Our text tonight is probably one of the most preached-upon texts that you would find in the Word of God. There are many texts which gospel preachers have used over and over again, and the words of verse 28 are words which stand out in that connection. The words which King Agrippa said unto Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." At the very commencement of our message tonight, let me say that whether he was speaking to kings or to paupers, whether he was speaking to those who were in exalted positions or those who were slaves, the apostle Paul sought to bring to them the message of the gospel. He never changed his message with respect to the audience to whom he was speaking. He never sought to change the words so that they were watered down, but very clearly and very plainly, whether to the rich and the famous or to those who are less well-known and poor, he preached that same message of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. And the great lesson that we learned from the apostle who was perhaps the master preacher was this. that we should not change our message. We should not seek to water down our message. Our purpose and our preaching and the content and substance of our message should be the same no matter who it is we're speaking to. We should seek to tell them of Jesus Christ, of the one who is mighty to save. And of course, the great purpose of Paul's preaching was that those that would hear him would be saved. He presented Christ. He preached the gospel to them in the hope that they would believe upon Christ, for the intent that they would become Christians. You see, he did not preach. He did not have the purpose of gathering people into the Christian church. He did not seek to persuade men to any particular view. He sought to persuade them to become Christians. to believe on Christ. And surely today, we should not be seeking to persuade men to join the church. We ought not to be seeking with the purpose of bringing people merely into our denomination or into our local church. But our great purpose in presenting the gospel and evangelizing is that people would be saved. With the principal primary purpose, our preaching should be that men and women would repent of their sin and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. When we were building the new church in Dungannon, we put a number of texts about it, and one of the ones that we put on the notice board of the church for everybody to see was this, we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. And that's really what the Christian church is about. We're not preaching ourselves. We're not preaching for men to join with us. were preaching Christ that men should be saved. The Apostle Paul says, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. He said, elsewhere we preach Christ and him crucified. And that's what the substance of our message ought to be, with the purpose that they would come and trust Christ. What church they go to after that? Well, we have to pray that the Lord leads them to that place where they'll be fed and where they'll have a testimony. But the principal purpose is that we preach Christ to men and to women. Now in our text, perhaps the greatest preacher that the Christian church has ever known is standing before a king. King Agrippa is dressed in his royal robes. Paul is standing in his prison garments. The monarch stands in all the pomp of his position, while Paul stands chained by the irons of the prison house. And yet, despite his bonds and despite his royal audience, Paul preaches the gospel. He does not diminish from the gospel in any way whatsoever, but he preaches it as it is. And such is the preaching of the apostle that when he comes to bring it personally to the heart of the king, the king says unto him in our text, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. I want to look at those words tonight, and I want to look at the great theme that's in them, the theme of almost. being a Christian. Now the first thing I want you to notice from our text is that we must describe or define what a Christian is. We need to define a true Christian. We live in a day and an age when there are many who put themselves under the umbrella of being Christian. If you look at a dictionary or an encyclopedia, you will discover that under the title Christendom, there's all manner of different denominations, some of them sects, some of them cults, and they're all gathered together under the auspices of the Christian church. But what is a Christian? Well, let me say first of all, because sometimes it's better to point out what something is not, and then go on to say what it is. But a Christian is not merely a person who makes a profession. There are many people today, and when you talk to them, they say, I'm a Christian. But what they mean by a Christian is something totally different than what the scriptures point out. You can say that you're something, but not be that thing. For instance, tonight, I could come here and say, you know, I'm a king. It doesn't make me a king. I could tell you I had royal blood. It doesn't mean I have royal blood. I could come and tell you that I was a millionaire. I'm not, I'm just a poor preacher, but I could tell you that. And just because I say something, just because I identify or profess to be something, doesn't mean that I am. And there are many people today, and in their own eyes and in their own thoughts, they say, I am a Christian. But when you come to the word of God, and remember that the scriptures are the sole rule of faith and practice, the Bible says to the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, there is no light in them. We come to the court of God's word, and we find out what a Christian