Faith on Trial Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on Faith on Trial Part 2. He will be reading out of Acts 24: 22-27.

And if we have trusted Christ, we’ve obeyed the gospel, then my friends, heaven is our home and we can live in the full assurance no matter how tough and difficult life gets. We have the promise and the confidence that we are gonna spend eternity with Jesus Christ. Hello. This is pastor Mike Sanders from the Open Door Church, and we are glad to be able to bring to you today hope worth having. We are going to be in Acts chapter 24, and we’ll be studying verses 22 through 27, and we’ve entitled it faith on trial.

This is the second part of this message. So I hope that you will catch that first one as well and be able to be encouraged in it. So let’s grab our bibles, and let’s get studying. In Acts chapter 24, our section that we’ll be covering is verse 22 through 27. So we’re continuing our study on faith on trial.

This is part two. We’ll finish it out here with this chapter. And you remember that there’s a trial going on and the apostle Paul is in the midst. He’s already gone through a religious trial before the Sanhedrin court, and now he is before Felix, the governor of Judah, in which Paul’s faith is on trial. He is being brought before the religious people back in chapter 23, but now chapter 24, the political people because of his determination to lift up Jesus.

His determination to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. As he is speaking the truth, there are false charges that are made against him. The apostle denies those false charges in verses 10 through 13, but then verse 14 through 16, he quickly confesses Christ, and he pulls everybody to understand that all that he is doing is because of Jesus Christ. And that he takes the opportunity to point out any legal and logical inconsistencies in verse 17 through 21. And what we learn from this chapter, if you forget everything that the pastor says, but if you can just hold on to something out of chapter 24, hold on to this.

We can be faithful witnesses even in stressful situations. We can be faithful witnesses in stressful situations. Here’s the thing, the Bible says that we will and we are in these perilous times. And we get so frustrated, not only of what’s going on in the world, but what is going on in our personal life. And think about the apostle, Think about what he’s been facing.

All he’s been doing is trying to get people to heaven. All he’s been doing is telling the truth. All he’s been doing is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. But he’s been in prison. He’s been dragged before different courts, and now he’s standing before Felix.

But don’t forget that promise that God gave the apostle here in chapter 23 verse 11. But on the following night, the Lord stood by him. And I want you to know as the family of God that the Lord is standing by us, and that he has not given up on you, and you don’t need to give up on him. And you can be faithful. We have to be aware that as we are being faithful to be his witness in stressful situations, that the enemies of the gospel will oppose us.

They’re gonna oppose Christianity. And look, the enemies come from many different angles. Sometimes they’re religious enemies. I mean, you see these religious churches that have gone woke and they don’t wanna believe in Christ. You see these false teachers out there trying to redefine what it means to be saved and what it means to believe in the gospel.

Friends, there are enemies out there of the gospel, and you gotta know that. Some of them are religious, but some of them are political. And that if you just stand up for God, they might arrest you. I heard about a teenager who was recently arrested for street preaching. Friends, I mean, I’m just shocked and stunned that in America these things could happen.

And that we should be allowed to proclaim the gospel. You say, well, we don’t like that method. Well, listen to me friends. You be like, understanding a DL Moody. He was out there.

He had forgotten he had made a commitment to God that he would witness and tell someone about Jesus every day of his life before he went to bed. Well he went to bed and forgot. It hit him. The Spirit of God had prompted him. And he got out of bed at midnight, and he went out on the streets of Chicago and started witnessing to people.

And a lady complained to him. And she was saying, I don’t like the way you’re telling people how to get to heaven. And he said, well, what do you do? And she said, well, I don’t do anything. He said, well, I like my way better than your way.

Amen? I mean, at least he’s doing something. And so you may not like the street preachers, but at least they’re out there doing something for Jesus Christ. Amen? And the apostle was being a faithful witness of the gospel, and he was speaking courageously for God.

And in our passage today, the apostle seizes the opportunity to witness for the gospel, for Christ publicly. You remember in Acts chapter nine that the apostle was given a promise, and that God would use him in a very unique way and that he would stand before kings and governors, and that he would give a testimony before Christ and Ananias who was responsible when Saul at the time came to Christ. He met with Saul because he had lost his sight, and God said, lay your hand upon him so that he could see again. And Ananias said to the Lord, don’t you know who this guy is? He’s been persecuting the church, and I’m not sure you got the right man.

And here’s what God said to him in Acts chapter nine verse 15. Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. So here, Saul, who would become Paul, was this chosen vessel of God that he would stand before these political leaders. He would testify of God, and that’s where we find him today in verse 22. I want you to pick up with me.

