Let's get right into this study
while this is fresh in our minds, this passage of scripture. Very instructive. The Apostle
Paul is very careful about something in this passage here that I want
to look at for a while. It's too conspicuous not to deal
with it. And I believe it'll help us.
In his defense before Felix here, he shows that, as I mentioned
already, that the issue between himself and these accusers is
his message. He makes that very clear. It's
nothing that he did. It's what he had to say. And
he was not guilty of any troublemaking or profaning the temple. Verses
18 through 20 there. He clearly points that out and
is very careful to maintain that. He's careful to clear his own
name of any wrongdoing. He cleared himself of any wrongdoing,
but not because he was concerned so much with his reputation.
We don't so much care what men think about us in a sense. Paul
said in another place, do we please men or God? It's going
to have to be one or the other. You're not going to please both.
If you do what God said and preach what he said, preach and love
the love him as he's revealed in his book, it's not going to
be it's not going to be pleasing to me. So there's a sense in
which we don't really care what people think about us. And yet
there's another sense. And here we have that set before
us, I believe, when it is important that no wrongdoing be attached
to us as we represent Christ and represent his gospel. And
I believe that's what Paul's doing here. It's the honor of
the Lord Jesus, whom he represented in the gospel preaching that
was on his heart in this. And this is something that I
wouldn't say much about, except we find it repeatedly in the
Word of God. Listen to the language of verses
18 through 20 again, and see if you find any similarity in
the passages we're going to look at in a moment here. Paul said,
certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither
with multitude nor with tumult, who ought to have been here before
thee, and object if they had ought against me, or else let
these same here say, If they have found any evil doing in
me while I stood before the council, they're not going to be able
to do it. I wasn't doing anything wrong, and they can't prove that
I was. Now listen to 1 Samuel chapter
12 and verse 1. The prophet Samuel said unto
all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice and all that
you said unto me and have made a king over you. And now behold,
the king walketh before you, and I am old and gray-headed.
And behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before
you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am. Witness against me before the
Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose
ass have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom
have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received
any bribe, the blind mine eyes therewith, and I'll restore it
to you." If I've cheated you in any way at all, you bring
it forth. You accuse me of it and prove
it, and I'll give it back to you. I'll make it right. And
they said, Thou hast not defrauded us nor oppressed us, neither
hast thou taken awe of any man's hand. And he said unto them,
The Lord is witness against you. And his anointed is witness this
day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they answered,
he is witness." They confessed it. Now, this is important, I
believe, because those whom the Lord puts in authority are in
a position to where they could easily defraud people. You see
that so rampant, so common in religion, don't you? People are
put in a position of authority, a position of trust, and they
prove to be unworthy of that trust. And so we found that in
the Word of God, that God, those whom, especially his leaders,
whom the Lord puts in a position of authority, but all of his
people strive to be above reproach in this kind of thing. Now listen
to Daniel chapter 6, because it points out an aspect of this
that I think is important. Daniel chapter 6 and verse 4.
It says, then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion
against Daniel concerning the kingdom. We're going to look
at those three words in a minute. Now, you know what the context
here is. They're trying to find fault
with the servant of God so that they could discount his God,
so that they could blaspheme his God. And it says they couldn't
find any. for as much as he was faithful.
Neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said
these men, we shall not find any occasion against this Daniel,
except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
Now that was the case with Paul, wasn't it? They couldn't find
anything against him as far as any civil matter. So what did
they do? They took issue with him regarding
his God. And they accused him of civil
crimes. It's just false. It was nonsense.
Now, the words concerning the kingdom, I believe, stand out
in this passage with regard to what we're dealing with right
now. It says they sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning
the kingdom, that is, civil matters concerning his dealings with
men, concerning the country, his kingdom, the civil issues. Now, men and women who hate our
God will take issue with us over him, and they will oppose our
message. But may they never be able to
find anything concerning the kingdom to charge us with. You see what I'm saying? Civil
matters, earthly, temporal matters, things having to do with this
life against us. Let it never be possible. than it be found against us.
