ELEMENTS
OF
SOUND
DOCTRINE
TITUS 2 : 1 - 8
Georgie Meets Andy
“My dad bought thirteen acres east of Fort
Dodge and made an old barn into a house.
We lived there until I was about nineteen. In 1936 I came into Dodge City and got a job taking
care of three kids. I worked six days
and had Sunday off. I got fifty cents a
day. I met Warren A. Lierle (Andy)
and we dated for about eight or nine months.
On April 22, 1937 we were married.
The pastor of the Church of God
lived in the basement of the church so we were married in their living
room. His name was W. W. Wilburn. The church was at 1110 Avenue C.--it
is still there
We lived in a one room apartment that was
upstairs on Front Street. We had
to share a bathroom down the hall. Front
Street is not there any more, it was torn out to put the Highway through
town. The street is now Wyatt Earp. We did not live there very long .
We moved to a house on Mulberry that had three rooms. At the time it was not very modern but it is
still standing and has been remodeled--looks nice.
After that we moved to an apartment on Avenue
B. Again we were not there very
long and moved into an old store building on Military Street, and then
again to a house on Avenue F.
This house had four rooms and it was not modern either!
In July of 1940 I left Andy and
got a job at a rooming house. Shortly
thereafter I found out I was expecting.
I worked for about two months when my mother and dad decided to go back
to Arkansas, so I went with them.
After we got to Arkansas they both got a job with an older couple--my
dad did chores and mom did the cooking and the house which left me along all
day. I had nothing to read except the
Bible which I had been given by an old street preacher in Dodge. So I read and read and read. I promised the Lord if He could help us get
back together I would start to church and find out how to be a Christian. One day a sheriff drove into the yard with a
subpoena--Andy was suing me for divorce. My mother hit the ceiling--"He could not do that", she
said, "If anyone was getting a divorce it would be me." So I said, "Amen, Lord." She wrote back to Dodge and ask Leona
and Florence to send me a bus ticket. They did and I landed back in Dodge around the first of November
1940. We met at the lawyer's and
your dad decided he would take me back.
I told him to find a place to live and move our stuff. He got a little two-room house at 1008
Avenue A. We moved in on Tuesday,
November 11, Armistice Day. That
was the day the treaty was signed (ha).
The next night we went to prayer meeting and everybody nearly fainted.”
/////////////
Mother was
expecting my older sister Patricia Ann.
I would come two years later, December 2, 1943. Because a street preacher was faithful to
give out the Word of God my mother was convicted and returned to uphold her
marriage vows. I was born into the
First Church of God and was born again under its teachings at age seventeen at
camp meeting. I will soon celebrate my
own thirtieth wedding anniversary.
Why? Because of the elements of
sound doctrine.
ELEMENTS OF SOUND DOCTRINE
TITUS 2 : 1 - 8
But speak thou the
things which become sound doctrine:
That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in
charity, in patience. The aged
women likewise, that they be in behaviour
as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine,
teachers of good things; That they may
teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to
love their children, To be discreet,
chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of
God be not blasphemed. Young men likewise exhort to be sober
minded. In all things shewing thyself
a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity,
sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot
be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no
evil thing to say of you. (emphasis mine)
(1)..Speak-up-SOUNDLY, i.e., Sound Doctrine. II Timothy 4: 2-4
Preach
the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall
turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Preach, in season or out
of season, convient or not, acceptable or not.
Reprove in accord with the law. Rebuke because
the law has been broken. Exhort to do
right because it is the right thing to do.
Preach, rebuke, and exhort with long-suffering and doctrine. Give God, time, and the Word a chance to
work but speak up soundly. One of these
days they won’t listen and you must make as much of an indention with the Word
as you can. Do you want to listen to
sound doctrine? The Apostle Paul first
addresses. . .
(2)..The aged men
How old is a man? How old is old? Psalm Ninety, verse ten says we are allowed three-score and ten
or seventy years. If you divide seventy
by two (the number of witness) you get thirty-five. That is old enough to have, at least partially, raised a family. So Paul now addresses the aged or mature family man. Are you a family man? Have you raised children? Then God is speaking to you. So listen up! God ask you to be. . .
Sober: (this will come
up again later). I Timothy 3:2
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one
wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
In the requirements for the office of Bishop it is required that the man under consideration
have the personal quality of soberness.
What is soberness? It is
circumspectness; it is self-controlled
passion. Webster defines it as
carefully attentive to all circumstances that may relate to an action,
judgment, or conduct. This includes
family life, business, and social activity.
a man should not be appointed or ordained to office without good
testimony. That is why a Levitical
Priest had to be age 30 before taking office (Num. 4:3). He must also be. . .
