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Putting it off

Look up: Acts 24:22-27

You really can picture this scene. A tired looking, worn man stands in rusting, iron chains in the centre of a crowded governors forum. There is a general ebb and flow of conversation rolling around the stone walls. Everyone from the higher classes of society have made sure they are here to witness today. Up above in the balconies, the people look down at the scene unfolding below, wondering why such a small, insignificant man, such as this prisoner, can be taking up so much of their governors time! What can he possible have to say that is so important? They watch him intently and expectantly. 

 

Felix, the Roman governor, stands up from his decoratative iron throne. He is clothed in a remarkably colourful cloak with the symbol of the Judaean province emblazoned in gold on the back. He adjusts his small, blue broach on his shoulder, and waves the crowds to be silent. When Felix stands up you make sure you listen. He is not a nice man to cross. The noise dies away instantly. There is absolute silence in the large arena. His mistress, Drusilla, looks up expectantly from her seat next him, she is a beautiful lady, but she shouldn’t be here. She is already married to another man. Felix looks at the bound prisoner and frowns, his eyes narrow. 

“Paul, state your case-tell me what you want to say”

 

The Apostle Paul closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and then looks directly and intently at Felix with a piercing stare. He begins to speak.

 

 

Ok and back to the present day! So the scene is set: Paul is standing before Felix, about to tell him about the remarkable message of the Gospel.  

 

In this account, Felix is three things.

  • Felix is fortunate

  • Felix is fearful

  • Felix is foolish 

 

Felix is fortunate.

How? Well, he is listening the Gospel, what a fortunate position you and I are in. We have all heard the message of God grace. There are still many people in the far off regions of this world that still have not heard God’s message: pleading with His creature to repent. We in the country are in the position of tremendous privilege to be able to say we have heard to Gospel. 

Felix was also listening, not just to the Gospel, but the Gospel as presented by the greatest preacher living on the earth at that time. Paul had a remarkable, God-given gift for preaching the message of the cross. What an absolute delight it must have been to listen to the Apostle Paul unfolding the wonders of God’s grace. Perhaps you are old enough to remember listening to some of the great preachers such as Billy Graham? Perhaps you can remember your grandparents or great grandparents talking about preachers of the past such as Moody or Spurgeon? But, as great preachers’ as they must have been, there is no comparison to the Apostle Paul.

 

In this crowded room, the Apostle would have systematically and clearly unfolded all the attractiveness and wonder of the person of the Lord Jesus. What a fortunate position to be in for Felix. But today, we must be thankful that we have all heard the Gospel. Maybe not by a preacher quite like Paul, but a preacher with a message from God nonetheless! Many people reading this will have got saved after listening to a Gospel preaching, thank God for our fortunate position of having heard the message!

 

 

 

Felix is fearful.

Verse 25 states that Felix became fearful. Some older translations put it as: Felix was ‘filled with fear’, or he ‘trembled’. When Paul spoke of righteousness, and the coming judgment. Felix’s face would have drained of colour. His cocky, arrogant attitude disappeared in a flash. He listened to Paul speak about how God requires righteousness from mankind. Felix knew he wasn’t righteous. He just had to look to his left to his mistress Drusilla to be reminded of this fact.

 

Suddenly, with a sickening jolt, Felix realises that despite this preacher standing before him in chains, he is the one that is really bound, whereas Paul is free. A bead of sweat trickles down his forehead. An empty feeling begins to form in his stomach. "You're a sinner, you're a sinner, you're a sinner" Paul's words repeat over and over again in his mind. And He is terrified.

 

Maybe this is you? Maybe you have heard the Gospel, you have been in this fortunate position, like Felix, of hearing the message of grace. Maybe its gone further, and you have been convicted of your sin. You have sat in a preaching, and the preacher has spoken at great length about how all men have sinned. About how none can enter into Heaven with even one sin still held to their account. Maybe, like Felix, you have been terrified that you will not be able to get into God’s presence because of your sins. Felix was terrified when he heard Paul speak about the coming judgment. Dear reader, there is coming a judgment. You will have to stand before God and answer for everything you have ever done in your life. All your words; all your thoughts; all your actions.

