The Terrors of a Convenient Season Text: Acts 24:24-27
Introduction: The Gospel Confronts Power
We come now to a scene that is repeated countless times throughout history, a scene that lays bare the fundamental conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men. It is the confrontation of unadorned, apostolic truth with corrupt, worldly power. The setting is a Roman governor's court in Caesarea. On the one side, we have the Apostle Paul, a prisoner in chains, yet more free than any man in that room. On the other, we have the governor Felix and his wife Drusilla, bedecked in the trappings of authority, yet shackled by their own lusts, greed, and political maneuvering. They are the very picture of the modern, sophisticated power couple, living in a carefully constructed world of influence, compromise, and self-indulgence.
Felix was a man who, according to the historian Tacitus, ruled with "the power of a king and the mind of a slave." He was cruel, licentious, and avaricious. He had persuaded Drusilla, a Jewess and daughter of Herod Agrippa I, to leave her husband and enter into an adulterous union with him. They were powerful, they were compromised, and they were, for a moment, curious. They summoned Paul, not for a trial, but for what they imagined would be a bit of private entertainment, a theological diversion. They wanted to hear about this new "faith in Christ Jesus."
What they got was not what they bargained for. They were looking for a stimulating lecture, perhaps some religious platitudes to soothe their well-fed consciences. Instead, Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, unsheathed the sword of the Word and laid it directly against their throats. He did not flatter. He did not seek to curry favor. He did not adjust his message to his audience. He reasoned with them concerning righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. And in this, we see the radical, non-negotiable nature of the Christian gospel. The gospel is not a self-help program. It is not a political platform. It is a divine summons that comes to every man, whether king or commoner, and demands unconditional surrender. It does not ask for a hearing; it demands a verdict. And the response of Felix to this summons is a timeless and terrifying warning for all who would seek to tame the Lion of Judah and put Him on a leash of their own convenience.
The Text
But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and summoned Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and answered, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will call for you.” At the same time, he was also hoping that money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to summon for him quite often and converse with him. But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned.
(Acts 24:24-27 LSB)
A Private Hearing for a Public Sin (v. 24)
We begin with the setup for this dramatic encounter.
"But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and summoned Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus." (Acts 24:24)
Felix and Drusilla are together. Luke makes a point of telling us this, and also that Drusilla was a Jewess. This is not incidental detail. Their very presence together was a public scandal. Drusilla was the daughter of the Herod who had murdered the apostle James and had been eaten by worms for his blasphemy. She was royalty from a cursed line, and she was living in open adultery with this Roman governor. As a Jewess, she would have known the law of God she was transgressing. Felix, for his part, was a man well-acquainted with the ways of the world, a man who believed power gave him the right to take whatever, or whomever, he wanted.
They summon Paul. They are in control, or so they think. This is a private audience. They want to hear about "faith in Christ Jesus." This sounds pious, but it is the kind of detached, intellectual curiosity that sinful men often affect when they want to dabble in religion without getting their hands dirty. They wanted to inspect this new faith, to turn it over in their minds as a philosophical curiosity. They wanted to be stimulated, not converted. They approached the gospel as consumers looking for an interesting product, not as criminals standing before a judge.
This is a perennial temptation. Many people want to hear about Jesus, so long as the Jesus they hear about is a tame Jesus, a therapeutic Jesus, a Jesus who affirms their lifestyle choices. They want a Jesus who will be an interesting addition to their already crowded lives, not a Lord who will turn their lives upside down. But Paul does not deal in such false advertising. He knows that faith in Christ Jesus is not a topic for polite conversation; it is a matter of eternal life and death.
The Three-Point Sermon That Terrified a Tyrant (v. 25)
Paul understands the assignment perfectly. He does not give them a systematic theology lecture. He speaks directly to their condition.
"But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened..." (Acts 24:25)
Notice the three points of Paul's sermon: righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. This was not a random selection of topics. This was a precision-guided missile aimed directly at the consciences of Felix and Drusilla. Why these three?
First, righteousness. This is God's perfect moral standard. Paul spoke of a law that stands above every governor and king, a holy standard to which all men are accountable. For Felix, a corrupt and unjust ruler who bought and sold justice, the very concept of an absolute, divine righteousness was a profound threat. It meant that his bribes, his political favors, and his abuses of power were not just shrewd politics; they were cosmic treason against the King of Heaven.
Second, self-control. The Greek word is enkrateia, meaning mastery over one's desires and passions. Could there have been a more pointed word for this specific couple? He is speaking to an adulterous governor and his stolen wife. Paul is reasoning with them about the need to govern their own lusts. He is telling them that true power is not the ability to indulge every whim, but the ability to bring one's own body into submission to God's law. Their entire relationship was a monument to their lack of self-control. Paul was telling them that their bed was on fire with the judgment of God.
