Let's bow our heads for prayer. Spirit of the living Christ, we ask your favor today. Help us to hear well. Help us to be doers, not hearers only. Please apply your word to our hearts, to the saving and the sanctifying of our souls. Hide the preacher behind the cross of Calvary and help us in the preaching of the Word of Christ to hear the voice of Christ. Glorify the Father and the Son. We ask for your kingdom's sake and the edification of your church. Amen. I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 23. Acts chapter 23. I've mentioned that these last five chapters of Acts feel differently, so we're taking a little different approach. They seem like they preach different to me, so it'll be a little different. We will continue our systematic study today. We are in these last five chapters of the book of Acts, And we noted last week how things have changed for Paul. Paul, at this point, is now completely at the mercy of other men, the Jews, the Roman commander, the soldiers. He's no longer making his own decisions and doing as he pleases. Now he's doing what he's told and going where he's taken. Last week we considered the providential hand of God, noting that Paul ultimately is not at the mercy of those men. Ultimately, he's not in the hands of corrupt, evil men. Ultimately, Paul is in the hand of God, who is providentially caring for him, God who is sovereign over all things. So Paul can rest easy, to use a ship metaphor, knowing that God is steering the ship. God is steering the ship. And following that same line, not only is God steering the ship, but God made the ship. God traced out the course for the river. He made the rocks. He placed them precisely where they should be. He made all the waters of the sea. God is sovereign. So God is sovereignly and providentially directing all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And we see Him doing that for Paul here in the text. Last time in the narrative, Paul was under arrest in the barracks there under the command of the Roman commander. And we saw that God was working His providential will by directing and using the actions of an unknown Paul's nephew, and an unconcerned this Roman commander. Paul's nephew came in bringing news of a plot to kill Paul, and the Roman commander became unknowingly a tool in the hand of God to save Paul and provide Paul with 470 trained soldiers slash bodyguards to take him to Caesarea. So we'll pick up the reading here. in chapter 23 and verse 22. Chapter 23 and verse 22, and we'll read a great deal today. We're going to read a bit and comment and make observations, and then we'll read a bit more. So keep your Bible handy today. Please follow along as I read. Acts 23, beginning in verse 22. So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, tell no one that you have notified me of these things. Verse 23, and he called to him, two of the centurions and said, get 200 soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen. They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor. And he, meaning the Roman commander, wrote a letter having this form. Verse 26, we have the commander's letter. Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent Governor Felix, greetings. When this man was arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by them, I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. And wanting to ascertain the charge for which they had accused him, I brought him down to to their counsel. And I found him to be accused over questions about their law, but under no accusation deserving death or imprisonment." It's interesting. I said we'd comment along the way. And my wife, I said, this is a short sermon. She said, you'll add stuff. So that's what you're gonna add. Isn't it interesting that I found him, I found no reason to imprison this guy, but he's in jail, he's in custody. Still there. Verse 30. When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing his accusers to bring charges against him before ye. So as we read this letter from the Roman commander, the Roman commander wrote this to Governor Felix. If we remember what happened in Jerusalem, we know that this letter is what I've called mostly true. Mostly true. There are parts that have been tweaked, parts that have been modified and finessed. And those parts were finessed to make the Roman commander sound better to the government. I mean, it does sound better to say, I rescued him and then brought him to you than it does to say, I was just about to torture this guy when he told me he was a Roman. I mean, so he just tweaks that a little bit, put a little spin on it and it sounds better. So we have lying already in this text. Let's continue in verse 31. I think there might be more lying. So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatrus. But the next day, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the barracks. When these had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. When he read it, he asked for what prophets he was, And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, I will give you a hearing after your accusers arrive also, giving orders for him to be kept in Herod's Praetorian. So Paul is held under arrest while they wait for the accusers to come and to come to the hearing and make their accusations. But if we remember, those who had made the accusations against Paul, they were Jews from Asia So obviously