Acts 24:1–27: “When A Believer Is Surrounded By Scoundrels”

Let’s take our Bibles together and turn to Acts 24. We are continuing our series, “No Other Name.” And we are racing towards the conclusion of the book of Acts in these final chapters. And the question I want to ask and answer today is the following—what do you do as a Christian when you are surrounded by scoundrels? 

Now, just to be clear, I don’t know what your work environment looks like. I’m not around at your family reunions. I’m not making any kind of value judgment on you or your family with this question. This message today won’t apply to everyone in this room or every situation. But we do live in a fallen world. And sometimes false accusations fly. What’s a Christian to do in a situation like that? Sometimes bad things happen to good, godly Bible-believing people. What do you do? 

Well thankfully we are not left in the lurch as to what to do. The Bible records many instances like that. Think Daniel in the lions’ den. Think Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Think the prophet Jeremiah. Think Stephen in the book of Acts. Think Peter, James, and John in the book of Acts. And think Paul in the book of Acts. It’s almost as if Jesus actually meant it when he said, “In this world, you will have trouble…” (John 16:33). Paul knew something about that. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18).

More specifically today we want to look at the Apostle Paul and his trial before a Roman governor in Acts 24. And not to spoil things for you, but let me just tell you ahead of time—in our passage today, Paul is going to be tried by wicked prosecutor, on behalf of wicked plaintiffs from Jerusalem, in front of a wicked governor in Caesarea, who governs on behalf of a wicked regime, namely the Roman Empire. 

What’s Paul going to do in this quagmire of unrelenting wickedness? What does a believer do when he or she is surrounded by scoundrels? Well, let’s find out. 

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Now just to get you up to speed, last time in Acts 23, Paul did some questionable things before the Sanhedrin. He lost his temper and lashed out verbally at the high priest. And instead of testifying about Christ, he started a debate between Pharisees and Sadducees about the resurrection. That turned into a nightmare. And he had to be rushed out of the Sanhedrin by the Romans, so that he wouldn’t be torn to shreds. 

And then, he had to be rushed out of Jerusalem by the Romans, because a group of vigilantes took an oath to kill him. It was a tough week for the Apostle Paul. And in this dark moment of Paul’s life when all of his failures and frustrations were stacking up, Jesus appeared to him and said, “Take Courage, Paul. I’m on your side. Don’t be afraid.” And Jesus gave Paul this promise. He tells him, “You will testify about me in Rome just like you’ve testified about me in Jerusalem” (Acts 23:11).

So at the end of Acts 23, we saw this great standoff between the will of men and the will of God. Forty oath-taking vigilantes said, “Paul’s not leaving Jerusalem alive.” But Jesus says to Paul instead, “You’re getting out of Jerusalem alive, and in fact you’ll testify about me in Rome.” Who’s going to win that little standoff? God does! 

And God, through providential means, allows Paul safe transport out of Jerusalem all the way to Caesarea. And that’s where our passage picks up today.  Paul is about to go on trial for his actions in Jerusalem, and the man who will decide his fate is a scandalous Roman governor named Felix. At the end of Acts 23, Felix says to Paul, “I will give you a hearing, when your accusers arrive” (23:35). So Felix is to Paul what Pontius Pilate was to Jesus. He will decide Paul’s fate. Will Felix do to Paul what Pontius Pilate did to Jesus? Let’s see. 

Look at verse 1 of Acts 24.

1 And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. 

So as this trial gets under way we see that the Jewish leaders are taking no chances with Paul. The high priest comes up to Caesarea for the trial—that’s a distance of about sixty miles! In his commentary on Acts, Al Mohler states that this would the president of the United States showing up to prosecute a trial at the Supreme Court. Ananias is way outside his lane with this matter, but again, he’s taking no chances with Paul.

And we already know this high priest, Ananias, was a scoundrel. He was not a well-respected leader of the Jews. And Luke tells us that some Jewish elders came with him as well to Caesarea. And along with them, they brought a “hired gun” so to speak—a slick, smooth-talking lawyer named Tertullus. And Tertullus is going to use all of his renowned rhetorical powers to get Paul convicted before Felix. 

