Paul’s Defense

https://www.gotquestions.org/Felix-in-the-Bible.html

3 things going on - Paul’s defense, How He reacts to the government, How can we speak truth in a sold out life for Jesus to those around us.

Pauls defense before Tertullus, Felix and Agrippa

How can we speak the truth of the gospel while living lives completely for Jesus even when it seems like the world has come against us.

Intro

charges and a defense. What do we do when we are threatened? When charges are brought up against us and all we have is the gospel. it has been a while but what we have been going through in the book of Acts before we took a break for Advent is taking the gospel to the ends of the earth and what that looks like. but what do we do when it all seems to go wrong? The book of Acts is clear that we will receive power when the HS has come upon us, the power to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. The type of power that wipes away all fear and leaves us without any doubt that we are the Lord’s and He is our Father and even though He is in control over all, He still loves us. There are so many people that are in need of the saving power of the gospel and we have the responsibility to take it to them no matter the cost to us.

because you see there sometimes is a cost. What do we do when it all seems to be going wrong, because following the will of the Lord and taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth is not always roses and sunshine.

when I worked for transit I got to know some Christians that worked driving city bus as well. One of them I met told me about How he saw this job as a chance for ministry. He got to meet so many people from so many walks of life and would share the gospel with them. My friend had gotten in trouble for this a few times, but living his life for Jesus meant speaking the truth of the gospel no matter the cost. He told me this and encouraged me as well to do the same thing. They allowed us to play music while driving as long as it was not really loud so I would play Christian music. (Yes I would sing along as well, I cant help it.) People would ask me about my Jesus belt buckle when I would stop for a quick break and it gave me opportunities to share the gospel with people. But I did this knowing it could get me in trouble from my supervisor. And almost did a few times with people who did not appreciate it very much.

This is minor, I know that compared to the persecution some people go through. But the point remains the same. We go back to the life of Paul who had just been charged with Blaspheming the temple by bringing people who where not Jewish into the temple. This is a serious offense and according to the Old Covenant law this was a capital offense and the punishment for this is death. Paul is in the process where we get back in the story of appealing his death sentence to the Roman authorities. But He is still in prison in the process. Sure it was pretty relaxed but He was still under arrest, still had a threat against His life, still was told by the authorities, at least the Jewish ones to stop yet He continues living for the truth of the Gospel in everything He does.

a phrase that I have heard before is living sold out lives for Jesus. That just means that no matter the cost we give everything we have for the one who died for our sin. Nothing else matters. How is it though that we can speak the truth of Jesus while living lives completely for Jesus when it seems like the world has comer against us and is telling us we can not do this anymore?

We are going to go through a large chunk of scripture, we are not going to read it all but I will give you an idea of what is going on.

24 - Paul and Felix

Paul had to give a defense for his actions before the Roman leaders, this was something that He could do as a Roman citizen. As we go through these three chapters I want you to take note of the way that He reacted and spoke the truth of the gospel to the people He came in contact with. first we see the arrival of Paul, the prosecution in front of the Roman governer Felix. Acts24:1

Acts 24:1 (CSB)

Five days later Ananias the high priest came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus. These men presented their case against Paul to the governor.

we are going to look at 3 men and how there contribution to the Roman legal system here. Another thing that we need to remember as we g through this is that Paul was on Trial for His life. The very thing that he is going to defend here is what got him in trouble in the first place.

first we have tertulus the Lawyer for the Jews that brought the death charge against Paul. He was accusing Paul of being an agitator, desecrating the temple. Tertullus the Lawyer began with flattery, not the truth. He tried to say nice things about the governor Felix to try and get Him an the side of the Jews. His accusations against Paul where not true and whether the flattery contained truth at all, it does not matter. The first person we see in this case brings lies and flattery to try and get rid of the Apostle Paul.

the world comes against us to try and hide the truth, it is happening even now but what is our response to this going to be? Sometimes Satan will try anything to try to get us to fall and stumble and The Jews and their Lawyer where certainly reaching to try and persuade the governor. Tertullus certainly had a crowd to back Him.

Next we have one of Paul’s many defenses of the gospel. We will get into Felix in a minute. Faced with the very thing that was going to get Him killed, He preached that gospel to them. the main things in the first sermon we see is this Acts 24:14

Acts 24:14 (CSB)

But I admit this to you: I worship the God of my ancestors according to the Way, which they call a sect, believing everything that is in accordance with the law and written in the prophets.

Acts 24:21 (CSB)

other than this one statement I shouted while standing among them, ‘Today I am on trial before you concerning the resurrection of the dead.’ ”

He made it known that He worshiped the same God, the God of His ancestors but they had it wrong, it was the Resurrection of the dead where they differed. when the world came against Paul, his choice which was not hard for Him to make was to speak the truth of the gospel in spite of what came against Him.

Next we have Felix, Antonius Felix was formerly a slave but was promoted by Claudius Caesar to the office of governor. The Roman historian Tacitus described Felix as “cruel, licentious, and base.” Felix was well informed about this new sect of Jesus’ followers called the Way, and when he heard that Paul’s case involved questions of religion, he adjourned the hearing until the Roman commander who had arrested Paul could be present Acts 24:22

Acts 24:22 (CSB)

Since Felix was well informed about the Way, he adjourned the hearing, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.”

