September 8th Sermon

​​As we study the book of Acts, we encounter two men who, as they listened to the gospel of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are described as “trembling with fear,” “frightened,” or “afraid.” The first one is found in Acts 16, and is known to us as the Philippian jailer. As you recall, Paul and his missionary companion, Silas, had been arrested, beaten, and put in prison. That night, despite the pain and difficulty, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake and all of the prison doors were opened and all of the prisoners’ chains were unfastened. Thinking all the prisoners had escaped, the jailer was about to take his own life, when Paul called out to inform him that all were present.

It is at this point that the Bible says, the jailer, “called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.” In that moment, when he had come so close to entering eternity he asked life’s most important question, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” I am sure you remember that Paul told him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The man did believe and he was saved. That is a wonderful testimony of the grace and salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ and the witness of a faithful servant of the Lord.

We encounter the other fearful man in the passage of Scripture before us today. Felix, the Roman governor of Judea was also brought to fear by hearing the gospel message. Our text tells us that the same Apostle Paul, who was imprisoned once more, spoke to him “about faith in Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened” (Acts 24:24-25). It was at this moment Felix said the most tragic words in the Bible, “Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you.” The New International Version has it, “When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” Evidently, that convenient time never came for Governor Felix. Unlike the jailer of Philippi, the Bible does not record that Felix ever came to receive Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. Within two years he would leave Caesarea and another would take his place. Soon his life would be over, and he would face a Christless eternity.

This is the reality of the gospel message. Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Some people will hear the message and be saved; others will reject the message and remain lost for eternity. In Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus describes four responses to the gospel message. Describing the message of salvation as seed scattered by a sower, some fell beside the road, which shows someone who “hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it.” For this hearer, “the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” Other seed fell among rocky soil, which shows one “who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

Still other seed fell among thorns. “This,” Jesus said, “is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” Finally, some of the seed produced an obviously saved person. This one, the Lord said, “Was seed sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Tragically, as far as Scripture tells us, Felix never received Christ. Our journey begins with Paul being imprisoned in the Praetorium in Caesarea. Governor Felix is prepared to adjudicate Paul’s case and the prosecutor from Jerusalem has come to indict the apostle. We will look at the prosecutor’s accusations, Paul’s defense, and then, the judge’s verdict. First, we will focus on the prosecutor’s accusations.

THE PROSECUTOR’S ACCUSATIONS. Acts 24:1-9

The Prosecutor. We recall that Paul’s nephew had informed him and the Roman soldiers of a nefarious plot to murder Paul by a conspiracy of forty men who swore an oath to neither eat nor drink until Paul was dead. In the dark of night, Claudius Lysias, the commander, sent Paul along with four hundred and seventy Roman sol-diers to the seat of the Roman government for Judea in Caesarea. Once in Caesarea, the soldiers returned to Jerusalem and Paul was kept in Herod’s Praetorium.

As soon as the next day, the Jewish Council, the Sanhedrin, discovered Paul had been removed from Jerusalem and out of their jurisdiction. They were evidently told that they would have to go to Caesarea to have their case heard by Governor Felix. In five days, they found an attorney who was skilled in bringing cases before the Roman court and traveled to Caesarea. The prosecutors included the lawyer, Ananias, the high priest, and an unspecified number of Sanhedrin members called elders.

The attorney’s name was Tertullus, a common Roman name in the first century. From the original language, “attorney” translates the Greek word rētoros from which we get the English word “rhetoric.” He was a man who had been trained in Roman law. Most Bible authorities suggest that Tertullus was a Latin and Greek speaking Jew who had a legal practice in Jerusalem. He was retained because of his familiarity with Roman legal procedures.

The Judge. Antonius Felix had been the governor or procurator of Judea for five years. He had been born a slave and was freed by Antonia, the mother of Emperor Claudius. His brother was Pallas, who was also a freedman of Antonia and who became a good friend of the young prince Claudius in the Imperial household. Through the influence of Pallas, in A.D. 48, Felix was appointed a subordinate government post in Samaria under the Judean governor Ventidius Cumanus. In A.D. 52, when Cumanus was deposed, Felix was appointed governor of Judea. While governor, Felix married the sixteen-year-old daughter of Herod Agrippa I, Drusilla. Felix did not have a very good record as governor. Try as he would to put down Jewish uprisings and regain control, his overly brutal methods only alienated the Jewish population more and led to further disturbances. Within two years, Felix would be replaced as governor.

