Let's stand together, brothers and sisters, for the reading of God's Word. The title of today's sermon is, The Spirit of the Father Speaks Through Paul. We'll be reading from verse 1 in chapter 24 through to verse 23 of chapter 24. Please listen very carefully, because this is God's holy and infallible Word. Now, after five days, Ananias, the high priest, came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul. And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying, seeing that through you we enjoy great peace and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight, we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear by your courtesy A few words from us. For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him and wanted to judge him according to our law. But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself, you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse you. And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so. Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered. And as much as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself. Because you may ascertain that it is no more than 12 days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship, and they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd either in the synagogues or in the city. Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you. that according to the way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. Now, after many years, I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me, or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council. Unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day. But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, when Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case. So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or to visit him. Thus ends the reading of God's word. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. You may recall that Jesus spoke to his disciples about persecution and he reassured them that they need not worry about what to say when they were brought before evil counsels. Jesus said, behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak, for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak. For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of the father who speaks in you. So today as we look at Paul before this, in this hostile situation with these false accusations, we really see the work of the Holy Spirit in him at this time, not only granting him the right heart that he needed to have in this situation, but also giving him wisdom and the words to speak in a legal sense as well to point out the failures of the, really the illegal attacks, the false illegal attacks that were being brought against him. First we'll see that he's humble and he's cheerful and he's bold. And really this is the heart of what's going on here is that Paul is believing Jesus. And Jesus said, and he's obeying him, be of good cheer, Paul. And he's resting in the presence of Christ. He's not murmuring, he's not complaining, which would be poison to his ability to walk in the Spirit. He's not grumping against the Jews. He's not attacking Felix as a pagan leader. He's not screaming with a red face. He's not acting like a zealot. He's not murmuring. He's not complaining. He's just doing his duty as unto the Lord. So we'll see that he's humble and he's cheerful, and that gives him the boldness and the clarity of thought that he needs to stand tall in this situation. He gives specific evidence in verse 11 and 12, basically laying out his not guilty plea. And you know, this is contrasted to the vague generalizations that were made by Tertullus and the Jews. He takes the burden of proof and he gives it a proper location. It's upon them, not upon the judge, not upon him. It's upon the accusers. And he gives the good confession, he confesses his faith in verses 14 through 16. He goes on to give more specific evidence of what really happened, verses 17 and 18, what was really going on in that situation. And he brings up this important legal dogma that's present in both Roman and Jewish law, that you have the right to face your accuser, and they're not there, the Jews of Asia are not there. And then he goes on to point to specific evidence that you recall the Jews conveniently left out that there had been a Sanhedrin council and that they were unable to reach a ruling on Paul. And so he points to that as well. And then in the end, he says, hey, look, this is about the resurrection. And it's another example of how the most important question that faces all of us, the only question worth dividing over is who is Jesus Christ? What has he done? Where is he now? What is he doing? And what is your relationship with him? So first of all, Paul, humble and cheerful and bold. Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered, and as much as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself. So Paul submits himself to this court and to its judge in a cheerful fashion. He doesn't rail against them. He doesn't speak evil of them. He doesn't mock the court in any fashion. It says after the governor had nodded, he submits to the way that the whole course of events is supposed to roll out. And he makes an accurate statement. He says, I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation. And again, it's not flattery like what we saw from Tertullus. He just speaks the truth about Felix and his past with this nation. And it serves to help him as well, because surely if Paul is this terrible guy, certainly Felix would have heard about him by now. Commentary says, though St. Paul would not flatter Felix with notorious untruths as Tertullus had done, yet he speaks very respectfully and mentions his continuance in the government. The rather because if he had been so seditious a person as Tertullus would have represented him to have been, Felix could not have but heard of him and of any mischief that had been done by him. So Paul states a fact that will serve him in his argumentation. Now let's look at some of the extra biblical sources about Felix. The assertion that Felix has had judicial experience for many years is not merely flowery language without biographical foundation. While Felix was governor of Judea only since A.D. 52, and that is since five years at the time of Paul's trial in May of A.D. 57. So it looks like this is in the spring of 57 and that Felix had been judge over Judea since 52. But Felix had earlier ruled Samaria under Cumanus and thus held office in the region for eight or nine years. So he'd been a judge in that region of some sort for eight or nine years. and his marriage to Drusilla, the youngest daughter of King Agrippa I, would have given him an unusual degree of knowledge of Jewish affairs. And we see that he says later that he had more specific knowledge of the way. So he had heard of this way. He had heard of the controversy amongst the Jewish community on this question. Be of good cheer, Paul. Paul says he is willing to, ready to, the more cheerfully, answer for himself. So Paul expresses his eagerness to defend himself before Felix against the charges that Tertullus, Ananias, and the members of the Jewish aristocracy have presented to him precisely because Felix has experience and expertise in Jewish affairs. Of course, we know that Paul is also walking in the promises of God. He's not afraid. Now, he does have an ace up his sleeve because he knows that he's going to run, right? So he knows the outcome of this whole thing. He knows the Jews are trying to get him back in Jerusalem. That's what their whole argument is to say, look, this is just an argument of our law. Bring him back to Jerusalem. We'll handle it there. And so Paul is talking to Felix, and he's resting in what Jesus has said to him. And so he's cheerfully making his own defense. This word means well-disposed, kind, of good cheer, and of good courage. So it's a synonym of the Greek word that was used before. It doesn't have the same root, but it's the synonym of that idea of Jesus coming to him at night and saying, be of good cheer, Paul. So Paul has received the peace of Christ and is walking in it. I recall then when Jesus came near to Paul and spoke to him at night in Roman custody. It was just a few days earlier. Remember what Jesus said. For the following night, the Lord stood by him and said, be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. So it's like Paul was probably experiencing some discouragement at that time. He was probably feeling some sense of being alone. of emptiness, of the vanity of what was happening and the futility of what was going on and wondering, well, what should I do? What's happening? He felt alone. Jesus comes to him. He comes near to him and he cheers him. And I think it's likely that Paul's faith was strengthened by that work of Jesus in his life and that that strengthened faith was at work here in this hard moment. We have hard moments, too. We need to have our strength, our faith strengthened as well. And this gives him boldness to represent himself in this court, he's not afraid to speak for himself in this situation. Imagine being there in front of this illustrious crowd of people in this wondrous town, in this wondrous structure, surrounded and on trial right there in front of all of these powerful people. It's a scary situation. And not only did he represent himself in this court, which is a bold move, but he can tell he's glib. He's eloquent. He doesn't trip over his words, apparently. And the cohesiveness of the thoughts that he strings together is just a beautiful thing, and in such concise way. And it's very effective, because Felix is like, we're done. He's staying here. Lysias is coming. Commentary says, it was likewise the language of one that was conscious to himself of his own integrity and his heart did not reproach him, whoever did. He did not stand trembling at the bar. On the contrary, he was very cheerful when he had one to be his judge that was not a party, but an indifferent person. And, you know, we could also say he's not going to tremble before that court because Jesus has made him to where he doesn't need to tremble before the court. the throne of heaven. And isn't it true when your conscience is bothering you, that your boldness is impacted when you have a conscience that is heavy with your own sin, you know that it impacts your stability, your wobbly in relationships. You know this to be true. It's worth noting. So Paul goes on, his mind is clear because his heart is in a good place, right? You see how this all flows together. It starts there. His heart is in a good place, so his mind is clear. Confusion is the fruit of this fear and guilt that we carry around