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Acts 24:1-27
In this passage we see Paul
testifying before Felix, governor of Judaea, on two occasions, one publically
with his Jewish enemies present, and one privately before Felix and his wife,
the Jewess Drusilla. Although Felix
doesn’t oppose Paul like the Jews do, he puts off responding to his message both
times. There are plenty of people in
this world who, though they may not actively oppose the gospel, won’t respond
to it either, and in God’s eyes that’s the same as rejection. Anything short of a wholehearted reception of
Jesus Christ is not salvation.
Notice how Paul’s defense
includes preaching, and when Paul starts talking about the resurrection and
judgment, Felix interrupts him and puts off a decision. According to v. 22 he already had light, and
was getting more, but he cuts it off here, and after hearing Paul again, this
time with his wife, the Jewess Drusilla.
Felix will not be cornered…in this life, that is; but he will be in the
next, to his eternal loss.
Notice the themes of his
preaching are the same: righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. (1) righteousness: v.15, “the just and the unjust” (what makes them that way: what they do
with Christ); v. 16, “a conscience void
of offence”; (2) temperance: not causing a riot (vv. 12, 18; cf. 1
Pt. 4:3-4…excess of riot); and (3) judgment to come: vv. 15, 21. He couldn’t preach on these things to Felix if he
wasn’t living them, and I think that the preliminary hearing prepared the way
for the final one.
Paul reasons with Felix, as he
does with everyone. Faith is not the
same as reason (Acts 28:29—carnal reasoning can keep you from Christ), but our
faith is a reasonable faith: (1) 2 Thes. 3:1-2—aimed at men in general; it’s
reasonable to trust Christ (sound judgment); (2) Rom. 12:1—aimed at believers; it’s reasonable to
love and serve Christ.
In this message I want to primarily
reason with believers about the things Paul reasoned with Felix about, because
all three are pertinent to you, even though you’re saved. I’ll also touch on
the applications that these things have for those of you who may not be
believers and why they are so important.
Paul tells us to follow him, as
he followed Christ (1 Cor. 11:1); and if we see him reasoning with men about
these things, we should too; if we’re not, we’re not doing our job. Paul said
in 1 Tim. 4:6 that a good minister “put[s] the brethren in remembrance of [some]
things,” and I think that these three things should be at the top of the
list.
One other thought before we look at the three things separately. If Paul was preaching the gospel to Felix, which I believe he was, then gospel preaching needs to deal with these matters. The gospel by definition is a matter of righteousness, or our legal standing before God. Our lives as saints should be characterized by temperance and not excess, out of gratitude for our salvation and in expectation of judgment to come. So to truly preach the gospel is to touch on all three of these things, not just one or two of them.
One other thought before we look at the three things separately. If Paul was preaching the gospel to Felix, which I believe he was, then gospel preaching needs to deal with these matters. The gospel by definition is a matter of righteousness, or our legal standing before God. Our lives as saints should be characterized by temperance and not excess, out of gratitude for our salvation and in expectation of judgment to come. So to truly preach the gospel is to touch on all three of these things, not just one or two of them.
Righteousness
Felix, as a Gentile, may not have had the written
law like the Jews did, but he certainly had it written in his heart (Rom.
2:14-16), and that heart trembles under the powerful preaching of Paul. Notice Paul’s appeal to conscience (v. 16)
and justice in v. 15. Felix knows about
righteousness naturally, and Paul reminds him that God requires it of him and
no doubt tells him how to get it through Christ (vv. 24-25), but for some
hidden reason he balks at it. If you remember Paul’s sermon on Mars’ hill, you
remember that not all of the idle Athenians responded to Paul’s message the
same (Acts 17:32-34): “some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of
this matter” (v. 32). But what Paul said
was enough for them to believe, since, per v. 34, “certain men clave unto him,
and believed,” praise the Lord. I think
that the same was true of Felix. There
was no need for him to put off a decision.
He had plenty of light, naturally, from his Jewess wife, and from the
apostle to the Gentiles.