The Allegations. Tertullus made three basic allegations against Paul. First, he accused Paul of sedition, a violation of Roman law. This was a very serious charge in a Roman court. The Roman Empire dealt firmly and severely with disturbances of the Pax Romana, the Roman peace. Keeping their society free from wars and disruptions insured prosperity and trade. Tertullus said Paul stirred up dissension, but failed to name any specific example. If this charge had been proven, it would have been considered very serious and would warrant the death sentence for Paul.

Tertullus’ second charge was sectarianism, which was a violation of Jewish law. He called Christians the “sect of the Nazarenes,” which accused them of being a splinter group and not a genuine part of Judaism. Judaism was acceptable under Roman law, but if Christianity was only a sect, it would not be protected. At that time the Roman authorities still identified the Christian faith with the Jews, allowing them the freedom to practice as they wished. However, as the number of Gentile believers increased and more congregations separated from Jewish synagogues and the Roman government saw the differences between Jews and Christians, then the trouble began. Rome did not want a rival religion growing in the Empire and causing problems. Tertullus accused Paul of intentionally causing such problems.

The third and final charge was sacrilege; that Paul had attempted to desecrate the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. He accused Paul of starting the riot that forced the temple authorities to close the temple. Desecrating the temple had political overtones because the Romans had agreed to give the Jews permission to execute any Gentile who went inside the marked barrier of the temple. Tertullus lied when he said the Jews arrested Paul. In reality, a mob tried to murder Paul and Roman soldiers had to intervene to protect Paul. The Jewish leaders who were with the prosecutor verbally joined in this attack of Paul, asserting that all Tertullus alleged was true.

PAUL’S DEFENSE. Acts 24:10-21

Paul Refuted the Charge of Sedition. Unlike the Jewish authorities, who hired a Roman lawyer to represent them, Paul represented himself. His first line of proof that disproved the charge of sedition was that he had only arrived in Jerusalem twelve days earlier. That was hardly enough time to cause a riot. And he went to Jerusalem to worship, not to cause trouble. While in Jerusalem, Paul was not involved with any disputes and he did not organize any crowds. Actually, the temple records would have shown that Paul had registered to pay the costs of four Jews who had taken a Nazarite vow. Paul had not preached in the temple or any of the synagogues in Jerusalem or anywhere else. Ultimately, the prosecution could not prove that he was guilty of any kind of rebellion against either the Jews or the Romans. And the prosecution provided no eyewitnesses to prove their point. Paul was innocent of this charge.

Paul Refuted the Charge of Sectarianism. Was Paul a ringleader of the “sect of the Nazarenes”? Paul openly admitted to serving the Lord “according to the Way.” He confessed to being a Christian but steadfastly denied that Christianity was heretical. Paul was serving the God of his fathers–Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To be a Christian was not to forsake the worship of the true God but to be absolutely devoted to Him.

He confessed that as a Christian, he believed everything in accordance with the Old Testament Law and the Prophets. His faith was not in a sect, but in the worship of Jesus Christ which was widely known as the Way. Paul knew Jesus had fulfilled all of the Law and the Prophets and as God’s promised Messiah, all of the Law and the Prophets pointed directly to Jesus, the Son of God. To worship Jesus was to worship the Eternal God.

To prove that, as a Christian, he was not part of some splinter group, he cited his belief in the Old Testament doctrine of the “resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” This was important. As his accusers looked on, Paul said that he believed in the resurrection, just as they did. For proof, Paul could have cited Job 19:25-26, “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God.” He could have also quoted Daniel 12:2, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to dis-grace and everlasting contempt.” To affirm that Christianity teaches exactly the same doctrine, Paul could have quoted the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “These [evil ones] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

Paul Refuted the Charge of Desecration of the Temple. How did Paul respond to the charge of desecrating the temple? He told Felix that he had not come to Jerusalem to stir up trouble, to the contrary, he was there to bring money as an offering to help Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. It was a mission of mercy. He was in the temple obeying the Jewish law. The real trouble makers were a small group of Jews from Asia who caused the disturbance that closed the temple and called forth the Roman authorities. Yet not one appeared in court to press any charges.