instead of trusting in Christ. So he goes on, he says, Because you may ascertain that it is no more than 12 days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. And then either found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. Very simple, very straightforward, very specific. And it's worth, again, contrasting this with the vague generalizations of Tertullus and the Jews. And like I said last week, when you face someone who gives you a vague, generalized accusation against you, you need to step back and wonder if you're being gaslighted. The way it works in the Word of God is that people need to give you specific things that you have done wrong. Date, time, place, words, actions, and be able to point out to you how they believe you've sinned. give you the opportunity to know what you've done, to know what you've said, and to repent of it. And sure, it may be an example of pride or unbelief or selfishness, but if someone just says to you, you're prideful, you don't have enough faith, you're just selfish, that is not helpful. And it is actually more in line with the way the devil communicates. But Paul understands this. His mind is clear. He's not going to give way to these vague generalizations against him. He's going to respond in a way that is far more honorable than he's been treated. And he tells them the real reason he's come to Jerusalem. He's there to worship God. The Jews accuse him of sedition, an ungodly act, the opposite of worship. But Paul states his real reason for being in Jerusalem. is to worship God. And we'll see later that almsgiving and offerings for his nation are a part of this worship. And then he mentions this in verse 17, and that's more of the evidence that he was there to worship God, and that he was purified in the temple. So there's actionable steps that Felix can take to ascertain the truth or the falsehood of what Paul is saying. So he gives a very easy course of things for Felix to look into and to judge. He gives another specific provable fact 12 days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. Now, why is Paul giving a specific timeframe? Why is he doing this? Well, we're gonna see there's some good reasons for this, and again, it's a verifiable fact, and it's hard to build a tumultuous mob in that short period of time. That would be difficult to do, so it's another fact that argues in his favor. He arrived in Jerusalem not more than 12 days ago, and the purpose of his visit was to worship. The temporal reference suggests to Felix that it should be easy for him to ascertain the truth about what has happened since it was so recent. Reference to the 12 days may also imply the point that this was hardly a sufficient time period in which one can organize a rebellion. Now, the commentary gives us some ways to sort through the 12 days. Three suggestions have been given. One, the 12 days are the result of the addition of the figures given in verse 27 of chapter 21 and verse 1 of chapter 24, but that's unlikely for a number of reasons. Number two, the 12 days refer to the time Paul spent in Jerusalem. The 12th day is the day he was transferred to Caesarea. And then number three, the 12 days relate to the time between Paul's arrival in Jerusalem and his arrest in the temple. The last suggestion seems most plausible. Paul's visit to Jerusalem was motivated by the desire to worship in the temple, not to organize a rebellion, an activity that was interrupted when the Roman authorities took him into custody. Whatever the 12 days are, Paul gives Felix this specific, verifiable fact to go and check him, unlike his accusers. Paul specifically denies their accusation. So this is where he makes his plea. He says, not guilty. Stating the exact opposite. They did not find me in the temple or the synagogues or the city. They didn't find me anywhere in Jerusalem disputing. I certainly wasn't inciting, much less disputing with anyone publicly. He doesn't use any slippery speech. He's not trying to answer and not answer. Turn on the news, you get to see plenty of that. But he gives clear, direct language refuting their claim. Isn't it refreshing when someone just gives a clear, direct answer to a question? And if they don't know, they just say, wow, I don't know. You know, it's mind boggling to listen to what so many words can say nothing over and over again. We can be guilty of this. And often that's just a mark for some guilt, some conscience reproach, some deception that's going on inside. Murmuring. Murmuring so often leads to that. Next, Paul, from the wisdom of God, says, look, this is where the burden of proof is. He says, nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. So he makes it very clear now, these accusations they've made against me cannot be proven. Now, not only can they not be proven because they're false, but they can't be proven or disproven because there's no specific evidence to examine that they've brought at this point in time. And so we want to contrast this with Tertullus, who had placed the burden of proof upon the judge. Remember, we looked at that last week. Paul here relies upon both the Jewish and Roman law for due process. You know, the United States of America, back in the day before we were these United States, when we were a bunch of colonies, came over with the English common law. And, you know, Alfred just took it and laid out the