What will you say? What can you say?

There are many reading this, who have the answer.

 

They will point to the blood of Jesus, and say: “That was for me” 

 

Dear reader, that is the ONLY answer you can give, and you can only answer that way if you accept Jesus NOW! It is no use waiting until you are before the judge to think up your defence. A defence must be created before you go into the courtroom! The only defence that will stand before the Holy and Righteous judge, God himself, is the blood of Jesus Christ. Are you sheltering under the blood? Or are you still terrified, as Felix was here, with the knowledge that you know you are not right with God? What will you do about it?

 

 

Felix was foolish.

Now we come to the most tragic part of this whole affair. Despite his concerns about his life, Felix put off making his mind up for Christ. 

“I will hear you again”

If you are unsaved, and you walk out of a preaching, put down a tract, or stop reading an article, such as this one, without accepting Jesus as your Saviour, you are a Christ rejector

 

Harsh?

 

“Rejector?” You say “I just don’t want to do it yet, I want to enjoy my life, I have a few things I want to experience first, I want to explore my options, I want to find myself first. I’m not rejecting Jesus, I’m putting Him on the to-do list”

 

Oh reader, don’t you realise, there is no grey area with God. You either accept Jesus or reject Jesus. It is no use standing before God saying, I was GOING to accept Him as Saviour, I never got round to it. You either accept the Lord Jesus into your heart, or you reject Him. 

 

Felix had just heard a fantastic presentation of the Gospel, and yet he wasn’t ready to make the leap of faith.

 

There was a stone dead silence in the room. Felix wiped his brow. Took a shallow breath and swallowed. His racing heart slowed down. Now that Paul had finished, his words didn't seem so forboding. Perhaps Felix had been overreacting. After all, this man was a prisoner, while he, Felix, was the governer of a great province. If he were to become a Christian, or whatever it was these people called themselves, He would have to give up his position as governor, he would have to give up seeing Drusilla. No, he couldn’t be doing with losing all that! He shook his head. There were more important things to be doing with his time than listening to this crackpot preacher.

"But what if he's right?" whispered Felix's concience

"Then I shall hear him again, I do not want to loose everything I have worked so hard to get at the moment" 

 

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit (loose) his soul?

 

There is nothing more important than making sure your soul is right before God.

I cannot stress that enough or say it any clearer, so I’m just going to repeat it again.

There is nothing more important than making sure your soul is right before God.

 

Felix put off his decision. He weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of Christ, and decided that at the moment it didn’t really suit him to become a Christian. Is this you? Do you think that, at this moment, you have too much on your plate, too many things to be getting on with, too much to loose, to bother thinking about the eternal destiny of your never dying soul?

 

There is nothing more important than making sure your soul is right before God.

 

Perhaps Felix thought that it wasn’t particularly urgent that he accept the Gospel. Perhaps Felix though he had plenty of time to make his mind up. Are you the same? The preaching goes on week by week, maybe you think, ah well, there is always next week. But as the weeks go by you use the same excuse time and time again. We are not on this earth for an infinite amount of time. We have a very small window of opportunity to accept the Lord as Saviour.

 

You know what this window of opportunity is called? Its called ‘now’.

Not next week, not next month, not next year.

*Now*

 

Felix spoke with Paul on a number of occasions after this, and he was genuinely interested in what Paul had to say. But what happened? Felix ran out of time. He was moved onto to another position in the Roman Empire. He never heard Paul again, and he left without ever making that step of faith. History doesn’t recall what happened to Felix in terms of his faith. But I highly doubt he ever accepted Jesus as Saviour. He missed the greatest opportunity God could present to a sinner. But that same opportunity is still being presented to you today. The gospel is still going out. Will you take that step of faith and accept Jesus as your Saviour now? Don’t wait. Don't put it off, because you may never get another opportunity to listen. One day the decision will be taken out of your hands, and you will stand before a Holy God in all your sins, with nothing to say.

It will be too late.

 

But...

 

It is not too late now. 

This could be your last opportunity. 

Take it.

 

Now is the well-accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation .

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