Felix — The Governor Who Waited Too Long

This article is taken from Ray Comfort’s upcoming book, Idiotic Things People Did in the Bible. Please subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter to be the first to receive its release date!

Acts 24:25:

“Now as 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.’”

What he did:

Paul preached the gospel to him—and he trembled. But instead of repenting, he postponed his decision.

Why it was idiotic:

Felix wanted a more “convenient” time to deal with eternal truth. Perhaps that time never came. Many today follow in his foolish footsteps.

A synopsis of what happened:

After Paul was accused by Jews from Asia of defiling the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27–29), a violent mob seized him. Roman soldiers intervened and brought him before the Sanhedrin, where he declared, “Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged” (Acts 23:6).

That night, the Lord encouraged him, saying, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome” (Acts 23:11).

As we saw earlier, when more than forty Jews conspired to kill him (Acts 23:12–15), Paul’s nephew warned the Roman commander, who arranged an escort of two hundred soldiers to take Paul safely to Governor Felix in Caesarea (Acts 23:23–24). Five days later, the high priest Ananias, some elders, and the lawyer Tertullus arrived to accuse Paul, calling him “a plague” and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes (Acts 24:5). Paul defended himself, declaring, “I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets” (Acts 24:14). Felix, having a more accurate understanding of the Way, adjourned the proceedings, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case” (Acts 24:22). He ordered Paul to be kept under guard but given some freedom (Acts 24:23).

Scripture then tells us:

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. Now as 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.” (Acts 24:24–25)

***

The KJV says he “trembled.” Felix knew about this new faith called the Way, and his understanding was remarkably accurate. We don’t know exactly how he gained that knowledge—perhaps from his Jewish wife who had heard of Paul’s dramatic conversion. But his knowledge was a foundation upon which Paul eagerly built, reasoning with Felix.

This is what we should do as witnesses to the world. We should reason with them about their moral state before God, appealing to both their conscience and their common sense by opening up the moral Law as Jesus did. Look at how God Himself condescends to reason with us:

“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

Notice what this reasoning is about—sin. That’s the heart of our witness. If a sinner doesn’t see his sin—if he thinks he’s morally well—he will never truly repent. Any “repentance” will be superficial—the repentance of Esau and Judas.

The Christian faith is reasonable. It makes sense. We are sinners heading steadily toward death. God, who is rich in mercy, offers us eternal life as a free gift if we trust in the Savior. To use a rather limited analogy—we have to jump 10,000 feet out of a plane, and God offers us a parachute. Death is the fearsome jump, and Jesus is the saving parachute:

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 13:14)

It’s as simple as that. So Paul kept it simple with Felix. He stayed with the heart of the matter. He reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. He boldly preached about the perfection of God’s holiness and His demand for perfect righteousness.

We don’t know precisely why he focused on self-control. Perhaps Felix’s god was his belly, and he was given to his appetites. Or perhaps his lack of self-control extended beyond food—maybe his unrestrained eyes were full of adultery. Whatever it was, it provoked the wrath of God. And when Paul spoke of judgment to come, something remarkable happened: Felix trembled. His conscience did its God-given duty and accused him of sin. He wasn’t simply awakened out of sin’s slumber—he was alarmed because he saw his danger. Clearly, David trembled when the prophet pointed an accusing finger at the guilty king

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.’” (2 Samuel 12:7–9)

At that moment, David had a choice: confess his sin or continue to hide it. The king came clean. Though his sin was scarlet, it became as white as snow.

“So many to whom we plead, give the gospel a polite nod and look back with longing toward Sodom. There are no words to describe such foolishness, except to say with fear and trembling, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’”

Share on twitter Share on facebook

Not so with Felix. He trembled because he knew his sin was exposed, but he chose to stay in the pigsty. He said, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” How foolish and arrogant we are when we spurn the gospel. God may not grant us a convenient season. He reasons with us through the “foolishness of preaching,” and foolish sinners choose sin and death and hell. Why would they do such an insane thing? Because they love their sin:

“For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:20)

Scripture then pulls back the curtain on the motive of Felix:

“At the same time he was also hoping to get money from Paul [as a bribe]; so he continued to send for him quite often and talked with him.” (Acts 24:26, Amplified Bible)

Eternal life came close to the governor that day, and he chose his blinding love of money over eternal salvation.

How sinners will one day look back with anguish of heart and wish that when they rejected the parachute we had slapped their sin-loving faces awake. So many to whom we plead, give the gospel a polite nod and look back with longing toward Sodom.

There are no words to describe such foolishness, except to say with fear and trembling, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

This article is taken from Ray Comfort’s upcoming book, Idiotic Things People Did in the Bible. Please subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter to be the first to receive its release date!