A selfish desire for happiness is
as sinful as any other selfish desire. Its root is in the flesh which can never
have any standing before God. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for
it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7).

 

People are coming more and more
to excuse every sort of wrongdoing on the grounds that they are "just
trying to secure a little happiness." Before she will give her con-sent to
marriage, the modern young lady may ask outright whether or not the man "can
make me happy," instead of wondering selflessly whether she can bring
happiness to her life partner. The lovelorn columns of the newspapers are wet
with the self-pitying tears of persons who write to inquire how they can
"preserve their happiness." The psychiatrists of the land are getting
fat off the increasing numbers who seek professional aid in their all-absorbing
search for happiness. It is not uncommon for crimes to be committed against
persons who do nothing worse than jeopardize someone’s happiness.

 

That is the hedonistic philosophy
of old Grecian days misunderstood and applied to everyday living in the
twentieth century. It destroys all nobility of character and makes milksops of
all who consciously or unconsciously adopt it; but it has become quite the
popular creed of the masses. That we are born to be happy is scarcely
questioned by anyone. No one bothers to prove that fallen men have any moral
right to happiness, or that they are in the long run any better off happy. The
only question before the house is how to get the most happiness out of life.
Almost all popular books and plays assume that personal happiness is the
legitimate end of the dramatic human struggle.

 

Now I submit that the whole
hectic scramble after happiness is as much an evil as is the scramble after
money or fame or success. It springs out of a vast misunderstanding of
ourselves and of our true moral state. The man who really knows himself can
never believe in his right to be happy. A little glimpse of his own heart will
disillusion him instantly so that he is more likely to turn on himself and own
that God’s sentence against him is truly just. The doctrine of man’s
inalienable right to happiness is anti-God and anti-Christ, and its wide
acceptance by society tells us a lot about that same society.

 

The effect of this modern
hedonism is felt also among the people of God. The gospel is too often
presented as a means toward happiness, peace of mind, or security. There are
even those who use the Bible to "relax" them, as if it were a drug.

 

How far wrong all this is will be
discovered easily by the simple act of reading the New Testament through once
with meditation. There the emphasis is not upon happiness but upon holiness.
God is more concerned with the state of people’s hearts than with the state of
their feelings. Undoubtedly the will of God brings final happiness to those who
obey, but the most important matter is not how happy we are but how holy. The
soldier does not seek to be happy in the field; he seeks rather to get the fighting
over with, to win the war, and get back home to his loved ones. There he may
enjoy himself to the full; but while the war is on his most pressing job is to
be a good soldier, to acquit himself like a man, regardless of how he feels.

The childish clamor after
happiness can become a real snare. One may easily deceive himself by
cultivating a religious joy without a correspondingly righteous life. No man
should desire to be happy who is not at the same time holy. He should spend his
efforts in seeking to know and do the will of God, leaving to Christ the matter
of how happy he shall be.

 

For those who take this whole
thing seriously, I have a suggestion:Go to God and have an understanding
between yourselves. Tell Him that it is your desire to be holy at any cost and
then ask Him never to give you more happiness than holiness. When your holiness
becomes tarnished, let your joy become dim. And ask Him to make you holy
whether you are happy or not. Be assured that in the end you will be as happy
as you are holy; but for the time being let your whole ambition be to serve God
and be Christlike.

 

If we dare to take a stand like
that we may expect to know a new degree of inward purification. And, God being
who He is, we are more than likely to know a new degree of happiness as well,
but a happiness that springs out of a more intimate fellowship with God, a
happiness that is elevated and unselfish and free from the pollutions of the
flesh.

 

(From The Evangelist, Vol. 51,
published by Evangelical Tract Distributors.)

 

FRAGMENT  "If you suffer for
righteousness’ sake, happy are you" (1 Pet. 3:14). "Rejoice, inasmuch
as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be
revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for
the name of Christ, happy are you" (1 Pet. 4:13,14).

 

FRAGMENT  The Lord can and will
have full sway in your heart and life when you give Him the preeminence. He
never will share the throne of your heart with any idol. All "idols..
.shall be moved at His presence" (Isa. 19:1). T. F. Mayer

 

In the last issue we considered
some of the archaeological findings that come late with various persons,
places, and events recorded in the Gospels. In this issue we shall review
archaeological findings that relate to the Acts and the Epistles.

