Rejecting Jesus is character Revealing

Read Acts 24.

Standing before the governor in this hearing proved very revealing.  The character of each party involved was exposed.

The high priest engaged Tertullus to serve as prosecutor.  After a disingenuous introduction, three main accusations were presented.  Each was false.
1. Paul was a plague, a disease, or sickness.  Tertullus blamed Paul personally and did not refer to the message.  In fact, Paul was helping people everywhere he went.  It was not Paul, but the message of Jesus that was spreading as lives were being changed.

2. Paul stirred up riots throughout the world.  In fact, it was the unbelievers who instigated every one of the riots because they wanted to stop the message.

3. Paul was a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.  Interesting that Tertullus could not bring himself to mention the name of Jesus.  He blamed a group rather than belief in the risen Lord.

Paul's response to the accusations was that they had no proof to present.  In fact, he embraced the same Scriptures they said they believed.  Then, Paul made one of the greatest character statements in the Bible: "So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man." (v.16)

We discover that the governor had "a rather accurate knowledge of the Way."  Occasionally, Felix would meet with Paul to hear more and to discuss spiritual things.  Notice the main topics Paul presented.
1. Righteousness.  What it means to be right with God and to do right according to God's word.
2. Self-control.  To commit oneself to Jesus and to live right means there are certain disciplines that must accompany that decision.  When we turn to God, we turn our backs on sin.
3. Coming judgment.  There is a day of accountability to God for our lives, what we did and what we did not do.

When Felix heard that it scared him.  He physically trembled.  This was the Holy Spirit of God getting his attention.  What he did next revealed his true character.  He put off making a decision for Christ, as if a delay would change anything.  For over two years he kept Paul in prison, occasionally meeting to continue the discussion.  It was a pretense.  His character was corrupted by the hope that Paul's friends would pay money for his release.

We need to be aware of these same behaviors today.  There are those who so oppose the wonderful, liberating message of Jesus that they falsely accuse His followers of all sorts of nonsense.  True believers simply love God and love people.  The message includes right behavior, a call to stop sinning against God, and coming judgment.  To ignore any of those three is to present a false representation of the word of God.