2 Timothy 3:14-15 But continue you in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing of whom you have learned them;… What are the things that you have learnt — what are the lessons that I would write upon your hearts in letters that the fire of experience shall bring to the light? 1. The dignity of work. Try to realise how much you owe to the labours of others who have gone before you, and try to labour for others in your turn. Do not be mere triflers and spendthrifts. Lay one stone, if it be one only, in the temple of human progress. Seek to learn something and to do something that is good. 2. The sovereignty of conscience. The age in which we live is democratic. "Vox populi vox Dei" is its watchword. Let me warn you against that great and fruitful error. There is no Divinity in numbers. God reveals Himself not to the many, but to the few. The greatest crime ever wrought was wrought by one who desired to do the people's pleasure. You may sympathise with the people as much as you like, you may hold it right that the will of the people should be done; but nothing that the people say or do can alter by one bait's breadth the law of right and wrong for you. 3. The duty of philanthropy. Every generation has its own duties and responsibilities. Nobody can tell why certain questions arise at a particular time and come to the fore; it is God's will. And there can be no doubt that the distinguishing duty of your generation will be to soften and hallow the lives of the toiling poor. 4. How shall you do this? What shall be your motive power in this great work? It shall be the fourth — the last — of the principles which I have impressed upon you, and which I leave with you as a legacy of remembrance — the paramount value of religion. "I thank God," said Lord Russell on the scaffold — "I thank God for having given me a religious education; for even when I forgot it most, it still hung about me and gave me checks." May it be so with you! May religion be your guide, controlling, inspiring, leading you ever to a higher and diviner life! (J. E. C. Welldon, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; |
    |