law of God and all the case laws in the Old Testament, and it, over time, through decision after decision after decision after decision with the Word of God as the origins developed into the English common law. And this kind of text shows us where due process comes from. You think due process is a man-made idea? You think protection from false accusations of government and false accusations of others is just an idea made up in the mind of men? It comes to us from God. So Paul is pointing to due process. Commentary says, in fact, Paul claims that they cannot prove any of their charges. Literally, they cannot stand by, show or present what they are charging Paul with. So he's made his defense in very few words. He's demolished their attacks against him legally. There's no answer to what he said at this point. And he goes from here to make the good confession. And you remember, Jesus said, hey, look, don't worry when these things happen, when you go before councils and it'll be an opportunity to witness a chance to testify. And, you know, you've got to think about how excited Paul must be at this moment to make his confession. But this I confess to you that according to the way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. So he says, I confess to you, and this is a testimony of his faith. Commentary says the chief captain had observed and the governor now cannot but observe an uncommon violence and fury in his prosecutors, which they know not what to make of, but guessing at the crime by the cry conclude he must needs have been a very bad man only for that reason. Now Paul here unriddles the matter. I confess that in the way which they call heresy or a sect, so worship I the God of my fathers. The controversy is in a matter of religion and such controversies are commonly managed with most fury and violence. So Paul's telling Felix his faith. And there's a purpose to it. He's like, I'm being attacked by these people because I worship God according to the law and the prophets. And they're supposed to believe the same thing. And he's essentially saying we have this great controversy over what the law and the prophets actually say about this time in history, about Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He says, according to the way, which they call a sect, He says, according to this way, he worships the God of my fathers. See, the Jews claim that Paul is inventing some new and false way of worshiping God, but Paul is doing everything according to the Old Testament writings. And he understands by God's inspiration that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of these Old Testament prophecies. Believing all things written in the law and the prophets. But you see, Paul states that he is worshiping God according to the Word of God, the same Word of God, the very Word of God held as inspired and authoritative by the Jews themselves. And they, you know, think about how bad things had become in apostate Judaism. This entire class of leaders didn't even believe in the resurrection of the dead. Imagine that, you know, annihilationism. Imagine if that heresy were embraced by 30, 40% of the men of the CPC. Well, I think we'd be going somewhere else, wouldn't we? You would. You wouldn't join a church where they said, well, no, there's no resurrection from the dead. That's how bad things had gotten there. in apostate Judaism. And he's, you know, of course, joining the side of the Pharisees in that debate when he says there is a resurrection of the dead and his name is Jesus, right? He doesn't say that here in this spot, but, you know, that's where he's going. So this is primarily a dispute between Paul and the Jews over the meaning of scriptures. It's not primarily an issue of Roman law. It's a dispute between Paul and the Jews. Commentary says, His religion is grounded upon and governed by the Holy Scriptures. They are His oracle and touchstone, and He speaks and acts according to them. He received the Scriptures entire and believes all things that are there written, and He receives them pure, for He says no other thing than what are contained in them, as He explains Himself. He sets not up any other rule of faith or practice but the Scriptures, not tradition, nor the authority of the Church, nor the infallibility of any man or company of men on earth, nor the light within, nor human reason, but divine revelation, as it is in the scripture, is that which he, Paul, resolves to live and die by. And therefore, he is not a heretic. And of course, you want to add this text to the list of so many texts that just say, hey, look, here's covenant theology right here before your eyes. There's no such thing as a New Testament Christian. You do not want to be. And I'm a New Testament Christian. Well, that's no wonder you have such bizarre and confused views of the world, because you cannot help but come up with bizarre views of life if you try to understand the New Testament apart from the Old Testament. Locusts become helicopters and other kinds of nonsense. So here's another example, right here, this text, you can hold on to this one. Right here it says Covenant Theology, right before your eyes. So what's the result of this? Well, hope in God and hope in the general resurrection of the dead. I can't wait to see Catherine's mom again. I can't wait to see Pap Pap again. We will live forever Brothers and