And Luke shows us his rhetorical powers in the text. Look at verse 2: 

2 And when [Paul] had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Since through you we enjoy much peace, 

Now who’s he talking about there? He’s not talking about Paul. He’s talking about Felix, the governor. 

“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude.

Now does any of this seem a bit disingenuous to you? This guy is slick, right? What’s he doing? He’s buttering up the governor. He’s flattering and trying to win favor with this judge. Why? To obtain a favorable ruling. To get a conviction against Paul! Right? So he uses what’s called a captatio benevolentiae with his opening remarks. That term, captatio benevolentiae, means “winning the goodwill” of your listener. Paul did the same thing in Athens in Acts 17. But this guy, Tertullus, is over the top with his comments about Felix. 

Here’s why I say that. Let me just give you some historical background on Felix. I told you already that the high priest, Ananias, was a dishonorable character. But compared to Felix, Ananias was Mother Teresa. Despite what this slick lawyer says about Felix, he was not a man of peace. Felix had done much in Jerusalem and Judea to anger the Jews. 

His wife, Drusilla, was Jewish—his third wife, just to be clear. But still he wouldn’t hesitate to execute Jews on a whim or stir up trouble to his own advantage. One commentator wrote the following about him: “The only way Felix endeavored to bring peace was by having his soldiers hunt down and kill extremist Jewish freedom-fighters. In reality, Felix did more than any other governor to disrupt any semblance of peace there might have been in the Holy Land.” 

Felix was amazingly a former slave. And after being freed, he had a meteoric rise in the Empire. But, probably because of his humble origins, he always tended towards brutality and paranoia. The Roman historian Tacitus said that Felix, “with all cruelty and lust wielded the power of a king with the mentality of a slave.”

Eventually the Jews conspired to get Felix extradited from the country, and he almost lost his life before Nero because he had allowed so much unrest in Judea. All that to say this—he was not a man of peace. And he had not established peace as a governor.

So why would Tertullus say that he was a man of peace?

“Since through you we enjoy much peace… most excellent Felix

Why does he say that? Well, he’s lying. And I’m sure Ananias was paying him big bucks to get Paul convicted. So part of his job description is to smooth talk the judge with a little flattery. “A lawyer would never do that, Pastor Tony!”

Look at verse 4.

4 But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 

“Your kindness”! This guy knows how to brownnose.

 For we have found this man [here’s where Paul comes in] a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 

This guy is like Perry Mason delivering his oratory! “He’s a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” In other words, he’s not Jewish. He’s not one of us. He’s part of that “Jesus of Nazareth” riff-raff.

It’s interesting to me that Paul never, never stop saying, “I am a Jew.” Have you noticed that in the book of Acts? He was as Jewish and any of these Jewish leaders. But they don’t acknowledge him as such. “He’s part of that sect!”

Look at verse 6. Tertullus is still laying it on thick here. 

6 He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. 

Look at verse 8. 

8 By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.” 

Now we already know what he’s talking about with this “profaning of the temple” accusation. In Acts 21, the Jews accused Paul of bringing his Gentile friend, Trophimus, into the temple. But that was a lie. 

And even though it was true that riots were started among the Jews all throughout the world over Paul, Paul was not the instigator of those riots. Paul was the victim of those riots in Jerusalem and elsewhere. So there are bits and pieces of truth in what Tertullus is saying here, but his words are very deceiving. 

And like I’ve said before, the most effective lies aren’t total fabrications; they’re half-truths. And by the way, the most effective liars aren’t bald-face liars; they’re truth-twisters. So this guy is very convincingly twisting truths and rearranging facts to get Paul convicted. 

And verse 9 tells us,

9 The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.

So, the false accusations are flying, and Paul’s accusers are piling on. And the scoundrels are scoring points with Felix in the courtroom. What’s a man of integrity to do in a situation like this? 

