I would invite you to read all of ACTS, or at least ACTS 24 to get a background for the final passage in ACTS 24 which I will include below:
24 But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his ]wife who was a Jewess, and summoned Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and answered, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will call for you.” 26 At the same time, he was also hoping that money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to summon for him quite often and converse with him. 27 But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned. – Acta 24:24:27.
image source: bible encyclopedia.com
I titled this post “Letting the moment pass.” And what I hope to cause you to think are times when you responded to a sense of conviction, or the prodding of your conscience by the Truth, by running away back into your idolatrous way of thinking. At other times, you tested yourself by proving your personal secular discipline by hardening yourself to being swayed by the truth through the witness of others and the growing amount of evidence leading to the truth of Jesus Christ.
Another title for this post could be Felix suppresses the spirit of conviction of sin.One of the reasons people may resist their conscience, is they want to insist they are right, or that they believe they have enough apparent control of their destiny that any forseeable judgment matters not to them. Felix was the Procurator of Judea and he was known for this cruelty, corruption and political maneuvering. He was a man of great secular power and that can be proof enough for many, a surrogate for the eternal and invisible powers that are ignored. Most people don’t have the same secular standing as did Felix of old, but we can be just as resistant to the acceptance of the call to repentance and faith in Christ, by instead, taking a stand upon our own transitory hill of our own truth.
If one chooses to believe that there is no God and therefore no justice, just an imaginary heaven or hell that is merely a function of your creative mind and relative morality, then self-righteousness will be given free reign, despite the ultimate cost of disbelief of the true God.
There’s another prominent man in the Roman government who was confronted with the Truth that I wrote about a few months ago and that was Pontius Pilate. Pilate was the governor of Judea and all the Gospels recount his critical role in the trial and execution of Jesus. In Pilates conversation with Jesus, Pilate was confronted with the prospect of there being an absoluteTruth and yet he was so cynical, he basically shrugged off inquiring of Jesus about that idea. On the other hand, this passage about the bribe-seeking Felix suggests there was actual terror in his soul at Paul’s raising the subjects of righteousness and judgment. He seemed to be entertained and thrilled by the presence of truth rather than embracing it for all its life changing glory.
Sometimes the prodding of truth is revealed in a moment of mental terror. It should be sobering to know, the experience of hell will be much more inescapably so.
Where do you fit in? With so many examples and occurrences in the human experience, human history, your personal history and the Bible, point to or suggest a moral Law Giver, how sober are you in response to the profound evidence?
Would you mock a man like Felix or Pontius Pilate? Men who by historical narrative are preserved for us to learn from. I’m afraid we are surrounded by many people just like these historical characters. You might even be one.
Are you letting the moment of conviction pass?
The Bible, sourced from centuries of faithful yet sinful people responding and being led by God, tell of the Creator’s holiness, righteousness, and the certainty of judgment. The Good News, from our Good God, is that He has provided through His mercy and grace, the Way we sinful humans can be reconciled with Him.
Despite the gravity of our sin and depravity, which would lead us to Hell, a place of torment and separation from God, God so loved thew world that he sent His Son to receive the punishment that we deserve so that we may not only be saved from hell, but also to live and eternally joyful life with God. How great a gift! Jesus Christ paid to price demanded by God’s righteous justice.
It’s a shame so many people will turn their backs on the greatest gift in all of creation, to pinch a penny now while forsaking so great an inheritance and rescue.
How will you respond?
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iltimone.org
In memory of the late great Chuck Norris, who saved many people on screen and off, here’s some words of wisdom from this man of God:
“It’s important to make your peace with Christ while the opportunity exists. Life is so fragile. You never know when it’s going to be all over. It could be over in a blink or an eye, and then it’s too late to accept God’s gift of salvation.” – Chuck Norris
For a one minute explanation of the Gospel from the late Pastor John MacArthur, watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCP9UcC7BzE
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
All quoted excerpts have footnotes removed, usually from Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), sometimes from New International Version (NIV), on rare occasion the Amplified Bible (AMP).
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