Preface

The object of this little book is to help young Christians, and it seeks to do so by a biblical treatment of every subject.

It begins with a chapter on the Holy Spirit, because the young Christian’s greatest need is the enduement of the Spirit for power in service.

At the threshold of every Christian life stands the question, Shall I join a church, and, if so, what church? We do not discuss the question as to what church one should join, preferring to leave every one to decide that for oneself, but we do insist that every young Christian should join some church in which Christ is honored and the Scriptures believed.

The third chapter gives a glimpse of the Bible in the hope that every young Christian may be led to study it carefully, taking it as the authoritative guide of life. It is daily bread for the soul, and to neglect it is to starve.

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ii PREFACE

Through the Bible God speaks to us, and in prayer we speak to God. The chapter on the Bible comes before the one on prayer, because we should let God speak to us before we speak to Him, and a knowledge of the Bible with its “exceeding great and precious promises” is essential to effective praying.

The spirit of prayer with this knowledge of the Bible will prepare one to meet temptation, and chapter five is intended to furnish both warning and encouragement; warning to young Christians to be on their guard against insidious approaches of sin, and encouragement against despair to those who have been “overtaken in a fault.”

Every young Christian, rich or poor, needs to remember that the capacity to make money is a sacred trust, and that the possession of money carries with it weighty responsibility. The purpose of chapter six is to promote conscientious, intelligent and scriptural giving.

The question of amusements is one of the most important and yet difficult matters with which young Christians have to deal, and a mistake here often means the wreck of usefulness. In chapter seven we give principles by which one

may be guided, and, believing that they are sound and practical, we commend them to all who would be useful and at the same time happy Christians.

The “Ideal Christian,” whose portrait as drawn by the Apostle Paul we have tried to reproduce in the closing chapter, will, we trust, inspire every young Christian who reads this book to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

With a prayer for God’s blessing upon every reader, we commit these pages to Him whose glory we seek in the growth and usefulness of His children.