sisters, Paul has this hope. It's not some academic idea. It is for real in him. And this gives him great hope in God, because God's the one who's going to do this. In a sense, we're not really hoping in the resurrection. We're hoping in God who says he's going to do it. Wherever we're buried, we're coming out of the earth someday. There's going to be a general resurrection of the dead. General meaning both the just and the unjust. Some in the annihilationist camp will say, well, the unjust are just going to be annihilated. They don't exist anymore. Oh, that's not true. And it will seriously detract from the gift of God that He gives, and that is terror of eternal hell. That's a gift from God that He gives. It's a gift from God. When people come in contact with the reality of eternal judgment, It is a gift that God gives to them to scare them, to wake them up. It's a general resurrection, general meaning the just and the unjust. Commentary says it shall be a resurrection of both of the just and of the unjust, the sanctified and the unsanctified of those that did well. And to them, our savior has told us that it will be a resurrection of life and of those that did evil and to them that it will be a resurrection of condemnation. We pray for those we love to come to Christ. And you know, this should be a motive to us for prayer as well, right? We want to see the people we know and love come to Christ, that our hearts wouldn't be broken every day in prayer for them. This implies that it will be a resurrection to a final judgment by which all the children of men will be determined to everlasting happiness or misery in a world of retribution. according to what they were and what they did in this state of probation and preparation. The just shall rise by virtue of their union with Christ as their head. The unjust shall rise by virtue of Christ's dominion over them as their judge. And while our hearts are broken over those that we love who do end up in eternal perdition, we also rejoice in the justice of God. We rejoice in the holiness and the justice of God, even if it is meted out upon those we love. Paul talks about having a clean conscience. So it's like all of his epistles boiled down into this little phrase right here. All the great doctrine followed by the then what? Although then what, is he wants to live with a clean conscience before God and men. This is called sanctification. As a result of believing the Old Testament writings, Paul has great hope in God the Father that he will raise him from the dead just like he did Jesus Christ. And in this hope, Paul walks daily in thankfulness, always seeking to love and obey God with a clean conscience. being daily sanctified. So there's this fire that's been lit in Paul and it's burning every day and sometimes the wind might blow and kind of weaken the flame. We've seen that. Jesus just keeps coming in and stoking the flames and building the fire and he will do the same for you and me and all his people. He's done it for me today. He's so good. Commentary says, I have hope towards God, meaning all my expectation is from him and therefore all my desire is towards him and all my dependence is upon him. My hope is towards God and not towards the world, not towards another world and not towards this, towards another world and not towards this world. I depend upon God and upon his power that there shall be a resurrection of the dead at the end of time of all both the just and the unjust. And the great thing I aim at in my religion is to obtain a joyful and happy resurrection, a share in the resurrection of the just. Can you imagine the shouts of glee on that great day? You know, we should think of it. We should meditate upon that which awaits us. You want to talk about hope. It's not just the name of most Baptist churches. It's real. It is real. And when we meditate upon the day that awaits us in that great resurrection from the dead, it makes a difference. It makes a difference in how we're living right now. It fans those flames of faith. gives us courage to stand now in light of the eternal life that's coming and the nature of what it means to be raised from the dead. Listen, our bodies and our souls right now, little ones it's very easy, your body that you can see and touch is united with your soul that you cannot see and touch. They are made one right now. is the separation of the body and the soul. The soul does not die. For Christians, the soul is then taken to heaven to be with God in the presence of Christ and all those who've gone before us and all the holy angels. We see this described for us in Hebrews 12, and it's this glorious place. It's the headquarters of kingdom activity, and we're going to be there. Barring that Jesus comes back before we die, we're going to be there. We're going to participate in the kingdom of God from there. From here for now, but afterwards we're going to participate there. And you know what? There's something very mysterious. Josie and I were talking about this. Our souls, while we're there, can wear robes, can hear songs, can fall down, can shout. So there's some sort of body-soul thing going on even there. I don't understand it. But then at the final day, Every single body that has ever died on this earth, every single one since the first resurrection, and that's another conversation, they're going to all come out of the earth. They're going