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I want you to turn with me tonight
in your Bibles to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 24. And
our overall theme in these nights has been the church ablaze. And
we have come to our 35th study, and we're looking tonight at
Paul the witness, and then Paul the defender. And we're moving
into the last few weeks of our Bible class. And we're also moving
into the last few weeks on this series in the book of Acts. And
we hope to soon finish the book of Acts. And when we have finished
the book of Acts, our Bible class will be over for the session. And we're reading this evening
from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 24. And we're reading,
please, at verse 1. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter
24. And we're reading at verse 1. Paul has been taken in Jerusalem. He has been nearly beaten to
death by the Jews. He has been rescued by the Roman
tribune, Claudius Lysias. He has been taken to Caesarea
overnight. And now the Jews come down from
Jerusalem to try the apostle Paul and lay accusations against
him. And after five days, Ananias,
the high priest, descended with the elders and with a certain
orator named Tertullus. who informed the governor against
Paul. And when he was called forth
to Tullus, began to accuse him, saying, Saying that by thee we
enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto
this nation by thy providence, we accept it always and in all
places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Notwithstanding
that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou
wouldst hear us of thy clemency a few words. That's what I would
call a waffler. That's flattery. That's laying
it on thick at its best. Verse 5, We have found this man
a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews
throughout all the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the
Nazarenes, who hath also gone about to profane the temple,
whom we took and would have judged according to our law. But the
chief captain, Lysias, came upon us, And with great violence took
him away out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come unto thee,
by examining of whom thyself may take us knowledge of all
these things, whereof we accuse him. And the Jews also assented,
saying that these things were so. They purged themselves, one
elder after another. Then Paul, after that the governor
had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know
that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do
the more cheerfully answer for myself, because that thou mayest
understand that there are yet but twelve days since I went
up to Jerusalem for to worship. And they neither found me in
the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people,
neither in the synagogues, nor in the city, neither can they
prove the things whereof they now accuse me. But this I confess
unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship
I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written
in the law and the prophets. and have hope toward God, which
they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection
of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. And herein
do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense
toward God and toward men. Now, after many years, I came
to bring alms to my nation and offerings. That's an important
verse. That was Paul's purpose in Jerusalem. to bring a love offering from
the Gentile churches to the needy saints in Jerusalem. You see,
it wasn't Paul's responsibility, as I'm going to show you tonight,
to witness to the Jews in Jerusalem. The Lord had told him to get
out of Jerusalem. That was the responsibility of the saints
in Jerusalem. Paul says, I didn't come. I'm
the apostle to the Gentiles. I have come to bring a love offering
from the Gentiles to the needy saints in Jerusalem. whereupon
certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither
with multitude nor with tumult. Who ought to have been here before
thee, and object if they had ought against thee, or else let
these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in
me, while I stood before the council. Except it be for this
one voice that I cried, standing among them, touching the resurrection
of the dead, I am called in question by you this day." That's an important
statement. You see, the apostles not only
preached the death of Christ, they preached the resurrection
of Christ. We have been taught in this church down through the
years to get people to the cross. That's wonderful. But don't leave
Christ on the cross. Don't leave him on the cross.
He's risen. And that was the message of the apostles. Not
only the death of Christ, not only the burial of Christ, but
the resurrection of Christ. That's the dominant theme in
the book of Acts. He lives. And when Felix heard
these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred
them and said, when Lysias the chief captain shall come down,
I will know the uttermost of your matter. He never really
did send for him. And he commanded the centurion
to keep Paul and to let him of liberty, and that he should forbid
none of his acquaintance to minister or to come unto him. And after
certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which
was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the
faith in Christ. And as he, Paul, reasoned of
righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled
and answered, Go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient
season, I will call for thee. He hoped also that money should
have been given of Paul, that he might lose him. Wherefore
he sent for him the offner, and communed with him. But after
two years, Porcius Festus came into Felix's room, and Felix,
willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul by. John Chrysostom
was one of the greatest of the Greek church fathers. He lived
from the year 347 to 407 AD. As a very young Christian, John
Chrysostom was brought before the emperor who said that if
he didn't give up Jesus Christ, he would banish him from the
country. Chrysostom replied, You cannot, for the whole world
is my father's land. You cannot banish me. The emperor
said, Then I will take away all your property. Chrysostom said,
You cannot, for my treasures are in heaven. Then said the
Emperor, I will take you to a place where there is not a friend to
speak to. Trofsostom replied, You cannot,
for I have a friend who is closer than a brother. I shall have
Jesus Christ forever. The Emperor finally threatened,
Then I will take away your life. The answer was, You cannot, for
my life is hid with God in Christ. And the Emperor confessed, What
do you do with a man like that? It's easy to believe, isn't it,
when everything is fine? But when the fire is hot, that's
different. I wonder, are you in the furnace
right now? Today there is an escalating
hostility toward the gospel throughout the world. In some parts of our
world this evening, there is a direct persecution of believers,
and it is likely in the coming years that Christians everywhere
will continue to face this increasing hostility, both from civil authorities
and from unbelievers on a personal level. Let me share a promise
with you that may not be as exciting as some of the rest, but nonetheless
it's true. Paul says, All that live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Did you get it?