Felix was intrigued though by the message Paul was preaching as we read later in verse 24 that He invited Paul later and heard the message of the gospel from Paul. but for some reason He was scared of what was being told to Him and sent Paul away. Maybe He was being convicted from what he was being told here and did not want to hear anymore lest he have to make a choice. Felix waited for a bribe from Paul maybe thinking He might get money, maybe convicted from what He heard but before He could make a decision He was relieved of His office and almost was killed due to what had been going on during his governing.

The Bible Exposition Commentary (Chapter Twenty-Two: Paul the Witness (Acts 24))

Dr. Clarence Macartney told a story about a meeting in hell. Satan called his four leading demons together and commanded them to think up a new lie that would trap more souls.“I have it!” one demon said. “I’ll go to earth and tell people there is no God.”“It will never work,” said Satan. “People can look around them and see that there is a God.”“I’ll go and tell them there is no heaven!” suggested a second demon, but Satan rejected that idea. “Everybody knows there is life after death and they want to go to heaven.”“Let’s tell them there is no hell!” said a third demon.“No, conscience tells them their sins will be judged,” said the devil. “We need a better lie than that.”Quietly, the fourth demon spoke. “I think I’ve solved your problem,” he said. “I’ll go to earth and tell everybody there is no hurry.”The best time to trust Jesus Christ is—now!

We see this in the first chapter and will continue to see it throughout the rest of 25-26. We need to speak the truth of the gospel in the lives of those we meet with lives lived compeltley for Jesus. Even though the world may come against us we need to speak the truth of the gospel. Paul waited in Prison for 2 years after this,

Acts 24:27 “After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and because Felix wanted to do the Jews a favor, he left Paul in prison.” kind of forgotten but He was going to have a chance to continue to speak His message of truth.

Do Not wait to speak and if you do not know the gospel, do not wait to respond.

25 - Paul and Festus and Agrippa.

the next two chapters Paul has a chance to speak before the new Governor and King Herod Agrippa the 2. I took a look at the family tree of Agrippa and it is quite convoluted and confusing but what I found is that He is the Great Grandson of Herod the Great who was the ruler when Jesus was born.

Paul was approached by the new governor and said He wanted to appeal to Ceaser, which was his right. I am going quickly over the next 2 chapters do to time. Festus the new governor finally sent for Paul to hear his case for Himself. He was trying to do a favor for the Jews but Paul appealed to have his case heard before Ceaser. but then in came the King Herod Agrippa the 2 and His wife Festus the governor brought Paul in as kind of like a parlor trick. See this man who has all the Jews up in arms, also maybe you can help me figure out what the big deal was with Him. so what did Paul do in front of one of the most prominent figures at the time? He did niot defend Himself like you would think but shared his life story. Acts 26:20

Acts 26:20 (CSB)

Instead, I preached to those in Damascus first, and to those in Jerusalem and in all the region of Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance.

I love His reaction though, Festus asked if Paul was insane surely he had spent to long with his nose in a book. Agrippa jokingly asked if Paul would persuade him so easily to change his mind and Paul responded with Acts 26:29

Acts 26:29 (CSB)

“I wish before God,” replied Paul, “that whether easily or with difficulty, not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am—except for these chains.”

I wish you all would become as I am, a child of God. standing before arguably the two most powerful people in the region at the time besides the emperor Ceaser, He kept saying what got him in trouble trying to persuade them to turn to Jesus.

This needs to be our wish, our life, our dream as well, that all people would become as we are, free in Christ. Nothing else matters, this is why we are here as a church. I remember doing a gospel magic trick in front of a school in India. I was not thinking much about it but it was a Sikh school that we somehow where invited to. The magic trick involved sharing the message of the gospel, the only way to heaven is through Jesus. I was told after I was brave for doing that in front of this particular school. I may have been scared if I knew that before hand I guess.

In all things we need to speak the truth of the Gospel. We need to share the message of the Resurrection of the dead.

So What?

there are 3 things I want to leave you with as we go from here that come out of this passage we went through today. 3 things that sum up what we have gone through today.

Though the world may come against us Jesus remains the same.

we see this is what happened to Paul. We should not be surprised when the world comes against us to try and stop us but rest assured that our Job remains the same and our messiah remains the same. as they came against Jesus and crucified him and as they came against the apostles so will they come against us. That is okay but what we can never stop doing is speaking truth.

In all things we must speak the truth of the gospel.

look at the people that Paul spoke the gospel to. He had a chance to plead for His own life, for it was his life on the line. But instead in all things he spoke the message of truth to all who could hear. To two of the most powerful men in the area, instead of pleading for His life He spoke the truth of the Gospel and How Jesus changed His life.

His response to the governing authorities who tried to shut Him don, His response to the people that where trying to kill Him, His response to these political leaders was the message of the Gospel. How is it that we can respond to people with the message of truth as we live our lives.

Live lives completely for Jesus

This is sometimes easier said then done. when the going is good this may be easy, but when there are consequences for living lives for Jesus, this is when it gets hard. But what we need to know is that while we are doing this there may be consequences for it. but we need to remember that our lives are not our own they where bought with a price so therefore in all we do our lives need to be lived 100% for Jesus, accept the cost and respond with the message of truth.

the message for the lonely, the depressed, the impoverished the poor, the needy the healthy, for all people is the same. There is hope and peace and joy and love and mercy and grace in the truth of the gospel.