Alright, let's turn to Acts chapter
24, and we'll begin reading in verse 24. And after certain days, we don't
really know how long this was, but Paul has been kept by the centurion. He has
some liberty that folks can come to him. But after certain days,
when Felix, he's the governor, the judge, when Felix came with
his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewish, he sent for Paul and
heard him concerning the faith in Christ. That's the gospel,
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, Portius Festus came into Felix's room. He came into
that office in Felix's stead. And Felix, willing to show the
Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. Now, have you ever thought about
how you would declare the gospel if you had the opportunity to
speak the truth to a civil judge or how you would declare the
gospel if you had the opportunity to speak to a police officer,
for instance. Somebody whose responsibility,
their life's work is to enforce the law. Well, Paul had that
opportunity here with Felix, the governor. Felix is the judge.
And we see what kind of judge Felix was there in verse 26.
He was an extortioner. He took bribes. He hoped money
should have been given him of Paul that he might loose him.
He knew Paul came to give alms to his Jewish brethren and he
thought Paul might still have a little of that money left over.
Or he thought those Jewish brethren who were so fond of Paul might
pay a little ransom to have Paul delivered. And so he went to
him often. It's probably why he came in
the very first place. And then he went to him often
and communed with him. And then in the end, he was a
political man. After two years when Festus came
into office, the last thing Felix did instead of releasing Paul, What Felix did was he made a
political move, just like what Herod did to the Lord Jesus Christ. He pleased the Jews and left
him bound, left Paul bound. Now this woman, Drusilla, was
a Jewish woman, and so he was unlawfully married to her. Felix
was by God's law. He was unlawfully married to
her. And not only that, but she was
married when he drew her away from her husband and he took
her as his wife. So they're both adulterers, open
adultery before God. And the judge then, we see here,
that sat in the judgment seat to judge Paul. was an unrighteous
judge. And he knew no temperance, no
self-control. He was a self-willed man governed
by the lust of that sinful, depraved flesh. And he had no regard for
the judge of the whole earth and for the fact that he was
coming into judgment, as all men are. In other words, Felix
and Drusilla that stood here to hear the gospel priest were
just like you, under the sound of my voice, who do not believe
on Christ. Exactly the same. And their sinful,
fleshly nature is just like that sinful, fleshly nature that's
in you who believe. That same old nature that's still
there. How often do we climb up on the judgment seat And we
say, I'm thankful I'm not like that man. We might not say it
that way, because we know the parable. But we really are saying
that. When we say, can you believe
they did that? I wouldn't have done that. That's
what we're saying. I'm glad I'm not like them. God let you go. And you'll do
anything any other man or woman will do. Anything. I liked what
Brother Greg told us over there one weekend in Pennsylvania.
Righteousness is equity. And anything that's inequitable
is iniquity. That's what it is. It's iniquity.
Temperance is to be brought into submission to Christ, to have
the Spirit of God ruling in our hearts, so that we're no longer
under the dominion of this sinful flesh, we're brought under the
dominion of Christ. It's the fruit of the Spirit.
And that's how we're bridled in the inner man, that's how
we're subdued by the power of God's grace. And we all must
stand before the judgment seat of God. All of us will stand
before the judgment seat of God. Let us serve our God with reverence,
with fear, and trembling. Now, as Paul did with Felix,
he reasoned with him out of God's Word concerning faith in Christ. All of these three things are
accomplished through faith in Christ. And I want to reason
with you out of these scriptures concerning righteousness, temperance,
and judgment to come. He says here in verse 24, He
sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And Paul
reasoned, that is, he preached the gospel of righteousness,
temperance, judgment to come. First of all, Paul reasoned of
righteousness. Now, I like this in the fact
that here's a judge who is, that's his job, is to be a judge, and
yet he's a lawless man. He's an extortioner. Well, Paul,
Paul dealt with this. He hit it right head on and dealt
with him directly in what was wrong with him, very personally
in what his problem was. But Paul dealt with everybody
he preached to the same way. And he, this was a man, Felix
was a man who This was going to offend him.