The Bible says, when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, when Lysias, the commander, comes down, I will make a decision on your case. So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide or visit him. Verse 24, and after some days, when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. He verse here, verse 25. Now as he reasoned about this is the apostle.

He reasoned about righteousness, self control, and the judgment to come. Felix was afraid and answered, go away for now. When I have a convenient time, I will call for you. Meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, a bribe, that he might release him. Therefore, he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

But after two years, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound. Now, I wanna hone in on verse 25, and I want you to see how the apostle communicates the gospel. Perhaps in a way that you have never considered, and one that you have never given much study to. But I’d like you to meditate upon this and let the word of God teach you. And if you’re visiting today, we hope and pray that God awakens your heart, that you would see the truth, believe the truth, that you would trust Christ as your lord and savior.

But the Bible says in verse 25 that the apostle reasoned about righteousness. And here, the apostle starts with the missing ingredient that is in every heart of every person, and that is righteousness. Any individual can be a moral person, but no one can be righteous until they obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. It includes everything by where a sinner must come to Jesus and be justified and reconciled. And you say, pastor, obey the gospel?

What do you mean? Well, the apostle Peter, when he stood before the thousands of people on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two. Here’s what he said to them. Here’s what he told them to obey. Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit.

Throughout the scriptures, the commands of the gospel are given to us. And not only are we called to believe, but we are called to repent. And we are called to turn away from our sin. And we are to receive Christ and trust him as our lord and savior. The will of God towards all of humanity is revealed in Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John chapter three verse 17. I know you’re familiar with verse 16, but have you ever considered verse 17? 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. Aren’t you glad that Jesus came to save the world? Because you’re a part of that.

You’re a part of that. Now, when the apostle was reasoning with Felix about righteousness, he was teaching him the facts of the gospel. And what are the facts of the gospel? First Corinthians 15 verse one through three, the death and burial and resurrection of our savior. He taught him that, but he also was communicating to him that he was to respond and obey the commands of the gospel.

A full presentation of the gospel of Christ is not just the facts, but it is the commands. And you’ll see this in Romans 16 later. The apostle would tell the church at Rome that they were to obey the gospel and that there was judgment for those who do not obey the gospel. And so when one says, what is it that I’m supposed to obey about the gospel? It’s what Jesus taught in Mark 16 that we are to repent, and we are to believe in Jesus Christ.

It’s not sufficient for you to just know the facts. Parents, listen to me. It’s not sufficient that your children know the facts. That’s the building block. Now you have to get it from their head to their heart.

And how do you get it from their head to their heart? By them obeying the gospel, repenting of their sin, and believing in the lord Jesus Christ. You cannot just say, I believe, but I’m not gonna repent, pastor. You can’t say that. Because to just believe the gospel is to just add another god to your life.

Many times, the missionaries will remind us that they have to be careful as they’re presenting the gospel because, yes, in other lands, they may be hungry to add another god. They’re okay to believe in many gods. We’ll take every god we can get, like we learned in Acts chapter 17. Every God we can get to help us through our trials and tribulations in life. But here’s what the call of the gospel truly is.

It is that we are to only believe, for Jesus is the only way to heaven. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the father except by me. And you say, well, I like the morality of these other religions, and it might be so. But you can never be righteous before God until you not only believe the gospel, but that you repent of your sin. And there are many who would love and and and you know some of you are saying, what happened to my child?

What happened to my child? I’ll tell you what happened. They believed, but they did not repent. They had the facts of the gospel, but they did not have the obedience of the gospel. So please be alert this morning as the apostle is teaching Felix.

He is trying to show Felix why he needs Jesus. And he’s also helping us understand why we need Jesus. Why do you need Jesus? Why do I need Jesus? You say, I’m a good person, pastor.

I go to work every day. How about that? I’m better than 90% of society. I show up. But let me tell you something, it’s more than showing up.

You gotta be willing to acknowledge your sin, and you got to be willing to say that I have sinned against God. Now as the apostle in verse 25 is reasoning about righteousness, he’s not only addressing why we need righteousness, but he’s also addressing the righteousness and holiness of God. You see, Jesus said unless you’re perfect, you can’t enter into the kingdom. He also said to that crowd of listeners on the Sermon on the Mount as they were eating up everything he was teaching them, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees, the most religious group among them. Unless your righteousness exceeds the Pharisees, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Oh, he was not asking you and I to be more religious, just the opposite. He was asking us to acknowledge that we could never be religious enough to get to heaven. He was challenging us to recognize that our morality will not save our soul. That we have a perfect and righteous and holy God, and therefore, God is calling us to believe in Christ. That’s the power of the gospel, to repent of our sins and believe in the gospel, to believe in Christ because on the cross, Jesus took my unrighteousness and your unrighteousness.