to all come out of the earth. And what's going to happen then? Listen, the soul that was in heaven is going to be reunited with your bodies that can never die. In a world without sin or corruption, in a perfect world that will never be lost. So that's what's coming. And can you imagine arguing against that, being a Sadducee, and wanting that to be true? So also, we see that Paul references the insults of the Jews. He says, they call it a sect. And you know, you're going to always hear that, right? Oh, they're a cult. You guys are a cult, right? Commentary says, no, it is no new thing for the right way of worshiping God to be called heresy and for the best of God's servants to be stigmatized and run down as sectaries. The reformed churches are called heretical ones by those who themselves hate to be reformed. and are themselves heretics. Let us, therefore, never be drawn off from any good way by its being put into an ill name. For true and pure Christianity is never the worse, nor to be the worst thought of, for it's being called heresy. No, not though it be called so by the high priest and the elders." And Paul said, let God be true and every man a liar. And there's hypocrisy here. He says, they themselves also accept This is another point that shows that this is a dispute on religious matters, because not all the Jews accept this, but it's been a part of the mainstream Jewish thought since the beginning. Paul goes on to claim that his accusers share his belief in an expectation of the resurrection of the dead. If the high priest Ananias or any of the other accusers shared the Sadducean rejection of the belief in the literal resurrection of the dead, Paul might be challenging them with his assertion in verse 15b to enter into a theological debate like what happened in the Sanhedrin. This would demonstrate beyond doubt to the governor that the dispute was indeed about theological matters and questions related to the interpretation of the scriptures. Now you might think in some regards that it wasn't wise of Paul to take this approach. Because if Felix concludes this, he's maybe apt to just send him back to Jerusalem, send him back to the Sanhedrin, send him back to the council. This isn't me. You take care of this. Well, a couple of things. First of all, Paul knows that's not going to happen. He knows he's going to Rome, OK? So he knows that. But secondly, you got to wonder, do the Jews who are there making this argument against him, do they know that Felix knows that they were planning, along with assassins, to kill Paul? That's the big, giant, quiet elephant in the room right now. These are a bunch of murderous tyrants, and Felix knows it, if he believes the story from Claudius Lysias. So Paul also knows that as well, and so you can see that Paul knows, you know, they're not going to send me back to the Jews to wait for these guys who by now must be very hungry and thirsty to kill me. Paul brings up some more evidence here that they conveniently left out, or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council. And they're like, oh, right, right, we had a council meeting. They didn't mention that part, did they? So see, next Paul references a specific event observed by Claudius Lysias. Again, this is a provable thing that he's giving to him. The wild Sanhedrin hearing where Paul is almost ripped apart amidst the clamor between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. It said, lest he be torn limb from limb. Elisha was there and he sent in the troops to rescue him again. So, you know, the Jews, they're like animals. They're like sharks in the water and Paul is the blood. And they just cannot control themselves. Of course, you know, they don't want that part of the story to come up in this conversation with Felix, do they? Because, you know, he's causing a tumult and they can't even control themselves in their council meeting when they almost kill him. And not to mention that they tried to kill him at the temple. Tertullus had conveniently ignored this provable fact. But Paul brings it up here to show Felix that the Jews themselves could not agree in a ruling about him on this matter. So he's not guilty of breaking the Roman law. And the Jews themselves haven't even concluded that he's guilty of breaking any Jewish laws. So the big question is, why am I here? And the only reason he's there is because the Jews are trying to kill him. Remember, that's why Lysias took him into custody to begin with, was just to protect him. The only reason he's still there is to protect him. And probably we're going to see that Felix keeps him to protect him as well. Maybe for other reasons, because Felix had a lot of personal interests. Commentary says, Paul protests that there is no proof of a crime that he might have committed in Jerusalem. Since the eyewitnesses of the original charges against Paul, some Jews from the province of Asia, are absent, Paul invites Ananias, the high priest, and the other Jewish officials to introduce the accusation of an actual crime committed in Jerusalem. Paul summarizes the results of the hearing before the Sanhedrin, whose members had not found any crime of which he was guilty and for which he would need to be punished. So, you know, this parade, this pop that they brought from Jerusalem, the emperor has no clothes on. It's basically what Paul has revealed to Felix and to the