It's the gospel. It's going to offend him. And
here's the man who's sitting to judge Paul. But Paul preached
this gospel to him anyway. But I love where Paul... I could
see Paul dealing with him like he dealt with the Jews. The Jews
who judged that they were righteous. Look over at Romans 1. They judged
they were righteous. just as Felix did, just as all
men do by nature. And here's how Paul began. He
began by speaking of the vilest of sinners. In Romans 1.21, he
speaks of those that when they knew God, they glorified Him
not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations,
and their foolish heart was darkened. They professed themselves to
be wise and they became fools. They changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made like the corruptible man,
into birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. And wherefore
God also gave them up to uncleanness. through the lust of their own
hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. They
changed the truth of God into a lie. They worshipped and served
the creature more than the Creator, who's blessed forever. And he
gave them up to these vile affections. The women changed the natural
use of that which is against nature. The men, the natural
use of the woman, burning their lust one toward another. That's
homosexuality. And men with men working that
which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense
of their error which is meet, which is fit. And he says, verse
28, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which
are not convenient. Those things that they didn't
like to think on God, so He gave them a mind to where they didn't
even think on God. The conscience was seared. They
were filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity,
whisperers, backbiters. Haters of God, despiteful, proud,
boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedience to parents, no understanding,
covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful,
who knowing the judgment of God, knowing they got to stand...
All men know this. All men know this. That's why
when the lightning flashes across the dark stormy night, men will
hit the ground. Because every man knows in his
heart he's coming and that just might be God coming. And you
coming in the judgment before God. But even though they commit
such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same but
have pleasure in them that do them. And Felix, he's speaking
of these things. He's speaking of this is intemperance.
This is that heart of reprobation. This is that evil, sinful, depraved
heart that's in every sinner. And Felix might have thought,
well, I'm sure glad I'm not like those fellas. Just like everybody
will do. Just like every man that hears
the gospel of Christ, of the righteousness God requires, of
how that all men are self-willed by nature. When they hear it,
they think, I'm not like those men. But I can hear Paul quoting
this very next thing, just what he quoted to the Romans. Look
at chapter 2, verse 1. Therefore thou art inexcusable,
O man, whosoever thou art that judges. For wherein thou judgest
another, thou condemnest thyself. For thou that judges doest the
same things." You do the same thing. God requires truth in
the inward parts. He requires truth. Our hearts
have to be circumcised by the Spirit of God. We have to be
made anew, created by God. And all of us by nature Until
God works this work of grace by nature, this is all we are,
is this sin and rebellion against God. Look over at Romans 3.9.
What then? This is what Paul was working
to, and I guarantee this is the same gospel he preached to Felix.
If you're going to deal with righteousness and temperance,
this is what you've got to deal with. What then? Are we better
than they? No, in no wise. We've proved
both Jews and Gentiles that they're all under sin. Jew and Gentile,
all under sin. There's none righteous. No, not
one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. He says, Felix, your judgment,
your judging of things and your, in his civil employment, in his
responsibility there, he said your judgment of things is unjust. You're not judging justly. Now
let me tell you about the just God of heaven and earth. This
just God of heaven and earth will by no means clear the guilty. Felix would. Will we? Will we? Let's see. We get stopped. I'm just going
to throw something out. We get stopped, get a traffic
ticket. If we know somebody that knows
somebody that can get us out of it, will we get out of it?
We'll try to get out of it. We want ourselves to be free.
Now, turn around and somebody else do the same thing. We hear
about on the news some politician doing that, and boy, we'll have
him in hell in a heartbeat. We do the same thing. But this
God won't clear the guilty. The judge of the earth won't
clear the guilty. Felix, you can be bribed for personal gain.
Listen to this, this is what, I thought of this today, I went
over to the judges, and I thought, this was the scriptures Paul
had, he's preaching out of the Old Testament, and this is the
scriptures he had, 2 Chronicles 19.6, the Lord said to the judges,
when he set up judges over Judah, he said to those judges, take
heed what ye do, for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord,
who is with you in the judgment, When that scripture Scott just
read, Romans 13, he's the minister of God to you for good. He's
going to do what God would have him to do. Regardless of what
that man thinks he's doing, he's going to do what God will have
him to do. You're not judging alone, God
said, wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Take
heed and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our
God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." You can
be bought off, Felix, but this God, this judge, can't be bought.