they're the accusers, that's who should be coming, right? Let's keep reading and we'll see more lies and we'll see who came. Verse 24. After five days, the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus. And they brought charges to the governor against Paul. After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying to the governor, since we have through you attained much peace, and since by your providence reforms are being carried out for this nation, we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. But that I may not weary you any further, I beg you to grant us by your kindness a brief hearing, for we have found this man a real pest, The King James says, a pestilent fellow. We have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. And he even tried to desecrate the temple. Lie. And then we arrested him. We want to judge him according to our own law. That's a lie. Remember, there's a plot to kill him. They want to kill him. Verse 7, But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands. Now this is not true. This is a lie. And it also contradicts the letter that the commander had written. Verse 8, According to his accusers of ordering his accusers to come before you today by examining him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things of which we accuse him. The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so. So we have lies by the commander, the Roman commander. We have lies by the lawyer and flattering words by the lawyer. And then we have, the Jews that were there joining in in this attack and asserting, yes, what he said, those lies are so, so they are also lying. Now, I told our law students last week that the title of the sermon was gonna be The Lying Lawyer. But it turns out there's so many people lying in this text that the title of the sermon got longer and longer and longer, I just obeyed it, it fell together. We'll pick up in verse 10, where Paul has opportunity to respond. And here we find no lies. Verse 10, when the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded, knowing that for many years you have been a judge of this nation, I cheerfully make my defense since you can take note of the fact that no more than 12 days ago, I went up to Jerusalem to worship. Now here Paul's pointing out that it was only 12 days ago that I got to Jerusalem. All these things that they're accusing me of, desecrating the temple, starting a riot, stirring up the, you can't do all that in 12 days. I haven't had time to do that. That's what he's saying here. Verse 12, neither in the temple, nor the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot, nor can they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me. Verse 14, but I admit to you this, that according to the way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the law and that is written in the prophets, having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there is, that there shall certainly be a resurrection, both of the righteous and the wicked. In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience before God and before men. Now Paul will testify as to what he was really doing. And remember when he came to Jerusalem, he came and delivered this offering and he wasn't even preaching. He wasn't doing ministry. He was there working in the church and doing things there, but he wasn't, So he wasn't doing those things. Verse 17, he says, this is what I was really doing. Now, after several years, I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been purified. He wasn't defiling the temple. He was purified without any crown or uproar. But there were some Jews from Asia who ought to have been present before you to make accusations. if they should have anything against me, or else let these men themselves tell what misdeed they found when I stood before the council. Other than for this one statement, which I shouted out while standing among them, for the resurrection of the dead, I am on trial before you today. You remember that Paul was there, and there were Pharisees and Sadducees, and the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection, so there were Sadducees, but the Pharisees did believe in the resurrection, and Paul shouted out this thing, it's for the resurrection of the dead that I'm gonna drop. Someone has mentioned, and you come across this, maybe you've thought of it too, did Paul do that just to kind of stir them up? He didn't. He did that because this is the truth of why he is on trial. Paul defends himself here, and we hear that he's on trial because of the resurrection of the dead, and this has come up then in Jerusalem, and it's come up now in Caesarea, and it will come up again because this is what's at stake here, specifically that Jesus was raised from the dead. Now, we learned that Felix has some familiarity with Christianity. Look at verse 22. Felix having a more exact knowledge about the lay. Felix has some knowledge about Christianity, the followers, the disciples of Christ. How did he get that? Perhaps in Caesarea, if you remember, Peter had come and had spoken to a man, a Roman centurion named Cornelius. And Cornelius had come to faith in Christ. It's quite possible that Cornelius kept his commission, stayed employed as it were by the Roman government and stayed there and served and that Felix as the governor might have observed a change in Cornelius as he became a disciple