I think that v. 26 may shed light on at least part of his problem: greed. Notice the ugly word at the beginning of the verse: “money.” He “hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul…” Covetousness: an inordinate, idolatrous desire for material things. Busted, Felix! You’re intemperate, just like the preacher and the Holy Ghost told you. He loved money more than the truth, just like Pilate and the Pharisees loved their “place” more than Christ. You see, if you truly love Christ, you give up your place to him, and very few men want to do that. But they’re only fooling themselves—God may let you keep your place for a season, but you won’t keep it forever. It’ your soul that lasts forever, and the only way to secure eternal salvation is by receiving God’s righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ, as your Saviour. Since the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, God will not accept your personal righteousness like he did under the old testament (Luke 1:6, e.g.). Paul makes it very clear in Romans that God credits his righteousness to you as a gift when you trust Christ.
I think that v. 26 may shed light on at least part of his problem: greed. Notice the ugly word at the beginning of the verse: “money.” He “hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul…” Covetousness: an inordinate, idolatrous desire for material things. Busted, Felix! You’re intemperate, just like the preacher and the Holy Ghost told you. He loved money more than the truth, just like Pilate and the Pharisees loved their “place” more than Christ. You see, if you truly love Christ, you give up your place to him, and very few men want to do that. But they’re only fooling themselves—God may let you keep your place for a season, but you won’t keep it forever. It’ your soul that lasts forever, and the only way to secure eternal salvation is by receiving God’s righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ, as your Saviour. Since the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, God will not accept your personal righteousness like he did under the old testament (Luke 1:6, e.g.). Paul makes it very clear in Romans that God credits his righteousness to you as a gift when you trust Christ.
Now
for the believer who’s received this righteousness, God expects you to work it
out by living righteously (Tit. 2:12).
Doesn’t it make sense for those who’ve been declared righteous to live
righteously? That’s what we’re talking
about: our reasonable service. Are you
reasonable? Are you trying to live
righteously in every way? Not to earn or
keep your salvation, but because it’s the only life fitting for those whom God
has “made” his righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).
Temperance
Now let’s move on to something related to
righteousness: temperance. What is
temperance? Not getting drunk. That became the popular notion in the late
1800’s with the formation of temperance unions.
But long before that association, then sense of temperance was avoiding
excess in anything. Temperance is much
like balance or avoiding extremes, since the root of “excess” is “exceed” or
going too far.
· So why was Paul talking about this to heathen
man? Did God expect the heathen to be
temperate? In time, I came to see that
he did: (1) According to Rom. 2:14-15, God gave all men a
conscience that told them to live temperately; (2) 1 Pt. 4:3-5 supports this, since the context is
the Gentiles; note: excess of wine (v. 3) and of riot (v. 5). Note the fearful outcome of this excessive
living: judgment. God takes judgment on
the excessive, in this life and in the next.
Remember the party animal in Prov. 7 who went whoremongering? Solomon
said that “a dart” would “strike through his liver (v. 23). What’ll mess up your liver, folks? Drunkenness, right. I had a childhood friend
in Ohio whose mom was a lush and died of cirrhosis. Intemperance can kill you, folks. Run from it!
Learn to keep your body under subjection—it’s your duty to God. If the folks at Gold’s Gym can do it, why
can’t you? Don’t tell me you don’t have time to exercise if you have any kind
of electronic device. I see how much time people spend with those things, and
that time could be given to exercise. One of the great benefits of exercise is
that it fosters temperance. I’ve noticed
that over the years, especially with weight training or hard physical labor.