You can't do anything to bribe this judge, to make him respect
your person, and anything you've done, give him any gift of your
own hand, of your own making, and bribe him like you can be
bribed. Can you imagine how Felix was
angered? Can you imagine how angry he
got when he sat there face to face with Paul and Paul is telling
him, Felix, you're unrighteous. Felix, I'm speaking beyond this
way you judge in civil matters. I'm talking about before the
just God of heaven and earth. You're unrighteous. You're unrighteous
with him. In Adam, you sit here on the
judgment seat trying to be a judge of the law, but in Adam, you're
guilty of God's law. You're under the law, condemned
by the law. Now the only way we can obtain
the righteousness of God, the only way we can obtain the righteousness
of God is in the one who offered up a pleasing sacrifice, a pleasing
offering to God in behalf of His people. That's the only way
we can be made righteous. Look at Romans 10, 5. I usually
skip this verse when I'm reading to you. I did a little reading
on this this week and I want to give this to you. Romans 10.5,
Moses described the righteousness which is of the law, that righteousness
which is by your doing, that the man which doeth those things
shall live by them. Perfect, holy, righteous obedience. You can't do that. I can't do
that. But the righteousness of faith doesn't say there's something
left for the sinner to do. That's what these next verses
mean. The righteousness which of faith speaketh on this wise,
say not in thine heart, who shall ascend up into heaven? That is,
bring Christ down from above. As if he hasn't already risen
to the right hand of the Father. Don't say, in your heart now.
This is unbelief in your heart. Don't say in your heart, oh,
there's something else I've got to do. That's to bring Christ
down. Who's going to go up to heaven
for me? Christ is risen. He's seated
at the right hand of God. And don't say, who shall descend
into the deep? That's to bring up Christ again
from the dead. These are things that are impossible.
These were proverbial sayings, impossibilities that men would
use. And when men speak of there yet
to be something that you have to do or I have to do to be made
righteous with God, they're speaking of impossibilities. And Paul
says the righteousness which is of faith says it's done. Christ
came down, He lived, He died, He went to the cross and bore
the sins of His people. And when He died, we died in
Him. Every elect child of God died
in Christ when He died. And when He was buried, we were
buried. And when He rose again, we rose again to the right hand
of the Father. And when He was accepted of God,
we were accepted in the Beloved. And there remains nothing else
to be done. But here's what the righteousness
of faith says, verse 8. The word is nigh thee, even in
thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word of faith which
we preach. How's it going to get there?
How's that word going to get in your heart? When God writes
it in your heart through the Holy Spirit. When He does, this
is what you'll know. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Now that's
the end of the story. Thou shalt be saved. For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confessions made unto salvation. For the scripture says, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. You won't be ashamed
for trusting Him. You won't be confounded. Your
sins won't be brought up again for believing. There's nothing
else to be done. And anybody that says there is
something else to be done, he's saying, who's going to ascend
up to heaven for us? Who's going to descend into the
deep for us? As if there remains something
yet to be done. The righteousness of faith doesn't
say that. Paul wrote to the Romans back
there in Romans 2, and when he said all that to them, this is
what he said in Romans 2.11. He said, there's no respect of
persons with God. For as many as have sinned without
law shall also perish without law, and as many have sinned
in the law shall be judged by the law. Verse 16, in the day
when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according
to my gospel. You see what we just read in
Romans 10 talks about, say not in thine heart, there's something else to be
done, but believe in your heart. And when He says here, God's
going to judge the secrets of men, where do you think that
is? It's what He's put in the heart. What He's put in the heart. Those who He's created anew,
What He's created is how they're going to be judged. They believe
Him in their heart. It's a gift of faith. And it
can't be taken back. And it shall be ours. And He'll
judge by, we trust Christ. That's the secret of our heart.
And the secret of the self-righteous man's heart, the secret of Felix's
heart was, He thought he was righteous. He thought he was
righteous. He was a big shot calling the
shots. Alright, look now back there with me at our text. Paul reasoned of temperance,
of temperance. Now, Felix was He was just a
man who lived after the lust of his flesh. He was a man who
was not bridled. He hadn't been subdued by the
Spirit of God. He was living after whatever Felix wanted.