And the prophet Isaiah said that our righteousness is as filthy rags before god. And I know some of you pound your chest symbolically on the good things that you’re doing, but the best of you and the best of might comes miserably short of the perfection of God. And so the Bible tells us that Christ took our unrighteousness on the cross, paid for our sins. And guess what he did? Every time you repent, every time you obey the gospel and repent and believe in Christ, he wraps you with his righteousness.

Wow. That’s what the apostle was teaching him. He was teaching him that we have a holy and righteous God, and the only way you’re gonna get that holiness and the only way you’re gonna get that righteousness that gets you into the kingdom is to believe in Christ. We, as God’s people, as we are testifying for Christ out there in this world that we live in, we should never shy away from the truth. We should always be willing to help people understand Hebrews ten thirty one that it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living god.

We should remind them that our god is a consuming fire, Hebrews twelve twenty nine. And we should call them not to flee to religion, not to run to their morality, but run to Jesus. Flee to Christ and find him to be a refuge for your unrighteousness. For if you come and obey the gospel, he will save your soul. The second thing we see in this text is not only did the apostle teach about righteousness, this missing ingredient, but he taught about the missing discipline, self control.

Again, here we go, verse 25. Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self control. You might think to yourself, man, why would the apostle take time as he’s standing before this political figure, this governor of Judah? Why would he take time to talk about self discipline and the ability to have a self control? Well, we’re under this false impression that all political leaders are disciplined leader.

But that’s not true, is it? We like to say the cream rises to the top, but that’s not with politics. I’ll tell you that right now. Amen? That’s not with politics.

I hope it is in your workplace the cream rises to the top, and I hope in your home it rises to the top. But I’m just gonna be honest with you, it does not in politics. And if that makes you mad, then you’re just gonna have to deal with it. But here’s what I want you to know, that the Bible says look at verse 25, that Felix was afraid. As a matter of fact, in the King James, it says he trembled.

He trembled. The idea of the word is to be terrified. Here is the apostle. He is teaching him about the holiness of God, the righteousness of God. How that all of mankind misses out and falls short of the righteousness of God, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

And here, the Bible says that he is dealing with self control. Why would he do this? Well, Felix was trembling, even though Felix had been called a noble man. Back in verse three, if you remember, the lawyer stood before Felix trying to accuse the apostle that Felix was a noble man, but there was nothing farther from the truth, For Felix was a man who was very cruel in his reign as governor. Historians said that he was beastly cruel.

That’s how they defined his leadership. He was a man who had persuaded his current wife, Drusilla, to leave her husband and marry him. She was formally married to the king of Emesa, and he had arranged the assassination of the Jewish high priest. He was undisciplined in his conduct. He was foolish in how he behaved.

He was reckless in his temperament, and he was a volatile volcano, if you will. He was always exploding, out of control anger, and here is what the apostle is dealing with in verse 25. Go back to the text. Self control or his temperament. And so sometimes to help people understand their sinfulness, you have to hit home, don’t you?

You have to go right to where the problem is in their life. Because let’s just be honest, we love to lie to ourself. We love to imagine ourself to be something that we are not. And it is hard for us to see our own sin. And so what the apostle is doing as he is confronting the sin of Felix, the Bible teaches us that he trembled.

He trembled. He was afraid. Why would he be afraid? Because as he began to realize the judgment of god upon him and he began to realize how much of a sinner he was, he trembled. And then I want you to notice in verse 25 that not only the apostle dealt with that missing ingredient of righteousness and that missing discipline of self control, but the appointment that he has with God.

He said to him, and the judgment to come. The judgment to come. The appointment with God. The coming judgment. Paul, the apostle showed Felix that he would face God’s judgment as a sinner.

All sinners stand before God as being under his judgment. As believers, we are grateful that we are no longer under the judgment of God, and there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Why? Because the judgment that should have been ours was taken for us on the cross by our savior, and God’s people said, but what about those who do not obey the gospel? What about those who will not repent, will not believe?

My friends, we must tell them about God’s salvation. But we must also help them understand that they are lost and that they are under God’s judgment. I realize talking about God’s judgment is not popular today. I know that as we speak of God’s wrath, that it is certainly not something that we look forward to. I mean, rarely does the church gather and sing about the wrath of God.