 

Straight Street

 

"There was a certain
disciple at Damascus named Ananias…. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and
go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas
for one called Saul of Tarsus" (Acts 9:10,11).

 

Damascus is considered to be the
oldest continuously occupied city in the world, dating back to around 2500 B.C.
Thus, archaeological digs are not necessary to confirm that the

 

"Straight Street" where
Saul of Tarsus once temporarily resided still today bisects the city from the
eastern to the western gate.

 

(The preceding was abstracted
from M. F. Unger, Archaeology and the New Testament.)

 

Rulers of Roman Provinces

 

Sergius Paulus is described as
the proconsul (“deputy" in KJV) of Cyprus (Acts 13:7). Gallic held the
same position in the region of Achaia in Greece (Acts 18:12). The rulers of Philippi before whom Paul and Silas were brought were called magistrates (Acts 16:20,22,
35,36). Some of the believers in Thessalonica who fellow-shipped with Paul and
Silas were brought before the politarchs ("rulers" in KJV) of the city.

 

In the past, Bible scholars and
historians have faulted Luke’s use of these different titles for rulers of
Roman provinces. However, archaeological findings more recently have provided
support for the words used in the Book of Acts.

 

At Soli, a city in the
northwestern part of the island of Cyprus, a Greek inscription was found which
contains the phrase, "under Paulus the proconsul."

 

The term "magistrates"
was not technically correct for the rulers of Philippi since the city normally
was governed by two "duumvirs." However, archaeological inscriptions
have revealed that the title of "magistrate" was employed as a
courtesy title for the chief rulers of a Roman colony.

 

The use of the title
"politarch" for the rulers of Thessalonica was once considered to be
erroneous. However, seventeen inscriptions have been discovered at Salonika
(modern name of Thessalonica in Greece) containing this term.

 

Finally, an inscription found at
Delphi, not far from Corinth in Greece, indicates that Gallic was proconsul of
Achaia in 51 or 52 A.D.

 

Iconium

 

"And it came to pass in
Iconium that [Paul and Barnabas] went both together into the synagogue of the
Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the
Greeks believed. … And when there was an assault made… to stone them, they
were aware of it and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia" (Acts
14:1-6).

 

Romans writers such as Cicero had long ago indicated that Iconium was in Lycaonia; therefore, the implication in
Acts 14:6 that Iconium was not in the territory of Lycaonia caused scholars to
claim that the text of Acts was not trustworthy. However, a monument found in
1910 in Asia Minor by the prominent archaeologist, Sir William Ramsey, showed
that Iconium was considered to be a city of Phrygia, not Lycaonia. Further
discoveries corroborated this finding.

 

(The preceding was abstracted
from J. P. Free, Archaeology and Bible History.)

 

Lystra

 

"When the people [of Lystra]
saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of
Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called
Barnabas, Jupiter [or Zeus], and Paul, Mercurius [or Hermes], because he was
the chief speaker. Then the priest of Jupiter… would have done sacrifice with
the people" (Acts 14:13).

 

The cultic devotion of the
citizens of Lystra to the gods Zeus and Hermes is corroborated by
archaeological findings. An inscription found near Lystra in 1909 lists the
names of several "priests of Zeus." Another inscription relates how
two persons devoted to the local cult crafted a statue of Hermes along with a
sun-dial, and dedicated it to Zeus.

 

Mars’ Hill

 

"Then Paul stood in the
midst of Mars’ Hill, and said, You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things
you are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I
found an altar with this inscription, To the Unknown God…. For in Him we
live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have
said, For we are also his offspring" (Acts 17:22-28).

 

Mars’ Hill, a 377-foot high hill
in Athens, can still today be climbed by steps hewn out of the rock. At the
summit of the hill are benches cut out of the rock, forming the meeting-place
of the ancient Athenian court.

 

No inscription, "To the
Unknown God," has yet been found in Athens by archaeologists, though such
an inscription has been found in the ruins of ancient Pergamos in Asia Minor. The second century A.D. geographer, Pausanias, wrote extensively of his visit
to Athens around 150 A.D. and declares in his Description of Greece that he saw
"altars of the gods named Unknown."