Yes. All that live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution. You say to me tonight, well,
I'm a Christian and I'm not suffering persecution. Well, look at the
promise. You make up your mind tonight
that you're going to live for the Lord, and you're going to
live like the Lord, and you'll suffer. No man suffered more
for the Lord Jesus than the Apostle Paul. Indeed, he was called,
he was chosen to suffer. You remember what the Lord said
to Ananias, I will show him how great things he must suffer for
My namesake. Now, the book of Acts records
the history of the church. from the day of Pentecost, the
day when the church was born, until it brought its message
to the great capital of the world, the city of Rome itself. And
during those early years, many exciting things happened. Two
people dominated those early years in the church, the Apostle
Peter and the Apostle Paul. Peter dominated the first half
of the book of Acts. Paul dominated the second half
of the book of Acts. And this passage that we have
read together this evening takes place in the midst of the story
of Paul, the man who took the gospel to the Gentiles. We have
discovered that Paul took three missionary journeys to the Gentiles.
And as we come to this passage tonight, we realize that he has
just completed his third tour. He's no longer a free man. Paul
is a prisoner. You remember that when he arrived
in Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey, he
tried to pacify the Jews by going to the temple. James, one of
the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, and the elders of
the church in Jerusalem, suggested to Paul that he should go to
the temple to show the Jewish believers in Jerusalem that he
wasn't anti-Jewish. Because he still believed in
some of the customs of Israel. You remember that while Paul
was in the temple, some of the Jews from Asia Minor saw him
and they tried to kill him. Let me just refresh your memory.
Flip back to chapter 21. Chapter 21. Chapter 21. Verse 27, And when the seven
days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, probably
from Ephesus, when they saw him, Paul, in the temple, stirred
up all the people and laid hands on him. Crying, Men of Israel,
help! This is the man that teacheth
all men everywhere against the people and the law in this place,
and further brought Greeks also in the temple, and hath polluted
this holy place. for they had seen before with
him in the city Trophimus, an Ephesian, whom they supposed
that Paul brought into the temple. And all the city was moved, and
the people ran together, and they took Paul and drew him out
of the temple, and forthwith the doors were shut. And as they
went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of
the band, that all Jerusalem was an uproar, who immediately
took soldiers and centurions and ran down unto them. And when
they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating
of Paul. You see, here were the Jews,
and they were trying to kill the Apostle Paul. Claudius Lysias,
the tribune, and the Roman soldiers rescued him. He stood before
the Jewish Sanhedrin, and they were ready to pull him in pieces.
And then there was a plot to kill his life. And so Paul is
taken from the city of Jerusalem, and he is taken down to the coast
city of Caesarea. And as we open chapter 24, tonight
Paul is in Caesarea. His ministry as a prisoner of
the Lord Jesus took place in three cities. Jerusalem, Caesarea
and Rome. He spent only a few days in the
city of Jerusalem. He spent two years in the city
of Caesarea before he was sent to Rome. Now, do you notice how
chapter 24 begins? Look at verse 1. And after five
days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders and
with a certain orator named Tertullus. They descended. In the Bible
record, when people go up to Jerusalem, they always go up.
But when they go down from Jerusalem, they always go down. And that
explains why this Jewish party descended to Caesarea. Like a
flock of vultures, they were descending on their prey because
they wanted to kill the Apostle Paul. Now, those of you who have
been to Israel have visited the coastal city of Caesarea. It
was built in the last two decades prior to the birth of the Lord
Jesus, and it was built by Herod the Great. It became the headquarter
city for the Roman governors of the region. It was built at
great expense. It included an artificial harbor
that protected sailing ships from incoming storms. A massive
aqueduct, which is still standing, brought fresh water from Mount
Carmel some 20 miles away. And you remember that Caesarea
was the home of Cornelius the Centurion, and it was the home
of Philip the Evangelist, and it's here in this coastal city
of Caesarea that Paul is held for two years. You'll notice
the story opens with the accusation of the Jews. Now, all of these
accusations that were brought against the Apostle Paul were
lies. But that's to be expected. You
see, if you're going to live a godly life in the face of a
non-godly world, you're going to suffer persecution. Paul suffered
false accusations, but he could say that he was blameless. Did
you notice that these charges were brought against the Apostle
Paul by the Jews before the powerful governor? Verse 1. who informed
the governor against Paul. Can you see his name in chapter
23? In chapter 23 and verse 26, you
can see his name. Claudius Lysias, he was the Roman
tribune. Unto the most excellent governor
Felix sendeth greeting. His name is Felix. Actually,
his name is Antonius Felix. He was the first free slave in
the history of the Roman Empire to become the governor of a Roman
province. That would have been quite a
distinction had he earned it. But that was not the case. As
a child, Felix, along with his brother Pallas, had been freed
by Antonio, the mother of Prince Claudius, a future Caesar. And
as they grew up, Pallas, the brother of Felix, became a close
friend of Claudius, so much so that when Claudius became the
Roman emperor in the city of Rome, Pallas persuaded him to
make Felix a government official in Palestine under the name of
a man by commoners. When Commodus was disposed, Felix
obtained his office through shameful intrigue. My friends, here was
a man who was steeped in the blood of private murder and public
massacre. Indeed, according to verse 26,
this was a treacherous and unjust man. Josephus, the Jewish historian,
tells us that Felix repeatedly crucified the leaders of various
uprisings. The Roman historian Heraclius
described him as a master of cruelty and lust who exercised
the power of a king with the spirit of a slave. My dear friends,
finally the corruption of Felix's room became so great that Nero
back in Rome, who was no model of morality himself, recalled
the governor. My friends, he would have been
executed. If his brother hadn't have been present in the city
of Rome and pleaded on his behalf, and this is the man, this is
the powerful governor whom Paul now stands before." So, these
charges were brought against Paul by the Jews before the powerful
governor. You'll notice that these charges
were brought by the Jews against Paul by the professional lawyer. Look at verse 1. After five days,
Ananias the high priest descended with the elders and with a certain
orator named Tertullus." Now, verse 1, in verse 1 you can see
the accusers identified. Have a look at them. Ananias
is mentioned first. He was a corrupt high priest.
He saw Paul as a threat, and so he wanted to get rid of him.
And that's why he was part of the entourage that traveled to
Caesarea to accuse Paul. You can see here not only Ananias,
you can see the elders, the leaders of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme
Court of the Jews. Ananias, the elders, Tertullus. You see, Roman law was just as
complex as our modern law, and it took an expert to understand
it and to apply it successfully to his client's case. You'll
notice there was flattery here. It was common, you see, for orators
in those days to do what Tertullus did. Look at verse 2 again. He
says, saying, that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that
very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence.
We expect it always, and in all places, most noble Felix with
all thankfulness. He's laying the flattery on the
thing. We might say he's doing a soft
soap job. He's buttering Felix up with
flattery. He talked about Felix bringing
great peace and doing great deeds. And they were marked by great
thankfulness. I can almost see the Jewish leaders
staring in disbelief. They could never have said what
Tertullus did with a straight face. Remember, the Jews hated
the Romans. The Jews hated the Roman governor. But you wouldn't know it from
the way that Tertullus was laying it on thick. Now, Felix wasn't
stupid. Felix knew that what Tertullus
said wasn't true, but I think he enjoyed listening to the flattery
because he knew that the Jewish leaders had to stand there and
endure what Tertullus said about him. He just liked it. Do you remember Herod was the
same? You remember that as he sat on his throne and gave a
speech, the people flattered him. And they said, it's not
the voice of a man, it's the voice of God. Herod loved Priest,
even though he knew that it wasn't true. And it was the same with
Felix. Here is a man who is trying to
influence Felix with flattery, with the hope that the governor
would rule in his fever. It raises the question, does
it not, Is flattery acceptable for a Christian? You see, when
you flatter someone, you do or say something which is beyond
the truth to elicit, to gain something for yourself. People
don't flatter those who can't give them anything. They only
flatter those who can. And my dear friend, sad to say
it works, but it's wrong for the Christian. The book of Proverbs
says, a flattering mouth worketh ruin. The psalmist says, the
Lord will cut off all flattering rips. You say, what's wrong with
flattery? It's not the truth. It's not the truth. Flattery
is a means of gaining something for yourself. It is marked by
self-indulgence and selfishness. Many people think if you want
anything in life, you have to get it anyway you can. There
are some people who think if the church needs to build a new
building, then you need to flatter people who've got a lot of money.
There are preachers who stand in the pulpit, and when they
preach, they love to drop neoms. You know that type of preacher.
It's a form of flattery. I wonder, have you ever used
flattery to gain your own den? Do you find that those occasions
when you use it are frequent or infrequent? Have you flattered
someone recently? You'll notice there was flattery
here, but look again, there was falsehood here. I mean, all of
these accusations that were brought against the Apostle Paul were
lies. Both Tertullus and Felix knew
that the things they said were not true. You see, if the introduction
was full of falsehood, then the accusations were full of falsehood. Indeed, when you compare Luke's
account of Paul's arrest with Tertullus' account of Paul's
arrest, you can see there's a mighty difference. Now, Tertullus brought
three charges against the Apostle Paul. Have a look at them. You'll
notice there was a personal charge. Paul was accused of sedition.
