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1003-14A
THE REASONABLE RESPONSE
(Acts 26:1-32)
SUBJECT: Discipleship
F.C.F:
PROPOSITION: Since the Gospel is true, we must surrender to Christ.
INTRODUCTION:
A. The film, Hart’s War, is the story of a
prison camp during World War 2. I don’t know how
well it did in the box office, but it had all of the
elements of a high drama. First, it was set during
World War 2, an historical context of continuing and
absorbing interest for many. It also contained an
element of racial tension as a black pilot was accused
of murdering his racist, white oppressor. But the
final component topped it all off. The accused was
placed on trial by a makeshift military tribunal,
defended by an ill-equipped lieutenant who faced
insurmountable odds. It involved a courtroom.
There is something about the courtroom that
resonates with people. Many of the popular prime
time television dramas end up in the courtroom. And
there are a host of half-hour courtroom reality shows
involving real cases and somewhat unreal judges.
People find great entertainment value in the
courtroom, probably because the courtroom is the
place not only of justice for the offended, but also of
high stakes for those involved: ruined reputations,
large fines, prison terms, perhaps even death row. So
it’s no wonder that Luke takes us to the courtroom as
Paul defends himself once again.
B. This time, though, there are no accusers
present. Governor Festus must send Paul to the
emperor because of his appeal to Caesar. But Festus
can make little sense of the issues and is really at a
loss to explain to the emperor why he had Paul in
custody in the first place, and what charges would
justify his being sent to the highest court of the day.
King Agrippa had come to call and Festus saw this as
an opportunity to solve this problem since Agrippa
was a Jew and somewhat of an expert in these
matters. Agrippa had also apparently heard of Paul,
and so he eagerly agreed to hear him.
C. We’re going to drop in on this courtroom
scene in a moment. But first I want to ask you a
question. Paul is obviously on trial for his faith in
Jesus. He has risked all to proclaim him, to declare
that Jesus is God’s Savior so that others might hear
and believe and be saved. What’s holding you back
from laying it all on the line for Christ? What is so
precious and dear to you that you cannot release it
and give your whole life in Christ’s service?
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I. CHRISTIANITY IS REASONABLE.
A. The first thing we learn from our
courtroom scene is the main reason why we should
give our all in serving Christ: it’s is because
Christianity is reasonable. It makes sense. It has the
evidence on its side. And just as it is unreasonable
and irrational not to believe, so it is unreasonable and
irrational, it makes no sense whatsoever not to throw
everything you are and have into following Jesus.
When Paul makes his case, he cites evidence,
and his case is compelling. That’s because the
courtroom is not the place for opinions or
conjectures. It is the place of facts. The guilty must
be shown to be guilty “beyond reasonable doubt.”
The verdict delivered must be the one that makes the
most sense. That’s why both the prosecution and the
defense appeal to evidence. It may be in the form of
testimony or physical evidence. If the accused has a
solid alibi, that is, if it can be proved that he was
nowhere near the crime scene when the crime was
committed, then the evidence proves that he could
not have done it: not guilty, because it is reasonable,
it makes sense.
B. I count six steps in Paul’s defense.
1. First, he says that he has lived consistently
as a Pharisee, the strictest party of the Jewish
religion. So he has lived right in the center of
Judaism as a Pharisee. If he has held true to his
Pharisee convictions, then not only he is on trial, but
the whole Pharisee party is as well.
2. Second, he declares that he is hoping in the
resurrection from the dead. This is not only a central
belief of the Pharisees, it also is the only thing that
makes sense of God’s promises to his people. If God
promised them a hope and a future, but everything
stops at death, then that’s not much of a future.
3. Thirdly, Paul admits that he was also once
convinced to oppose Jesus and his followers and had
the official backing of the Jewish authorities to do so.
Paul was no dupe, no softy. He was passionately
opposed to what he now believes. So what changed
his mind?
4. While he was on his way to Damascus to
prosecute his official duties and persecute Christians,
he was stopped, arrested if you will, by a heavenly
vision. Pharisees believed that God or his angels
would sometimes speak. A vision from above must
unmistakably be a message from God and must be
obeyed. Paul says it was a message from Jesus, and
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1003-14A
that Jesus called Paul to proclaim him.
5. So fifthly, Paul says that he was not
disobedient to this heavenly vision. And this is,
according to the Pharisee beliefs, precisely what he
should have done. Not to proclaim Christ would
have been disobedience to God. He had no choice in
the matter.
6. And finally, Paul says that the message he
proclaimed was perfectly consistent with the message
of their own Scriptures, the prophets and Moses,
about the Messiah or Christ. So Paul was being true
to his Pharisee convictions, to the heavenly vision
which he must obey, and to the Hebrew Scriptures.
His logic is irrefutable. And this reminds us
all that the Christian faith is based on facts, verifiable
facts. Paul is so sure of the truth of what he
proclaims that in 1 Corinthians 15 he could declare
that Christ had risen from the dead, and he could say
that over 500 witnesses had seen the risen Christ,
most of whom were still alive (so you can still ask
them and they will tell you).
Paul is so confident in the facts of the Gospel
that he could even call upon King Agrippa to serve as
a witness in his defense: “26 For the king knows
about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I
am persuaded that none of these things has escaped
his notice, for this has not been done in a corner.”
The events that compose the Gospel, Jesus’ life and
death and resurrection, were public events with many
witnesses both friendly and hostile. Five hundred
witnesses ought to be enough to establish any fact.
