Our reading tonight comes from Acts chapter 26. Acts chapter 26, and I'm reading from the authorized version. Let us read and hear the word of God. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand and answered for himself. I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee, touching all things whereof I am accused of the Jews. especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Wherefore, I beseech thee to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews. which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and I'm judged for the hope of the promise made of God and to our fathers. and to which promise our 12 tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come? For which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews? Why should it be thought, a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. which thing I also did in Jerusalem. And many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I give my voice against them. and I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme, and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon, as I went to Damascus with authority and commission of the chief priests, at midnight, O King, I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. but rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, and to whom now I send thee. 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 among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, but showed first unto them of Damascus, and of Jerusalem, and throughout all the coast of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do works meet for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come, that Christ should suffer and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead and should show light unto the people, unto the Gentiles. And as he spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, Thou art beside thyself, much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely. For I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him, for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, 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. And when he had thus spoken, The king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that were sat with him. And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, this man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. Then said Agrippa and Tephestus, this man might have been set at liberty if he had not appealed unto Caesar. Amen. And may God bless to us the public reading of his own infallible word. I want to take this opportunity to thank the pastor for the kind invitation to come and to preach the word of God to you tonight. And I want to thank you for the warm welcome that you have given to me. And I do want to bring you greetings from a cold and wet Scotland and from my congregation in Partick in Glasgow. You'll find our text that we want to meditate on in verse 28 of Acts chapter 26. Verse 28. where we have the words of King Agrippa. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Particularly, we want to focus on these words. Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And seeking the Lord's blessing, we want to meditate upon these words. in context this evening. And the title I want to give to the sermon is Almost Persuaded. Almost Persuaded. Paul was in Caesarea and he was awaiting to be transferred to Rome. He had appealed to have his case heard before Caesar. And Festus had agreed that he would send him to Rome. But Festus really didn't know much about Christianity and he didn't know anything about the Jewish religion. And he had nothing concrete to write Caesar about concerning Paul. He had this prisoner in custody. And the prisoner, using his rights as a Roman citizen, appealed to have his case heard at Rome. And Festus had to agree, but Festus had a real problem. He did not know what to write and what to tell Caesar about Paul. It so happens that King Agrippa, who was a Jew, And his wife came to visit Festus. And Festus made King Agrippa to know about Paul. Agrippa was one who wanted to find out more about him. He was inquisitive. So a time was set for Paul to come before Agrippa and to bring his testimony. his third time that he does this in the book of Acts, his testimony before a gathered audience to tell them about how he became a Christian and why it is that he's in chains and in bonds for proclaiming Christ. And as you will know, as we've just read there, Paul spoke to them. And Festus cried out words to this effect, Paul, you're mad, you're off the head, all you're learning is doing you no good whatsoever. Paul refutes that and tells him that what he's saying is true and the words that he's bringing to their attention are good words that they need to hear. And he appeals to King Agrippa because he knew that King Agrippa knew about Judaism And King Agrippa knew something of the scriptures and therefore he appeals to King Agrippa. And Agrippa replies with the words of our text, almost thou persuades me to be a Christian. Some commentators maintain that this is an off-the-cuff remark from Agrippa to the effect Do you think, Paul, that in such a short space of time you can persuade me to be a Christian? Some think it's a derogatory remark, but we're not inclined to agree. We're inclined to believe that King Agrippa was almost persuaded to be a Christian because we look at what Paul said in reply. In verse 29, 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. In other words, Paul is saying, King Agrippa, I wish you would become a Christian. And King Agrippa, I wish all that hear me tonight, all that hear me here, all of them also would be Christians, and that they would follow the Lord Jesus