Grave: (this will also come up again) I Timothy 3:8
Likewise must the deacons be grave, not
double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
The office of Deacon requires a man of maturity with the quality of gravity. The man under consideration must be
honorable and honest. Such an office
requires that a man be serious in thought to that which is important and
weighty. Again this would entail a good
family witness, which is exercised by being. . .
Temperate: I Corinthians 9:24-27
Know ye not that they which run in a race run
all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man
that striveth for the mastery is temperate
in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as
uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my
body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway.
This is the athletic art of physical discipline and self control. We are in a serious race against time and
eternity. Time for our time on earth as
we have to deal with one another and our varied personalities. The time that we all want to keep for ourselves
but which others creep in and rob us of.
But that of eternity where we will either be with God or the demons of
hell. The man of maturity is to set an
example for the younger by his seasoned self control. As an example: when was the last time you lost your temper? Or do you maintain control by using. . .
Sound Faith: 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.
The aged man, the mature Christian, is to be truthful in his religious
profession. He is to be without
corruption, and true in his dealings and in his doctrine. This means that you have to know what it is
that you do believe and be able to express it to others and in the way you
live. People want to see a living
witness, not just someone who has a lot of vocal verbiage. People especially look at the family life of
the leader. How does yours measure
up? Is it a Mount Sinai of elements of.
. .
Charity: Colossians 3:14
And above all these things
put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Put on AGAPE. It is to the
Christian family what bond-dough is to an auto body shop. If we are going to be a united church in the
battles of this world then we must all wear the same dress of affection
and benevolence. Our fellowship together must be a continual
love feast. We must get away from
pettiness and formality and begin displaying true signs of care one for the
other. We have to get involved in the
lives of others. We have to start giving up our earthly
commodity of time. It has been said
that children spell love -- T I M E. To give up this commodity will take a lot
of. . .
Patience: James 1:3-4
Knowing this,
that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect
and entire, wanting nothing.
In the realm of spiritual warfare we will often deal with wounded
fellow soldiers. One of the best
personal qualities you can have toward these soldiers is patience. The end result of having patience is a
wanting of nothing. That means I don’t
have any needs that need to be fulfilled.
That frees me to do what I can in fulfilling the wants and needs of
others, especially the wounded soldier.
The mature soldier should have grown spiritually to this plain of
patience. One of these soldiers is the.
. .
(3) Aged women
Note the word
“LIKEWISE”. This is “in the same way or
manner”. The mature Christian woman must,
as a woman, have the same qualities as the mature man. From the Cottage Bible,
Vol.II, (1884), p. 1307 we are given these words:
The female sex
is the bond of union to society. The
various relations it successively fills--as of daughter, wife, and mother--are
of vast importance, and capable of the
greatest advantages to mankind, especially as the means of forming the human
character in early life.”
It has been said that “behind every good man is a good woman”, and “man
may be the head, but woman is the neck that turns the head”. There is also the proverb, “the hand that
rocks the cradle rules the world”.
These qualities are completed by. . .
Holy Behaviour: I Timothy 3:2
A bishop then
must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt
to teach;
The behaviour of the mature man in the position of leadership is of
most importance. The same applies to
their wives! It is a Scriptural
requirement that their behaviour
reflect a modest condition of orderliness in their position. If the leader is afoul in his personal
conduct then how can he lead the rest of the soldiers into productive
warfare? God’s holy woman is to be of
the same character mold particularly in her role as a mother. Any woman striving for this level of
spiritual maturity would not be a. . .
False Accusers: I Peter 4:15
But let none of
you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in
other men's matters.
An exhorter to Godliness and holy living will only address that which
is true by the mouth of two or three witnesses and face to face with the
accused (Mt. 18:15-16). Certainly the
mature woman would not be indulgent in. . .
Much Wine: Ephesians
5:18-19
And be not
drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
We, as soldiers of the Cross, need to be filled with the Spirit, not
with drunken wine. This filling of the
Spirit will result in both inner and outer singing of the psalms, hymns, and
songs of Zion. Again from the Cottage
Bible, P. 1307 we have this description of the Psalm:
Psalms.--[Psalms,
from psallo, to touch, or play on a musical instrument, properly denotes such sacred songs or poems, as are sung to
stringed instruments, and may here refer to those of David; hymns, from udo, to sing, celebrate, praise,
signifes songs to honour of God; and songs, from aeido, to sing, denotes
any regular poetic composition adopted to singing, and is here restricted to
those which are spiritual.]
An aged-mature spiritual woman -- filled with the Spirit -- cannot help
but sing, and is filled with joy, is gladly a. . .
Teachers of Good Things
Who tought John Wesley Greek?
