Crowe - This changes everything - how the gospel transforms the teen years

Thank you for downloading this Crossway book.

Sign-up for the Crossway Newsletter for updates on special offers, new resources, and exciting global ministry initiatives:

Crossway Newsletter

Or, if you prefer, we would love to connect with you online:

Jake is seventeen and loves Jesus more than anything. Last year he started a Bible study at his school and is now playing drums on his youth groups praise team. But lately hes started to have doubts. When he was saved, he was assured that the gospel would transform him. But Jake still sees sin invading his life and has started to believe that real Christians dont struggle as much as he does. Maybe , he wonders, Im not even saved .

Alyssa has the night all planned out. She and her best friend will borrow her parents car (with their permission, of course), go for pizza, and then attend the movie theyve wanted to see forever. But today at church her mom informs her of different plans. A missionary couple is spending one night with them, and she wants Alyssa at home to help serve. Stung with a rush of frustration, Alyssa lashes out at her mother before spinning on her heels and storming off. The couple in the pew behind her laughs it off. The man shoots an embarrassed smile at Alyssas mom. Thats teenagers for you, he says.

Peter is thirteen and walked into church last Sunday in a great mood. Rain drummed the roof as he joined a group of men by the coffee table. An usher peered out the window and squinted. I hate the rain. A second man agreed. I know, right? Church attendance will be down; the building will be drafty. I bet the attic will leak too. Peter frowned. They were right. He chimed inthe weather forecast predicted rain like this for the next three days. When they all groaned, Peter did too, his good mood washed down the drain. Miserable .

Biancas dad is a pastor, and she loves the God her father teaches about as passionately as he does. But two months ago, a friend from school showed her some inappropriate pictures on her phone. Bianca liked what she saw, but she tried to suppress the feeling and never told her parents. Pornography is only a sin for guys, right? She still didnt tell her parents when she started looking up the pictures herself. Now shes paralyzed by shame but is convinced her parents would never understand.

Dealing with Sin Today

When were told the gospel will transform us, thats true. Following Jesus does mean everything changes. Your life gets flipped on its head and you walk in a new direction with new motives and desiresincluding how we view sin. We no longer love it; instead, were supposed to hate it and fight against it (Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5). And its easy to hate sin when we turn on the TV and see violent lunatics or cold - blooded terroristsor when we see public, scandalous sins splattering the front page of the newspaper. As Christians, of course we hate murder and abortion and adultery and all the other outlandish sins the world celebrates. We know we dont live for that kingdom or walk the easy road.

But as Jesus -followers, we also have a command and a responsibility to hate the smaller sins, the sins even Christians have started to expect from teenagers, the sins that have become so regular theyre pushed under the carpet and practically laughed off. To do that, we first need to recognize them as sin. And this is where we often get blinded.

The man who laughed off Alyssas frustration and venting didnt realize she had blatantly dishonored her mom. The men who complained to Peter about the weather didnt realize they were discontent with what God had given them. The church that wont talk about female lust doesnt realize theyre isolating Bianca. When were embarrassed to share the gospel were embarrassed of Jesus . When we love to share someones news we dont realize that were gossiping. When we fudge the truth to make a story seem more exciting we dont realize that were lying. When were insecure we dont realize that were ungrateful to God. When we worry about our futures we dont realize that were choosing not to trust God.

These kinds of expected and ordinary sins are threatening roadblocks for the Christian. They can ease into blind spots and wedge their way into the cracks of our lives to flourish unseen and alive. Theyll have poisonous effects on us if they remain unfought. Thats why John Owen said, Be killing sin or it will be killing you.

We Are Saved from Sin (aka: Justification)

But the only reason we can kill sin, and the only reason we can have victory over these everyday sins is because Christ had the ultimate victory over sin. Because of him we are declared righteous in Gods sight. This is called justification . At a single moment in time Jesus took our sinall of it, every ugly, little speckand the punishment we deservedGods total and mighty wrathand stood in our place. He was condemned instead of us, the innocent in the place of the ungodly. God then took away our guilt and made us his children. Paul told the church in Rome, [We] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24).

In his book, Christian Beliefs , Wayne Grudem explained justification like this: The sins of those justified are considered forgiven because God considers their sins as belonging to Christ, and Christ already paid the penalty for those sins. But not only does God consider those sins as belonging to Christ, he also considers Christs righteousness as belonging to us.

There are two tangible (and awesome) results of justification I want to show you. The first is that there is no longer condemnation for us (Rom. 8:1). There once was a day we were condemned, doomed, sentenced to hell. Its what our sin deserved and was the appropriate punishment we warranted. But then in an extravagant display of grace, God removed his judgment from us.

In The Pilgrims Progress , John Bunyan paints a real - life picture of what this looks like. He imagines those under condemnation living in a party city called the City of Destruction. Its a happening place, fast paced and reckless, but the whole place lies under the weight of coming judgment. When someone is saved, Bunyan has them immediately flee the City of Destruction. This mirrors the truth that when were saved, condemnation is once and for all forever removed from usor rather, were removed from the condemnation. Weve left the City of Destruction and are barred from returning. You cant sort of leave a city. You cant start a new path but still keep a foot in that city. Our justification is a binding and indestructible contract. There is no way in the world that Jesus - followers are going to hell.

A second benefit of justification is that there is no more guilt for us. This is a truth deeply relieving to me. Im one of those people who holds onto guilt longer than I should, and its an oppressive burden to bear. It feels like a backpack of rocks glued to my shoulders, dragging me down. This is why justification is such good, good news. Because Jesus took care of our sin, we are set free from guilts burden. When we hold onto it, we actually minimize what he did on the cross and demonstrate a lack of trust in Gods power to forgive. He became our sin (2 Cor. 5:21). When we say that we deserve to feel guilty, its like were saying that his work wasnt enough.