F rom th e daw n of human history to the present hour of international tension, the heart of man kind has been restless. The efforts in seeking peace have been endless. Because men have overlooked God’s pro vided means, these attempts have ended in sheer futility. Centuries before our Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth, bringing salvation to all who believe in Him, there lived the famed Greek philosopher, Socrates. He is supposedly to have possessed one of the greatest minds of any individual who ever lived. It may be said that he thirsted after God in a more realistic way than most pagan people had done. His amazing conclusion, however, was that the best way to find rest for one’s soul could be summed up in the phrase “ Know Thyself.” After all, the gods required only this of man. So the philosophy of Socrates had no appreciable moral impact upon the world. It is evident that merely knowing one self is not sufficient to produce a life which is satis factory to Almighty God. In the course of time, another philosopher came forth to refine and redefine the earlier views. Epictetus declared that it was necessary not only to “ Know Thy self,” but also to “ Control Thyself.” Doubtless he made the highest moral demands of any secular philosopher, yet he left only an insignificant dent in the sands of time. Few even recall his name; only among scholars is any reference made to him. Then a few centuries later, Epicurus came on the scene. His views were the complete antithesis of those of Epictetus. They could be summarized in the idea, “ En joy Thyself.” Naturally this appealed to man’s depraved nature. What was more important than gratifying one’s physical desires and bodily appetites? He had a considerable following. These three phi losophical ideologies, with numerous variations and combinations, have influenced much of the thinking of mankind from civilization’s earliest days down to the present. One thing they have in common: they look within themselves for the final source of authority and power. Consequently, their final goal to find peace ahd contentment invariably fails. Through the centuries an entirely different concept of life began to emerge. It came first to a race of people and ultimately, through them, to the entire world. This is what is known as the revelation of God, given in His Holy Word, first to the Jewish nation and then through them to the entire Gentile world. Holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Then, in the fulness of time, our Lord Jesus Christ wrought out on Calvary’ cross the only atonement for the sins of mankind. We might succinctly capsulize His precepts in the phrase, “ Give Thyself.” This is not to be construed as the modernist has corrupted it. It means, first of all, that we are called “ just as we are without one plea,” to give ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ in simple faith believing that through His death and resurrection we are saved. One time a man told me he used to read the book of the Revelation through every week. He did it because he was promised a special blessing just for reading the book. I asked him what kind of a special blessing he got. He told me he was not sure, but he knew it was coming. Unfortunately, sometimes our inclination is to do service for Jesus’ sake with the thought of reward 29
The World’s Quest for God
JUNE, 1966
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