His mother. At age three the
alphabet; at age five the language. Who
is going to teach the next generation how to raise children if not the past
generation? There are no courses on
being family members. The older women
of the church are to teach the younger women.
But you cannot teach what you have not learned, and grown in grace to
live up to, and you are responsible to teach. . .
(4) The Younger Women
Be Sober: I Timothy 3:11
Even so must
their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
The Deacons wife! See the
discussion on sober under the Aged men.
The same is addressed to the young ladies. Your roles as daughter, wife, and mother are serious roles and
deserve your greatest sober attention for only as you apply God’s principles as
taught by mature spiritual women will you be able to. . .
Love & Obey
Husbands, Love Children: Ephesians 5:22
- 6:4
Wives, submit yourselves
unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the
wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the
body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to
their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also
loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it
should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their
own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated
his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause
shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning
Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love
his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father
and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well
with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not
your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord.
Paul says that a primary responsibility of the mature elderly woman in
the community of the church is to teach the younger women to love their
husbands and their children. Now why
would a woman need to be taught to love her husband or her children? Because
love is far more than an emotion that we fall in or out of. Love is directly connected to your
behavior. Jesus said, “If you love me
keep my commandments”. John said in I
John that you do not love your brother if you do not provide him the help he
needs when you have the availability to do so.
Therefore, in the church community, if the mature women would take their
responsibility and teach the younger women how to love their families the
divorce rate in the church community would drop and the cooperation within the
church would rise to a level beyond measure.
We fight and war because we have not learned to love. We haven’t learned to love because we
haven’t been taught, and because young women haven’t been taught they also do
not know how to. . .
(5) Be Discreet: I Timothy 5:11-15
But the younger
widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will
marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And
withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only
idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I
will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house,
give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are
already turned aside after Satan.
The highest calling of God for the Christian young lady is to bear
children - to be a mother and to guide
the house -- to be a domestic engineer.
When we put other callings above this honor we give an inch to the devil, and any time you give an inch to the
devil he is sure to take several miles.
By the time you realize that he has done so it is a long journey to get
back to were you opened the door. Such
a lack of responsibility on our part increases the level of the spiritual
warfare and makes the Christian life harder, and the successive generations always
reap the consequences. It therefore
becomes Christian young ladies to learn to be. . .
Chaste: I Peter 3:1-6
Likewise, ye
wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word,
they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While
they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Those adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the
hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the
hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of
a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after
this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned
themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed
Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and
are not afraid with any amazement.
Chaste has to do with cleanliness.
The mature Christian woman will be modest in her appearance and behavior,
and will have a testimony of perfect innocence. Such pure behavior is the kind that will eventually lead a
wayward husband to the Savior, and lend unity in the home and in the church. There is nothing so ennobling as a woman who
takes her role in the family in chaste seriousness. She will be proud to be a soldier in the ranks of the.
Keepers at Home:
Proverbs 31:10-31
Who can find a virtuous
woman? for her price is far above
rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall
have no need of spoil. She will do him
good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she
bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth
meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her
hands she planteth a vineyard. She girdeth
her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not
out by night. She layeth her hands to
the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her
hands to the needy. She is not afraid
of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with
scarlet. She maketh herself coverings
of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of
the land. She maketh fine linen, and
selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in
time to come. She openeth her mouth
with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her
household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also,
and he praiseth her. Many daughters
have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth
the LORD, she shall be praised. Give
her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Mothers, could your children put this passage on your tombstone? If not, why not? If God says this is what a mature woman is to be, and you have
access to the powers of glory, why aren’t you even close to conforming to this
passage? Why is the divorce rate in the
world the same in the church if you are living according to this motto? If this passage and the other passages
concerning the role of woman in the family were your primary guide in the life
you live the focus and aim of spiritual warfare would be changed to more
important issues. Now it is focused on
family issues instead of the salvation of souls, and community
care-giving. We need to be about the
Father’s business by having a. . .
Pattern of Good
Works: I Timothy 5:9-10
Let not a widow
be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, Well reported of for good works; if she have
brought up children, if she have lodged
strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the
afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
The elder - mature Christian woman has brought up children in the Lord,
is a good hostess to others, is a servant to others both in and out of the
church, is charitable toward the afflictions of others, and is constantly
diligent in good works. If, as the
widow above, you are going to ask the church for sustenance you better be sure
the first half of your life is in conformity with the character of a Godly
woman.
Blessed are
the mothers who love God, for their children shall not be ignorant of their
Creator and His plans concerning them.
Blessed
are the mothers who love the Word of God, for their children shall know of the
Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Blessed
are the mothers who love the house of God, for their children shall enter there
with them in the presence of God.
Blessed
are the mothers who love to pray, for their children shall feel the power of prayer and many shall find salvation.