is. We find that many who say they are Christians are not Christians. not in the definition of God's word. And so simply saying you're a Christian, simply saying and making a profession that you are a Christian does not mean that you're a Christian. Let me also say that just because you do some of the things, engage in some of the practices that Christians do, doesn't make you a Christian. Christians pray. Well, you know, before Saul's conversion, he was a Pharisee. And the Pharisees were renowned for their long prayers. They prayed, but Paul still needed to be converted. He wasn't a Christian when he was a Pharisee. Far from it, he was persecuting the church. He was injurious towards the church of Christ. He was putting believers into prison. He was antagonistic against it. He was warmongering against the church, but he prayed. Let me tell you that there are people today, and they say because they pray, they're a Christian. They say because they— read the Bible, they're a Christian. Now there are practices that Christians do and they're good practices, don't get me wrong. But just because you go to church on a Sunday, just because you try and live a holy life, just because you read the Bible or say prayers does not mean that you are a Christian. For there's people who do that and they are not Christians, not by the definition of God's word. See, I could come tonight And I could get a bundle of hay, and I could start to chew on it. I could start to neigh, but it doesn't make me a horse. I can do the things that a horse does, if I wanted to, apart from jump fences. I can jump an odd gate, but I can't jump fences. But you could do things, but it doesn't make you that. Just because you could eat hay doesn't make you a horse. Just because you can make animal noises doesn't mean that you are one of those animals. And just because you do certain things that Christians do does not mean that you are a Christian. What is a Christian? Well, what does Paul tell us here? If you go to chapter 26 and the verse 18, Paul gives to us a wonderful definition of what Christians are. He tells us in verse 17 that the Lord has saved him to serve. That's a valuable lesson. When God saves us, he saves us to serve him. And Saul of Tarsus was saved, and the purpose in his salvation was that he would serve the Lord. And we are told here that God was going to send him unto the Gentiles, and he was sending them to the Gentiles for a purpose. The purpose was to present the gospel, and he gives us a definition here of what it is for a man to be saved, for a man to become a Christian. He tells us in verse 18 that he is sent to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance amongst them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. And he sets forth five things there which define what a true Christian is. What is a true Christian? Well, a true Christian is someone who has had their eyes opened to the truth. That's the very first thing. We said this morning that until a person recognizes that they are a sinner, they will never come to repentance and never come to faith in Jesus Christ. And so a man that is a Christian, first of all, is a person who's had his eyes opened to his spiritual standing before God. He sees himself as he is before God. He is naked, he is undone, he is unrighteous. He is ungodly. He is a sinner before God. His eyes have been opened. He stands as a sinner, condemned, unclean. And not only are his eyes open to what he is, his eyes are opened unto the way of salvation, for Christ is presented to him. He sees that his only hope in that sinful state, that his only plea as a man for salvation with regard to his standing before God is God's Son, Jesus Christ, the one who died at Calvary for him. His eyes have been opened. There are many people today, they just do not understand the gospel. They think Christ was an example. And yes, he is an example of self-denying love, but he's more than an example. He is the only one that has expiated sin. By his death upon the cross, he shed his blood to make atonement. And people don't grasp that. They only see him as an example of how to live. They don't see that he had to die. He had to shed his blood in order that we might be saved, that we might go to heaven. But a true Christian is one who's had their eyes opened to the truth. They realize that they're a sinner. They realize that Christ is the only Savior. They see that his sacrifice, the shedding of his blood, was the only means by which God could save them from sin. And they see that their eyes are opened. this conversion or transformation here, to turn them from darkness onto light. To turn them from darkness onto light. Men don't realise that there has to be this great transformation within their life. They have to be changed from within. There are people and they say, well, I need to change the way I live. I'll turn over a new leaf, or at the new year, they'll make a new year's revolution. No, that's trying to reform your character. This is regeneration. This is the work of God. The Lord said to Nicodemus, who was another Pharisee, he said, verily, verily, I say unto you, you must be born again. Literally, you must be born from above. God must do a work in your life. You must have that transformation. You must have that change wrought of God the Holy Ghost within your heart. So a true Christian, a true Christian is someone who's had their eyes open to the truth about sin and Christ and salvation through his death. Someone who has had the power of God the Holy Spirit work in their life, regenerating them, transforming them from within. There are someone who's been justified. You'll notice that it says here that they may receive forgiveness of sins. That's part of justification. Justification