1 John 2:13 I write to you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write to you, young men… Canon McCormick, speaking on manly Christianity, said — 1. That it was of grace and not of nature. It was the grace of God that changed a man's heart and freed his conscience from the burden of sin. 2. It appealed to the judgment. We do not accept Christianity blindly. Ours is a reasonable religion. There is no philosophy in the world equal to the philosophy to be found in the writings of Paul. 3. It touches the affections. The intellect is nothing without the heart. A religion that consists only of thought will never help suffering humanity. Manly Christianity exhibits the tenderest pity, sympathy, and love — it deals with the sorrows and weaknesses and failures of mankind. 4. It does not neglect the body. The body is sacred because Christ became man. Have high ideas about your bodies; if you are Christians you will, for you will know that the body is part of the temple of the Holy Ghost. 5. It takes care to cultivate the mind. There is no book so fascinating as the Bible. It helps a man to do his duty in life as no other book can. 6. It elevates the character. In the service of the Lord Jesus Christ there is the greatest and truest liberty. Parallel Verses KJV: I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. |