And not just in legal matters is this important or in public
civil matters, but our behavior reflects upon our Lord, both
our public and our private behavior. Listen to Titus chapter 2. Turn
there with me if you would. Titus chapter 2. I want to go
through a passage of scripture here and remember what we're
talking about. Paul was careful that no crime could be laid to
his charge Not, I believe, because he cared what men thought about
him. He wouldn't have stood up and preached what he did if he
cared that much about the praise of men. Would he have? If he's
interested in just people thinking highly of him, then there's a
strange inconsistency in a man that'll stand up and say to a
group of Jews, you killed the Son of God, and then say, well,
I didn't commit these crimes because I want you to think better
of me. That wasn't going to happen. They weren't going to think well
of him, period. But he was careful that not a shadow be cast over
his Lord and his ministry and his gospel. You understand that?
And that's what this deals with here in Titus chapter 2, verse
1. But speak thou the things which
become sound doctrine, which are appropriate to somebody that
adheres to and stands upon sound doctrine. that the aged men be
sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in love, and in patience. And the aged women, likewise,
that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers,
not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they may
teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love
their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good,
obedient to their husbands. Why? So everybody will say, what
a spiritual woman she is. No, that the Word of God be not
blasphemed. You see the motivation there?
We're to obey these instructions, not so people will brag on us
and say, oh, she's just such a great example, you know, but
so that our behavior doesn't reflect poorly upon the gospel
that we preach. upon the Savior that we worship.
You see how that's so important? Now look at verse 6. Young men
likewise exhort to be sober-minded, in all things showing thyself
a pattern of good works. And we're not just going to talk
about, you know, that. We're not going verse by verse
through this. I just want you to see that our behavior reflects
upon our Lord and our gospel. So, we're not, as I say, this
is not a verse-by-verse study of these things. We may very
well do that sometime. Sound speech, verse 8, that cannot
be condemned. You see that? Paul said, you
can't condemn me because I didn't do anything wrong. Let's strive
to be that way, to be able to say that. Let nothing come out
of our mouth that anybody could say anything against. That cannot
sound speech that can't be condemned and when we're talking about
God, especially. Especially don't get caught lying
on God or saying something. Hastily. Without it coming from
the Word of God. Be careful about that. That he
that is of the contrary part may be ashamed if somebody disagrees. With our doctrine, let the shame
be on them. How's that going to be? Because
my opinion is better than theirs? No. Because it's right here.
It's right here. You're going to be ashamed if
you disagree with what I say, by the grace of God, because
what I say is what God said. Is that right? That's the way
it's got to be. That he is of the contrary part
may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. And don't
you find that to have been true of the apostles? They could say
nothing against it. You remember those words in Acts
chapter Two or three, they could not say anything against him.
They made him mad. That's why they wanted to kill
him, because they could not oppose intelligently the truth of what
they said. Having no evil thing to say of
you. If you do something evil, you better believe they'll say
it of you. Exhort servants to be obedient under their own masters
and to please them well in all things, not answering again.
On your job, you don't sin unto yourself. You represent the one
whose name you bear. On your job, in your home, talking
about speaking to the young men and the young women, when you
teach your children, you represent Christ. On your job, before those
that you work with, you represent Christ. Be obedient to your masters
and please them well in all things, not answering again. They're
the boss. Things go the way they say they
go because they're the boss. Whether they're right or wrong,
they're the boss. Don't answer them again. You're not going
to blaspheme your God because they say so. You're not going
to do anything contrary to what God said because they say so.
But in everything else, I don't care how stupid you think it
is, do it their way. They're the boss. Don't answer
again. Is that what it said? You wouldn't think these little
things like that would have anything to do with the Gospel. Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah, they do. Not purloining, but showing all
good fidelity that they may adorn here again, not so that they
might brag on you. What did Christ teach His disciples?
Let your light so shine before men that they may glorify your
Father which is in heaven. That's what it's all about. It's
His glory that's at stake here and that we're concerned with.
And here again, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our
Savior in all things, that the gospel might be exalted in the
eyes of men, that they might notice a difference in you like
they did in our Lord. They didn't like it, but there's
a difference. Cain rose up against Abel. Why?
Because Abel did the right thing, and he hated him for it. And
they'll hate you for it, too. But don't give them a reason.
to find fault with you. Now, that's dishonoring to our
Lord. Adorn the doctrine. You see,
again, the motivation here has to do with the doctrine, not
about you and your reputation. It has to do with the gospel.