Write this down as a first point in your notes. What do you do in a situation like that? Well, you trust God. And…

1) When false accusations fly, [you] stick to the truth and stick to the gospel (24:1–9)

The story is told about a sixteenth-century preacher who was addressing the issue of gossip. After a woman came up to him and confessed to gossiping and slandering other people in her community, the pastor asked her, “Do you frequently fall into this fault?” She replied, “Yes, very often.” He said, “Your fault is great, but the mercy of God is still greater.” 

And then he said this, “Go to the nearest market, and purchase a chicken just killed and still covered with feathers. You will then walk a certain distance, plucking the feathers of the bird as you go along. When you finish your work, return to me here.”

She did as she’d been instructed and returned anxious for an explanation. “Well,” said the man. “You’ve been very faithful to the first part of my instructions. Now what I want you to do is to retrace your steps and gather all the feathers up one by one.” 

The woman said, “But I cast them carelessly on every side. The wind carried them in every direction. How can I ever recover them?” “Well,” said the preacher, “So it is with your words of slander. Like the feathers, they have been scattered. Call them back, if you can.”

Now God help us to hold our tongues and swallow our pride when false rumors are spread about us by unbelievers. That shouldn’t surprise us when it happens. I don’t think Paul is surprised by anything his accusers are doing. But God forbid that we as Christians would play that sinful game. Don’t do that, Christian! Don’t use your tongue to do evil! And if you’ve made that mistake in the past, do your best to rectify it. In other words, go pick up the feathers as best you can. And make sure you don’t repeat that mistake again in the future. 

The Bible says that “the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness… set on fire by hell” (Jas 3:6). The tongue can and should be used for good. But too often in this fallen world, it’s used for evil. But that should not be so for Christians. 

So when people in this world uses their tongues to utter falsehoods against you, don’t return fire. He who slings mud loses ground. Instead, stick to the truth and stick to the gospel.

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And that doesn’t mean you can’t defend yourself. Look what Paul does in verse 10. He’s just been slandered by Tertullus. And now Paul gets his chance to speak. What’s Paul going to do here? He could just fire back with his own false accusations. “O yeah, well you say I did this. I say you did that! How do you like me now?” He doesn’t do that. 

He could excoriate them again publicly, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!” He doesn’t do that. He could try to sweettalk Felix like Tertullus did or try to get another riot started between Pharisees and Sadducees. But no, he doesn’t do that. He just speaks the truth. 

He just tells them what happened, and in his own unique little way he subtly points them all to the gospel.

Watch this… this is brilliant in verse 10.

10 And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied: “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 

Paul’s got his own rhetorical powers! He attempts his own captatio benevolentiae. But he doesn’t flatter or embellish. He just states the facts. “You know what Felix… the best thing I can say about you is … well…  you’ve been in charge for a lot of years.” 

Look at verse 11.

11 You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, 

Paul didn’t spend a whole lot of time in Jerusalem. And as we’ve seen already, his trip wasn’t great. But Paul is doing something subtle here. Tertullus is implicit arguing that Paul was some kind of revolutionary or insurrectionist. Paul says here, “I was in town for just twelve days. That’s not long enough for a revolution.” 

12 and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, 

“Here’s the truth in what they are stating about me.” 

that according to the Way, which they call a sect, 

Remember “the Way” is the prominent term used for Christianity in the book of Acts. Paul says, “We’re not ‘a sect.’ We’re ‘the Way’… based on Jesus’s words, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. 

Do you see what Paul is doing there? He’s giving a defense. But he’s also preaching the gospel. He’s letting Felix and everyone else know that there will be a resurrection for everyone, the just and the unjust. In other words, everybody gets resurrected. That’s an essential aspect of our imago dei nature. Some will be raised to everlasting life and some will be raised to everlasting death. Paul is using this moment to create gospel urgency in the lives of his listeners.

And by the way, let me be clear about this for the benefit of those who are gathered here today. The Bible makes clear in Daniel 12:2 that some will be raised to everlasting life and some will be raised for everlasting shame and contempt. Jesus said in John 5:28–29 that an hour is coming when “all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” According to the Bible, every single person will live forever (see also Rev 20:11–15). 