Jews and to anyone who understands what's going on. So now he's going to talk about the resurrection. And isn't it beautiful how Paul in his wisdom is able to make the resurrection his defense? The resurrection is his defense. He wants them to go and talk to the 500 people that saw Jesus raised from the dead. He wants them to listen to all the testimonies that Jesus came out of the grave. He loved to bring Thomas as a witness and say, oh, yeah, I put my finger in the holes. I put my fingers in the holes and I saw him alive after he was dead. He's inviting all of that investigation of the resurrection. So Paul closes his argument by pinpointing the only reason for this dispute. Paul has been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is empty and all vanity if there is no resurrection from the dead. Paul is staking his innocence on the ability to prove that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Are you? First Corinthians 15, 12 through 19, brothers and sisters, believe in the resurrection, believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes. And we are found false witnesses of God. Because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. As a side note, of course, this speaks to hyper-preterism, right? The full preterists who say that all the resurrections have already taken place and they're just spiritual. That denies the resurrection. When they change the definition of the resurrection into something that it's not, and they say that that happened instead of the thing that it is, that is being guilty right here. So a full preterist is preaching to you a gospel of no effect, a vain gospel, and it is a great heresy. a damnable heresy that deserves to be rejected with the full-throated ability that we have. Note here how God the Father, speaking by the Spirit through Paul, not only gives him humility, boldness and wisdom. But also in the midst of his defense, Paul is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Isn't it beautiful how the father by his spirit speaks through Paul in this situation? Don't we all want to be able to speak like this and have the spirit of the father speaking in and through us? Commentary says, Paul insists, in other words, that his case involved not political but only Jewish religious questions. A point that agrees with the assessment of Claudius Lysias, the Roman commander in Jerusalem. Remember the letter he sent? Paul's legal strategy was to reduce the charges to a theological charge. This is not simply a clever tactical move. Felix may have known that the Sanhedrin was deeply divided over the issue of the reality of a future resurrection of the dead. And he may have to admit that he is not competent to render a judgment on such a question. Paul insists that all accusations against him were connected in a fundamental manner with his commitment to the way, that is, to Jesus as Israel's crucified, risen, and exalted Messiah and Savior. There's a lot of different questions that we could ask along the way. I've done some of that already. But I want to go back to, I think, for our point of focus today, for our purposes, in terms of bringing this home to us, is where he says, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself. And I want to read a portion from this morning's Christian Instruction Hour, really, really important words for us to consider. I hope that each of you is taking the time To read through Burroughs' work, it's really a special work. Don't agree with everything in it, but most of it is just so helpful. The title is The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. And I think the secret here for Paul, you say, well, how can Paul have this presence of mind? How can he stand there and be cheerful and be clear and not be venomous towards his attackers? and have real love in his heart towards them. He says my nation at one point. He demonstrates all the qualities of godliness in this moment. How can that be? Well, I just want to say this. If he had a murmuring spirit, it wouldn't have happened. If he had a murmuring spirit, it wouldn't have happened because the murmuring spirit is going to grieve. It's going to quench the spirit. A murmuring spirit is so, so dangerous. So I'm going to close the sermon today asking you to listen to these words carefully and really look at your own heart and ask yourself if you deal with this. Murmuring, it is an argument of much corruption in the soul. This, your murmuring and discontentedness argues much corruption that is in your soul. And I'm talking to each one of us in the room. This isn't academic. This is like little ones. Ask yourselves, do you have grumbling and complaining? Right. It's not a small thing. That's the main point here. It's a huge thing. It's a great poison. A contentment argues much grace as contentment argues much grace and strong grace and beautiful grace. So this murmuring argues much corruption and strong corruption. and very vile corruption in your heart. As it is in a man's body, if a man's body be of that temper that every scratch of a pen makes his flesh to rankle and to become a sore, you will say, surely this man's body is very corrupt, his blood and flesh is corrupt, that every scratch of a pen shall make it rankle. So it is in your spirit. If every little trouble and affliction shall make you discontented and make you murmur and even cause your