C. Christianity makes sense. What makes no
sense is to live as a “Chrino”: a CHRistian In Name
Only.” Please, please, please live a consistent life. If
you profess Christ, if you say that this is true, then act
like it! The great physicist Albert Einstein got a taste
of the stunning immensity and grandeur of the
universe, but he never professed faith in organized
religion. He explained that when he studied the
wonder of the creation, he was seized by a sense of
the glory of God. But when he looked at Christians
who said that they believed all of this, he was turned
off. Scientist Charles Misner noted, “[Einstein] must
have looked at what the preachers said about God and
felt they were blaspheming. He had seen more
majesty than they had ever imagined, and they were
just not talking about the same thing.” (Quoted in Piper, Let
the Nations Be Glad, 12) Christianity is reasonable. And
because it makes sense we must live for Christ.
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II. CHRISTIANITY REQUIRES A RESPONSE.
A. This is to say that the Christian message
requires a response. It is not a mere fact like “most
bowling balls have three holes.” It is a truth that
carries with it the call to respond, like the message,
“the house is on fire.” You don’t just go back to
watching television when you hear that your house is
burning.
Both Governor Festus and King Agrippa
understood full well that what Paul was saying, the
Christian message, required a response, even from
them. Festus was a bit more out of his depth, so his
response was to dismiss Paul as a madman. But note
this very carefully: he did realize that he had to make
some kind of response, and he did respond, though
not in a way we would have hoped. And if you
examine the text carefully, you will find that Paul did
not actually call them to respond, at least not before
they did respond. But they could sense from the
enormity of the message itself that they had to come
to some kind of decision and give some kind of
answer, even if they were not asked to.
B. And so must we. We should make an
important distinction at this point. The Gospel is a
message about events that happened in history,
events that did not directly involve us. Many people
think that the Gospel is primarily about them. The
Gospel is that I must receive Jesus into my heart, or
that I must accept him as my Lord and Savior. And
they are confusing the Gospel with the response to
the Gospel. And what we must see is that the Gospel
is about what God did in history to save his people, it
is a message about events that are outside of us. It is
a message that is true and will be eternally relevant
even if nobody responds to it. The Gospel is good
news only to those who will respond. It is still news,
but it is not good news to those who reject it. In fact,
the Gospel, the message of God’s sending his only
Son to die in the place of sinners and to rise to give
us new life, will become very bad news if we
foolishly do not respond. Our lack of response
becomes one more sin that condemns us, the colossal
sin, the great, unpardonable sin. That’s how
important this all is.
The message of the Gospel requires a
response. Both Festus and Agrippa rejected it. That
points us to another important truth:
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III. CHRISTIANITY REQUIRES REPENTANCE.
A. The evidence is overwhelming. Paul
could even appeal to King Agrippa to bear witness,
and he does not deny the facts. In truth, both Agrippa
and Festus agree that Paul is innocent. “31 And
when they had withdrawn, they said to one another,
“This man is doing nothing to deserve death or
imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus,
“This man could have been set free if he had not
appealed to Caesar.” So why does he not believe? It
is not for lack of evidence? His unbelief is in spite of
the evidence!
B. The obvious reason for his unbelief is that
the judge is biased. He doesn’t want to believe.
Agrippa loves something more than the truth. And
isn’t that often the case? When people express
doubts about the truthfulness of Christianity, you
need only look a little more closely at their lives.
Often the doubt hides an unwillingness to give up
some sin or to submit to the yoke of discipleship, of
following Christ in faithful service. And this is
clearly the case with Agrippa.
Luke mentions that Agrippa arrived with
Bernice. Who was Bernice? She was his sister, but
everyone knew that she was also his lover. Agrippa
knew that coming to faith in Christ would require
repentance from this immoral relationship. He did
not dispute the facts, but refused to respond to the
truth. And is it some sin that prevents you from
trusting Christ and submitting your life to him? Do
you love that sin more than Christ? Christianity
requires repentance.
C. There is another factor involved. Luke
describes the scene at the beginning of the interview:
“23 So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came
with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall
with the military tribunes and the prominent men of
the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was
brought in.”
Agrippa relished the power and prestige of his
royal position. And then there was Paul, the humble
prisoner. Agrippa certainly realized that surrendering
to Christ would require repentance on his part. He
would have to give up his sinful pride and bow
before another. In fact, embracing Christ might cost
him his exalted place. This he knew full well: “28
And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you
persuade me to be a Christian?” 29 And Paul said,
“Whether short or long, I would to God that not only
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you but also all who hear me this day might become
such as I am—except for these chains.”
Is that what holds you back? You fear that
surrendering your life to Jesus Christ will bring you
down, will cost you your pride and your position?
You are probably right. It will cost you your pride.
Jesus himself warned us to count the cost. But the
truth is, it is worth it. Christ is worth it.
And history bears this out. Scholar F.F.
Bruce notes the irony.
“There is probably quiet humour in Luke’s
description of the “great pomp” with which they
assembled; Luke had a very true sense of values, and
knew that in his friend and teacher Paul there was a
native greatness which did not need to be decked
with the trappings of grandeur that surrounded his
distinguished hearers. History has vindicated Luke’s
perspective. Most people nowadays who know
anything about Agrippa and Bernice and Festus know
of them as people who for a brief space of their lives
crossed the path of Paul and heard him speak words
which might have brought much blessing to them had
they been disposed to pay serious heed to them. All
these Very Important People would have been greatly
surprised and not a little scandalized had they been
able to foresee the relative estimates that later
generations would form of them and of the
handcuffed Jew who stood before them to plead his
cause.” (484)
CONCLUSION
Christianity is reasonable—it is true. And so
it requires a response. The response is repentance:
turning with grief and tears from sin and pride, and
humbly submitting to Christ. And Jesus invites us
today: “28 Come to me, all who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my
yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
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