Deadly Procrastination

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 uttermost of your matter. 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. 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. 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. He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him. But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix' room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. - Acts 24:22-27

    The closing verses of Acts 24 stand as a beacon to warn us of the evil and danger of procrastination. '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. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgement to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.' But he never did. For two years, 'Felix, willing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.' Some time later, this same Felix committed suicide. Felix warns us all that anyone who trifles with the things of God courts eternal damnation. Procrastination is always evil, but procrastination regarding the claims of Christ in the gospel is deadly. If a person will not repent when he is confronted with the claims of Christ, delivered to him by the power of the Holy Spirit, he cannot repent later. Such procrastination is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31; Prov. 1:23-33).

    Paul reasoned with Felix concerning the faith in Christ. Felix was a notoriously wicked man. He rose from slavery to be the Roman governor of Judea by cunning and treachery. His wife, Drusilla, was of the same character. Having the power of Rome behind him, Felix could do whatever he desired with Paul: kill him, leave him in prison, or set him free. Paul was fully aware of these things. Felix called Paul before him because he was curious about 'the faith in Christ'. He imagined that Paul's philosophical and religious opinions might be stimulating and entertaining. He certainly did not expect his prisoner to expose his sin and demand that he repent. But that is exactly what happened. God's faithful servant, being full of the Holy Spirit, powerfully preached the gospel of Christ to his captor. Without question, Paul boldly exposed Felix's sin, both the corruption of his heart and the evil of his deeds. But do not imagine that the apostle spent his time lecturing this pagan governor about the immorality of his behaviour and tried to persuade him to become a morally reformed man. Paul was aiming at the governor's heart. His subject was not morality, but 'the faith in Christ'. He was endeavouring to persuade this proud, wicked man to bow before the throne of God in repentance and faith, 'the faith in Christ'. His sermon had three points.

    1. Paul reasoned with Felix about righteousness

    No one will ever be saved until he or she is made to see what the Word of God teaches about righteousness. When the Spirit of God deals with sinners in grace, he reproves them of righteousness (John 16:8,10).

    In essence Paul said, 'Felix, God is holy, righteous, just and true. Because he is holy, he requires you to be perfectly holy, or else he will consume you in his wrath. You know that you are a sinful man before the holy Lord God, you have no righteousness and, being a sinful man, you cannot produce righteousness. That is why the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into this world. He came to establish righteousness before God as a man, to make sinners righteous by his obedience to God as a man and his satisfaction of divine justice by his death as the sinner's substitute. He is "the Lord our Righteousness". Felix, the only way sinners like you and me can ever be made righteous is by the doing and dying of Jesus Christ, the sinner's substitute. Trust him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you do but trust him, he is your righteousness. Your faith in him is evidence of the fact that he put away your sins by the shedding of his blood, that God has imputed to you his righteousness, and you are born of God.'

    This is what the Word of God teaches about righteousness. We need to be certain that we understand these things:

    1. The Lord God is perfectly righteous and holy (Ps. 7:9-11; Dan. 9:14).

    2. The holy Lord God demands perfect righteousness in all his moral creatures, in all who are accepted by him (Lev. 11:44-45; 22:21; Matt. 5:20; Heb. 12:14).

    3. No man is capable of producing righteousness before God (Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:9-20).

    4. The only way a sinner can obtain righteousness before God is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:19-26; 10:1-4).

    2. Paul reasoned with Felix about temperance

    The word 'temperance' means 'self-control'. It is yielding to Christ the rule of one's life. That is the essence of faith (Mark 8:34-36; Luke 14:26-33). It is ever the tendency of sinful man to abuse the powers God has bestowed upon him, to allow the passions of his flesh to rule his life, and to give in to the persuasive allurements of the world and of Satan. But when a person is born of God, the Holy Spirit graciously subdues him, brings him under the rule of Christ and of righteousness, so that he as a king rules over his life and the affairs of it, living in obedience to the will of God, for the glory of God (Gal. 5:23; Rom. 6:11-18; Rev. 1:6). As the believer grows in the grace and knowledge of Christ, he grows in the exercise of temperance (2 Peter 1:6). Yet this temperance is something that requires watchfulness and diligence (1 Cor. 9:27).

    Felix was a proud and powerful man. Paul told him that the only way he could ever obtain righteousness with God and eternal salvation was to bow to Christ as a needy sinner, submitting to his dominion and trusting the merits of his obedience as Lord and Saviour. Then he pressed home the claims of Christ.

    3. Paul warned Felix and reasoned with him concerning eternity and judgement to come

    He pressed the governor to make a decision. I suspect he said something like this: 'Felix, I have reasoned with you from the Word of God. I have told you the truth. You know that I have done so. Here are your options. You must either repent or perish. You must either tum or bum. You must either trust Christ and be saved by him, or you must meet him in judgement and be damned by him. Which will it be?' Knowing the terror of the Lord, Paul pressed and persuaded Felix, urging him to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:10-11).

    Felix's response

    When he heard the gospel, Felix trembled with conviction. I know that the grace and power of God the Holy Spirit is effectual and irresistible. If God the Holy Spirit goes after a sinner, he always fetches him home (Ps. 65:4). But I also know that everyone is responsible to believe the gospel and that every sinner who obeys the gospel is saved by Christ (Prov. 1:23-33; Rom. 10:21; John 3:36). If at this point Felix had repented and trusted Christ he would have been saved, but he chose not to do so. His conviction passed. He chose death rather than life, because he refused to give himself up to the rule and dominion of Christ. Conviction is not conversion. Emotion is not salvation. Trembling is not believing. But why did Felix tremble at the message Paul preached? He trembled because he was convinced of all that Paul said; but he was still a rebel at heart. His heart was not broken. His will was not subdued. He would not bow to the rule of Christ as his Lord.

    Because of his heart's rebellion against the sovereign Christ, Felix wilfully rejected the claims of Christ in the gospel. He said to Paul, 'Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.' He said, 'Not today; perhaps tomorrow. I have some things to take care of first. I will call you tomorrow.' But tomorrow never came. God never promised to save anyone tomorrow (2 Cor. 6:1-2; Heb. 3:15; Ps. 95:6-8).

    A solemn warning

    Felix was damned by his procrastination! He could have been saved, but he stopped his ears. He wilfully rejected the counsel of God, and God never spoke to him again. What a warning Felix is to all who would trifle with the things of God! There is such a thing as judicial reprobation. There are people living upon the earth who are as sure of being in hell as if they were already there. There is no hope for them. God will not show them mercy. Though still alive, like Felix, they are damned for ever (Jer. 7:15-16; Hosea 4:17; Rom. 11:20-21). Many were still alive in Noah's day when God shut the door of the ark. The five foolish virgins were still alive when God shut them out of his kingdom. Esau was still alive when he tried to repent, but found no place of repentance. Whenever God speaks and those who hear his voice refuse to obey it immediately, they are courting reprobation (2 Cor. 2:14-16). If a sinner does not respond to the call of God in the gospel, the day will come when he will want to respond but will not be able to do so. Once more, I direct your attention to God's warning in Proverbs 1:23-33. Read it and be warned. Felix stands as a beacon to warn sinners of the danger of procrastination.