There’s all this talk circulating right now about universalism and annihilationism and conditional immortality. The Bible clearly presents two options for you. The world and some Christians are confused about this right now, but the Bible is not. Paul is not in Acts 24. Every single person in this room will live forever. It just depends where you’re going to spend that forever. There’s no purgatory. There’s no annihilation of our souls. There’s no third option. There’s the righteous and the unrighteous. There’s the just and the unjust. There’s heaven or hell for eternity. 

Which path are you on? For those who have faith in Christ Jesus, in his death and resurrection, his righteousness is our righteousness and makes heaven for eternity a reality. For those who don’t have faith in Christ, there is eternal death and separation from God… in hell… for eternity. Full-stop! Those are the options. 

And look again at verse 14. Here’s another thing that Paul is stressing. 

I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 

Paul worships the Jewish God. Paul believes all the Hebrew Scriptures that have been inspired by God. And all those Scriptures point towards Christ. He’s saying, “I’m more Jewish than those guys are… I believe the Bible more fervently than they do. They missed it. They missed who the Scriptures pointed to!” 

And by the way, what did Jesus say about the Law and the Prophets? What did he say to the Jewish leaders twenty-five years before this. He said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39).

Paul says in verse 16,

16 So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. 18 While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple 

In other words, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just a Jew worshiping in the temple. In fact, I had brought money with me to bless Jerusalem after they went through that horrible famine.”

without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— 

Those are the guys who started the riot. And by the way, why aren’t those guys at Paul’s trial?

19 they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me.

In other words, “Tertullus wasn’t there. Ananias wasn’t there when this allegedly happened. Where are the guys who originally made the accusation? They’re nowhere to be found.” 

By the way, if you have an ESV Bible, that hyphen before verse 19 is a good representation of the Greek. It’s actually not called a hyphen; it’s called an “em dash.” And it’s used when a sentence is abruptly broken off. And that’s what happens here with Paul. It’s as if he gets lost in the middle of his sentence and says, “Where are those guys anyways? They should be here!”

And by the way, this was a very shrewd maneuver by Paul right here. Roman law actually called for a “face-to-face” confrontation between the accusers and the accused. In fact, in the Roman world, those who abandoned their accusations were not looked upon kindly. You know in America, we can make all kinds of false accusations with impunity, and it doesn’t matter. But that was a serious “no-no” in the Roman judicial system.

So Paul is saying, “Where’s the evidence for these accusations against me? Where are the eye-witnesses? This is just a Kangaroo court with Tertullus, their high-priced lawyer, making unsubstantiated allegations.”

Look at verse 20.

20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’ ” 

It’s interesting to me how Paul admits here that starting that argument in the Sanhedrin probably wasn’t the best course of action. I used to read that story about Paul starting an argument between Pharisees and Sadducees in Acts 23, and think to myself, “O that’s was great. Way to go Paul! Way to get them fighting amongst themselves. That was brilliant.” But I don’t think that’s how Paul saw it. Not after the fact, anyway. He regrets that action. And he even confesses here before Felix, “I shouldn’t have done that.” Stick to the truth and stick to the gospel. That’s what Paul does here.

And here’s the point of all this. Here’s what I find so fascinating about Paul’s defense. He doesn’t fabricate facts. He doesn’t exaggerate details. He doesn’t mislead anyone. He even, at one point, admits a mistake that he made. “I could have handled that differently.” 

What does Paul do? He just delivers truthfully and with integrity all the details that have unfolded regarding this case. And, at the same time, he finds a way to subtly testify before Felix and the accusers that Jesus Christ is “the Way.” He’s the fulfillment of OT expectation. And he’s coming back to judge the dead. Masterful! This is an absolute clinic on how to handle false accusations as a Christian.

Write this down as a second point from our message. When false accusations fly, stick to the truth and stick to the gospel. And secondly:

2) When judgments are forming, stick to the truth and stick to the gospel (24:10–21)

When you’ve got to defend yourself against false accusations. When you’ve got to represent Christ before a hostile world… conduct yourself with honor and integrity. And let God sort it out in the end. The Bible says, “Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall” (Prov 28:18). When judgments are forming, stick to the truth and stick to the gospel.