of Christ. Peter was there, Cornelius was converted, and certainly a church would have been established, would have developed here in Caesarea. So perhaps Felix knew something, had this more exact knowledge about the way because of the reputation of the church. Men and women who were once idol worshippers, men and women who were once the worst of sinners, now have come to Christ and something has changed perhaps. Felix knows about the way because of the reputation of Christians. Let's just say here, Christians, how you behave is important. How you are in the world is important. For whatever reason, for whatever the source was that Felix had this more exact knowledge, let's continue. Verse 22, but Felix having a more exact knowledge about the way, put them off saying, when Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case. Then he gave orders to the centurion for him, Paul, to be kept in custody and yet have freedom and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him. So Felix is here, he's heard from all these liars that come in and the lawyers and the other liars. And Felix hearing all of this keeps Paul under arrest. But Paul is now under a special type of arrest in this Roman government. There was more than one type of arrest. And we've seen some of the more harsh arrests Remember when Paul was at Philippi, when he was jailed there, he was beaten brutally, and then he was chained and imprisoned in the innermost prison. That was like the worst kind of imprisonment. But here, there's no indication here in Caesarea that Paul is even chained, that he's handcuffed, that he's, he had freedom. He could move around within the boundaries freely and have all the visitors who wanted to come see him. Now, before you begin to think that Felix was such a nice guy, letting these visitors come in, come and go, what a great guy. Before you think that, look at verse 26. At the same time too, he, Felix, was hoping that money would be given him by Paul. See, he's hoping. He just heard Paul say, I came after collecting an offering for years. And Felix ears perked up. That's a sizable amount of money. He brought that money. Where is that money? I want that money. Maybe we should allow his friends to come and give opportunity for them to bring money so that Paul then can pay a bribe for his freedom. So here we see the liars are joined by an unjust, a greedy judge who would gladly pervert justice when it works in his favor, when he can receive a bribe, and he doesn't get his bribe. Paul's not gonna bribe this judge, but Felix does pervert justice for his own well-being, for his own benefit. That's what'll happen in the end. So we'll continue, and we're getting to the heart of where we're going. We continue in reading in verse 24. This is getting to the heart of the text. Some days later, Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife, a Jewess. And they sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. Now, here we meet Felix. We've met Felix, but now we meet Felix's wife, Drusilla. This was his second wife named Drusilla, and his third wife, and not his last wife. This is Felix and Felix is a real jewel, an unjust bride accepting governor appointed to his position, not because of his qualifications and his character, but because of relationships that he had with the emperor. And the narrative here is not really about Felix or about Drusilla, his wife, but so that we can understand who they are. I want us to just, just kind of look at Drusilla a bit. And we, by the way, When we read the scripture, this is not storybook time. This is not fairy tales. This is real historical stuff. And we can read of Felix and Drusilla, because I'm gonna say some things about Drusilla, and you're gonna be like, how do you know that? It's not here in these verses. There's writings about Felix and Drusilla in extra-biblical texts, in historical writings. So, Drusilla was a Jewess. great-grandfather, her grandfather, her father, you would know them as Herod the Great, Herod Agrippa I and II. Now, maybe those names mean something really to you, maybe they don't, but her family and her direct descendants were responsible for the mass killing of Jewish baby boys at the time of Jesus' birth. for the beheading of John the Baptist, for the imprisonment of Peter, and the execution of James. So when Drusilla comes here to hear Paul out of curiosity, she doesn't have a friendly pedigree. Paul is called before them so that they can hear from Paul. Let's pay special attention here as to what it is that Paul speaks to them about. He's called before them, but what is he gonna talk about? Think about what you might talk about. How can I get out of here? How can I be released? How can we work this? Paul doesn't talk about any of those things. Look at verse 24. Some days later, Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife, a Jewess. And they sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. That's number one. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come. Now this is Paul's subject matter. This is what he talks about. Faith in Christ Jesus, righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come. What a risky proposition. You're standing before these people and their shenanigans, their sin would be well known. Their sin would be well known. But for Paul to come and speak about righteousness and self-control and judgment, this is risky. Wouldn't it be safer to just stay I mean, Paul, just speak about faith in Jesus and leave off that other stuff. Just modify the script a little bit so that you avoid causing discomfort to those who are listening. These are powerful hearers. These are powerful hearers, and we don't want to make them uncomfortable. So, Paul, lay off the righteousness, judgment, self-control stuff. Let's just talk about the nice stuff. You can talk about faith in Jesus. Some of you may be appalled that we would suggest such a thing, that Paul would adjust the message about Christ. But as you're appalled at thinking that Paul could do this, recognize that this is done every day. Every Lord's Day, It is popular in our nation and has been for a long time to adjust the message. Paul spoke about faith in Jesus Christ. Let's call that the gospel. And he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and coming judgment. What can we call that? Law. Paul spoke about law and gospel, law and gospel. And today it is so popular for us to think, well, people are uncomfortable with this. People, people are uncomfortable. We don't want to make our hearers uncomfortable. Now, now Felix had a power there that we don't see today, but what's the power today when misguided churches and Compromised preachers stand and tweak the message to make it more palatable. You know what they're saying? The hearers are powerful hearers. They can stop coming. They can stop giving. They could cause unrest. So let's tweak the message, because we don't want our hearers to hear the law of God and feel bad. But isn't that exactly? Look at the text. That's what happened here in verse 25. It says, Felix hearing Paul speaking of law and gospel. Verse 25 says, Felix was frightened. Can I tell you this? That's a good response. That's not enough, right? We'll see that it's not enough, but to be frightened before the law of God. Church, if we preach the law of God and people become frightened, people become uncomfortable. Amen. So churches, misguided churches and compromised preachers throughout the ages will leave off the law. But to leave off the law and just talk about the gospel, you have to modify the gospel too. You can't speak about the gospel purely as it is in scripture and leave off the law. You have to retrofit, you have to have a no law retrofit for the gospel. I just wrote what could we call it? A lawless gospel. It's the opposite of righteousness. It's lawless. But we learn too late sometimes that a tweaked gospel, that a lawless gospel is no gospel at all. The gospel requires the law. The preaching of the gospel requires the preaching of the law. I wrote in my notes that the gospel needs the law. I hope you know what I mean. What I mean is the preaching of the gospel requires the preaching of the law. Law and gospel must be preached together. The gospel is the cure, but the law diagnoses the disease. The law is the mirror that shows your dirty face. The law is the x-ray that discovers the sin sickness of your heart. The law speaks of, as Paul did here, self-control. Sinner, you look at your own heart, you look at your own mind, and you say, I have no self-control. All I know is self-indulgence. The law shows you your sin. Paul wrote in Romans 7, I would not have come to know sin except through the law. For I would not have known about covening if the law had not said, you shall not covent. But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me covening of every kind. The more you study the law of God, the more you see sin. The more you uncover sin you didn't even recognize. The law shows our sinfulness, but that is only half of what the law does. The law is the mirror to see your dirty face, the x-ray to see your sin sick heart, but the law is also a telescope to help us see from our sinfulness all the way to God's holiness. The Law of God is a reflection of God's character. The Law of God is a picture of God's perfection. The Law lets us see the standard, and God Himself is the standard. And anything less than the standard shown to us by the Law of God is sin. It is subpar. It is missing the mark. And by the Law, we see that God is perfect and holy. The preaching of the gospel must include the law, because when we come to Christ in faith, when we trust Christ, the law then lets us see the perfect righteousness that is imputed to us by faith. All the rigor of the law was completed, fulfilled, earned in His flesh by Jesus Christ. And it is that very righteousness, that fulfilling of the law that is placed to our account in salvation. The perfect, unbroken law of God is applied to us as our record of righteousness. when we believe in Jesus, repenting of our sin. It seems almost arrogant to say it, but we can never look to self. We have to say everything that is righteous in me is because of Christ. And before God, I am righteous. Because it is imputed. And what I earn, the stuff that I can't take credit for, That was placed on Jesus Christ on Calvary. That's what he bore. What a time, if there was a time, I mean, it seems silly to compromise the message just because somebody might give less to the church or somebody might go away. But if there was a time, boy, Paul's in it. He's between a rock and a hard place, right? He's in a real straight here. Couldn't he just compromise the message? Praise God, Paul did not compromise the message. He preached the same Christ and Christ crucified to Felix that he preached everywhere else. He preached law and gospel. He preached that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, missed the mark of God's perfect glory. And he might have even in their presence said, Phileas, Drusilla, this is for you. You are a sinner. Just like today, I will tell each and every one of you, you are a sinner deserving of hell. You have missed the mark of God's glory. But Jesus Christ is the Savior, the only Savior, and by his death, He paid our sin debt. He paid what we owed for sin. And by his life, he earned the righteousness that is applied to everyone who trusts in him by faith for salvation. Beloved Paul is an example for us of a faithful preacher, preaching an uncompromised gospel as he stood before Felix, the powerful covenant. But Felix is also an example for us today. Felix is a different kind of example. He's a cautionary. He's a warning for us. As Paul preaches and speaks of faith in Christ Jesus and righteousness and self-control and coming judgment, look at Felix' reaction. verse 25, but as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, go away for the present, go away for now. And when I find the time, I will summon you. Felix was frightened. And some of you may think that's enough just to be frightened, to know you're a sinner and to have concern about it. I've heard people say, well, I know I'm a sinner. Well, I know I'm a sinner and even to have concern about it. And some people think that's enough. Maybe you think, well, isn't that enough? That's not enough. Knowing you have cancer and being concerned about the cancer is not a cure for cancer. Knowing you're a sinner is not a cure. It's not salvation. It's not enough. Felix here is frightened. He's certainly convicted that he is a sinner, but Felix rises no higher than the demons. It is James who tells us that the demons, they tremble in fear about what they know about God, what they know about Jesus Christ. Demons know about Jesus and have an emotional reaction. For so many, that's the fullness of what we preach, right? You gotta know about Jesus and you gotta have some emotional reaction. It's not enough. Here, Felix has an emotional reaction. It's fear, but it's not enough because he's not repenting of his sin. He's not believing in Jesus Christ. It's not enough. Friend, having serious thoughts about your soul is not the saving of your soul. You must run to Jesus by faith. And don't delay. Felix says here, go away. When I find the time, I'll call you back. The King James says, when I find a convenient time, a more convenient season. He found it in this moment more convenient to hold on to his sin to hold on to his stubborn pride just a little longer. And I feel like he was convinced there will come a time, there will come a convenient time. And when we get to there, I'll call then. But we have no indication in all that we know about Felix that he ever found a convenient time. He put off trusting Jesus. for a better day. And he didn't realize that a better day wouldn't come. This this may have been the last time that he felt the conviction of God for sin. He never found a better day. And I said he's a cautionary for us. He's a warning for us center. Don't you be like feelings? Don't wait for a better day. The Bible tells us Today is the day of salvation. I used to wonder, how is it that the Bible says that? It was written 2,000 years ago. Today is the day of salvation. Well, when you read it, when you hear it, it's today. Today is the day of salvation. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Life is a vapor, a mist. It's here and gone in a second. You don't know if tomorrow will ever come. Don't wait for a better day. When tomorrow doesn't come, then it'll be too late. Believe in Jesus today for the saving of your soul. Paul is an example of a faithful preacher. is a cautionary. Don't put salvation off. In the text, God is still working providentially to bring Paul to Rome. And remember, he's already told Paul that's what he's doing. So Paul has this, he knows where he's going. No, no sense. Why would Paul bribe Felix to be released when he knows I'm going to Rome? Jesus told me I'm going to Rome. So God is working. Felix will soon be in the next section. Felix will be off the scene. And God will employ others to do his work. The last verse sets us up for what is to come. Verse 27, last verse of this chapter. But after two years had passed, Felix kept him there, listening to Paul. Two years. Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. See, in the end, he still perverted justice. He still finds this guy that there's no reason to hold him, but he's perverted justice to do the Jews a favor. But what we know is that that benefited him. Today, we have the example of Paul and we have the cautionary of Felix. God, we pray that you would convict sinners today. Convict them and that we are not, no, not one of us. Convict that judgment is coming. And convict them of the truth that today is the day of salvation. They should have a heart in their heart. Help them to hear the law. And God, we pray that you would make the law to work, to show them their own sin, Show them your holiness. Help sinners to hear the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ our Savior. We pray that you would grant the twin graces of faith and repentance today. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.