Christ, but they would not know the bonds and the chains that belong to me. Instead, they would know the wonderful freedom and liberty of being a Christian. And therefore, we're inclined to believe that when King Agrippa says, almost thou persuades me to be a Christian. It's not a derogatory remark. Indeed, it is a statement of fact that he's on the edge. He's on the precipice. He's about to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. He's almost persuaded. Well, we want to meditate upon these words and we want to ask ourselves this question. Why was King Agrippa almost persuaded? And I want to bring to your attention one or two reasons, I do believe, that would help us answer that question. Why was he almost persuaded? Well, the first reason I want to bring to your attention, he was almost persuaded Because first and foremost, Paul himself was persuaded. What do I mean by that? What I mean quite simply is that Paul was a converted man. Paul was someone who actually met the risen Lord Jesus Christ. He had an encounter with Christ on the Damascus road. And when Paul stood before him or stood before any audience, he was one who was absolutely persuaded of the things that he spoke about, because he knew firsthand the wonderful experience of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ of having his sins forgiven, having the gift of eternal life, of being reconciled to God, having peace with God through the finished work of Christ, and he knew that wonderful and that blessed experience himself. And therefore, that's one reason why King Agrippa was so taken and so almost persuaded, because the preacher himself, the one individual who was the mouthpiece of God at that particular time, he was absolutely persuaded. He knew the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a thoroughly converted man. He was a true-hearted gospel preacher. He was an apostle set apart for the wonderful task of declaring the unsearchable riches of Christ to Jew and Gentile, and he was not ashamed of the gospel. You will be well aware, friends, of the book of Romans. And Paul in his introduction to the Roman Christians there in the first chapter, he says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. And here was Paul laying down his marker. Here was Paul declaring to the Romans who had never seen him, who had never heard him preach the gospel, he was saying that he was not ashamed of the gospel. Does this not say to us, does it not imply that there were some preachers who were ashamed of the gospel and who would not proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ? When he says, I'm not ashamed. And this was evident, friends, to all who met the Apostle Paul. He was not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the wonderful gospel, the gospel, friends, that has come to us from heaven. That's God's final and complete revelation to us. It's the only hope that we have for mankind and woe betide any one of us if we are ashamed of Christ and his gospel. I put it to you, therefore, that King Agrippa was in some sense taken with Paul, because Paul was taken with Jesus Christ the Lord. Paul was serving someone else. We know something of his life. He was a persecutor. He was a blasphemer. He was a Pharisee, and he was out and out to destroy the work of the church. But by the grace of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the risen Christ, met him on Damascus Road. And he was, in some sense, arrested and apprehended. And he was brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do, he said. Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest," he says. Is there any application for ourselves? Is this just some historical evidence about Paul? No, friends. There is something here for you and there's something here for me tonight because Paul indeed was a persecutor. He was a blasphemer. He was one who sought to bring havoc upon the church. And what happened? The grace of God saved him and transformed him and changed him. And friends, that same gospel is still working today. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is still efficacious. It has not lost its power and people are still being rescued today from the power of darkness by that same gospel when they come to the Lord Jesus Christ and put their faith and their hope and their trust upon Him. And therefore, I can say to you all, I don't know you. I'll probably never know you again. This is probably the first and the only time we'll meet, but I can tell you, friends, by the full authority of the Word of God, that no matter your life, no matter your sins, no matter your past, no matter how long you've sat under the gospel, and no matter how long you have rejected Christ, if you will come to Him, you will be saved, you will be transformed, you will have a new heart. You will begin to love the Lord Jesus Christ. You will have your sins forgiven, and you shall be reconciled to God. This clear and simple message from this, friends, is there are none too bad to be saved. There are no impossible cases with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is still the power of God unto salvation, and lives are still being changed and transformed. You see, Paul, he wasn't always a gospel preacher, but Christ transformed him. Christ entered into his life. Christ set him apart. Like that reading we read in Jeremiah, he was set apart from the womb. And so was the Apostle Paul set apart from the womb to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. And therefore, we must take something from this for ourselves. Let none despair. Your sins may well be burdening you. Your conscience may indeed trouble you. You might not like to admit it. But when you go home at night, and