Look at verse 5. We have found this fellow a pestilent
fellow and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout
the world. Sedition could be translated
treason. My dear friends, if only they
could get this charge to stick, the Apostle Paul would be in
deep trouble with the Romans. The freest pestilent fellow can
be translated a nuisance. They just considered the Apostle
Paul to be a pain in the neck. They considered the Apostle Paul
to be a nuisance, an irritant to the Jews everywhere. And of
course they were hoping to get some sympathy from Felix. suggesting
that Paul could disturb the Roman peace. They accused Paul of stirring
up the Jews nationally against Rome. Now, don't ever forget
the Romans were paranoid about revolutions. They were paranoid
about insurrections. They were paranoid about riots
in their foreign country. And that's why they placed governors
and rulers and soldiers in those places to keep the Roman peace. Actually, this accusation had
some basis in fact. Old Vance Havner, the American
preacher, used to say, everywhere Paul went there was either a
riot or a revival. Paul would preach a sermon and
then someone would get excited and stir up a riot. But Paul
himself didn't stir up a riot, though he was always around them
when they occurred. The people who created dissension
in response to what Paul preached were actually responsible. Isn't
it interesting to notice what the Roman Tribune had to say
about Paul? Look at his letter for a moment. Verse 20, chapter
23 and verse 26. The Roman Tribune is writing
a letter to Felix concerning Paul. Verse 27, this man, chapter
23, verse 27, this man Paul was taken of the Jews and should
have been killed of them. Then came I with an army and rescued
him, having understood that he was a Roman. And when I would
have known the case wherefore they accused him, I brought him
forth into their council, whom I perceived to be accused of
questions of their law, but to have nothing led to his charge
worthy of death or of bonds." Isn't that interesting? In other
words, the Roman tribune is writing to Felix, the Roman governor,
and he's saying, listen, this is not a legal matter. This is
not a civil matter. This is strictly a theological
matter between them. Now, what I find interesting
in the book of Acts is this, that when Christians were put
on trial for preaching Christ, they were not regarded as political
insurrectionists. Did you ever think of the number
of trials that are recorded in the book of Acts? There's Paul
standing in Acts 18 in Corinth and he's standing before the
Roman governor Galileo and now Paul's standing before Felix
and next week he's going to stand before Festus and then he's going
to stand before a sort of a Jewish king who's named Agrippa and
Peter and John are standing before the Jewish Sanhedrin. Now, why
did the Holy Spirit of God include all of these details of all of
these trials in the book of Acts? For when you come to these closing
chapters in the book of Acts, there is not much doctrine. There
is trial after trial. There is defense after defense.
There is accusation after accusation. Why does the Holy Spirit of God
do this? To show that in every case believers
were innocent of any violation of civil law. My friends, Christianity
is not political treason. You remember the words of the
Sea of Uriander, therefore to Caesar the things which are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's. Paul himself says, the
powers that be are ordained of God. We are going to see next
week that Paul made an appeal to go to Caesar. You say, who
was the Caesar in Rome? The madman Nero himself. And
yet, Paul says, the powers that be or ordained of God. Peter says, Submit yourselves
to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be
to kings as supreme or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by
Him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that
do well. My friends, we should be law-abiding
citizens. Only when you live in a society
that makes laws that violate the laws of God do you have the
right to choose to obey God or man, and you should always choose
to obey God. And so the first charge is a
personal charge. Paul was accused of sedition.
Look at the second charge. It was a political charge. Paul
was accused of sectarianism. Now look at verse 5, the last
phrase, "...and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes."
Of course, this was a reference to the followers of Jesus, the
Nazarene. What these accusers were doing
was simply this, they were accusing Paul of heresy. That was quite
a title, the sect of the Nazarene. Do you recall what Nazareth was
like in Christ's day? Do you remember when Philip was
converted? and called his friend Nathanael to come and meet the
Lord Jesus. Nathanael said, Can any good
thing come out of Nazareth? You see, back in that day, Nazareth
was despised. Nazareth was rejected. It had
a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles. The people spoke a
rough dialect. Some of the rebels in that day
lived in Nazareth. Nazareth, as we would say, was
on the other side of the town. It was an uneducated place. It
was a backward town. I was thinking of an equivalent
today, but I'll not say anything. So, when you call someone a Nazarene,
it was a slur. The Lord Jesus was called Jesus
of Nazareth six times in the book of Acts. But this is the
only time His disciples were called Nazarene. They looked
down upon the Christians. They said, these people are identified
with Jesus of Nazareth. My friend, never be ashamed of
Christ. Don't ever be ashamed to be identified with Him. Don't
ever be ashamed to take up the cross and follow Him. There was a personal charge.
They accused Paul of sedition. There was a political charge.
They accused Paul of sectarianism. Look at verse 6. There was a
doctrinal charge. They accused Paul of sacrilege. Who also,
verse 6, hath gone about to profane the temple? Now, of course, we
know that that's a repetition of the early accusation that
Paul had taken a Gentile into the inner court of the temple.
He hadn't done it, but they accused him of it. They even tried to
kill Paul. But that was a ridiculous attempt,
because the law said that the Gentile who entered the temple
was to be killed, not the one who brought him in. And so the
facts were twisted again. Indeed here, Tertullus softens
the charge. The Asian Jews had accused Paul
of polluting the temple, chapter 21. Here, Tertullus accuses Paul
of protraining the temple. You say, why the change? Well,
for one thing, they couldn't prove the charges. For another
thing, the Asian Jews who started this mess had now vanished. You
see, my dear friends, if there are no witnesses, there can be
no court, there can be no trial, there can be no evidence, there
can be no conviction. You see what happened after Tertullus
led the charges. Verse 9, And the Jews also assented,
saying that these things were so. One elder after another from
the Jewish Sanhedrin purged themselves. They called themselves lovers
of God. They called themselves lovers of the law. And yet they
blatantly lied to preserve the religion and execute a man they
didn't want around. Now these were the accusations
of the Jews. And is this not what we should
expect? I was thinking about the words of the Lord Jesus,
Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you
and say all manner of evil against you. If you and I are going to
live a godly life in an ungodly society, we'll receive some flack. If you and I are not receiving
some flack because of the godly lives we're living, then we're
not living a godly life. The accusations of the Jews Now,
notice the answer of the apostle. I'm sure you've noticed this.