· So if God judges excess, it must be sin; and the
sin nature in man produces excess (Mt. 23:25). It's an issue for both lost and saved; (1) 1 Cor. 9:22-27; will affect your testimony and
hence your eternal rewards; (2) Gal. 5:22-23; if you are truly yielding to the
Spirit, temperance will be manifest in your life; if it’s not, I’m sorry...you
may be a nice person, but there’s some area(s) where you’re not yielding to God
inwardly which in turn shows up outwardly; (3) Eph. 5:18; what stands opposed to excess? the
Spirit! which, in your opinion, is stronger?
find out by continually yielding to one or the other; (4) Phil. 4:5; it’s something that all men can see,
so it’s more than spiritual; it’s physical also; note how moderation is
sandwiched between something you should continually do (rejoice in the Lord)
and something you should never do (worry); so moderation is living a balanced
life; why? Because the Lord is at hand
(judgment to come); (5) Tit. 1:8; leaders have a big responsibility to
be temperate: if you’re not, why should they be? Gwen Shamblin, the former
dietician who started a church in Nashville, may be a poor example for women in
some ways, but one way she’s an example to everyone is her physical
temperance. It’s my understanding that
the members of her church have lost literally thousands of pounds by following
her example; I’ve heard the testimonies—some of these people literally got
their lives back by learning temperance.
Why go home to heaven early over a mess of pottage, when all you needed
to do was exercise regularly, either at the gym or at home, and eat
sensibly? You say, I can’t stop
eating. OK, then don’t stop
exercising. The food has to be worked
off, folks, or it will kill you.
Temperance, temperance, but not just physical…
·
Saints need to avoid physical excess, but
perhaps more importantly, spiritual excesses: (1) Phil. 4:6; Be
careful for nothing…; (2) Heb. 13:9; “Be
not carried about with diverse and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be
established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have
been occupied therein” (excess). In doctrinal matters, you must strive for
balance; there are plenty of extreme views out there to ensnare you, if you’re
not careful. That’s another reason why
it’s a crime not to study the Bible. How
do you know that you’re not deceived about many things right now? Folks, the only way to prevent that is to
stay in the book and allow the Lord to gradually show you more and more,
including your errors of ignorance and error.
Judgment to
come
· For Felix, and all of those not saved, it was
the day of God’s wrath, revealed in Daniel 7 and Revelation 20 as the great white
throne judgment or, as Paul says in 24:15, a
resurrection of the…unjust. Here you
have two resurrections and two judgments. The “just” are judged at the judgment
seat of Christ (Rom. 1:17), which had been revealed to Paul by now, since he
had already written Romans, 1-2 Cor., Gal., and 1-2 Thes., all of which mention
the judgment seat in some context or at least eternal rewards.
· Of all the subjects in the Bible, the subject of
future judgment, specifically hell, has to be the most hateful to people, even
some professing believers. You see, even a believer’s flesh recoils at hell,
but it doesn’t change the fact of it. You can air-condition it and call it
Hades and “separation from God” all you want, but it’s still burning, it’s still
hot, and it’s still forever. I’ve read some of C.S. Lewis’ books, and one gripe
I have with him is his toned-down concept of hell. In one of his books, The Great Divorce, some lost souls are
allowed to escape from hell on a magic bus that transports them to the
outskirts of heaven. It’s an absolutely chilling account of how all of the
escapees are invited by various redeemed to heaven, but each of them, for
various sinful reasons, reject the invitation and return to hell. It’s biblical
that hell doesn’t change people (like the rich man who neglected Lazarus), but
Lewis doesn’t present hell as a raging inferno, but as a dark and lonely place
where people live with their miserable, selfish selves forever. So he got two out of three right, but that’s
not enough.
·
We, like Paul, need to faithfully warn the lost
about hell and admonish each other that we too will be judged hereafter, not regarding
our salvation, but as to the quality of our works following it.
· God revealed to the apostle Paul that there will
be a special judgment for the body of Christ after the rapture, the judgment
seat of Christ. Paul mentions it by name
in Rom. 14:10 and 2 Cor. 5:10, and there are contextual references to it in
nearly all of his epistles. So it’s a
very important topic that believers need to be familiar with and preparing
for. One of the best ways I know is found right in
the passage: temperate living. Striving
for a balanced Christian life. Many
times when we go to extremes, there are heart issues involved. Sometimes it’s ignorance, but if we continue
in close fellowship with God, we’ll find him leading us away from extremes
toward balance in all areas of life, even doctrine (Tit. 2:7).