when you retire to your bed, and when you think about things that are on your mind, you think about where you will spend eternity. And you conclude you're not right with God. And maybe the devil will tell you you're too old or you're too bad. It's too late. Well, surely the case before us here of the Apostle Paul would tell us something different. Let not our sins keep us from coming to Christ. Paul says, does he not, this is a trustworthy saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. Here was the great apostle Paul saying, he came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. Not I was, I still am. And yet Christ has come to save me. young ones, old ones, middle-aged ones, it matters not. Come, come and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. He has come to seek and to save that which was lost. He did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. He came to give his life a ransom for many. This is his great mission. This is his title. Thou shalt call his name Jesus. Why? Because he shall save his people from their sins. Well, I put it to you firstly, King Agrippa was almost persuaded because Paul was fully persuaded. He was a converted man. a true-hearted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, following on from it and closely linked to it, we do believe that King Agrippa was almost persuaded because Paul's preaching was persuasive. We do believe this shines through not only from what we have read of the encounter, but on other occasions, Paul's preaching was ultimately convincingly persuasive. It was not unknown for Paul to address people and to get himself excited, to work up a sweat to be taken up with the great theme and the great subject of the gospel. For before him, friends, as he addressed people, were men and women, boys and girls, on the road to eternity. Here we are for a short period of time. We're on this earth. three score and ten years old, maybe four score years by reason of strength. But what is our lives? What is the length of our lives in comparison with eternity? And these things impressed the Apostle Paul, and he recognized that people must be saved, and they must be saved now. They cannot be saved when they go into eternity. There's no opportunity to repent. There's no opportunity to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ when we pass from this scene of time. No opportunity. There's no such thing as purgatory. We have to embrace Christ now. That's why we go about preaching the gospel to every creature that we come across, wherever we might find an audience. We preach Him and we bid people to come to Him and avail themselves of the wonderful and glorious and full and free salvation that He offers. And this came through the Apostle Paul. It was clear and it was evident. But let us just look at the situation. Let us just home in on that fact. Here was Paul with chains on him. Here he was taken from custody. And friends, whether we like it or not, humanly speaking, he got an opportunity to present his own case here. He got an opportunity to present his own case to see if possibly he might be released from these chains. Here was King Agrippa. Here was Festus. These people had the authority to say, let the man go. The point I want to establish with you here is that when Paul was before this select audience of dignitaries, He didn't present his own case at all. He preached the gospel. He took that God-given opportunity to him to present Christ. Because, friends, he was ultimately concerned about those who were in front of him. You see, the Apostle Paul never forgot that once upon a time he was an unbeliever. He could put himself in Agrippas and Festus' shoes. He could remember his days of unbelief. He could remember his days of persecution and blasphemy. And when he did all that he did to try to bring the church to naught and to fight against the Lord Jesus Christ, and how he was filled with hatred against those who walked in the Christian way. that he had been delivered. And this is what he wanted all his hearers to experience, to come to that same experience, to know Christ, and to have their sins forgiven, and for them to be reconciled to God, and for them to have the same hope that he had for eternity. in this chapter we read. We're not to think for one minute that this was all that the Apostle Paul said. We've only got here perhaps the headings, the bullet points, but you can be sure that when Paul preached the gospel, it was a full presentation And he stood there before King Agrippa and Festus, and he would declare to them with his chains in his hands, he would tell them, without any fear or favor, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, even King Agrippa and Bernice and Festus. High and mighty as they were, they needed a savior. And he would tell them about the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, who has come from heaven, who has left the realms of glory, who so condescended himself and humiliated himself and came and suffered and died on Calvary's tree. And he would tell them, why was this? because it was God's great plan for the salvation of sinners. You see, God is a sin-hating God. Oh, we don't like to hear that today. The modern church doesn't like to hear about an angry God. But God is angry. He's angry with sinners. He detests sin. And because He's an angry God, He had to deal with sin. And you go to Calvary's tree, friends. There, look upon Christ as He's crucified in between two malefactors. There, friends, you'll see the wrath of God being poured out upon His only begotten Son. There, you will hear Jesus Christ cry out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why did he forsake him? He forsook him, friends, because