And too often what is referred to as the doctrinal issues of
Scripture And what are called the practical issues of Scripture
are considered two separate things. We're talking about doctrine
one minute and then about practical things the next. You can't separate
them. What you believe, and more to
the point, who you believe, has everything to do with how you
act. Is that right? You can't separate
doctrinal and practical. Paul puts them together there
when he said, adorn the doctrine of God. In other words, wear
it like a garment. You believe that God is sovereign?
Act like it. You believe that there's nothing
in this flesh to have any confidence in? Then act like it and quit
leaning on the arm of the flesh. You see what I'm saying? You
believe that God is faithful? And he said, don't be anxious
for anything, but with prayer and supplication. He considered
the lilies of the field, they neither toil nor spin. Act like
you believe that, that the Lord Jesus takes care of me, not the
one that signs my check. I respect the position, and I
want to do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, but
I get what I get from the hand of my God. And we act that way,
don't we? By God's grace we do, by His
grace. So what I believe has everything
to do with the way I act. Now let me be clear. What I do
or do not do, have done, have not done, shall do, shall not
do, has nothing to do with my standing before God. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. And if I am in Christ and he
is my righteousness before God, then Paul describes me in the
last verses of this same passage in Titus chapter 2. Look at it.
If you're still there, look at verse 11. He's just been talking
about how we ought to behave, behave in a way that becometh
holiness. And then he says this in verse
11, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared
to all men. Teaching us that denying ungodliness
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly in this present world. Looking for that blessed hope
and the glorious appearing of the great God. What hope? That
you're doing enough to please God? That you're acting right
so God's going to be happy with you? No. Here's our blessed hope. The glorious appearing of the
great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. That's my blessed
hope right there, that Christ paid for all my sins and washed
them away in his precious blood. And because he did, I ought to
act like I love him. Is that right? And purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Does that describe
us or not? you know, act like we want to
act and just act. And there's a sense in which
we do act like we want to act because we want to please God.
We want to do that which is honoring unto Him. But you know what I
mean when I say that? Just the way the flesh wants
to act. Just that's okay because, you know, I'm saved by grace. Are you? If you're saved at all, you are. But you know, the scripture says
that when he saved us, he ordained us. I'm talking about when he
saved us in eternity. When he ordained us into eternal
life, he ordained us also unto good works. Unto good works. And purifying himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. These things speak and exhort. and rebuke with all authority.
When it's not that way, rebuke the Word of God. By the Word
of God, rebuke and let no man despise thee. Don't get mad at
the preacher because he told you how much of a sinner you
are. I'm just like you. I'm just like you. We're in it
together, aren't we? So we see Paul here careful not
to allow that which would bring shame upon his gospel, his Lord. If he was guilty of wrongdoing
in the temple and insurrection and stirring up and using the
worship of God, the temple, the place of worship as a place to
stir up strife and things like that, you see how that would
cast a bad light on what he preached and the one that he preached.
He wouldn't allow it. It's not that way, he said. It
didn't happen like that. No, you may hate my Lord, but
you won't find any fault in Him. They couldn't, though they tried.
Nor if God will grant me my desire by His grace, will you find any
in me that can be used to bring dishonor to His name? God help
me to strive in that. Now understand me again. Let's be clear. There's all manner
of fault in me, and you're bound to see it. You're not going to
miss it, are you? And I'm not going to miss it
in you. But here's my desire that you also see by the grace
of God, by his sustaining and empowering grace, and may I see
this in you too, that this matter of the gospel, that in the worship
of our Lord and things pertaining to his gospel, we're in dead
earnest, dead earnest, not slipshod, lackadaisical, unreliable, or
disruptive. in any way but reliable and steadfast
and humble and helpful and determined to see Christ exalted. May God
grant that that be the case. Now, Felix here, let's look at
Felix for a little while. He's set forth as an example
in this passage of the terribly sad condition of a lost sinner.
He, with his wife, they listen to Paul's message. Went to Paul
and heard him concerning the faith, and he even trembled at
it. It says. The Word of God is powerful.
The truth has an effect. But apparently. It was only a
surface effect. With in Felix's case here. In Hebrews 4 two, it says unto
us was the gospel preached as well as unto them. Saved people,
lost people. The same gospel preached to us
as it was to them. But the word preached didn't
profit them. It profited us. Paul said to
Timothy, it's able to make you wise unto salvation. It profited
us. But it didn't profit them. Why?