How these persecuted Christians used their persecution to good
effect. You see, what they did was this.
Their sufferings became the platform from which they declared and
demonstrated the power of the gospel. They were ready to give
an answer. Peter says, Be ready always to
give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope
that is in you with meekness and fear, having a good conscience,
that whereas they speak evil of you as evildoers, they may
be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. Here we see Paul responding to
the charges. Here we have a clear and bold
denial and a frank statement of the facts. Notice, there is
courtesy here, but not flattery. There is truth, but not falsehood.
There is fairness, but not malice. There is respect, but not contempt. There is argument, but not abuse.
Paul's reply was courteous, it was calm, it was challenging.
Now, Paul didn't have a lawyer. Paul didn't have a human lawyer
like Tertullius. Paul didn't have a lawyer or
a solicitor or a barrister standing by his side like Tertullus, who
knew the Roman law, who knew the Roman courts, but he had
someone better than a human lawyer. You remember that when the Lord
Jesus was saying goodbye to His disciples in the upper room,
He told them that when He ascended the Father and He would send
them what? Another comforter. And the Greek word for comforter
is parakletos. It means one called alongside
to help. It could be translated a lawyer
for the defense. My friends, Paul didn't have
a human lawyer, but he had a heavenly lawyer humbling his pleas. Now
notice what he does. He does three things. One, he
denies being a troublemaker. That was his response to the
accusation of sedition. Now look at what Paul says here.
He says three things. One, he says there was no time.
Follow his argument. Verse 11, Because that thou mayest
understand that there are yet but twelve days since I went
up to Jerusalem for to worship. Paul had been in the area for
twelve days. That's what he's saying. He had
spent five of them according to verse 1 of Caesarea. The maximum
he had spent in Jerusalem was seven days. Paul says, I haven't
had the time to start a riot. Felix, check the chronology. Were there any riots in the city
of Jerusalem the week that I was there? Answer, no. Paul says there was no time.
And then look at verse number 12. Paul says there was no riot.
And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any
man." That word, disputing, refers to reasoning. It refers to arguing. Now, here's the interesting thing.
Paul disputed in every place except the city of Jerusalem.
I want you to get that. When he was throughout his three
missionary journeys, we saw him. The first place he went to was
into the synagogue. And he disputed. And he argued
with the unbelieving Jew. But here's the interesting thing.
When he came to the city of Jerusalem, he did not engage in any dialogue
in the city or the temple. Do you know why? Because he wasn't
the apostle to the Jews. He was the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul was not responsible for
bringing the gospel in Jerusalem. His only goal and objective in
going up to the city of Jerusalem was to bring the love offering
that he had collected from the Gentile churches to bring it
to the needy saints in Jerusalem. Paul hadn't raised a crowd anywhere
in Jerusalem. And so he says to the governor,
listen, there's no time, there was no riot. There's no proof.
Look at verse 13. Neither can they prove the things
whereof they now accuse me. If you don't have proof, if you
don't have evidence, you don't have a case. My dear friends, it should
have been thrown out of court for that reason alone. Paul had
done nothing treasonous. And so Paul denies being a troublemaker. Notice he takes the second accusation. Paul denies being a ringleader.
That was his response to the accusation of sectarianism. Look at verse 14. He says this, which they call heresy. So worship
I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written
in the law and in the prophets, and of hope towards God, which
they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection
of the dead, both of the just and the unjust." Tertullus had
derisively referred to the believers as Nazarenes. Paul called Christianity
the way. You know that, don't you? That
in the book of Acts, Christianity is called the way. the way. I confess unto thee
that after the way." That was a title for Christianity. You say, where did it come from?
It came from the Lord Jesus. It was the Lord Jesus who said,
I am the way, the truth, and the light. No man cometh unto
the Father but by me. And Paul admitted being a member
of the way, which they call heresy. Now let me take you into the
first century. Roman territory again. You see, the Roman government
was tolerant of any religious movements as long as they were
peaceful and did not underpin or undermine, rather, the authority
of Caesar in Rome. Paul had as much right to follow
the way as the Jews had to follow Judaism. Moreover, did the roots
of the way not flow out of, not spring from the soil of Judaism?
I mean, both believed in God. Both embraced the law and the
prophets. Both believed in the resurrection, at least the Pharisees
did. I want you to see what Paul is
doing here. He was erasing the picture that
Tertullus had painted of him as a radical. Far from being
a heretic, Paul was more orthodox than his accusers. He served
the God of his fathers. He believed in the inspiration
of the entire Old Testament. He accepted everything that had
taught something that his accusers, the Sadducees, didn't. And so,
Paul is answering these choices. He's been charged of sedition. And Paul says, I'm not a troublemaker.
