ACTS 24
Act 24:1 And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the
elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor
against Paul.
Act 24:2 And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying,
Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are
done unto this nation by thy providence,
Act 24:3 We accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all
thankfulness.
This reminds me of a verse in the Psalms:
Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
These thought they had power and authority. They thought they were somebody of
importance. Yet in the next verses in that same Psalm:
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them
in derision.
Psa 2:5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore
displeasure.
Psa 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son;
this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel.
Psa 2:10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the
earth.
Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his
wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
God respects no man's person. When we stand before Him there will be no great
men of importance. Money and fame will avail nothing.
Act 24:4 Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray
thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words.
Act 24:5 For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition
among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the
Nazarenes:
They should have known that Paul would not have been the ringleader of any sect
of the Nazarenes for he came along much later and was once one of them.
Act 24:6 Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and
would have judged according to our law.
In truth though the ones who were using the temple of God for merchandise, using
the law of Moses to false accuse and using their position of importance to cover
up their own sins were in reality profaning the temple.
Jesus obeyed the law, established the law and became the required sacrifice to
fulfill the requirements of the law. It was the ones that opposed Him that were
breaking the law given by Moses for Moses wrote of this prophet to come and that
when He did come, all were to hear Him.
Act 24:7 But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence
took him away out of our hands,
Act 24:8 Commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by examining of whom thyself
mayest take knowledge of all these things, whereof we accuse him.
Act 24:9 And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so.
Act 24:10 Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak,
answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto
this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:
Act 24:11 Because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve
days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.
Act 24:12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man,
neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city:
Act 24:13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
Act 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call
heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are
written in the law and in the prophets:
Act 24:15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there
shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
Act 24:16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of
offense toward God, and toward men.
Many people have been persecuted and put to death for heresy. In most cases they
were innocent. When the gospel was first preached it was considered heresy to
the religious Jewish leaders because they believed it was contrary to the law of
Moses. They didn't understand that the law had to be fulfilled and the
sacrificial requirements of the law had to atone for sins or no flesh could be
saved. This is what Jesus did when He allowed Himself to be put to death for
breaking a law He did not break. Animal sacrifices were only temporary until the
perfect sacrifice was given once and for all to remove sins and usher in a
perfect way of righteousness which before could not be accomplished by the works
of the law for no man is justified by the law. Sooner or later they would break
the law in one point. God made the way of salvation so simple that a child
can believe and be saved from sin and be granted eternal life. What before was
hard was made simple by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins. To simply believe this gospel is to be saved. Believing
in something of course means to take hold of, receive and begin to live in this
new and living way.
Act 24:17 Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and
offerings.
Act 24:18 Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple,
neither with multitude, nor with tumult.
Act 24:19 Who ought to have been here before thee, and object, if they had aught
against me.
Act 24:20 Or else let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in
me, while I stood before the council,
Act 24:21 Except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them,
Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day.
Actually one has to believe in this resurrection from the dead to be saved. If
we do not believe Jesus literally rose from the dead, we cannot be saved. This
is why faith has the power to save. It takes saving faith to believe in the
resurrection. It can't be done in the flesh, it has to be by the spirit of God.
The spirit of God will quicken one who is seeking God's salvation. That
quickening of the spirit of God touches the seeker and they receive the faith to
believe. The moment they really believe, salvation comes to them and they are
"born again" by the spirit of God.
This is why sometimes signs and miracles have to be done to convince unbelievers
of the power of the resurrection. If we can believe without seeing miracles, it
is also by the power of the spirit quickening our hearts to believe. This too is
a miracle. When one believes in Jesus Christ and is born again by God's spirit,
it is the greatest of all miracles.
Act 24:22 And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of
that way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come
down, I will know the uttmost of your matter.
Act 24:23 And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have
liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come
unto him.
Act 24:24 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which
was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
Act 24:25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,
Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient
season, I will call for thee.
That trembling was caused by the Holy Spirit convicting this man of his own sin
of unbelief. He could have been saved himself and influenced many others to be
saved but it is clear here that Felix resisted the power of the spirit and
refused to receive the gospel. He came so close to salvation here.
How many of us say to God, "Go away until a more convenient time?" "I'm not
ready yet."
My son asked a co-worker one time if she wanted Jesus to return. The lady said,
"No, I want to party first."
I asked someone once if they wanted to be saved. I was a young teenager at the
time. They replied, "I want to have fun first." They thought that they had to
give up having fun to be saved.
Those were the days when going to movies and worldly pleasures were taught to be
sin. While I realize many went over and above board on that teaching , still the
thought that someone would refuse to receive Christ because they might have to
give up going to movies is something to think about. If we tell them they don't
have to give up anything and can go where they please, would they really be
saved if they accept the Lord on those terms? I don't think so. To follow Christ
is to forsake all and follow Him. That all being, whatever the Lord requires.
I'm sure going to a movie is not sin in itself but if we thought it was sin and
did it anyway, not caring whether or not we would lose our souls over it, it
would be sin to us. We would be letting our fear of losing a little "fun"
separate us from the salvation of faith in Jesus.
Sometime we get things backward. When we come to Christ and start seeking Him on
a daily basis, our "want to" changes. The things we once thought was something
we couldn't give up, is now boring compared to the presence of God and the
infilling of His Holy Spirit. There is no comparison.
Act 24:26 He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that
he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the more often, and communed with
him.
This guy kept Paul around hoping for money to be received for his release.
Things haven't changed much.
Act 24:27 But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix' room: and
Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.
He desired to please men more than God. This fact alone has kept many from God's
gift of salvation. We can never please God and men at the same time. In many
cases receiving Christ would separate us from what we thought were our friends
but in the long run it is worth it all. Our life here is temporary, eternity is
forever.