Now some of you might say, “How do I do that, Pastor Tony?” “What does that look like in our day?” Well let me give you some examples. 1) When people lie, slander, and gossip about you, you don’t return fire. Okay? Every time you sling mud, you lose ground. Instead you speak the truth and trust God. 2) If you find yourself or your business in a legal dispute…or if some injustice is perpetrated against you in the work place. You speak the truth and represent God well. Don’t falsify facts. Don’t slander in return. Don’t manipulate people’s opinions or massage the truth. Just speak truthfully and honestly and with integrity and trust God.

3) If God forbid, anyone in this congregation ever got sued or wrongly accused, you do the right thing. Don’t get hateful. Don’t be deceitful or manipulative. If your legal counsel says, “It’s normal in cases like this to exaggerate the facts.” You say, “No, I won’t do that. I’m a follower of Jesus Christ and there’s an expectation of integrity on my life.” Stick to the truth and stick to the gospel. Trust God; do the right thing. And let the chips fall where they may. 

Remember what Peter said about Jesus. “He entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pet 2:23). That’s what we have to do. We entrust ourselves to him who judges justly. God is no man’s debtor. He will repay at the proper time good for good and evil for evil. 

You know, we are living in a world right now where it’s getting increasingly difficult to live a life of integrity. And we as a country have gravitated so far from Biblical principles, that if you do live a life of integrity, you will be an oddball in this world. You will be weird in your workplace. So be it. 

And you know, here’s what’s interesting. You might be surprised just how instrumental being an “oddball with integrity” is for leading people to Christ. Because people are desperately looking for something different in our world. 

And let me say this too, just be way of clarification. Integrity doesn’t save you. There are plenty of non-Christian people that have integrity. But integrity is what saved people do! Do you feel me? Does everyone understand what I’m saying there? We aren’t justified by works; we’re justified by faith. But justified people live lives of integrity. They produce fruit in keeping with repentance. That’s what Paul does here.

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Now watch what happens next with Paul. Because what happens in these last few verses is amazing. Jesus prophesied in the Gospels that his disciples would be “dragged before governors and kings for [Jesus’] sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles” (Matt 10:18). Jesus said, “You will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake” (Luke 21:12). And wouldn’t you know it, Jesus’s prophecy actually come true. Anyone here surprised by that? 

Look what happens with Paul and this powerful governor of Judea, Felix. Look at verse 22.

22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way 

That’s an interesting statement. But not entirely surprising. Christians are all over the Empire now, So Felix knows about “the Way.” Maybe even Cornelius, who got saved in Caesarea, has witnessed to him already. Maybe Philip the Evangelist, who lives in Caesarea, has witnessed to him. Who knows?

 22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way put them [Paul’s accusers] off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 

So Paul pours out his heart defending himself. And Felix essentially postpones the case until a later date. 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion that [Paul] should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs. 

Maybe Luke was close by. Maybe Philip. Maybe Agabus. Maybe the church in Caesarea worked together to take care of Paul’s needs. 

You know, Paul was surrounded by scoundrels in the courtroom, but thankfully he’s not surrounded by scoundrels all the time. He’s got the church and his fellow believers to take care of him. As do we, by the way. 

Look at verse 24.

24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 

Huh? This man, Felix, has the ability to decide Paul’s fate. And what’s Paul doing. He’s telling him and his wife, Drusilla, about Jesus. Is that awesome or what? Paul is a gospel-preaching machine. He’s the Christian terminator in Acts. You can’t kill him. And you can’t get him to shut up about Jesus. And when he gets a chance to preach the gospel to the most powerful couple in Judea, he takes it. You got to love that about Paul. 

And here’s why this was so fascinating with Felix and Drusilla. Let me give you a little historical background on these two people. Drusilla was Felix’s third wife. She was the great-granddaughter of Herod the Great, who tried to kill Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem fifty plus years before this (see Matt 2:1–12). And Paul’s like, “Yeah, that baby that you great-grandad tried to kill… he’s the Savior of the world!” 