 

The Apostle Paul, in his Mars’
Hill sermon, quoted from one of the Athenians’ own poets. This is from a poem
by Aratus, a Stoic of the third century B.C.:

 

Zeus fills the streets, the
marts,

Zeus fills the seas, the shores,
the rivers!

Everywhere our need is Zeus!

We also are his offspring.

 

A similar line is found in the
writings of an earlier Greek poet, Cleanthes.

 

(The preceding two sections were
abstracted from M. F. Unger, Archaeology and the New Testament.)

 

Ephesus

 

"And when they heard these
sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the
Ephesians. And the whole city was filled with confusion; and having caught
Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed
with one accord into the theater. And when Paul would have entered in unto the
people, the disciples suffered him not. And certain of the chief of Asia [or Asiarchs], which were his friends, sent unto him…. All with one voice above the
space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And.. .the town
clerk… appeased the people" (Acts 19:28 -35). The ancient city of Ephesus has been extensively excavated from 1863 into the twentieth century. The Temple of Diana, one of the so-called "Seven Wonders of the World," was 342 feet long
and 163 feet wide, with over 100 columns six feet in diameter and sixty feet
high supporting the roof. Numerous inscriptions have been found in Ephesus attesting to the popularity of the goddess Diana and to the ascription of Diana as
"Great."

 

The amphitheater that was the
scene of the riot can be clearly seen today on the slope of Mount Pion. It was about 495 feet in diameter and could accommodate about 25,000 spectators.

 

Inscriptions have been found in Ephesus referring to Asiarchs (Acts 19:31) as well as to persons holding the position of
town clerk (verse 35).

 

(The preceding was abstracted
from H. F. Vos, An Introduction to Biblical Archaeology and M.F Unger, Archaeology
and the New Testament.)

 

Erastus

 

"Erastus the chamberlain of
the city salutes you" (Rom. 16:23).

 

During the excavations of Corinth in 1929, a pavement dating back to the first century A.D. was found inscribed,
"Erastus, curator of public buildings, laid this pavement at his own
expense." It is quite likely that this is the same person the Apostle Paul
referred to in his Epistle to the Romans, written from Corinth. A chamberlain
was an important official and thus an exception to the apostle’s statement that
not many wise or mighty or noble men after the flesh are called (1 Cor. 1:26).

 

(The preceding was abstracted
from J. McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict.)

 

The Church in a House

 

"They, continuing daily with
one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their
meat with gladness and singleness of heart" (Acts 2:46). "Aquila and
Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church [or assembly] that is in
their house" (1 Cor. 16:19; Rom. 16:3,5). "Salute the brethren who
are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house" (Col.
4:15). "Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto
Philemon.. .and to the church in your house" (Philem. 1,2).

 

We see from these passages that
the meeting-places of early Christians were in private houses for the most
part.

 

An example of one such house that
was used for gatherings of Christians in the third century A.D. was excavated
in 1931-32 at Dura-Europos in eastern Syria on the Euphrates River. The house, outwardly indistinguishable from the houses around it, consisted of a series
of rooms around a paved open courtyard. An inscription indicated that the house
was built in what would correspond to 232-33 A.D. One of the rooms had been
used as a chapel, which was later enlarged by the opening of two more rooms so
that the whole could seat about 100 people. There were paintings on the walls
of Christ as the Good Shepherd, David and Goliath, the Samaritan woman, Peter
attempting to walk on the water, and the healing of the paralytic.

 

(The preceding was abstracted
from G. E. Wright, Biblical Archaeology and G. Cornfeld and D. N.
Freedman, Archaeology of the Bible Book by Book.)

 

Philadelphia

 

"And to the angel of the
church in Philadelphia write…Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the
temple of My God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the
name of My God, and the name of the dry of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which
comes down out of heaven from My God; and I will write upon him My new
name" (Rev. 3:7,12).

 

Ruined temples and broken pillars
were a characteristic sight in this region that was often hit by earthquakes.
The physical instability of the city of Philadelphia provides a striking
background for the promise of eternal security ("a pillar in the temple of
My God") to the faithful believers in that city amid the insecurity of the
temporal scene.