We sing about his love. We sing about his grace. We sing about those things that mean so much to us, like his forgiveness and mercy and the hope that he gives us. But what about his wrath? We live in a culture that would rather believe in a God of love than a God who judges sin.

People say, Mike, what’s wrong with America? Listen, you don’t need to look any further than the judgment of God. America is under the judgment of God. For years of not obeying the gospel, for years of putting self ahead of God, for years more interested in money than our own hearts before God. And we could give you the laundry list this morning, but that’s not necessary because most of you already know it.

But I want you to understand, God’s judgment is upon America. But that’s nothing new. When we went through the book of Amos, we saw that God judged Israel. We saw that in the book of Daniel on Wednesday nights that God judged Israel and plucked Daniel out of this pagan culture, and he was called to be a light in that culture. So we know that God’s judgment is upon us, but here’s the thing.

Individually, do you understand as an unbeliever that God’s judgment’s upon you? Do you understand that God warns us about his judgment? Do you understand that God warns us about a place called hell, church? You understand how real that is? Jesus said in Matthew 25 verse 41, then he will say to those on his left, depart from me, you cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

It’s easy to forget that there’s a place called hell. It’s easy to forget that our loved ones who do not obey the gospel are going there if they do not repent and believe. It’s easy for us to be soothed by all the wonderful joys of the gospel and the blessings of salvation that are upon us as believers that we forget that hell is real. And Jesus said it was a place prepared for the devil and his angels. It wasn’t even prepared for you.

It’s not God’s intent to send you to hell. As a matter of fact, I remind people it’s harder to go to hell than it is to heaven. Did you know that? It’s harder to go to hell than it is to heaven because if you go to hell, you’ve got to climb over the cross. And you’ve gotta climb over the Bible, and you’ve gotta climb over the church, and you’ve gotta climb over the prayers of your mother, and you’ve gotta climb over all those who have faithfully witnessed to you and tried to persuade you and convince you to come to Jesus and to believe in him.

But my friends, if you would just repent and believe the gospel, devil likes to deceive and make us think differently. When we talk about salvation, we know that sometimes even that term can be foreign in a culture like ours. But if you think about it like this, being saved from drowning means that you were about to die and someone rescued you. I want you to think of it like that. To be saved spiritually means that you were on your way to hell, and then Jesus Christ rescued you.

Thus, the gospel is really not about living a better life, but rather how to have eternal life. That’s what I want you to see, church. It’s not about here’s the five created ways that you can mow your lawn, and there are sermons out there like that, and or even how you can be a better this and a better that. Really, what we need to be focused on is where are we gonna spend eternity. And if we have trusted Christ, we’ve obeyed the gospel, then my friends, heaven is our home, and we can live in the full assurance no matter how tough and difficult life gets.

We have the promise and the confidence that we are gonna spend eternity with Jesus Christ. Now, how did Felix respond to Paul’s message there? I mean, Paul didn’t come with a message of, hey, I wanna teach you how to be a better governor. Or, hey, I wanna help you to be more moral, Felix. You got some issues.

But he came and he reasoned with him about righteousness, self control, and judgment to come. What was Felix’s response? Unfortunately, it was not repentance of sin. It was not placing his faith in Jesus, but just the opposite. Notice what he says.

Felix was afraid. He’s convicted. And how does he answer Paul? Go away for now. When I have convenient time, I will call for you.

You see, Felix was convicted, but he was not changed. He was not repentive. There were three idols in Felix’s life. I want you to remember these idols. They are always tempting us.

First of all, Felix wanted to preserve his career, his political career. Remember that? Remember how he held on to Paul in prison? How long was Paul in prison? For two years?

Some kind of a house arrest situation. He was allowed visitors. He was allowed liberty under Felix, but he couldn’t just get up and leave. But he wanted to have favor with the Jews, verse 27 says. He wanted the Jews to continue to support him.

He he needed to get that particular group to vote for him, that political favor. He had to keep that career going. And sometimes we compromise the Bible and the gospel. We compromise the truth because we don’t wanna lose our job. We don’t want to lose what we’ve worked so hard or what we’ve accomplished.

As we continue to look at faith on trial, one of the things that emerges is that we can cultivate hope in our lives as we continue to demonstrate faith through the struggles. It’s not that our life’s gonna be easy, but rather we understand that there are gonna be trials and troubles, But we continue to keep our focus on the lord Jesus Christ. And so I hope you’ve been encouraged and that you’ll continue to be strong for the lord as you face the different trials of life. This is pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ, there is hope, worth,