Paul had reached the heart of his defense, because it was required by Roman law that the accusers face the accused at the trial, or else the charges would be dropped. No one showed up to prove any of these charges. These men were good at inciting riots; they were not good at producing facts. Paul finished his testimony by confessing his faith in the resurrection of the dead and suggesting that was the reason for his trial. But belief in the resurrection was not a crime under Jewish law, nor was it under Roman law. But belief in the resurrection was not a crime under Jewish law, nor was it under Roman law.

THE JUDGE’S VERDICT. Acts 24:22-27

The Governor’s Decision. The presentation of the case was finished and the decision rested in the hands of Governor Felix who alone would decide it. He was trapped between justice and popularity. There were three choices he could make. He could find for the prosecution and convict Paul of any or all of the serious crimes of which Tertullus had accused him and would have ordered his summary execution. He could have found for the defense, since there was no evidence or any witnesses. He would then have dismissed the case and allowed Paul to go free. But that would have meant insulting the powerful Jewish leaders and would have caused even more trouble for Felix in the future.

He could have adjourned the case with no verdict ostensibly in order to get more facts. This is the course Felix took. Felix saw to it that Paul was comfortably cared for while at the same time safely guarded. The freedom Paul was allowed meant that he was not put in the common jail or kept in close confinement. He had limited freedom in the palace. Paul’s friends were permitted to minister to him, so people could come and go to meet his needs.

Faith in Christ Jesus Presented to Felix. Felix had a “more exact knowledge about the Way” so much so that the message of faith in Christ Jesus caused him to be frightened. Perhaps it was the message that his own righteousness was not good enough for him to be saved. Paul certainly told him, that “there is none righteous, not even one!” (Romans 3:10). Perhaps it was the truth that all must stand before the Lord in judgment and that everyone must give an account before God and without faith in Christ, the lost soul would be eternally condemned. Felix saw the light of salvation in Jesus Christ, but preferred to remain in the darkness of sin.

Governor Felix Failed to Receive Christ. Most people do not like to consider this, but our opportunities to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior has a time limit. Felix frequently called upon Paul to speak about faith in Christ and other biblical themes, and he probably thought he had years to think about his decision. But after only two years, Felix was suddenly summoned to Rome and his position as Governor of Judea was given to another. There is no record that either Felix or his wife Drusilla ever received Christ. They had come so close but continued in their steadfast rejection of Christ. In Acts 9:15, the Lord promised Paul that he was “a chosen instrument of His to bear His name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.” Here an unsaved political leader was privileged to hear the gospel, but walked away, believing a more convenient time would come. It likely never did.

Think for a moment of Felix’s foolish attitudes. He had a foolish attitude toward God’s Word, thinking that he could “take it or leave it.” The Bible says, “You must be born again!” When God speaks, men and women had better listen and obey. Felix had a foolish attitude toward his sins. He knew he was a sinner, yet he refused to break with his sins and obey the Lord. He had a foolish attitude toward God’s grace. The Lord had been long-suffering toward Felix, yet the governor would not surrender. Felix was not sure of even one more day’s life, yet he foolishly procrastinated.

Some time ago, I heard a pastor give an illustration about a meeting in hell. Satan called his four leading demons together and commanded them to think up a new way that would trap more souls. “I have it!” one de-mon said. “I’ll go to earth and tell people there is no God.” “It will never work,” said Satan. “People can look around them and see that there is a God.” “I’ll go and tell them there is no heaven!” suggested a second demon, but Satan rejected that idea. “Everybody knows there is life after death and they want to go to heaven.” “Let’s tell them there is no hell!” said a third demon. “No, conscience tells them their sins will be judged,” said the devil. “We’ll have to do better than that.”

Quietly, the fourth demon spoke. “I think I’ve solved your problem,” he said. “I’ll go to earth and tell everybody there is no hurry. You can just put this decision off.”

The best time to trust Jesus Christ is now!

And the best time to tell others the Good News of the Gospel is now!