is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardoneth us of all our sins and he accepteth us as righteous in his sight. Pardoned of all our sins. That's what a true Christian is. Someone who has been pardoned of all their sins. Do you know your sins pardoned tonight? Those sins which call out for the wrath of God upon your soul, have they been pardoned? Have they been forgiven? The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, the scripture tells us, cleanseth us from all sin. Pardon sin. Declared to be righteous through the righteousness of Christ, pardoned of our sins. But there's more. That pardon is found by faith in Christ. Look at the very end. It says in verse 18, are sanctified by faith that is in me. Here's Christ speaking, it's the Lord. Christ appeared unto him in the Damascus road, and Christ said to him that it was by faith that is in me. Salvation is not in the church. Salvation is not in the ceremonies of the church or the rites of the church. It's not in good living. It's not in being a good neighbor. All those things are fine in their own place, but they don't save. They don't make a Christian. A Christian is someone who has exercised faith in Jesus Christ. They have recognized that they are a sinner. They have recognized that salvation is in Christ. They have recognized that they must trust in Him. And being born of the Spirit of God, they have come to Jesus Christ. They have by faith received, by faith believed on Him, and known in Him the pardon of their sins. And of course, the word sanctification is there. Sanctification means separated or set apart. Christ didn't come to save us in our sins. He came to save us from our sins. That's one of the vital mistakes that people make in this day and generation. They think they can have Christ in their sin. You cannot serve God and mammon. came to save us from our sins. Many years ago, when a man was saved, he was a drunkard, he poured the spirits down the sink. He took the cigarettes, he cast them on the fire. You know what it was? He was being saved from his sins. But today, many Christians think, well, if I say a little prayer, I can keep this life and be content for heaven. I don't believe that's salvation. That's not the work of God. He's not being transformed from darkness to light. But true Christianity, Your eyes are opened to the truth, you're converted by the Holy Ghost, you're pardoned of your sins, you have faith in Christ, you're set apart for a holy purpose unto God, to be a witness and testimony to Him. That's what it is to be a true Christian. Are you a true Christian? The definition of God's word, are you a genuine believer tonight? But then I want you to notice secondly, Not only do we define the true Christian, but we want to discover why Agrippa was only almost persuaded. Why was King Agrippa only almost persuaded? Well, it wasn't because of any fault in the preacher. It wasn't because of any fault in the preacher. Paul, when he went about preaching, he saw many people converted. You can read through the book of Acts and you can read through the epistles and there is account after account after account and mention after mention of individuals who were saved through the preaching of the apostle. No, the fault didn't lie with the preacher. The fault lay with Agrippa. And the fault lies with sinners today when they hear the gospel and reject and refuse Jesus Christ. The fault lies with them. Why was it that Agrippa was not saved? Well, first of all, there was his corruption. As you read through this passage, you discover that there was somebody by his side, and that somebody went by the name of Bernice. We didn't read the verse 30, but it says in verse 30, And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with him. Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us some unsavory stories surrounding Bernice. She was a woman whose heart was filled with lust, whose life was one of lasciviousness. And together Agrippa and Bernice plummeted the depths of depravity and of sin. And while Paul was speaking to King Agrippa, The woman that he had been involved with and was involved with was standing at his side, right beside him. When Paul was challenging King Agrippa, when Paul was speaking to him personally about what he believed, the woman that he had entered into a sinful relationship with was standing beside him. And I believe there was the pull of his sins, the corruption of his sins that kept him. I remember many years ago, I was a student in the theological hall, and I was in Antrim, living in Antrim at the time. And in the will of God, we were able to conduct a number of missions. But I remember doing one particular mission, and I came into contact with a man called Old Tom. Old Tom was an alcoholic, and Old Tom, I remember going to his house. Well, it was a wee flat, not far from where we had the mission, and if you lifted up the letterbox, if you put a match there, the house probably would have exploded with the smell of alcohol fumes. When you went into the house, you didn't see any furniture, just crates. He had sold his furniture for money so that he could buy drink. And he lived in a terrible state, and he came on occasions to the mission. And one night we were doing a mission elsewhere, some 10 miles or more outside of Antrim town where he lived, and old Tom turned up. I remember speaking to old Tom at the door, and I pleaded with him. I says, Tom, you know you need to be saved. And he says, I know, but I can't. I says, Tom, it's urgent that you need to be saved. I pressed upon him the necessity of salvation because he was bound by his sin. He could not break the habit of sin. He said, I know, but I can't. And he left that night. That was the Monday evening of the mission. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, they found old Tom lying on a bench in Antrim with his bottle in his hand, but dead. Within 48 hours, less than 48 hours of saying, I can't come to Christ, he died with a bottle in his hand. And friend, there are many people today, and it's their sin that keeps them from Christ. They're almost persuaded. They know they need to be saved. They know they need to trust Jesus Christ. They know they must come to him, but they can't give up their sin. They can't let go of the bottle, or they can't let go of the cigarettes, or they can't let go of the pleasures of this world. They just can't let go of them. And it'll take them to a lost eternity, almost. Thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Is that your state tonight, almost persuaded? But there's those things in your life, and but for those things you would be saved. But then, speaking of Bernice, we not only think of his corruption, but there is company there as well. Company. Bernice was there, she was a shameless woman. She was in a relationship with a gripper. He was associated with her in his sin. Standing beside him, there was Festus. Festus was the man, in verse 24, who, when Paul was speaking to the king, he cried out with a loud voice, interrupting the apostle, Thou art beside thyself, much learning doth make thee mad. In other words, King Agrippa, this man's lost his head. And not only was there Bernice and not only was there Festus, but Agrippa, historians tell us, was keeping in with Caesar. And Caesar happened to be Nero, who was opposed to the Church of Christ. And of course, he needed to keep him with Caesar. He needed to keep him with Nero. It was part and parcel of his position in the land as King Agrippa. And it was his company and the benefits of that company that kept him from trusting Christ, not just his sin, but the people around him. Evil communications spoil good manners, the Bible says. And so it is that the company we so often keep is a company which takes us. as it were from the gates of heaven through into the gates of hell. I remember talking to a woman one day and the tears were coming down her eyes. She was in her own home. Her husband was sitting there. Her name was Violet. And I said, Violet, you know you need to be saved. She says, I do. I says, Violet, would you be saved? She says, I would be saved. But she says, I want my husband to be saved too. And the tears were running like a river down her cheeks. Her heart was broken. She knew she needed to get right with God. And I turned to the husband and I said, Willie, what about yourself? I'm not going to be saved, he says. It's not for me. You know what Violet said? If Willie is not going to be saved, and she was breaking her heart, if Willie is not going to be saved, I'm not. I'm not. Her company kept her from Christ. And maybe tonight it is that you're here, you know the whole matter of the gospel inside out, you know that you need to be saved, but there's somebody in your life, not just something, but somebody in your life, and you're afraid of what they'll say, you're afraid of what they'll do if you come to Christ. But for that person. He'd be a Christian. But for that person, you would trust the Lord Jesus tonight. But for that person, you would enter into the kingdom of God and know your sins forgiven. Almost, thou persuadest me to be a Christian. But, there's that person, there's that pleasure. And then of course, there were his concerns. He was concerned about the whole concept of Christianity. You see what Paul says at the very end, verse 29? Agrippa says, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. You see, Agrippa had a concept of Christianity. As he looked at Paul in prison, Paul chained, Paul in bonds, Paul persecuted. His concept of Christianity was one that the Christians suffered. The Christians suffered for their faith. That's why Paul said, accept these bonds. That you would be a Christian a grifter apart from these bonds. For he had the concept that a Christian would suffer in this world. There's many people who have concerns about what it is to be a Christian. Sometimes it's because of persecution. Sometimes it's for other things. I remember a woman who worked in a public house. She was a bar attendant. She came and put her faith in Christ and she handed in a notice the next night. Said, I'm not going to serve the drink. because I have had a taste of the waters of life. She lost her job because she became a Christian. God blessed her, she got another job. But she could have very easily said, you know, I have a family to support. How can I be a Christian? I know that drinking is wrong. How can I become a child of God and then serve men with alcohol? She could have walked away, but she didn't. She walked away from her job instead. I remember going to visit a man in hospital. His name was Noel. And to cut the conversation short, I got talking to him. I knew his brother. His brother comes to Dungannon Church. And I said to Noel, tell me, would you be a Christian yourself? He says, no, I'm not. But he says, I think about it all the time. And he says, well, what keeps you? He says, I couldn't live it. He says, I've seen too many people say they're Christians and not live it out. He says, I don't want to be like that. That's why I'm not a Christian. He says, if I was a Christian, I want to be like my brother, Sam. He says, he's a true Christian. Now, of course, Sam hadn't been speaking to his brother about it for a while, because his brother had shown great antagonism against the gospel, and Sam had seen best to leave it. But his brother was in hospital. His brother had leukemia. His brother was dying. I spoke again with him, and he says, I