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Main Idea
Life and death are set before us all. Choose life.
2 Samuel 12:1–7 ESV
And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
Nathan said to David, “You are the man!
David was at an important crossroads that day. When confronted with his egregious sin against Bathsheba and Uriah, would he humble himself and repent, or would he harden his heart and justify his actions? One route would help him become the man after God’s own heart, and the other would mold him more into the image of Saul, his unhinged predecessor.
Many of us have had or will have fork-in-the-road moments that forever alter the trajectory of our lives. Today, we will see one such example.
Passage
Acts 24:22–27 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.” He ordered that the centurion keep Paul under guard, though he could have some freedom, and that he should not prevent any of his friends from meeting his needs.
Several days later, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and listened to him on the subject of faith in Christ Jesus. Now as he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became afraid and replied, “Leave for now, but when I have an opportunity I’ll call for you.” At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would offer him money. So he sent for him quite often and conversed with him.
After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and because Felix wanted to do the Jews a favor, he left Paul in prison.
Felix is apathetic
• He is not in a big rush to give Paul a fair trial and swift verdict.
• Waits for Claudius Lysias to return to Caesarea (but we don’t even know that he actually came).
• He confidently says he will decide once Lysias comes, but Felix is like a little kid who says he will do what Mommy asks and then walks away without doing it.
• Allows the liberty of Paul’s friends to come freely and tend to his needs.
Felix is curious
He is knowledgeable about Christianity. You can’t govern for years and are unaware of a growing movement in your region.
He is knowledgeable about Judaism because he is married to a Jew – Drusilla…
Drusilla is the youngest daughter of Herod Agrippa II, and she was likely in her upper teens. Felix took her from her first husband (Azizus) with the help of a Jewish sorcerer. She had rejected a former suitor because he was unwilling to be circumcised, so she keeps to a Jewish identity, though loosely, in light of her sinful betrothal.
After a few days, they both wanted to hear Paul talk more about Christians’ faith in Jesus Christ.
His interest is more like going to a Ripley’s museum where you see and hear about an oddity, not because he wants to know Jesus personally.
Paul unpacks faith in Christ
As we have seen already, Paul strikes while the iron is hot. His chains restrict his physical body, but never his passion for the gospel. Nothing can retrain that.
What’s interesting here is the content of the gospel. In the past, when talking to Jews, Paul stuck with a predictable formula: Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. He demonstrated it during His earthly ministry; He was crucified, resurrected from the dead, and ascended into heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand. But his proclamation here is different. For Felix and Drusilla, Paul presents the gospel as a reasonable faith that pertains to:
- Righteousness
- Self-control
- Coming judgment
Why the change? Are these more important than the life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus? I would argue that they result from believing in the Christ who did those things, but they aren’t more or less important.
Paul is customizing the faith like a tailored suit to perfectly fit Felix and Drusilla’s sinful lifestyles.
So, let’s go through each of those briefly to see what Paul is trying to do.
Reasonable
- Not blind belief, but reasonable faith that satisfies a rational mind.
- Faith is the evidence of things unseen, not an unintelligent hope in something unknowable.
- One of the first things God says to Isaiah is, “Come now, let us reason together.”
- God created the mind and expects us to use it as a part of our spiritual growth.
Righteousness
Felix was not a righteous man. He was corrupt and spineless.
We don’t know what Paul told Felix and Drusilla, but he has written letters such as Galatians, 1&2 Corinthians, and Romans, so we can speculate a bit for him and, more importantly, understand it for us today.
Why does righteousness matter?
- Righteousness is holy and upright living, or divine holiness, so you need it to live an acceptable and pleasing life to God.
- It is the basis of faith. Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Faith is the foundation for righteousness.
- And yet, Paul said that no one is righteous… not even one person. We can’t generate our own or accumulate enough good works to make us righteous. That is a big problem. What, then, can we do?
- We receive Christ’s righteousness, which is a perfect righteousness that is not our own and is permanent (2 Cor 5:21).
Self-control
Felix didn’t have this either. While there were likely many examples of his inability to control himself, the one thing we can be sure of is how he obtained his wife. He saw that she was beautiful and stole her from her current husband, and she didn’t seem to mind. Their sinful union demonstrated their lack of self-control, and Paul used that to highlight its need.
