The Convenient Cowardice of Power Text: Acts 24:22-23
Introduction: The Collision of Two Ways
We come now to a fascinating and deeply instructive moment in the life of the apostle Paul, and in the life of the early church. Paul, the Lord's chosen instrument, stands before the Roman governor Felix. This is not merely a legal proceeding; it is a collision of two entirely different universes. On the one hand, you have the apostle Paul, a man whose entire reality has been radically reordered by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He represents what the early believers called "the Way." This was not a soft, sentimental nickname. It was a declaration that in Christ, God had established the way the world was supposed to run, the way of truth, righteousness, and life itself.
On the other hand, you have Antonius Felix, the governor. He represents the way of the world. He is a creature of political calculation, a man swimming in the currents of power, patronage, and personal appetite. He is a former slave who clawed his way up, a man known to historians for his cruelty and corruption. He is married to Drusilla, a Jewess he lured away from her own husband. Felix is the very picture of a man who believes he is a player in the great game, but who is in reality a pawn of his own sins and a slave to public opinion.
So here we have it: the Way of God confronting the way of the world. The truth of the gospel confronting the pragmatism of power. The clarity of Paul's testimony confronting the calculated indecision of a corrupt ruler. And what we find in this interaction is a timeless lesson on the nature of unbelief, the cowardice of compromise, and the fatal danger of putting off a direct encounter with Jesus Christ for a "more convenient season." Felix is a man who knows just enough to be damned, but not enough to be saved. He is a picture of the modern secularist who dabbles in spiritual things, who finds Christianity interesting, but who will not allow its claims to disrupt his life, his lusts, or his political standing.
This passage is a warning to every man who thinks he can hold the truth of God at arm's length, who thinks he can be the judge of the gospel instead of allowing the gospel to be the judge of him. Felix thought he was in charge of Paul's case, but in reality, God had brought Paul there to put Felix on trial.
The Text
But Felix, having a more accurate knowledge about the Way, put them off, saying, "When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case." Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some rest, and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him.
(Acts 24:22-23 LSB)
Knowledge Without Decision (v. 22)
Let's look closely at the first part of our text.
"But Felix, having a more accurate knowledge about the Way, put them off, saying, 'When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.'" (Acts 24:22 LSB)
Here is the central issue. Felix had "a more accurate knowledge about the Way." This is a crucial detail. He wasn't ignorant. Living in Caesarea, the Roman capital of Judea, with a Jewish wife, he had been briefed. He knew these Christians were not seditious bomb-throwers. He knew they were a sect of the Jews who were zealous about a certain Jesus who had been crucified and whom they claimed was now alive. He knew enough to recognize that the charges brought by the high priest Ananias and the slick lawyer Tertullus were trumped-up religious squabbles dressed in the borrowed robes of Roman law.
This knowledge should have led to a decisive action. If Paul was innocent of any crime against Rome, and Felix knew it, he should have released him immediately. Justice demanded it. But Felix was a politician, not a statesman. A statesman serves justice; a politician serves his own interests. And so, armed with this more accurate knowledge, what does he do? He "put them off." He procrastinates. He kicks the can down the road.
This is the classic maneuver of the man who wants to avoid the sharp point of the truth. His excuse is plausible on the surface: "When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case." This sounds judicious. It sounds like he's just waiting for one more witness to get all the facts. But it is a sham. Lysias had already sent a letter with Paul stating clearly that he found no fault in him worthy of death or imprisonment (Acts 23:29). Felix already had all the information he needed to make a just ruling. His delay was not a quest for more information, but an evasion of the information he already possessed.
This is a profound spiritual diagnosis. Many people in our day are exactly like Felix. They have a "more accurate knowledge" of Christianity than they let on. They've been to church, they have Christian friends, they've read articles, they've heard the arguments. They know, deep down, that the Christian worldview makes sense of the world. They know their own lives are shot through with the very sins Paul will later preach about to Felix: a lack of righteousness and self-control. They know there is a judgment coming. But this knowledge makes them uncomfortable. It demands a verdict. It demands they change. And so, rather than face the implications, they put it off. "I'll think about it later." "I'll get right with God when I'm older." "I need to get a few things sorted out in my life first." This is the lie of the "convenient season," which, for most, never arrives.
Calculated Leniency (v. 23)
Next, Felix gives instructions for Paul's custody, and again, we must look beneath the surface.
"Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be kept in custody and yet have some rest, and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to him." (Acts 24:23 LSB)
This appears to be an act of kindness. Paul is to be given "some rest" or "liberty." His friends can visit and bring him food and supplies. Compared to a dark dungeon, this was a comfortable arrangement. But was it motivated by a love for justice or a concern for Paul's well-being? Not at all. The following verses reveal Felix's true motive: "he hoped that money would be given him by Paul" (Acts 24:26). This was not kindness; it was a business calculation.
Felix is keeping Paul in this comfortable custody for two reasons. First, it keeps the Jews happy. He hasn't released their enemy, so he avoids their wrath. He is currying favor with the Jewish leaders. Second, by allowing Paul's friends to visit, he's creating an opportunity for them to gather a bribe. He thinks that if he makes Paul's imprisonment just unpleasant enough, his friends will pay for his release. This is the very definition of corruption. He is using the levers of state power for personal financial gain and political advantage.
This is how the world often tries to deal with the gospel. It will not crucify it outright if it can neutralize it instead. It offers a comfortable custody. "You Christians can have your little clubs, your schools, your charities. We won't throw you in prison. Just don't bring your 'Way' into the public square. Don't talk about righteousness and judgment where it might upset our political donors or our sexual libertines. Keep it private. Be nice." This seeming leniency is a subtle form of persecution. It is an attempt to bribe the church into silence, to make our custody so comfortable that we forget we are in a battle. It is an attempt to make us forget that our Lord was not given "some rest" but was crucified.
Felix's actions are a perfect illustration of a man trying to serve two masters. He wants to appease the Jews, but he knows Paul is innocent. He wants to hear more about this faith, but he doesn't want to repent. He wants Paul's bribe money, but he also wants to maintain the appearance of a just Roman governor. The result is that he is paralyzed by his own duplicity. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways, and Felix is the poster boy for spiritual instability.
The Tyranny of the Convenient
The great sin of Felix is not simply that he was corrupt or unjust, though he was both. His great sin, the one that stands as a stark warning for all time, is that he subordinated the eternal claims of God to the temporary convenience of the moment. His entire life was governed by what was expedient for Felix.
When Paul later preaches to him about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix is terrified (Acts 24:25). The Holy Spirit uses the apostle to land a direct hit on his conscience. He is a man who knows nothing of righteousness. He is a slave to his appetites, utterly lacking self-control. And he knows a day of reckoning is coming. For a moment, the terror of the Lord breaks through his political calculus. He is standing on the very threshold of the kingdom of God.
And what is his response to this moment of existential clarity? "Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you." He surrenders to the tyranny of the convenient. The Greek word for "opportunity" here is kairos, which means a strategic or opportune moment. Felix is telling himself that there will be a better, more manageable time to deal with God. But he is a fool. The only kairos we are ever guaranteed is the one we have right now. "Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Felix waited for a convenient time that never came. He kept Paul for two years, not to hear more of the gospel, but in the grubby hope of a bribe. And when he was replaced as governor, he left Paul in prison as a final, pathetic favor to the Jews. He sacrificed an innocent man's freedom to secure his own political legacy. He had his chance. God, in His providence, sat him down in a room with the greatest evangelist in history. The truth was presented to him without compromise. He was convicted. And he turned away. He chose the way of the world over the Way of God. He chose convenience over Christ.
Conclusion: Your Verdict is Due
The story of Felix is not just about a corrupt Roman governor two thousand years ago. It is about you. The same gospel that confronted Felix confronts you today. You have heard it. You have, in all likelihood, a "more accurate knowledge" of the Way than many people in the world. You know that Jesus Christ died for sinners and rose from the grave. You know that you are called to repent of your sins and believe in Him.
The question is, what will you do with that knowledge? Will you be like Felix? Will you put it off? Will you tell God to go away for now, that you will call for Him when the time is more convenient? Do you think you can manage the claims of the Almighty, scheduling Him into your calendar when it suits you? That is the height of folly. To procrastinate in the face of the gospel is not a neutral act. It is a verdict. It is a decision to reject Christ in favor of your own convenience, your own sin, your own timing. And with every delay, the heart grows a little harder, the ears a little duller, and the convenient season recedes further into a future that may never come.
Or will you be like Paul? Will you stake your entire life on the reality of the resurrection? Will you confess that Jesus is Lord, and that His Way is the only way of life? Will you, by faith, trade the comfortable custody of this world for the glorious liberty of the children of God?
Felix thought he was judging Paul, but his indecision was his own judgment. He had all the knowledge he needed, but he refused to act. Do not be like him. The evidence has been presented. The commander has already spoken. Your verdict is due. Today is the day of salvation. Choose the Way.