He's been charged of sectarianism, and Paul says, I'm not a ringleader.
And then the third charge, he's been charged of sacralese, and
Paul says, I'm not a blasphemer. Look at verse 17. He says, After
many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings whereupon
certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither
with multitude nor with shemo. You see, the Jewish leaders accused
the Apostle Paul of profaning the temple, which was tantamount
to blaspheming God. Now, notice how Paul responds.
Paul responds by pointing to a practical issue. Why was he
in Jerusalem in the first place? Verse 17, After many years I
came to bring alms to thy nation in offering. He had collected
money from the Gentile Christians in his three missionary journeys,
and he was bringing this as a love gift to the needy saints in Jerusalem.
He responds by pointing to a practical issue. You'll notice that he
responds by pointing to a ceremonial issue, verse 18. when the Asian
Jews saw him in the temple. He was with men who were just
about to fulfill their Nazarite vows. How could Paul possibly
be worshipping God and profaning God's house at the same time?
Paul was simply carrying out his vow when these Jews from
Asia seized him. And so Paul's responding to this
charge of sacrilege, and he's pointing to a practical issue,
verse 17, and he's pointing to a ceremonial issue, verse 18,
and he's pointing to a legal issue, verse 19, who ought to
have been here before the inobject, if they had ought against me.
He's asking the Jewish leaders, where are your witnesses? You
say, I was desecrating the temple. Who says so? Where are the eyewitnesses
who saw me take a Gentile into the inner court of the temple?
There weren't any because he hadn't done it. And so Paul's
responding to this charge of sacrilege by pointing to a practical
issue, by pointing to a ceremonial issue, by pointing to a legal
issue. And then in verse 21, he points
to a theological issue. except it be for this one voice
that I cried standing among them, touching the resurrection of
the dead, I am called in question by you this day." That was the
only thing that they could accuse Paul of, the resurrection. And
my dear friends, that wasn't a theological matter, or that
wasn't a criminal matter, that was a theological matter. And
theological matters were never decided by Roman courts. There
was no crime with which to try Paul. And when Paul stood before
Felix and had finished. Felix knew he was telling the
truth and the opposition had no case against him. Now, here's
the interesting thing. Felix could have let Paul go,
but he didn't. You see, Roman governors lived in fear of the
Jews. You see, the Jews were the ones
that were pulling the strings behind the scenes. When a Roman
governor, for instance, when Pilate came into the city of
Jerusalem, when he arrived in the city of Jerusalem, he arrived
with idols upon his shields, and he was going to put idols
all over the city of Jerusalem. And the Jews reported Pilate
to the Roman emperor back in Rome, and Pilate had to take
all the idols down. And from that day forth, Pilate
was under the thumb of the Jews. That's why he faced the dilemma.
What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? That's
why Felix faced this dilemma. That's why Festus faced the dilemma. They were under the thumb of
the Jews. The Jews could report them. They would lose their job.
Moreover, there was a possibility that they could lose their life.
Now, look at the action of the governor. You see, this was the
end of the hearing before Felix, but it was only the beginning
of Paul's relationship with the governor. My friends, if ever
there was a man who failed personally and officially, that man was
Felix, governor of Judea. Notice that he acted politically.
Verse 22, And when he heard these things, having more perfect knowledge
of that way, he deferred. I mean, what was the only appropriate
verdict that Felix could have given? Innocent. Innocent. You see, Felix was
responsible for keeping order among his Jewish constituency. And if they created unrest, or
if they reported him to Rome, Felix could have been replaced
as the governor. As I have said already, Pilate
had the same problem with Christ. Pacifying the Jewish leadership
was no easy job. And so Felix did what many politicians
do, nothing. He compromised. I'm not saying
that all people in public office do that, but I'm saying that
some do. I mean, he knew Paul was innocent, but he straddled
the fence. Sometimes politicians do that.
They straddle the fence. Sometimes, you know, church elders
and pastors and elders do that. They straddle the fence. They're
afraid of offending this one or that one instead of standing
just for the truth. Let me ask you tonight, what
Felix did politically are you doing spiritually? Are you compromising? Are you giving in to the world,
the flesh and the devil? Things that you would never have
tolerated years ago are now embedded in your life. Here's a man and
he's acting politically. But look again, here's a man
and he's acting leniently. He did give Paul certain privileges.
Paul had limited freedom in the palace in Caesarea. He was chained
to a soldier. He was ministered unto by his
friends. Look at the last verse of the
chapter. After two years, Portius Festus came into Felix's room,
and Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. Paul remained in prison in Caesarea
for two years. Now, here's my question, why?
Why did the Lord allow him to remain in Caesarea, in prison,
for two years? I mean, during those two years,
we have no record of Paul ever writing anything, an epistle,
a letter. We have no record of Paul ever preaching to anyone.
Can you imagine the Apostle Paul not writing or preaching for
two years? Why did the Lord allow this? Why did the Lord allow Paul to
be confined in the palace at Caesarea for two years? This
is only my suggestion. I wonder was it because that
Paul needed to come apart and rest away. I say that because
of verse 23. Look at it. And he commanded
the centurion to keep Paul, to let him of liberty, then that
he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or to
come unto him. You think of what the apostle
had been through. He had gone through Three missionary journeys. Every city he went to, there
was a riot or revival. He was attacked. He was left
for dead at Lystra or at Derbe. You remember, my dear friends,
he was nearly killed in the city of Jerusalem. He was harangued.