couldn't keep it. And I said, Noel, how long are you going to have to keep it for? He says, you're not well, you're dying. I suppose you're right, he says. But he says, I still want to be like my brother, Sam. So I went home and I rung Sam. I said, Sam, do you see your brother? I do, he says, I'm going in tonight. I says, well, I want you to do something for me. When you go in to see your brother, I want you to talk to him about Christ. I says, he'll listen to you. Are you sure? I said, he'll listen to you. So anyway, Sam went to see his brother, and the next day Sam was telling me, he says, Mr. Fitton, I want to tell you thanks. He says, I went to see my brother, and he says, I asked him, would he like me to read the Bible with him? And he said he would love to, and we got talking, and he says, Mr. Fitton, the tears were coming down my eyes, and the tears were coming down my brother's eyes, and he came and he put his faith in Christ. And he was saved. I said, I just knew it, Sam. I says, he wanted to be a Christian like you, and you were the best man, the only man that could lead him to the Savior. And he had the joy of leading his brother. His brother was buried two weeks later, but he'd found Christ. But there are things, concerns that people put in the way of themselves coming to Christ. It might be the struggles. It might be their own failings. It might be what they don't think they're able to do, but they have concerns. And in the case of Agrippa and in the case of many others, their corruption, their company, their concerns so often keep them from Christ. What keeps you from Christ tonight? What prevents you coming to the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved? And then finally, and very briefly as our time has gone, there's the danger here of being only almost persuaded. If we're only almost persuaded, then we do not receive the blessings of heaven. It's very warm tonight. I had a drink before I came in, but I want to... There's water in there. Can you imagine me going through the desert? The sun is blazing down at me. I'm starting to get weary and tired, dehydrated. One thing I need is water. And I am fully persuaded that water will quench my thirst. And I'm fully persuaded that that water, as I walk through the desert, that water will keep me alive. It'll give me life. I'm persuaded. But I'm only almost persuaded if I don't take up the cup and drink it. And there's many a person. And they'll say, I know that Jesus Christ will save my soul. I know that He died and His blood has power to cleanse me of my sin. I know that He can bring me into the family of God. I am persuaded He's able to do it. But that's all. They never take the step of faith. They never drink of the waters of life by receiving Christ as Savior. And the same application can be made with a man who's hungry or in so many different ways. And that's what people are like. If you do not receive of Christ, if you do not by faith lay hold upon eternal life in Jesus Christ, you're only almost persuaded. For a man that is truly persuaded will lay hold on Jesus Christ. A man that is truly persuaded will come to Jesus Christ and know what it is to have his sins forgiven. You'll never have your thirst quenched, your hunger satisfied, your sins forgiven. If you're not persuaded to receive and in being persuaded, take Jesus Christ. That means that if you're only almost persuaded, you're still in your sins. You can do the gospel inside out. You can know its application inside out, but accept you have received of Jesus Christ, you're still in your sins. Being almost persuaded does not take away one sin. Being almost persuaded does not remove the smallest stain of sin or remove the smallest weight of guilt from off your soul. It doesn't take away the smallest iota of condemnation if you're only almost persuaded. You're still under the wrath of God because you're still in your sins. And if you're only almost persuaded, and if you die almost persuaded, the judgment of God will be upon your soul. Many years ago, there was two young men, youths, and they were down at the Liverpool Ship Canal. It's a dangerous place at the best of times. There are strange currents in the Liverpool Ship Canal. There are certain places where if you fell in, you wouldn't be found for many, many weeks, maybe months, because of the way the pressures work and the currents work in the canal. And these two youths were there at the canal, and one of the youths fell in, and his friend did his best to try and save him, but the friend drowned. And there was an inquest held into the young man's death. And the friend that was with him that day was called upon to give an account of what happened and what he had done to try and save his friend. And he told the inquiry that whilst he himself could not swim, he did his utmost, he found work, he could get further across the canal, a way of stretching out, and he says, I stretched out as far as I could, and I leant over, and I got my hand, and his hand was almost in my hand, I almost held him, I almost saved him, but I couldn't reach him, and although I was almost there, he drowned. And friend, are you almost there? Is your hand, the hand of faith, almost in the hand of Christ? Almost will not avail. Almost will fail. Almost is to be lost, to be lost forever in the darkness of sin and the sentence of sin. I close with the words of the apostle. And he said to Agrippa, after Agrippa said, almost thou persuadedst me to be a Christian, he said, I would to God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am. That's my prayer. Not that you would be almost persuaded. for that you will be altogether persuaded to be a Christian tonight. May God bless his word to our heart for his name's sake.