he became sin on our behalf. And God could not look upon him, could not. We love to meditate upon the love of God. Don't let anyone think that we don't love to meditate upon that wonderful, divine, everlasting, electing love of God. It fills the preacher's heart with delight to tell people that God is love. And he showed the full extent of his love there on Calvary's tree. But friends, if all you see there is the love of God, then I say with respect to you, you're looking at that event with one eye shut, because God poured out His wrath upon His Son, and we say hallelujah because He did that. Why? Because Christ suffered in the room and place of His people, and as God punished Christ in my place, therefore He will not punish me, because God is just. If my substitute has died in my place, if he has been punished in my room, Will God punish me? God is just. You can be sure that all of these things were mentioned to King Agrippa, to Bernice, and to Festus. And you would be sure that they would have gotten a gospel appeal And they would have been told, repent, yes, repent, forsake your sins, turn away from your old life. Repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that's what's required of you, King Agrippa and Festus. Paul wouldn't change his message for the audience. He was not a man pleaser. He looked for that day when he will stand before Christ, and he would rather hear, well done, good and faithful servant than tamper with the message of God. Well, is there an application for ourselves? We're not preachers, are we? We don't come to pulpits like this and preach the gospel. Ninety-nine percent of us don't do that. Is there any application for us? Well, of course there is, friends. In some sense, we're all preachers. We might not have the official title, but if we belong to the Lord Jesus, we are his servants. And as we go about our daily business, We are to proclaim Him. And we are to be winsome. We are to present an authentic gospel. We are to give a reason for the hope that's in us with meekness and fear. This is what's required of us. And people will know if you're genuine. They will know if you are, in some sense, sincere. Because this was evident To King Agrippa, when this poor prisoner was before him, he preached Christ and the gospel to him, and he was almost persuaded. Thirdly, again asking ourselves this question, why was he almost persuaded? Well, he was almost persuaded, we do believe, because Christianity will stand examination. Paul says here, or it's recorded for us what he said, that this thing was not done in a corner. In other words, the things that Paul was bringing to Agrippa's ears were not things that were done behind closed doors or in the darkness of night or in secrecy. It was done openly. And this is something that's clear as you look at the scriptures. Jerusalem at the time when Christ was crucified would have been thronged. There would have been a multitude of people there to witness the crucifixion. and the major events of the Lord Jesus Christ, these things were all done openly. And when Christ, when He preached everywhere, He preached openly wherever He could get an audience, very often in the open air. He would preach and teach, and nothing was done in secret. We know, of course, on occasions he did withdraw and be with his disciples, but by and large, his life was a life of public ministry, and the major things concerning his life were all open to view, nothing to hide, all open to honest scrutiny. for this thing was not done in a corner at the end of verse 26. And this, friends, is something that we need to bear in mind because Christianity is eminently open and it's for your inspection. We're not going to hide things from people. We're not a secret society. The good news of the gospel is good news for all persons. It's not for a select group or for a select few. And we are to recognize this. And we are to tell people, impress upon them that Christianity is worthy of our acceptation and scrutiny. Tell the people to pick up their Bibles to read the Word of God. Ask indeed that God might illuminate what they read. For the whole of the Bible, friends, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, what do they speak of? They speak of Christ. What does it say? They are they which testify of Me. And therefore, he was persuaded because the things that Paul said to him could be verified, could be examined. He could make inquiries. It was all open. It was all clear. It was all evident. Another reason why he was almost persuaded was because Christianity is in full accordance with the Scriptures. We have said earlier that the Old Testament really prepared or was preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah. And we only have to look at the various prophecies that are contained in the Old Testament, and they all point to this glorious individual who would come. And who is that person who has fulfilled these promises to the very letter? None other than the Lord Jesus Christ. The scriptures do testify of him. The prophets, the Psalms, and Moses, they all speak of this glorious person. What does the ceremonial law and all the sacrifices, what do they teach us? What do they point towards? Why was a lamb sacrificed morning and evening? What is the day of atonement? What do all these things point towards? They point towards Calvary. They point towards that once for all perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ that he would offer up of himself at the appointed time. And when he did, we are told the veil in the temple was rent from top to bottom, Their God was declaring that the old ceremonial system was done. The way into the holy of holies was now made available through the Lord Jesus