Thoughts for Young Men

 From J.C. Ryle book,
 "Thoughts For Young Men"

"Resolve at once, by God’s help, to break off every known sin, however small. Look within, each one of you. Examine your own hearts. Do you see there any habit or custom which you know to be wrong in the sight of God? If you do, delay not a moment in attacking it. Resolve at once to lay it aside. Nothing darkens the eyes of the mind so much, and deadens the conscience so surely, as an allowed sin. It may be a little one, but it is not the less dangerous for all that. A small leak will sink a great ship, and a small spark will kindle a great fire, and a little allowed sin in like manner will ruin an immortal soul. Take my advice, and never spare a little sin. Israel was commanded to slay every Canaanite, both great and small. Act on the same principle, and show no mercy to little sins. Well says the book of Canticles, 'Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines'.
"Be sure no wicked man ever meant to be so wicked at his first beginnings. But he began with allowing himself some little transgression, and that led on to something greater, and that in time produced something greater still, and thus he became the miserable being that he now is. When Hazael heard from Elisha of the horrible acts that he would one day do, he said with astonishment, ‘Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?’ (2 Kings 8:13). But he allowed sin to take root in his heart, and in the end he did them all.

“Resist sin in its beginnings. They may look small and insignificant, but mind what I say, resist them, make no compromise, let no sin lodge quietly and undisturbed in your heart. ‘The mother of mischief,’ says an old proverb, ‘is no bigger than a midge’s wing. [a tiny dipteran fly].’ There is nothing sharper than the point of a sewing needle, but when it has made a hole, it draws all the thread after it. Remember the Apostle’s words, ‘A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump’ (1 Cor. 5:6).
“Many a man could tell you with sorrow and shame, that he traces up the ruin of all his worldly prospects to the point I speak of, to giving way to sin in its beginnings. He began habits of falsehood and dishonesty in little things, and they grew upon him. Step by step, he has gone on from bad to worse, till he has done things that at one time he would have thought impossible; till at last he has lost his place, lost his character, lost his comfort, and well-nigh lost his soul. He allowed a gap in the wall of his conscience, because it seemed a little one, and once allowed, that gap grew larger every day, till at length the whole wall seemed to come down.

“Remember this especially in matters of truth and honesty. ‘He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much’ (Luke 16:10). Whatever the world may please to say, there are no little sins. All great buildings are made up of little parts; the first stone is as important as any other. All habits are formed by a succession of little acts, and the first little act is of mighty consequence. The axe in the fable only begged the trees to let him have one little piece of wood to make a handle, and he would never trouble them any more. He got it, and then he soon cut them all down. The devil only wants to get the wedge of a little allowed sin into your heart, and you will soon be all his own. It is a wise saying of old William Bridge, ‘There is nothing small betwixt us and God, for God is an infinite God.’

“There are two ways of coming down from the top of a church steeple; one is to jump down, and the other is to come down by the steps: but both will lead you to the bottom. So also there are two ways of going to hell; one is to walk into it with your eyes open, few people do that; the other is to go down by the steps of little sins, and that way, I fear, is only too common. Put up with a few little sins, and you will soon want a few more. Even a heathen could say, ‘Who ever was content with only one sin?’ And then your course will be regularly worse and worse every year. Well did Jeremy Taylor describe the progress of sin in a man: ‘First it startles him, then it becomes pleasing, then easy, then delightful, then frequent, then habitual, then confirmed! then the man is impenitent, then obstinate, then resolves never to repent, and then he is damned.’ If you would not come to this, recollect the rule I give you this day, resolve at once to break off every known sin.

My Comments:
In clarification of what Ryle stated here, given the context, it seems that he is addressing young men, some of whom may have not been saved, evidenced by the fact that he warns them that sin can lead them to hell. Thus, he gives them a serious warning to repent and avoid sin. Ryle is not implying that believers can lose their salvation. He certainly believed in eternal security. However, it is worth noting that sin is not only harmful to the unregenerate, who are enslaved to sin, in that it will eventually lead them down the path of destruction toward hell, if not repented of. But sin can also have very detrimental effects on believers. Though a believer can never lose his salvation and is no longer in bondage to sin, if he continues in some grievous sin, he may be chastened and/or he may forfeit certain blessings or privileges (e.g., intimacy or communion with Christ and other believers, peace of mind, his office if he is a leader in the church, sensing his assurance, etc.) until he repents. In some very serious cases, his life (though not soul) may even be taken by God (1 Cor. 11:30). Thus, we are wise if we heed Ryle’s exhortation to cut off sin at the very beginning and not trifle with sin, even little sins, which can lead to greater sins and deaden our conscience so that it becomes less sensitive over time. In fact, as believers, we are repeatedly commanded to mortify or put to death our sins, by God’s grace, for sin is very destructive. And we cannot please and glorify God if we continue in a state of sin. Worst of all, it affects our intimacy and communion with Christ. As Christ mourns over our sin, so should we, if we are truly His. Moreover, if we love Him, we will want to emulate Him by becoming increasingly conformed to His image in true righteousness and holiness. Thus, sin is our enemy – not our friend.


Related Resources


Resources for young men can be found here
And resources on avoiding & conquering sins here. (*These can also be studied to help you avoid falling into those sins as well so feel free to dedicate time to go through them as individual subjects to study). 

Go through these important topics:
>> these are so important for young men, so they don't end up emotionally, physically, mentally or spiritually abuse those around them including a significant other or wife.  


In addition you need to learn self control, self denial and this helps you live a life of sexual purity. Many of those problems for boys start in 5th grade, but you need to grow in this area. See sin resource above, And see Adhd 

God bless


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Footnotes:
Comment: by Parichart Tangmatitam 

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