I Timothy 4:12:
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
In the Bible, a young person is referred to as a youth until he reaches 30 years of age. To walk in truth and to stand for God, young people need purehearted love for Him, for His Word, and for others, which they learn from the example and training of their parents. They also need the self-discipline to carry out the Word, which is built by the training of their parents and then lovingly adopted by the child’s free will. Each individual grows up with freedom of will and becomes accountable to God for his own life.
It is clear from God’s Word that there were great believing men and women who began their stand for God at an early age and kept standing throughout their lifetime. Consider these examples of young people who made a bold stand for God before they were 30 years of age.
Joseph (son of Jacob)
When Joseph was approximately 17 years old, he was sold into slavery by his brothers. His owners took him to Egypt where he was resold and eventually unjustly thrown into prison. For approximately 13 years, Joseph was a slave, serving many of those years in a maximum security prison. But throughout that time, he stood for the God he was raised to know and love. Many verses tell us that the Lord was with him and prospered him:
Genesis 39:2,3:
And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
Genesis 39:21,23:
But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
When Joseph was 30 years old, he was called out of prison to stand before Pharaoh because Pharaoh heard he could understand and interpret dreams. He asked Joseph to interpret his dream. Joseph replied:
Genesis 41:16:
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
Joseph made clear the interpretation that was from God and that God would give Pharaoh an answer of peace. Then Joseph proceeded to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, after which Pharaoh responded:
Genesis 41:38-41,46:
And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
Joseph showed a lot of wisdom for a relatively young man. But Joseph’s greatness was not just his acuteness of mind; it was his faithfulness in continuing to walk with God. Even when sold into slavery by his brothers, and even when living in an Egyptian prison, Joseph was steadfast, having confidence in God and listening to Him.
Joseph stands as a powerful example of someone who from his youth lived powerfully for God throughout his life.
David
David, the son of Jesse, at the age of about 16 or 17 defeated the Philistine giant Goliath who had been terrorizing the entire army of Israel. Listen to the bold, believing claim of this young man:
I Samuel 17:36,37:
Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine....
True to his confession of belief, David slew the giant Goliath that day. He continued to stand for God until the end of his life.
II Samuel 23:1-4:
Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,
The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.
The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.
Daniel
Another great example of an individual who stood for God and His Word is Daniel, one of the youths of Israel whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, brought captive from Jerusalem after it was conquered. Having come from a Judean family, he would have been raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. His quality of life stood out.
Daniel 1:19,20:
And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah [also named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego]: therefore stood they before the king.
And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.
At a young age, away from home in captivity in a strange land, Daniel and his companions stood for the one true God and prevailed. Over many years, the level of Daniel’s commitment remained unaltered as he served under the Babylonian kings Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and the Persian kings Darius and Cyrus.
Daniel held high office and exerted great influence under the reign of each of these kings. Daniel continued to prosper through these administrations as God honored his faithful stand. His commitment had an impact even 500 years later when the Magi of Matthew 2:1 recognized the celestial announcement of the Messiah’s birth because of what Daniel had taught their ancestors.
Daniel is a powerful example of a young believer who stood till the end of his days.
Mary and Joseph
In the Judean culture, marriages took place at a young age. Mary and Joseph most likely were under 20 years of age when they married, yet they were willing to take on the responsibility of raising God’s Son, the long-awaited Messiah.
When the angel appeared to Mary and told her she would bring forth a son, “the Son of the Highest,” her response was:
Luke 1:38:
...Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word....
Later, to her cousin Elisabeth, Mary declared:
Luke 1:46,47:
...My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
When an angel appeared to Joseph in a vision to tell him that Mary was pregnant with the Son of God, this was Joseph’s response:
Matthew 1:24:
Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife.
These two young people raised God’s only begotten Son to know His true Father, to know the Scriptures, and to be able to accomplish everything required of him to be our savior. What wonderful examples these two young believers are to us of believing and trust in God.
Timothy
When Paul was traveling, spreading the Word of God, he met up with a young man who was very highly spoken of by the believers. Young Timothy ended up traveling with Paul and standing with him until the end of his days. Timothy had been raised to believe God’s Word as Paul notes in these scriptures:
II Timothy 1:5:
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
II Timothy 3:15:
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Timothy remained faithful to the Word and grew to manhood. When Paul was nearing the end of his days, it was Timothy to whom Paul entrusted the ministry.
I Timothy 6:20:
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust....
With study and understanding of the depth of I Timothy 4:12, the following literal translation according to usage is offered:
Allow no one to think disparagingly of you as a youth. Become a believer’s example in the quietness, serenity, and self-composure you have within yourself because of your study and knowledge of the rightly divided, revealed Word. Become an example in your behavior and manner of life. Become an example in the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation. Become an example in believing action in your life. Become an example in your uncontaminated leadership.
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