Sinful living is defined by a person’s inability to control their urges. That is why Paul wrote this to the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 4:3–4 ESV
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
How can you live out the righteousness Christ gave you if you cannot control your sinful passions? There must be a constant rejection of the sinful flesh and a pursuit of holy living (aka- righteousness). Submitting to the guidance of the Holy Spirit will make this possible. His presence will gradually become more desirable than the hollow sins you used to enjoy, and as a result, the fruit of the Spirit will be produced… one of which is… self-control.
Without it, can you really live a fruitful and pleasing life to God?
Coming judgment
Paul didn’t do what many YouTube evangelists do today. He didn’t say things like, “Jesus thinks you are the best,” “Jesus just loves you, bro,” or “You are amazing just the way you are.”
Paul connects the reality of being unrighteous outside Christ to a genuine consequence.
Paul drives home the truth that righteousness and justice are foundational to who God is. You can’t have justice without a Judge, and this Judge will issue His verdict.
God the Father will judge sin in perfect holiness. You are either in Christ, and therefore your punishment was paid by Him at the cross… or you are not in Christ, and thus your sin and guilt remain on your head (See Rom. 5).
John 3:16–19 ESV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 3:36 ESV
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Felix was a corrupt governor who lived in a sinful marriage and used his position for ill-gotten gain. He had no righteousness or self-control, and if he did not turn away from these things to Christ, there would come a time when he would stand before the Judge of the living and the dead to give an account and receive his just punishment.
And this scares him. In the ESV, they use the word ‘alarmed,’ but it could also be rendered ‘terrified.’ The news of coming judgment threw Felix into a state of intense fear and desperation. And this was, like King David being confronted by Nathan, a defining moment of his life. When faced with the truth of the gospel and his own sinfulness, what would he do? Would he act on that fear to cling to Christ, walk into the light of the world for the removal of his transgressions, or would he walk back into darkness?
As Kent Hughes put it:
Acts—The Church Afire Wisdom in Delivering God’s Word
this was the continental divide of Felix’s life. He was being weighed on the scale of God’s holiness. It was time to make a choice —believing repentance or continuing rejection. The scale trembled and hesitated for a moment, and then Felix said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you” (v. 25b). In a very real sense, his soul died at that moment—a tragedy of infinite proportions.
Life and death were laid at his feet, spiritually speaking, and unfortunately, he chose death.
Felix reacts
Evidently, the fear of judgment was a momentary vapor. Once he rejected the truth of the gospel, which was custom-tailored to speak to his current situation, he retreated into darkness.
• Upset that he was not offered a bribe. Not only was he upset, but that is what he put his hope in. Instead of putting his hope in Jesus Christ, he returned to Paul often, hoping he would bribe him to get out of jail, which was illegal under Roman law. Felix shows his true colors in a vibrant display. How sad.
• He still wants to appease the Jews. He was a master placater. He could whisper sweetly to the Jews and then conspire against them behind their back. Being that he wanted to find favor in their eyes (and with his wife), …
• He leaves Paul in prison for two years until his successor, Porcius Festus, becomes responsible for Paul. The judge presiding over Paul’s trial decided to be undecided (which is the opposite of what he said in verse 22).
Corrupt, complacent, and wholly unjust. Felix had hardened his heart toward Christ and the responsibilities of his office.
Takeaway
First, Unapologetically proclaim the whole gospel. There will be times when people reject your message, and that can be painful. But remember, the outcome of your evangelistic efforts is never in your hands. Your job is to proclaim the gospel faithfully, which must include man’s sinfulness, God’s demand for righteousness, and the eternal stakes. Suppose you only present the benefits of Christ without their current sinfulness and everlasting punishment. In that case, you aren’t presenting the authentic gospel, and they will have no context for why God’s grace and forgiveness are so glorious to begin with. The gospel transforms and raises the spiritually dead to spiritual life.
Second, realize that everyone (including you) will come to a crossroads if you haven’t already. When you come to the point of trembling with fear in light of a holy and just God, what will you do? Failure to tremble at your fallen state and receive the gift of forgiveness will not cancel the final judgment.
We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and when that happens, will it be a day of rejoicing in God’s grace or weeping at the fulfillment of God’s judgment over you?
Life and death are set before us all. Choose life.
Questions to Consider
1. How did Paul customize the gospel presentation for Felix and Drusilla, as described in the sermon?
2. Why is righteousness essential in living a life acceptable and pleasing to God?
3. How can the concept of self-control be applied to your daily life?
4. What can you learn from Felix’s reaction to the gospel message in the sermon text, and how can you apply it to your spiritual journey?5. How can you prepare to stand firm in your faith, even in the face of fear and temptation?