 

The second part of the promise in
verse 12 is also meaningful in view of Emperor Tiberius Caesar’s rebuilding of
the city after a catastrophic earthquake in 17 A.D. The rebuilt city was given
a new name, Neokaisareia or "New Caesar" in honor of the Emperor’s
kindness. This was in effect the Emperor’s writing his name upon the city since
this action could be taken only by imperial authority. In the course of time,
the original name of the city, Philadelphia, was restored, totally replacing
Neokaisareia by 50 A.D. In Rev. 3:12, the church in Philadelphia is promised
that upon it will be inscribed the Name of the eternal God, not the name of a
temporal ruler.

 

(The preceding was abstracted
from M. F. Unger, Archaeology and the New Testament.)

 

Meditations on Christ, the
Believer’s Example (Part VII)

 

Christ’s Responses to Man’s
Sinful Behavior

 

He rebuked those with wrong
thoughts about Himself. "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His
disciples how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the
third day. Then Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from
Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee. But He turned and said unto Peter, Get
thee behind me, Satan; you are an offense unto Me, for you savor not the things
that be of God, but those that be of men" (Matt. 16:21-23).

 

It is true that these words of
the Lord Jesus took Peter off guard. Peter may have thought that Jesus was just
feeling depressed over the mounting opposition to Him and was trying to cheer
Him up. But if Peter really regarded Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the
living God" (verse 16) and as "Lord" (verse 22), he should have
been listening carefully and asking clarifying questions rather than rebuking
his Lord and Master.

 

Do we ever question God? Do we
ever get angry and resentful toward God because we don’t understand why He
allows certain things to happen in our lives or in the world at large? If so,
we need to reexamine our basic relationship with Christ:is He really our Lord
and Master, or is He just a convenient tool to satisfy those wants and needs
that we are unable to meet by ourselves?

 

The Lord Jesus, upon hearing
Peter’s rebuke, didn’t just shrug His shoulders and mutter that Peter would
learn some day. No, He spoke very strongly to Peter. He told Peter that he was
an offense to Him and that he was allowing himself to be a tool of Satan.

 

Another occasion when Jesus had
to rebuke His disciples was when they were rebuffed by the Samaritans and asked
the Lord for permission to "command fire to come down from heaven and
consume them." Jesus "rebuked them and said, You know not what manner
of spirit you are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives,
but to save them" (Luke 9:52-56). The grace of God is such an exceedingly
strange concept to the natural man that it often takes a long time even for
believers to appreciate this grace and act upon it in our relationships with
others.

 

The Lord faithfully rebuked His
disciples for not entering into His thoughts, for not appreciating His spirit
of grace toward sinners. Christ is our example. If one who professes to be a
Christian ex-presses a warped, unbalanced view of God and His attributes, or
questions His goodness or His fairness or His authority—His lordship— over him,
such a one may very well need to be rebuked. And the Holy Spirit may direct you
or me to administer such a rebuke.

 

Does one believer have authority
from God to rebuke another believer? Yes:"If your brother trespass
against you, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him" (Luke 173). The
Apostle Paul encouraged His son in the faith, Timothy, to "reprove,
rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Tim. 4:2). Of
course, the administering of a rebuke should be done "in the spirit of
meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted" (Gal. 6:1).

 

He patiently instructed those who
were self-centered. "Then there arose a reasoning among them which of them
should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a
child and set him by Him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this
child in My Name receives Me…. He who is least among you all, the same shall
be great" (Luke 9:46-48).

 

Later on, just after eating the
"Last Supper” with their Lord, the twelve disciples expressed the same
selfish attitude:"And there was also a strife among them, which of them
should be accounted the greatest. And He said unto them,… He that is greatest
among you, let him be as the younger, and he that is chief, as he who
serves…. I am among you as He who serves" (Luke 22:24-27).

 

Do you see how Jesus responds to
the sin of selfishness and pride displayed by His own disciples? He doesn’t
take their heads off but rather gently instructs them as to the way to true
greatness—taking a lowly place, the place of a servant.

 

We don’t like to see self-centeredness
and pride in other people. But often, I believe, it is the pride lurking deep
in our own hearts, that we have been trying to sugar-coat with a
spiritually-correct exterior, that takes offense at other people’s
less-well-masked expressions of pride and selfishness. If we had a greater
self-awareness of the pride that so thoroughly infects our entire being, we
would first judge ourselves and then—as Christ did—gently instruct our fellow
believers when they manifest pride.