spirit within you to rankle, or as it is in a wound of a man's body, the evil of a wound, it is not so much the largeness of the wound and in the abundance of blood that comes out of the wound, but in the inflammation that there is in the wound or in a fretting and a corroding humor that is in the wound. An unskillful man, when he comes and sees a large wound in the flesh, looks upon it as a dangerous wound. And when he sees a great deal of blood gush out, he thinks these are the evils of it. But when a surgeon comes and sees a great gash, the surgeon says this will be healed within a few days. But there is a less wound and there is an inflammation or a fretting humor that is in it. And this will cost time, says the surgeon, to cure. so that He does not lay balsam and healing salves upon it, but His great care is to get out the fretting humor, get out the inflammation, so that the thing that must heal this wound, it is some drink to purify it. There's a drink to get rid of the inflammation, get rid of the infection, the murmuring, what do you need to drink? to see the murmuring gone from your soul. To be like Paul. But, says the patient, see this is where we begin to make excuses for our murmuring. My whole leg got cut off. You'd murmur too. Ah, but the murmuring is the infection and the wound and then you'll die. Whereas in the first case you would just limp like Jacob. What good will this do to my wound? You give me something somewhat to drink and yet my wound is in my arm or in my leg. What good will this do that I put in my stomach? Yea, it cleanses out the fretting humor or takes away the inflammation. Until that be taken away, the salves can do no good. So when I come to you, or when someone comes to you to encourage you in hard times, you know they're trying to put that salve on there, but guess what? It's no good as long as you've got a murmuring spirit. It is literally no good as long as you have a murmuring spirit, because it's not going to do enough work to get rid of the filthy, vile corruption that is making the affliction a worse affliction. A murmuring spirit is worse than any affliction. A murmuring spirit is an affliction greater than any affliction you can ever face. So it is just for all the world in the souls of men. It may be that there is some affliction upon them. So ask yourself, is there an affliction upon you like this? Compare it to a wound. Now, you think that the greatness of the affliction is that which makes your condition so miserable. It is not. Oh, no, there is a fretting humor and an inflammation in your heart, a murmuring spirit that is inside of you and me. And that is the misery. That is the misery of our condition. And that must be cleansed out of us before we can be healed. You think you'll find peace and contentment in your suffering without this part of you being taken away? It will not happen. So let God do with you what He will, until He cleanses out that fretting humor, until He takes away that fretting murmuring, your wound will not be healed. Oh, a murmuring heart, your murmuring heart is a very sinful heart, so that when you are troubled for such an affliction, you would need to turn your thoughts rather to be troubled for the murmuring of your heart. You should be more troubled by the murmuring of your heart than you are for the affliction that has caused the murmuring. For that is the greatest trouble. Oh, there is an affliction upon you and me, brothers and sisters, and it is very grievous. And that is a murmuring heart within. Oh, that we could but convince one another and all men and women that a murmuring spirit is a greater evil than any affliction. Let the affliction be what it will. Let the affliction be what it will. So Paul, I believe Paul had learned this. I think Paul had bumped into his murmuring spirit. I think Jesus came to him in the dark and drew near to him to encourage him and to help him out of that murmuring spirit. Brothers and sisters, you and I need it no less than Paul, probably more, probably more. May God cleanse us of murmuring spirits and may grant us to be like Paul. That way we can have a good heart towards those who persecute us. That way we're going to have a good heart towards God, who we know is the one who has sovereignly ordained all of these things. Because that's ultimately where a murmuring spirit comes from, is you're pointing your finger at God. You're shaking your fist at God and you're saying, how dare you? And such a soul, such a proud soul, will not make progress in affliction until that thing is humbled. So that's what we need to learn if we want to be like Paul in these situations. We want to be like Christ and the way he was in these situations. Let us pray. Almighty and gracious Heavenly Father, Lord God, we do confess to you that in our hearts we often do not trust you. We do not put our faith in you. And we are prideful. We don't humble ourselves before you. We're selfish. We focus on ourselves. We don't look to help others. And Lord, all of these things we know combine to create a murmuring heart. We complain against you, Lord, and we should be worshiping you with every fiber of our being. Oh, God, have mercy on us, we pray. God, have mercy on us, we pray, and bless us with the presence of your spirit to conquer this wickedness within. Oh, who will deliver us from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.