Christ. And does this not encourage us that our faith, friends, is built upon historical and verifiable facts? Many people say to us, when you become Christians, you almost leave your brains behind, they'll say to you. You stop thinking when you become a Christian. It's a leap into the dark. Have you not heard someone say that to you, Christian? When you began to embrace the Lord Jesus, someone has said to you, oh, why do you do that? Have you lost your marbles? Nothing could be further from the truth. You only begin to think, friends, when you become a Christian. This is something that happens to you. You begin to think. Christianity makes you think. And you go to the word of God and you see Jesus Christ has fulfilled the scriptures. It was prophesied of him that he would rise on the third day. Who rose from the grave? None other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Is that not what Psalm 116 talks about, the resurrection of Christ? And this should encourage our faith, that when we embrace the Lord Jesus Christ, our faith and our hope and trust is upon one who has fulfilled these things and one who will yet fulfill the things that are yet to be fulfilled, because one day, friends, He will come. This is the next great event in God's calendar, as it were. He cometh in the clouds, and every eye shall see Him, even those that pierced Him. And all the kindreds of the earth shall wail and mourn because of Him. Even so come, Lord Jesus," John says. Can you believe it? Every eye shall see Him. What does that teach us? It teaches us about the resurrection. How will every eye see Him? They shall all be raised from their graves and they shall see Christ on that great day." Let's stop apologizing for Christianity. We have a book here, friends, that is divine. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. This is all we need for life and for faith. This will regulate our lives. This will show us the way of salvation. And this will show us how we're to live out our lives here until that great day when we'll be gathered to be with Christ forever and forever. And we do believe that's one reason why he was so persuaded, or almost persuaded, because he could see that Christ indeed had fulfilled the Scriptures. And let us remind ourselves that he was intimately aware of the Scriptures. Does Paul not say that to him? Verse 27, King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? And Paul answers for him, I know that thou believest. But having said that, friends, he was still almost persuaded. And we want to ask ourselves then, having answered the question, why was he almost persuaded? We want to conclude briefly and ask another question. Why was it that he was not fully persuaded? And here we are on holy ground. For here we come across the doctrine of the sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners. Paul did all that he could do. Paul preached like an apostle, and the man was in some sense moved but he was not fully persuaded. In other words, friends, the means of grace were not effectual unto him. There was something missing. Paul can plant, Apollos can water, but God alone gives the increase, and that's what was missing. Now, we cannot blame God. Far from it. For Agrippa is responsible for what he heard and for his reaction to the gospel that was proclaimed to him. But we must acknowledge the sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners, for salvation is of the Lord. Does he not say in Romans 9, I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy? and I will have compassion upon whom I will have compassion on." It is a mysterious thing, but we cannot deny it, and we must therefore acknowledge that God did not make it effectual unto him for his own wise and holy reasons. This is the God that we deal with. This is the God of the Bible. This is the God who does as He pleases with the armies of heaven and with the peoples of the earth. And as it says in the book of Daniel, none can stay His hand or say unto Him, what doest thou? He's not answerable to you or to me. He is sovereign. And that's the reason why this was not effectual to him and that he was not fully persuaded. Is there some application for us as we close? Well, of course there is, friends. I do believe that tonight I'll be speaking to many Christians in the midst tonight. Well, if you are a Christian tonight, you must attribute your salvation completely entirely, exclusively to God. It's not what you've done, it's not what you've said. It's because God has chosen you before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight, in His Son. And this should cause your heart to be filled with love and gratitude and devotion that God should show mercy to you. If you look at your own family, maybe your brothers and your sisters, your husband, your wife, your mother and your father, maybe they're still strangers to grace and you're in the kingdom of God, it is because God has had mercy upon you. Finally, we would notice here, someone who is almost persuaded is not a Christian. We can go so far, but if we are not fully persuaded, if we have not embraced the Lord Jesus, we are not Christians. We can have understanding and an acceptance of the Scriptures as King Agrippa had, and yet reject Christ, then we're lost and we're perishing. Friends, this is no time to be almost persuaded. This is a time to be fully persuaded. and to come and to embrace Christ. How long halt ye between two opinions, Elijah says to the people of Israel. This is what, in essence, Paul said to Agrippa. Come, call upon Jesus, receive Him, and be totally and absolutely persuaded and have your sins forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life. May God bless his word. Amen.