Not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. They didn't
have faith to believe it. If God does not give faith, there
won't be any faith, and there won't be any hope. A man may
react to the gospel, and we're taught that they do. The Lord
Jesus Christ, in that parable of the sower, he said that some
seed fell on stony ground, and it didn't just lay there and
die, did it? It sprung up quick. There's a reaction to the gospel.
Felix trembled, and he began maybe to think about spiritual
things for a little while. Paul preached to him about judgment
and righteousness. And maybe for he got a glimpse
of the fact that he didn't have any righteousness before God.
He's going to have to face a holy God someday. And maybe that's
what made him tremble a little bit. That'll do it, won't it?
That'll do it. And there was a reaction. Not necessarily the
same reaction of these seed that fell on stony ground. They sprung
up and it says with joy. They sprung up. But there was
no root in them. No root. And there is a reaction
and Felix had a reaction, but not a lasting one, not a genuine,
not a genuine reaction to the gospel. It wasn't mixed with
faith. You see, God sends his gospel.
And when he's pleased to do so at his sovereign, gracious discretion,
he mixes faith with it. And with the command of the gospel
goes the power to obey the command. You see that illustrated all
through the Word of God. Can these bones live? Thou knowest,
Lord. If you give them power to live,
they will every time. My sheep hear my voice, and they
come. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. So there was a reaction. He trembled,
and he listened to Paul. Isn't that a good sign? Yeah,
but we have some insight into the wickedness of his heart in
verse 26. Look at it again. This is sad
to me. Very sad. 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. Well, you
know, you think, well, that's a good son he sent for Paul to
hear the gospel. He's trying to get some money
out of him. Where a man's treasure is, that's
where his heart is. Felix let Paul have visitors,
you know. He said, don't forbid, you know,
let's let him have some visitation rights. What a benevolent man.
No, he did that so they could bring some money to him that he could give to Felix.
And we see what appears to be goodness in this world, don't
we? We see people doing good deeds. for one another. Who said they were good? Well,
they did. Good deeds for one another. And we say, well, maybe,
you know, there's hope for mankind after all. I don't think so. We see what appears to be goodness
in the people of this world, but what we don't always see
is the wicked motive behind the so-called goodness of man. Well,
Chris, that's such a cynical outlook on life. No, I just believe
what God said when he said there wasn't any goodness in us. And
I don't care what you see somebody doing for somebody or the benevolence
of man or, you know, somebody doing their good deed for the
day. Paul said, I don't know about you, but in my flesh there's
dwelling nothing good. Nothing. And I just believe God
about that. Felix's comment to Paul after
hearing the gospel is very revealing of what was in his heart. And,
you know, we don't judge people, but what you say is very revealing
concerning what's in your heart. His answer to the gospel, verse
25, And notice that word answer. In other words, this was his
response to what Paul had to say. 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'll call for you. This clearly evidences that he
did not hear a single word of what Paul had to say. Not a word. What makes you say that, Chris?
Well, if I told you tonight, right now, that this building
was on fire, and that back there behind you, through that window,
I could see the flames coming up and spreading, and that you
need to get out of here right now. You need to leave this building.
Get out right now. And your reply to that was, well,
I was just getting comfortable, you know. And you settle into
your seat and lean back. I would have to conclude one
of two things, or maybe both, about you. Either you didn't
hear what I said, or you're absolutely insane. You've got no common
sense whatsoever. One of the two. And both are
true of unbelievers. A convenient season to bow to
Christ. A convenient season to obey God. A convenient season to bow before
the one who sits on the throne, the one that made you from the
dust, and in whose hand is your very breath. A convenient season. I ran into somebody recently,
he used to come and worship with us before we moved to College
Grove, and I greeted him and asked him how they were doing.
I didn't mention the worship at all, but folks feel like they
have to explain, you know. That's not necessary. It's really
not. But she said this. She said it's
nothing personal. But she said there's a lot of
churches between where I live and where y'all move to. A lot
of churches between here and there. In other words, what she's
saying, it's not convenient for me to come there. And that's
fine. I didn't take that personally
at all. And I don't pretend that coming here is salvation. I don't
pretend that for a second. Don't misunderstand me about
that. But the problem is, I know what those churches are preaching
between here and there. And you can call me arrogant
for saying that, but it's just the truth. I know what they're
saying. You can't hide the truth of Christ. If you're preaching
it, I'll know about it. If you're anywhere around here,
I'll find out about it. You can't hide it. There are
those who only worship, and I use the word worship loosely here,
when it's convenient for them to do so. That's not worship. That's not worship. If you're
giving God your leftover time, what's left when you've taken
care of all the other things that you need to take care of,
you might as well keep that, too. You might as well watch
cartoons on Sunday morning. God won't accept it. When they
offered those lame and haught sheep to the Lord in the Old
Testament, I forget the passage of Scripture now that it was.