That's what he was going for. He worked his way from a slave
through the ranks, conniving and telling lies and backstabbing
and breaking covenants and cutthroat and everybody and got himself
into this position of governor. And then he stole this woman
because she was supposed to be The report is a beautiful woman
and he wanted her and he got her. And he didn't care how he
got what he got. He was an uncontrolled, self-willed,
obstinate-hearted man. But when God creates a sinner
anew, he writes the the law of Christ in the heart, when he
writes this word of faith in the heart, this word of love
in the heart, this word of salvation accomplished in the heart, this
work of the satisfaction of Christ in the heart, the sinner is going
to take sides with God against everybody that speaks a lie. beginning with his own flesh,
his own self, and even his father, his mother, his dearest loved
ones. That's what the Lord said when
he said, if any man hate not his father, his mother, his own
dearest loved ones, even his own flesh, and take up his cross
and follow me, he can't be my disciple. He can't be my disciple. We're not going to change the
Word of God, twist the Word of God to defend Mama and Daddy,
or what they believe, or to defend our brothers or sisters in the
flesh, what they believe, or anything else. To do so is to
be ashamed of God and His words. And Christ said, Amen. That's
a shame to me and my words. He had no place with me. But
this is what God does. This temperance is wrought through
the Spirit of God and it's through faith in Christ. The other thing
is when we behold that we're risen with Him and we behold
that we're dead under sin and we're alive under God, that as
Christ liveth unto God, the desire and the constraint and the subduing
of our heart is we want to yield ourselves to God. We want to
yield ourselves to Christ. We want to walk after Christ
and be under the dominion and rule of Him. That's what Romans
6 is telling us. It's not that because sin won't
have dominion over us because we're under grace. That doesn't
make the believer say, well, I'm going to go out and live
like I want to. The believer wants to live after
Christ. He wants to follow after Christ.
He don't want to sin. He looks at his members and he
says, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? And he thanks God through Jesus
Christ. That's how I'm going to be delivered. He was the servant of sin, now
we've been brought under the dominion of Christ and we long
to serve Him. We want to yield ourselves to
Him and serve Him in righteousness and in truth. Read Romans 6 on
that. And then this, what I want you
to see here now, I want you to turn here with me on this. Turn
over to 2 Peter. chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1. I've got two scriptures I want
you to see here. 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 1. I want to read 11 verses
to you here and I want you to notice that what Peter is telling
us here is when we begin in the Spirit that we're grown in the
knowledge of Christ. And as we grow in the knowledge
of Christ, these various virtues are added. We're growing in the
inner man, not in holiness, not in a different standing with
God, not in something beyond what Christ has accomplished
or making ourselves something that He didn't accomplish. we
grow in knowledge and understanding. And when you know what this is,
then you understand what true holiness is. But look with me
now and pay attention to this word of knowledge of Jesus Christ
and this word diligence. Watch with me. Simon Peter, a
servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained
like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and
our Savior Jesus Christ. And that's how we entered into
this thing. We obtained faith. It was the gift of God. Just
as the grace of God is the gift of God, it's through the righteousness
of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Now he says, grace and peace
be multiplied unto you. Grace, may you grow in grace. May you grow in peace. Be multiplied,
how? Through the knowledge of God
and of Jesus our Lord. That's how it's going to be multiplied.
According as His divine power hath given unto us all things
that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him
that called us to glory and virtue. You see, this is how we obtain
this like precious faith. This is how this grace and peace
is going to be multiplied in us. According to His divine power,
He's given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
and it's through the knowledge of Him, this One who's called
us, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises, that by these, by these promises, you might be made partakers
of the divine nature. Having escaped the corruptions
that's in the world through lust, He's saying you've been created
anew. You've been created by the Spirit of Christ in you.
Now, beside this, giving all diligence, see that word diligence?
I'm going to show you that word again in a moment. Giving all
diligence, add to your faith virtue. And to virtue, knowledge. And to knowledge, temperance,
self-control. And to temperance, patience.
And to patience, godliness. And to godliness, brotherly kindness.
And to brotherly kindness, charity. for if these things be in you
and abound. You know what He's telling us
to do? Walk after the Spirit. Seek the face of Christ. Seek.