Blessed
are the mothers who love a family altar, for they shall have their reward in
this world and in the world to come.
Blessed
are the mothers who love to be companions to their children, for they shall be
called understanding mothers.
Blessed
are the mothers who love to fight life’s battles bravely with a strong and
steadfast faith in God, for their children shall know where to find strength in
time of need. Author unknown.
Aged Men, Aged Women, Young Women, and. . .
(6) Young Men
“LIKEWISE” the young men
are to be Sober. We’ve been here
before. It is time to get serious about
the life of Christ in you and communicate that life in. . .
(7) Good Works: I Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that
your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
If the young man is busy in
the good works of the Lord he will not have time to get in trouble over the
things of this world. If you find
yourself involved in worldly affairs then you need to seek a work and labor of
love that you can do for the Lord. You
cannot be entangled in the world’s program and be pleasing to your Heavenly Father:
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of
this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 2Tm:2:4:
We need to be separated in
the world but not of the world. Such an
entanglement is serious. . .
Gravity: already discussed and is complimented by. . .
Sincerity: Philippians 1:16-17:
The one preach Christ of contention, not
sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of
the gospel.
This person is genuine and
incorruptible. Say, why do you do, what
you do, the way you do? What is your
purpose in the sincerity you display?
Are you truly doing what
you do for the glory of God in Christ?
Or are you just plainly seeking self-glorification? Are you in contention or are you in love
with God? If you love God and serve Him
out of that love it will lead you to. . .
(8) Sound Speech: See sound faith in verse two. Sound speech will lead to language that is
based on the. . .
Logos: the Word: Colossians 4:6
Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with
salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
What are the words
that proceed out of your mouth? Are
they sharp as a sword and cutting or do they minister grace to the hearer? In the Navy it is said that you can tell a
seasoned sailor by the saltiness of his language. Sailors who have been in for a long time are called “salty”
sailors or an “old salt”. What does God
think of your speech? Is what you say filled with His knowledge and grace or do
you just pour salt in the wounds of others and make them hurt?
Isaiah 50:4
The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I
should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth
morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
Have you grown in
knowledge and grace enough to where you
are able to listen to the words and emotions of a person in pain and spiritual
warfare and provide for them God’s answer to their specific problem? Do you have any idea what words to speak to
what pain? Is your life in tune with
the Holy Spirit and the Word that He can call to remembrance that which is in
your heart and mind to use in a given situation? Do you know how to speak the love of Jesus and the comfort and
peace of the Holy Spirit to those soldiers who have been wounded? Or to the stranger that needs to be taken
in? Can you set the captive free and
let them cross over to the ranks of the. . .
Uncondemned: Acts 24:16
And herein do I exercise
myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and
toward men.
Paul has several
things to say about the conscience and its relationship to others. What about your conscience?
Acts:23:1: And Paul, earnestly
beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience
before God until this day.
Rom:2:15:
Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience
also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else
excusing one another;)
Rom:9:1:
I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom:13:5:
Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience
sake.
1Cor:8:7:
Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of
the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience
being weak is defiled.
1Cor:8:10:
For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple,
shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those
things which are offered to idols;
1Cor:8:12:
But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience,
ye sin against Christ.
1Cor:10:25:
Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience
sake:
1Cor:10:27:
If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go;
whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.
1Cor:10:28:
But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not
for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is
the Lord's, and the fullness thereof:
1Cor:10:29:
Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty
judged of another man's conscience?
2Cor:1:12:
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in
simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of
God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to
you-ward.
2Cor:4:2:
But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness,
nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth
commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
2Cor:5:11:
Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made
manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
1Tm:1:5:
Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience,
and of faith unfeigned:
1Tm:1:19:
Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away
concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1Tm:3:9:
Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.
1Tm:4:2:
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot
iron;
2Tm:1:3:
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that
without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
Ti:1:15:
Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and
unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is
defiled.
If you have a good
conscience then your normal pattern of behavior will be one with. . .
No Evil: 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.
Be an example in your
words -- in what you say; in your conversation -- in how you live; in your acts
of charity -- in how you love; within you spirit -- in how you move; in your
faith toward God before man -- in how you trust; and in all purity -- in how
you demonstrate the life of Christ before the world.
II Timothy 2:22
Flee also youthful lusts: but
follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Whom do you
follow? What do you follow? Better it should be that you are the leader
in righteousness. Bob Jones Senior
said, “Do right if the stars fall”. You
should follow the elders in the true exercise of faith and trust. Those who set the right example in
charitable brotherly love and live in peaceful harmony with others are those
whom you should follow. These are the
ones the young man should follow and have fellowship with. In so doing the young man will procure for
himself a pure heart and be able to lead in his own circle of youth.