He was harassed. He was nearly killed. He was
beaten. He was suffering. And now the Lord gets him in
Caesarea and He's saying, Paul, come apart and rest a while.
Philip the Evangelist came round quite often and ministered to
him. There were many believers in the area of Caesarea who spent
some time with him. Paul had been always ministering
to them, and now others are coming and ministering to him. Do you
ever do that? Do you ever minister to the servants
of God who minister to you? Do you refresh them? Do you encourage
them? Do you strengthen their hand
in God? Do you remember, my dear friends, that's what David and
Jonathan did. They strengthened their hand
in God. And here's the Roman governor,
Felix, and he's acting politically, and yet he's acting leniently.
And if you look at verse 24, he's acting curiously. After
certain days, when Felix came with his wife, Rusilla, which
was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the
faith in Christ. Felix may have had his exposure to Christianity
through Drusilla. You see, Drusilla was the daughter
of Herod Agrippa, the man who killed James the brother of John
with the sword and incarcerated the apostle Peter. I mean, Herod
and Drusilla would have been familiar with the beginnings
of Christianity. Historians tell us that Drusilla was married
to the king of Emesa, which was a part of Syria. But like so
many wives today, she didn't find Azizah's very exciting.
And she won the affections of Felix with the help of a magician
called Otaminus, eventually becoming Felix's illicit lover. According
to historians, she was supposed to be a raving beauty, barely
twenty years of age, And here they were sitting before the
apostle Paul, these illicit lovers, living in sin. But when they
sat before the great apostle, they got more than they bargained
for. Did you notice? Like any good Baptist preacher,
Paul had three points. Did you notice that? Verse 25,
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment of God,
Here is the apostle standing before these two who are living
in sin. And he says, your past is unclean. You need Christ's righteousness
upon you. Your present is unchaste. You
need Christ's Spirit within you. Your future is uncertain. You
need Christ's promise to you. Is that not bold preaching? I
mean, Paul is not pulling any punches. He's not beating around
the bush. Here's the great apostle Paul,
and he's speaking personally and pointedly and practically
and powerfully. And this wasn't the message that
this illicit couple wanted to hear. I was reading about Hugh
Latimer, who was an English reformer who often preached before King
Henry VIII. And on one occasion, Latimer stood before Henry the
king and said something that offended the king, and he was
told to come back the next Sunday and preach another message and
apologize to the king. The next Sunday, after reading
his text and passage, Latimer began his message this way. I'm
going to speak with myself at the beginning of this message.
Hugh Latimer, dost thou know before whom thou art this day
to speak? to the high and mighty monarch, the king's most excellent
majesty, who can take away thy life. If thou offend'st, therefore,
take heed, you latimer, that thou speak'st not a word that
may displease. But then consider well this,
you latimer, dost thou not know from whence thou comest? upon
whose message thou art sent, even by the great and mighty
God, who is all-present, who is all-powerful, and who beholds
all thy ways, and is able to cast thy soul into hell. Therefore
take heed, you Latimer, that thou deliverest thy message faithfully."
He then stood before King Henry VIII, and he preached the same
message that he had preached the week before, but he only
preached it with more power. My friends, is that not the need
of the hour? We need men of God who come from the presence of
God with the Word of God in their minds, and the fire of God in
their souls, and the power of God in their spirits, and the
fear of God in their hearts. Brethren, are you following the
mold of the Apostle Paul? Are you faithful? Are you fearless?
Are you forthright in your declaration of the truth? You see what happened?
Verse 26, Felix trembled and answered, Go thy way for this
time. When I have a convenient season, I will call for it. That
was a defining moment in Felix's life. He had come under the conviction
of the Holy Spirit of God, but he put it off. My friends, as
long as there was conviction in the heart of Felix, he was
still open to the gospel. But it wasn't long before he
stopped trembling, and Paul's meeting with Felix didn't mean
a thing to him. You see, when someone continues
to resist the gospel, it becomes harder and harder and harder
for that person to change. That's why Paul said to the Corinthians,
Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. My friends, there are multitudes
in hell with Felix this evening, and they're there. Do you know
why? They put it off. Some of you listening to my voice
tonight, whether here or over the air, have been putting off
the matter of your soul's salvation for a long time. I wonder tonight,
are you going to put it off again? Are you going to let the devil
deceive you, delude you, damn you, and damn your soul in everlasting
fire? Can you see, Felix, now? He's
acting politically. He's acting leniently. He's acting
curiously. He's acting foolishly. Look at
verse 26. He's acting selfishly. For Luke
gives us some insight into the character of Felix. He hoped
also that money should be given him of Paul, that he might loose
him. Wherefore he sent for him the
offner and communed with him. Felix wanted a bribe out of Paul.