You've been given this knowledge of Christ, now walk in the light
He's given you. You've been given an understanding
of Christ, don't turn back to the world. Don't go back after
the lust of your flesh. Continue to walk in these things.
Sing these spiritual songs. Read these books that are good
books to read that declare the righteousness of God in Christ
Jesus. Read the Word of God. Pray to
Him. Be seeking His face. Walk in
the light He's given you. That's how these things are added. That's how we're growing in grace
by the more we behold Him. Now watch this. And if these
things be in you and abound, They make you that you shall
neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ." He's saying you began in the knowledge of Christ,
continue in the knowledge of Christ, and you'll never be unfruitful
in the knowledge of Christ. And that's how you've grown in
grace. Now I want you to compare that
with another Scripture. Look over with me. Oh, oh, let
me, let me finish out here. Verse nine, but he that lacketh
these things is blind. He had been given sight to see
Christ in the beginning. You see, he don't have the knowledge
in the beginning. He can't see afar off. He forgotten
that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather brethren
give diligence, there's that word again, diligence, to make
your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you
shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered
unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. As you see, it's through the
knowledge of God. That's how it begins. That's how grace and
peace are multiplied. That's how we add, The Spirit
of God grows us in grace, and we add to these things virtue,
and this temperance, and this knowledge, and all of these things.
Now look over with me at Hebrews 12 verse 14. I said it was all seeking the
face of Christ, seeking to know more of Him, to walk in the grace
He's given you, to walk in the light He's given you. That's
how the Spirit of God grows us in these virtues such as temperance. It's through faith in Christ.
Now look at Hebrews 12, 14. Follow peace with all men. and holiness, without which no
man shall see the Lord, looking diligently." There's that word
again. Looking diligently, lest any
man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing
up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Where do I look diligently? What did Peter just say? Where
did Peter just say you look? Look back up at Hebrews 12 verse
2. looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at
the right hand of the throne of God. The more through the
grace of God, through the Spirit of God, the more we behold that
Christ is our peace and our holiness with God. The more we behold
that, the more He grows us in such a fruit as this fruit of
temperance to be in subjection and not strong-willed and obstinate
and rebellious and going to have our way. But, now listen to what
He said back there in verse 14. He says, lest you fail of the
grace of God and lest any root of bitterness spring up and trouble
you. But if I turn from looking to Christ and I start looking
at you for peace and holiness, or to me for peace and holiness,
guess what's going to happen right away? There's going to
be a bitter root spring up and you're not going to get along
with me and I'm not going to get along with you. And there's nothing
about, anything about us that's going to resemble what God calls
holiness. This thing of holiness is being
turned. having Christ come in you and
be made a partaker of the divine nature through the knowledge
of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. It's having grace and peace multiplied
in you through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It's continuing
walking in that light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, looking
to learn more of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as He does, He grows
us in these things and we'll never fall, He said. We'll be
continually fulfilled with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. That
just makes good sense, don't it? The more I read this book,
the more I'm gonna know about my God. If I'm looking for him,
I've been saved by grace, and the less I read it, the less
I'm gonna know about him, right? The more I'm reading The Harlequin
Romance, the more I'm gonna know about men, and be always looking
at those kinds of things, rather than walking after him. Isn't
that right? Look over at 1 Corinthians 9.
1 Corinthians chapter 9. We don't glory in this, brethren.
This is the Spirit of God's grace. This is the work of the Lord
in us. The man that doesn't have these
things, Peter just said, that man's blind. He's blind. He don't
know what God's done in the first place. But look, Paul gives the
example here. from 1 Corinthians 9.25. And he uses this example of running
a race. Let's look at verse 24. Know
ye not that they which run in a race, all of them run, everybody's
running in that race, but one receiveth the prize. So run that
ye may obtain. Run like ye the Like, it all
depends on you to win the race. But watch what he says. And every
man that striveth for mastery, that wants to win this race,
is temperate in all things. He's not self-willed. He's not
running after the lust of his flesh. He's got one thing on
his mind. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown, those that are running races and boxing and all those
things, but we are incorruptible. And he says, I therefore so run,
not as uncertainly. I'm not running uncertainly.