Third, the judgment to come. This is where the first two points find their teeth. God's standard of righteousness has been violated. The command for self-control has been flouted. And there is a day of accounting. There is a final judgment where every secret sin will be brought into the light, where every act of injustice will be judged, and where no amount of political power or wealth can buy a favorable verdict. Paul brought the courtroom of God into the courtroom of Felix, and he placed the governor and his wife in the defendant's box.
The result? "Felix became frightened." The Greek is emphobos, meaning he was filled with terror. The Holy Spirit took the Word of God and made it a hammer to his conscience. For a brief moment, the facade of power cracked, and the man saw himself as he truly was: a guilty sinner standing on the precipice of eternal judgment. This was not a mild concern; this was raw fear. The gospel, when preached faithfully, does not merely comfort the afflicted; it afflicts the comfortable.
The Tyranny of a Convenient Time (v. 25-26)
Felix is terrified. His conscience is screaming at him. The Spirit of God is convicting him. And what is his response? It is the most dangerous and damning response a man can have to the gospel.
"...Felix became frightened and answered, 'Go away for the present, and when I find time I will call for you.' At the same time, he was also hoping that money would be given him by Paul..." (Acts 24:25-26)
"Go away for the present." He shoves the conviction away. He hits the snooze button on the divine alarm clock. He does not dispute Paul's message. He does not argue that it is untrue. He is too terrified for that. Instead, he postpones the decision. "When I find time," he says. The literal is "when I get a convenient season." He is waiting for a moment when repentance will be less costly, less disruptive, less embarrassing. But the devil has never yet shown a man a convenient time to turn to God. Procrastination is the anesthetic the devil uses to lull souls into hell.
And Luke, with inspired insight, shows us the sordid calculation going on behind the scenes. At the very moment he is trembling under the conviction of God's coming judgment, he is also hoping for a bribe from Paul. This is a breathtaking display of a depraved mind. He hears about righteousness and thinks about extortion. He hears about the judgment of God and thinks about lining his pockets. He wants to treat the apostle of God like any other political prisoner, someone from whom a profit can be made. He summons Paul often, not to hear more about the way of salvation, but in the pathetic hope that Paul will finally take the hint and pay him off.
This is what sin does. It makes a man a fool. It blinds him to the most important realities. Felix has eternal life on offer, free of charge, and all he can think about is a few denarii. He is like a man in a burning building who is busy trying to pick the pockets of the fireman who has come to rescue him.
The Favor of Men and the Prison of the Soul (v. 27)
The convenient season never came. Two years pass. Two years of conversations. Two years of Paul being available. Two years of Felix hoping for a bribe that never materializes. And the story ends with a whimper of political expediency.
"But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned." (Acts 24:27)
In the end, the fear of God gives way to the fear of man. Felix is recalled to Rome to answer for his misrule, and as a final political calculation, he leaves Paul in prison. Why? "Wishing to do the Jews a favor." The man who trembled before the prospect of divine judgment now makes his final decision based on political polling. He sacrifices the righteous man on the altar of public opinion. He had his chance. God spoke to him directly, personally, powerfully. And he traded it all for a little political capital with the Jews, a favor that would do him no good in the end.
Felix left Paul in a physical prison, but in doing so, he locked himself into a spiritual prison from which he would never escape. He hardened his heart through two years of delay and avarice. The terror he once felt subsided into a dull, manageable ache, and then, we can assume, into silence. He is one of the most tragic figures in all of Scripture, a man who came right to the edge of the kingdom, felt its power, and then turned his back on it for the sake of convenience, cash, and political calculus.
Conclusion: No Time But the Present
The story of Felix is a stark and solemn warning. It is a warning against trifling with God. It is a warning against the deadly sin of procrastination. The gospel demands a response, and to delay a response is to give a response. It is to say "no" in slow motion.
Many people are like Felix. They hear the gospel. They may even be stirred by it. They feel a twinge of conscience, a moment of fear. They know it is true. They know they ought to repent. But they say, "Not now. When I am older. After I have had my fun. After I have secured my career. When it is more convenient." But the Bible is clear: "Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
The message Paul preached to Felix is the same message that comes to us today. There is a standard of righteousness we have all failed to meet. There is a requirement of self-control we have all violated. And there is a judgment to come that we all deserve. Our only hope is to have faith in Christ Jesus, the one who was perfectly righteous on our behalf, who lived a life of perfect self-control, and who took the full force of God's judgment for us on the cross.
Unlike Felix, you are not being asked for a bribe. You are being offered a gift. The gift of righteousness. The gift of forgiveness. The gift of eternal life. Do not put it off. Do not wait for a more convenient season. The ground on which you stand is holy ground. The moment you are in is a divine appointment. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.