And here’s another historical wrinkle. Felix was Drusilla’s second husband. She was nineteen years old when Paul met with her. Felix had lured her away from her first husband when she was only sixteen. And both of these individuals were about as lost as you could possibly be. They were cruel. They were sinful. They both had an unquenchable thirst for power. They were adulterers. 

Felix had basically stolen Drusilla from her first husband by promising new opportunities for power. And Felix was seduced by Drusilla because it was said about her that she was exceedingly beautiful in her time. It was basically a marriage built on lust and thirst for power. 

And watch what Paul preaches to them. Look at verse 25. 

25 And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed

I bet he was. Just so you know that’s not a seeker-sensitive message right there. That’s not Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, Felix. Paul knew about their sinful reputation. And so he’s preaching repentance, hell, fire, and brimstone to this couple. 

And maybe as part of that he said, “You know what, I was the chief of sinners. I killed Christians and persecuted the church.” And I bet he was saying, “Such also were some of us, but now we have been washed by the blood of Jesus.” I bet Paul was preaching, “I know a way that you can escape the judgment to come. Put your faith in Christ and you can have new life.”

But unfortunately Paul’s pleas fell on deaf ears.

25 And as [Paul] reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, [not “I repent.” Not “what must I do to be saved?” Not “praise be to God for providing this way of salvation for sinner like me” but instead] “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.”  

26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. 

Who cares about a bribe, man? You need to be concerned about your soul!

So he sent for [Paul] often and conversed with him. 27 When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Write this down #3 in your notes. 

1) When false accusations fly, stick to the truth and stick to the gospel (24:1–9)

2) When judgments are forming, stick to the truth and stick to the gospel (24:10–21)

3) When uncertainties abound, stick to the truth and stick to the gospel (10:22–27)

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Now I’ve preached this message today mostly from the perspective of Paul. And I’ve challenged you and I’ve been challenged myself with the concept of truthfulness and integrity. Stick to the truth!  Stick to the gospel! Live lives of integrity and keep telling people about Jesus when you are surrounded by scoundrels.

But before we finish today, I want to flip that script. I want to say something now to those of you who might have more in common with Felix, or with Drusilla, or with Tertullus, or with Ananias than you do with Paul. You don’t have the Holy Spirit in your life. You’ve never made a decision to follow Christ. 

And maybe you, like Felix, have been intrigued by the gospel and wanted to learn more about it. Maybe you’ve even been fearful like Felix is fearful when you hear about the judgment to come. But you’ve never given your life to Christ. You’ve never put your faith in Christ and had your sins forgiven. 

Can I just challenge you with this passage of Scripture? Hebrews 3:15 says, “Today if you hear [God’s] voice, do not harden your hearts.” I mean that verse is true for all of us who are here this morning and have sensed the Holy Spirit’s conviction. But that’s especially true for those of you who came this morning without any faith in Christ. If you’ve heard the voice of the Lord today… if you heard the truth of the gospel… do not harden your heart. Respond in faith and repentance. 

Don’t do like Felix and Drusilla, “Go away from me now, and I’ll call you when it’s more convenient.” Don’t do that! Don’t miss this opportunity. 

I heard a pastor say once that this passage about Felix and Drusilla is one of the most heartbreaking passages in Scripture. They were right there! They had the greatest preacher of their generation telling them about Jesus. And their hearts were convicted. And Felix was fearful for his soul. And he just dismissed it. They let the opportunity pass, and they dismissed the greatest news that any person could ever receive. The gospel! That you can be forgiven of your sins completely, no matter what you’ve done. No matter who you are! 

And maybe some of you are trying to live a life of integrity out there, but you don’t have the resources in and of yourself to be honorable and live with integrity. Christ can help you with that. God is willing to give you the gift of the Holy Spirit in your life that can produce something that you couldn’t produce yourself. And I just want to invite you today to put your faith in Christ and make a decision to follow him. Repent of your sin and follow Christ.