I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded he's able to keep
that which I've committed unto him. I know to whom I'm looking. So fight I, not as one that beateth
the air, I've been set on a course. I've been set on a path by God. And I know that. And at the end
of that path is Christ. And I'm looking to Christ. I'm
running this race set before me, looking to Him. But I keep
under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any
means, when I've preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway. What is this that we're striving
to obtain? What are we striving to obtain?
It's not redemption. Scripture says Christ obtained
eternal redemption for us. It's not mercy. The believer
has obtained the mercy of God. It's not faith. Peter just told
us we've obtained like precious faith through the righteousness
of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. We're not seeking to obtain any
special favors from God. We're saved by grace, not by
debt, not by works. But we've obtained an inheritance.
We have it now. We have obtained an inheritance
being predestinated according to the purpose of Him that worketh
all things according to the counsel of His good will. And so we're
striving for this. The prize of our Lord calling
us home. That's what we're striving for.
Paul said this. He said, my desire is this. This is where I want to be found.
I want to be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but the righteousness which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. That's the righteousness I want.
by the faithfulness of Christ and through that gift of faith
he gives whereby I lay hold of Christ my righteousness. That's
where I want to be found. So I'm striving in all of these
things not to be found in my own righteousness, not to be
found in some pretended holiness of myself. That's to fashion
myself after my former lusts. That's to go after the traditions
of men. But I know now I wasn't redeemed
with corruptible things. I wasn't held for ransom and
somebody came along and bribed God and gave God something to
free me, not some sinful man. Christ Jesus, my Lord, is my
ransom. He has redeemed me. I've been
bought with the precious blood of Christ Jesus. The inheritance
is mine. It's mine already. And I'm striving
to be found in Him. I want to be found in Him. Well,
let's look at this last thing. Paul reasoned of judgment to
come. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 8. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 8. Now, I want you in your own time
to read this chapter and I want you to see that Paul is speaking
about the confidence the believer has in Christ Jesus. And he says
here in verse 8, we are confident, I say, and willing rather to
be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore
we labor that whether present or absent we may be accepted
of him. For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the
things done in his body, according that he hath done, whether it
be good or bad, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, the wrath
of God." The wrath of God. We persuade man. What's this
labor? whereby we desire to be accepted
of God. I thought we were accepted in
the Beloved. I thought we were accepted of God in Christ. What's
this labor whereby we labor to be accepted of Him? He said in
John 6.27, John said, labor not for the meat that perisheth,
but labor for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life,
which the Son of God shall give unto you. For Him hath God the
Father sealed. That's what I've been talking
about this whole time. Paul said to the Hebrews, let
us labor therefore to enter into that rest, into Christ's rest,
lest any fall after the example of unbelief of those in the wilderness.
We labor against the old man of our flesh. We labor against
him. We glory in heart, not in appearance. That's what he says in this chapter.
We walk by faith, not by sight. We're constrained by the love
of Christ for us in the heart made new and for no other reason.
We labor to give no offense in anything that the ministry be
not blamed. We labor being confident that
we are accepted in the beloved. We labor to enter into this rest.
And he says, and we labor and persuade men of this. Be ye reconciled
to God. That's what he was telling Felix.
He was telling Felix, Felix, the good things that when you
stand before God, the good things that were done in your body,
whereby you're going to be judged by, are those regenerating works
of the Spirit of God whereby He brought you into the free
justification of Christ to behold your wisdom and your righteousness
and your sanctification and your redemption where you just rested
in Him. And you couldn't be turned back.
You know what the work of God is? This is the work of God,
that you believe on Him whom He hath sent. You know what that
requires? That requires some labor. We
live in the midst of people who are constantly trying to turn
you from the simplicity that's in Christ Jesus back to something
you ought to be doing. They've been saying ever since
time began, all through the Gospels, all through the day of our Lord,
all through Paul's day, okay, you can believe in Christ, but
except you do something else, you can't be accepted now. That's
turning you from the simplicity that's in Christ. We're laboring
and telling men, be reconciled to God. Turn from all that and
believe on Christ Jesus in whom the believers reconcile. Because
there's a day coming and you're going to stand before God. You're
going to stand before the Lord and He's pleased with nobody
but those who are resting in His Son. That's the only ones
He's pleased with. Only one. And knowing the terror
of the Lord, the wrath of God. Did you hear anything Sunday
on what our Lord Jesus Christ endured on the cross? No God
to give Him any benefit. No man to give Him any comfort.