But they were often lame, and you know, they pick out the worst
sheep in the flock and offer that unto the Lord. God said,
go take that to your governor and see if he'll accept it from
you. Even an earthly authority wouldn't take that from you.
It has to do with respect for God, you see. It's not just coming
to church. It has to do with who you think
God is, your estimation of Him, and is He worthy of your time
and your effort? The Lord made us. The Lord Jesus
Christ made us. And He made this world that we
live in and all the things in it and all the things that we
have to do. And He did so for His glory.
He didn't make them for you to play with or for me to play with.
He made them for His glory. Now, what do you and I have to
do that would keep us from worshiping Him? What in the world? Well, here we go. We're talking
about church attendance tonight. No, we're talking about who God
is. We're talking about who God is and that He's worthy of our
worship and all that we are and have. He's worthy of it. That's what
we're talking about. And there are those who think
that salvation is something that they can just take care of when
they get good and ready. That seems to be the case with
Felix here. I know what Paul preached to
him, don't you? I know what Paul always preached. He preached
the gospel of the righteousness of God, the righteousness without
the law, the things of God, the judgment of God. And he said,
when it's convenient, I'll hear you again. Salvation is not just something
that we need to take care of. Like, you know, I need to take
care, I need to do our taxes. I got to take care of that. Salvation
is not that way. He said, I can put that off a
little while. And I can do it when it fits
in with the other things that I have to do. Or get life insurance,
you know, that's something you better take care of. It's prudent
to take care of that now. It's not that way with obeying
God in the gospel of Christ. It's just not that way. Well,
I intend to deal with spiritual matters when the time is right.
Is there a bad time to bow to the Lord Jesus Christ and own
him as the sovereign that he is? I'll tell you, if there is a
bad time, I'll tell you when that is. When you say that I'll
do it when the time is right, the bad time for doing that is
when you're still your own God and you don't know who you're
dealing with. When you find out who you're dealing with, there
won't be a bad time to bow to Him. Is there an inconvenient season
to honor and embrace the Son of God who shed His blood for
sinners? If so, then you didn't hear what I said when I was preaching
Him. And you're an insane, babbling idiot. And I am too. If we can
say what Felix said, when there's a convenient season, I'll hear
what God said. No, you won't. There's no evidence
that Felix ever heard the gospel again. You know when the convenient
season is? The convenient season. I'll tell
you right now, when you'll come to Christ, it's when you have
to. when you've got no choice but
to come to Him. Because of our depravity, if
we have any other route, we'll take it. If we have any other
consideration, we'll ignore the things of God. There's an interesting
phrase in the definition here of the word convenient. I like
to look up keywords in the original language just to see if there's
something there we need to find out about. And I believe there
is in this word convenient. When I have a convenient season,
I'll call for the preacher. In that definition of the word
convenient, there's this phrase, the time when things are brought
to crisis. That's the convenient season
right there. When you've got to have Christ and there's no
two ways about it. That's the convenient season.
The time when things are brought to crisis, when you're sinking
beneath the waves, like Peter was, that's when you'll cry out
to Him, Lord save me or I perish. When you're sinking and there's
no other hope. When like that woman with the
issue of blood, you've spent every dime you have and you're
getting worse by the hour. That's when you'll say, if I
can just get to Him and touch Him, I'll be healed. And you're not going to Him before
that. You'll come to Christ when He comes to you and shuts you
up to Him. And our loved ones, that's when
they'll come to Christ. When Christ comes to them, pray
for your loved ones. Don't try to get them to do something.
Ask God to do something for them. He's able to do it. If He wants
to, He can save them. Just like that. Just like that. But when he shuts us up to him,
that's when we'll cry out. And if he hasn't yet done so,
may he be pleased to cross your path, on your road to hell, and
force you to close with him, and by his grace, save you. That's what you need. You need
saving. May he be pleased to do so. Let's
bow in prayer.