Sharing Our Faith February 11th, 2024
God of word and wisdom, as we read the scriptures, open our eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. And may our hearts embrace these instructions and allow the Holy Spirit to direct us in implementing them in our lives in the name of Jesus. Amen.
This morning we’ll hear about three people who heard the message of the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life through having faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God but refused to believe. And isn’t that what we encounter more and more in today’s world, people who say they are spiritual, but not religious, those who claim to be open to faith, but refuse to make a commitment. We live in a time when many people are confused about what it means to be faithful. They say they believe in God, but they don't want to belong to any church or religion. They think they can have a personal relationship with God without belonging to a church. But is that really possible? Can we truly follow Jesus without being part of his body, the church, which made up of his followers? As the Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18) So, let’s have a look at our New Testament lesson from the book of Acts and see why these men refused to listen.
But before we do let’s have a brief look at the Apostle Paul himself and see how he came to be such a committed follower of Christ. Here’s how Paul described himself, “‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me...’” (Acts 22:3-5) “The Way” Paul is speaking about here is Christianity.
But after his encounter with Jesus on that Damacus Road, Paul became a dedicated believer in Christ, so much so that he endured much suffering in his effort to spread the Gospel message. As he wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians, “‘Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea.’” (2nd Corinthians 11:24-5) And not only did he undergo physical suffering, but he was also imprisoned and put on trial a number of times, forced to defend his faith in front of a number of very powerful men.
One of these was the governor of Judea, a man by the name of Felix. There had been a plot by a group of men in Jerusalem to have Paul killed because he was claiming to all that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and the Messiah for Israel. Word of this death threat got back to the leader of the Roman army in Jerusalem who, because Paul was a Roman citizen, didn’t want to have his blood on his hands. So, he had Paul sent to the provincial capital, Caesarea, under armed guard.
Once there, the leaders of the Temple in Jerusalem came down and gave their testimony against Paul in front of Felix. At the end of the trial Felix was unable to find Paul guilty of any charges, but wanting to appease his accusers, he left Paul in prison. Paul was kept locked up for a period of two years, and during that time we’re told that from time to time Felix used to have Paul brought from his cell to have conversations with him. But Felix still refused to accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.
After two years Felix was recalled to Rome and was replaced by another governor, Portius Festus. Festus, wishing to get in good with the Temple leaders, refused to release Paul from prison but rather called on the leaders in Jerusalem to come once again to Caesarea and present their case against Paul.
Again, Paul gives his defense strongly and, once again, he is unable to be effectively charged with any crime. But it wasn’t going to end there for Paul. When he was testifying in front of Governor Festus this is what took place, “But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favour, asked Paul, ‘Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?’ Paul said, ‘I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor.’ Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, ‘You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go.’” (Acts 25:9-12) So Paul was able to defend himself successfully and Festus couldn’t find him guilty, but not wishing to get on the bad side of the Temple leaders he was forced to defer making a decision on Paul’s case and so kept him in custody. Much like today it was difficult for those leaders to make a commitment, it was easier to continue to defer Paul’s release than to put themselves on the line for a man whom they know is innocent.
Now by chance, the king of the region of Judea came to Caesarea to welcome Festus to his new post. Festus saw this as an opportunity to pass the buck and so he explained the problem to this man, who was called Agrippa, and asked him to rule on the case. So, once again, Paul is forced to defend himself in front of a powerful and learned man.
And now King Agrippa sees this as a way to get out of his dilemma, here’s what took place, “Then the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them; and as they were leaving, they said to one another, ‘This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.’ Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the emperor.’” So, Paul will get his day in court in front of the emperor in Rome, thereby fulfilling these words of Jesus which he had said to his followers, “and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.” (Matthew 11:18)
So here we have three powerful and influential men who have heard the Gospel message and have refused to believe. The first of these was Governor Felix, who was more interested in appeasing the Temple leaders in Jerusalem while at the same time keeping himself out of trouble with Rome by preventing the murder of a Roman citizen, Paul.
Then there was Governor Festus. He was given the problem of what to do with Paul by his predecessor, Felix, and he had no solution. He too, heard Paul’s testimony about Jesus and his resurrection from the dead but could not come to accept what Paul was preaching. And, like Felix, he was more concerned about the affairs of man than that of God, so he refused to find Paul innocent of the charges made against him. Festus took the path of least resistance and handed the problem of Paul over to his superior, King Agrippa. Here’s how he explained the issue to Agrippa, “‘There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him and asked for a sentence against him. I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met the accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defence against the charge. So, when they met here, I lost no time, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. When the accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the crimes that I was expecting. Instead, they had certain points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul asserted to be alive.’”
And with that Agrippa was left with the problem on his back. And once again Paul finds himself standing in front of a tribunal defending his faith. And, once again, the judge is unable to make a decision. Agrippa, just like Felix and Festus, is more concerned about appeasing those men around him than he is in accepting the truth that Paul is saying, the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, he came to earth as a man, was crucified, died, and was buried, and then rose again and is seated at the right hand of God. So, he decided to pass the buck and send Paul to Rome to defend himself in front of the emperor’s tribunal. And this is what the Lord had promised when he appeared to Paul when he was in prison in Jerusalem, Jesus said, “‘…keep up your courage! For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome.’” (Acts 23:11)
So, what can we learn from these three men, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa? Well, they were in positions of power and wealth and had had everything in the world, but they had nothing. Jesus said to his disciples, “‘For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?’” (Mark 8:36) They were too interested in worldly things to be of any heavenly good. They wanted nothing to disrupt their comfortable lives, but they surely did not realize the consequences.
The Apostle James, the brother of Jesus, stated it this way, “‘Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.’ Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.’” (James 14:13-15)
And so, it is with many of the people we meet in our daily lives. They say they’re spiritual, just not religious and are too busy with their day to day lives to take the time to get involved with the church. They say they believe but won’t disturb their lives to learn more about God or take the time to praise him and give him thanks. They know deep in their hearts they should get back to spending time with him and fellow believers but just don’t make the commitment. Therefore, it is still so important that we share the Gospel message. There are so many people out there who have never heard about the Good News of Jesus Christ, or who perhaps went to Sunday School as a child but have drifted away from their faith and have never come back. They need encouragement and guidance.
So, we always need to be ready to give an answer for our faith. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:15-16) Paul was ready to give an answer to those three men, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa. He knew why he believed and what he believed. He had a personal relationship with Jesus and had experienced his grace and power. He had a clear understanding of the scriptures and how they pointed to Jesus, and he had a compelling story of how Jesus had changed his life.
We too need to be faithful and obedient in our mission of telling others about Jesus, just as Paul was. He knew that God had called him to be a witness to Jesus to the Gentiles, which were regular everyday people they like us. And he didn’t let anything stop him from fulfilling his calling. He faced many trials and hardships along the way and endured persecution and imprisonment. But he never gave up or gave in and never lost sight of his goal. He kept preaching the gospel and making new followers wherever he went. He trusted God to use him for his glory and his purposes. We need to do the same as Paul and help as many people as we can find their way back to God.
Let us Pray:
Heavenly Father, help us follow Paul’s example as we live for Jesus in this world. Let us be ready, respectful, and faithful in our witness. Give us opportunities to share our faith with others. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit would open their hearts to receive the Gospel. Be with us and with those who are struggling in their faith or have no faith at all. Help us help them find their way to God. In Jesus name we pray.
Amen