He was a long suffering. That's what the terror of the
Lord is going to be. No help from God. No help from
man. Just wrath. Just unbridled, unrestrained
wrath. But look at Felix's response.
Let's go back now to our text. That's what Paul was telling
Felix, but look what he did. Verse 25, Felix trembled. He
was probably angry. He was offended. It offended
his dignity. It offended his so-called righteousness. Every man's got one. It offended
his wisdom. He thought he knew something.
It offended his position. It offended his so-called authority.
It offended everything about him. Paul made him out to be
a worm. He trembled. And not only that,
but he knew. He knew he had been brought into
subjection to Christ because he was just unbridled and angry. And he trembled at the thought
of one day facing God in judgment with Christ. But look at what
he did. Verse 25, and he answered and said, Go thy way for this
time. When I have a convenient season, I'll call for thee. Is
that not pride? Is that not just saying, I'm
better than anything you've said to me? I know more than anything
you've said to me. I'm not going to bow to that
God. I'm not going to bow to that
gospel. I'm not going to bow to what you're telling me, Paul.
I wouldn't even spit on you, Paul, if you was on fire. When
I have convenience, when it's convenient for me, I'll come
back, is what he said. It won't do any good to know
you're a sinner. It won't do any good to know you need a Savior.
It won't do you any good to know that you must be washed in His
blood and robed in His righteousness unless you believe on Christ.
You can have all the knowledge and perish in hell. Trust His
blood. Trust His righteousness alone
to give you acceptance with the Holy Lord God. That's what you
gotta have. Let me ask you something. Is this gospel a gospel of convenience
to us? Was it convenient for God to
give His only begotten Son? Was it convenient for the Son
of God to humble Himself, to make Himself of no reputation,
to come in the likeness of sinful flesh, to obey the Father unto
the shameful death of the cross, bearing the wrath of God for
His people? Was that convenient? Was the death of the cross convenient? Was it convenient for the children
of Israel in those days of Moses when they had to go all that
way to the place where God said, I'll meet with you? Was that
convenient? Was it convenient for David to
purchase the threshing floor because he said, I'm not going
to offer to God that which costs me nothing? Christ purchased the threshing
floor with His own blood. Christ purchased this world with
His blood. He purchased the threshing floor,
and it's His. And He's threshing those that
He's redeemed from those that are chaffed, blown away by the
fire. But was it just convenient for
David? And he said, I'm going to give
what I have. Look what it cost God His son, I'm not going to sacrifice
that which cost me nothing. Was it convenient for the widow
to give everything she had? Was it convenient for Paul to
be beaten and imprisoned and left for dead and despised and
rejected like he was so he could preach the gospel to needy sinners
like us? If we call on God, When we have a convenient season,
if we wait for a convenient season, when it's convenient for us,
we won't ever call on Him. We won't ever call on Him. Today's
the day of salvation. Call on Him today. Ask Him to
save you. He's going to be petitioned for
these things. You're going to have to ask Him for mercy. That's
what you're going to have to ask Him for. You're going to
have to come as a needy nobody needing somebody to do something
for you because you can't do something for yourself. You've
got to come begging for mercy. If our worship of God is just
when we have a convenient season. We gather together just when
it's convenient for us. We haven't worshipped Him at
all. We have not worshipped Him at all. Never have. If we give of ourselves and our
service just what's available, what we have left over when we're
not doing all the pleasurable things that we love to waste
our time on, then we haven't served Him. We
haven't served Him. Paul said, I beseech you, therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God. That's our constraint. It's the
love of God for us. The believer's constraint is
the mercies of God. By his mercies, present your
bodies a living sacrifice. holy, acceptable under God, which
is your reasonable service. In other words, everything else in our lives
really ought to be secondary. Tertiary, way back further than
secondary. This ought to be first in all
things, in everything. Not tomorrow, not next month,
not next year. This is the convenient season
right now. This is the season. All right,
amen.