 

He showed anger toward hypocrites
and those who dishonored His Father. "The Jews’ passover was at hand, and
Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those who sold oxen and
sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting; and when He had made a
scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple.. .and poured out
the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; and said unto those who sold
doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of
merchandise" (John 2:13-16).

 

In the last issue, we noticed
that Christ consistently responded with patience, calmness, gentleness, and
forgiveness toward those who opposed and mistreated Him personally. He never
became angry because He was not being treated right or receiving the respect He
deserved. But in the passage just cited the Lord shows strong anger directed
toward those who were dishonoring His Father. They were enriching themselves by
selling sacrificial animals at exorbitant prices to people whose hearts were
still sensitive to the Old Testament law. The Lord also expressed strong
reaction to the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees:"You pay tithe of
mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law,
judgment, mercy, and faith; these you ought to have done, and not to leave the
other undone…. You are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear
beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all
uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within
you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity" (Matt. 23:23,27,28). One more
example of the Lord expressing anger was when the Pharisees were hoping to
catch Him healing on the Sabbath so "that they might accuse him"
(Mark 3:1-5). Here again was hypocrisy:they pretended to be guarding the
sanctity of the Sabbath day, that day of physical and spiritual renewal given
to Israel, but blindly and hardheartedly condemned One who came to bring far
greater renewal of body (through physical healing) and of soul and spirit (through
His redemptive work on the cross).

 

Jesus did not make a habit of
confronting and condemning out-and-out sinners—adulterers, murderers, thieves,
and the like. Rather (as was noted in Part III of this series), He lovingly
reached out to the publicans and sinners, the social outcasts, and gently drew
them to Himself and His Father. Those He did condemn, however, were those who
made a pretense of religiousness and spirituality while not having the love of
God in them (John 5:42).

 

Christ is our example. We find in
these illustrations from the life of Christ guidelines as to how we ought to
respond to the unbelievers around us. I see some Christians intent on getting
their neighbors to break off their adulterous relationships or to stop using
God’s name in vain. They seem to think that if they can get their neighbors to
"dean up their act" they are more likely to be saved. Christ did not
do this. He met people just where they were. In fact He took advantage of
people’s besetting sins to show them their need for salvation (John 4:18, for
example).

 

If Christ were living in America today, I suspect He would not be spending His time picketing abortion clinics or
trying to get pornographic TV shows off the air or getting taverns closed down.
Would He not, rather, be exposing the apostasy of so-called Christian leaders
who no longer teach the precious truths of the Word of God? And would He not
also, perhaps, be exposing some fundamentalist preachers and writers whose
private lives bear little or no resemblance to the Christ whom they preach? And
is it possible that He might even spend a bit of time uncovering your and my
own inconsistencies, insincerities, or even hypocrisies?

 

Knowing Christ’s hatred of
hypocrisy, let us stir up one another, as "members one of another"
(Rom. 12:5) as to this matter of being sincere. "Let us keep the
feast…with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:8).
"Our rejoicing is this.. .that in simplicity and godly sincerity… we
have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly toward you" (2
Cor. 1:12; 2:17). "I pray…that you maybe sincere and without offense
till the day of Christ" (Phil. 1:10).

 

The English word
"sincere" is derived from two Latin words, sine ("without")
and cera ("wax"). It was the custom of some pottery makers of old to
use a certain kind of wax to cover up hairline cracks and minor imperfections
in their creations. But if the piece were held up to the light, the cracks and
imperfections would be immediately obvious. So the best pottery was "sincere-ware"
which had no need for wax to cover the imperfections. The Greek word used in
the four passages mentioned above carries similar implications. It is
eilikrines or literally "sun-judged." If you and I were to be held up
before the all-penetrating rays of God’s light, would our insides match our
outsides? Would the "thoughts and intents of the heart" match our
words and deeds? Would the things we do in private condemn or shame us any more
than the things we do in public? God wants us so to grow and develop in our
Christian lives that we are totally sincere—without hypocrisy, without wax,
sun-judged.

 

In the next issue, Lord willing,
we shall complete this section on Christ’s responses to man’s sinful behavior,
and then go on to consider Christ’s work and ministry.