyone. We all have sin in our lives, but there are also those who walk in with sin who don't realize it—they've been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Every single one of us needs help.

Let's be the right youth group by being involved in each other's lives, with the purpose of repentance and holiness through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every single one of us needs help.