He was so materialistic that he would do for money what he
wouldn't do for justice. Now, here's my question. Why
did Felix think that Paul had money? Why did Felix think that
Paul had money? Well, I'll tell you why. Because
of verse 17. Now, after many years, I came
to bring alms to my nation in offering. He knew that Paul had
arrived in the city of Jerusalem with a large sum of money which
he had brought from the Gentile churches to the Jewish believers. He also knew that he was the
leader of the Nazarenes, or he might have thought that these
believers in Jerusalem and Caesarea could have pulled their money
and bought Paul off. Do you remember Paul's words to
Timothy? The love of money is the root of all evil. No, it's
not money that's the root of all evil. Money is a gift from
God. It's not money that's the root
of all evil. It's the love of money which is the root of all
evil. I wonder tonight, could it be
that as a believer you're more concerned with the material than
the spiritual, the temporal than the eternal? You see how it all
folds in in verse 27? He acted indecisively after two
years. Portia's Festus came into Felix's
room and Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure. Oh, these
Jews, these Jews, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left
Paul back. What happened was this. A little
bigger ant says, Rhea, Felix put it down with an iron fist.
And he dealt with it so harshly that the Roman Empire and the
city of Rome recalled him back to Rome. He lost his job. He lost his position. But the
Jews were so incensed that Felix not only feared of losing his
job, he was afraid of losing his life. And so he attempted
to pacify the Jewish leaders by leaving Paul a prisoner. And
so for two years Paul had to remain a prisoner. My friends,
this has to be one of the saddest accounts of lost opportunity
in the Bible. If you and I could hear from
Felix in hell tonight, he would say, I missed the opportunity.
I missed the opportunity. I wished I could do it all over
again. Dr. Clarence McCartney tells
a story about a meeting in hell. Satan commanded his four leading
demons to gather together and commanded them to think of a
lie that would damn and delude the souls in hell. One stood
to his feet and said, I have it. I'll go to earth and tell
people that there is no gods. Satan said, sit down, it'll never
work. People can look around and see that there is a God.
A second demon stood to his feet and said, I'll go to earth and
tell them that there is no heaven. Satan rejected that idea. He
said, everyone knows that there's life after death and they want
to go to heaven. A third demon stood to his feet
and said, well, let me go to earth and tell the unsaved that
there is no hell. And the devil said, no, their
conscience tells them that their sins would be judged. We need
a better lie than that? Quietly the fourth demon spoke.
He says, I'll go to earth. I'll tell them that there's a
God. I'll tell them there's a Savior. I'll tell them there's a cross.
I'll tell them there's a heaven. I'll tell them there's a hell.
But I'll go to earth and I'll tell them there is no hurry.
There is no urgency. And they sent him. Do you know
something? The best time to trust Christ
is when? Now. Do you know something? The best time to serve Christ is now. That's what Paul did. Irrespective of his circumstances. I'm going to tell you this next
week in the will of God. Isn't it interesting, my dear friends?
Isn't it interesting that he stood trial before the Jewish
mob, the Jewish Sanhedrin, the Roman governor Felix, the Roman
governor Festus, the Jewish king Agrippa, and he didn't see anyone
coming to Christ. And they took him to Rome. He
was shipwrecked, but eventually he got to Rome. Do you know what the first thing
he did was? Do you know what he did? He didn't see anyone
coming to Christ. You say, Preacher, I've tried
to share Christ, but there's been no response. The first thing
that Paul did when he got to Rome was to preach Christ. I was reading this morning that our labor is not in vain
for the Lord. My dear friend, it's not your
job to convert souls. It's the Holy Ghost's job. But
it's your responsibility to be faithful. And that's what Paul
was. Are you? Let's pray. Father, bless Your Word to our
hearts this evening. Lord, we thank You for this wee
man, Paul. He wasn't much physically, but
oh, what he was spiritually, theologically, ecclesiastically,
devotionally, passionately. O God, we pray that something
of the Spirit of Paul might grip us in these days. And our Father,
that we might have a passion for the lost, and that we might
seek to reach our fellow countrymen, Catholic or Protestant, with
the gospel. That by all means, we might win some. Bless your
people. Bless your word. We ask it for
the Savior's sake. Amen. We're going to turn to
our hymn books in closing to number 92. Give them, O give
them the gospel. Why should they die in their
sins? Tell them, O tell them of Jesus. They are so burdened
with him. Number 92. Why do they die in their sin?
Tell them, oh, tell them, oh, Jesus, They are so burdened with sin. Oh, not to wait in the darkness,
Waiting for someone to hold, Tell them, O tell them the story,
story of Christ crucified. My friend, he does the Savior, he doesn't
suffer the price. Only the Savior can help them,
at least through sorrow and pain. O'er the perilous fight, O'er
the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? Hear them, O hear them, the gospel,
Let the world find me in faith. Tell them, O tell them the story,
Story of Christ crucified. For in heaven He is our Savior,
Jesus is our Lord. Dear Lord, take us to our homes
in safety, part us in Your fear and with Your blessing. Through
Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.
Paul The Witness
Series The Church Ablaze
| Sermon ID | 228121457502 |
| Duration | 1:01:14 |
| Date | |
| Category | Bible Study |
| Bible Text | Acts 24 |
| Language | English |
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