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Dr. Robert Sumner passed away in December 2016. The Biblical Evangelist newspaper is no longer being published and the ministry of Biblical Evangelism has ceased operation. The remaining inventory of his books and gospel tracts was transferred to The Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles and may be ordered here. The Folly of Felix “The Folly Of Felix!” A Grafting Governor's Biggest Blunder: How Felix, Governor of Part of the Mighty Roman Empire, Lost His Soul; Why Others Like Him, in the 21st Century, Are Fools, Too!” by Evangelist Robert L. Sumner “And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. “And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” Incontrovertibly and indisputably, beyond any peradventure of a doubt, Antonius Felix was a Grade-A, First-Class fool! While some may have questioned it in his day, no biblically intelligent person would presume to do so in ours. Felix is surely in Hell right now, as you read these lines, because he played the fool, putting off salvation and saying, in effect. “Not now; by-and-by!” The above Scripture has its setting in prison. The mighty Apostle Paul was in jail – not for wrongdoing, but for getting a demon-possessed fortuneteller saved. It was no disgrace for him to be in jail; the disgrace, under the circumstances, would have been in not being in jail – since it would have meant he had compromised, lowered the banner of the cross, dipped the holy standards of the Gospel. Paul was in prison for standing true to Jesus Christ and His Word. While confined, the God who opens doors no man can shut made it possible for Paul to preach to Governor Felix and his wife, Druscilla, a Jewess. The Holy Spirit described the theme of his message to them as “the faith in Christ.” This was always Paul’s theme. He was not a chameleon preacher who had one message for the down-and-out and another message for the up-and-out. No, no! In fact, Paul got that matter settled early in his ministry. He wrote the saints at What did he mean then, saying he knew nothing in his preaching but Christ and Him crucified? Simply that, just as all roads in that day were supposed to lead to Rome, no matter his subject or the Old Testament text he was expounding, Paul took off cross-country to the Lord Jesus Christ, exalting Him, and eventually taking his hearers by the cross before closing his message. Paul made salvation through the atoning work of the Son of God his principal theme. As he said in I Corinthians 1:23, 24: “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” So when Paul had the opportunity to preach before nobility, as he did here in Acts 24, his message was the same as when he preached in the slums of How thrilling it would be if Paul’s entire sermon were recorded here – or at least a summary, such as Peter’s at Pentecost. Perhaps that will be one of the blessings of Heaven; God will let us see and hear a video playback of his sermon in its entirety. Be that as it may, the Holy Spirit did see fit to record his outline. Like a modern preacher of the 21st century, Paul had three points; he faced Felix in the areas of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. Righteousness Paul talked to Felix about righteousness, or being right. He did not tell him to turn over a new leaf, to reform, to get baptized, or to join a church. No, he told him that he must be perfectly righteous in order to enter Heaven, explaining that God has specifically stated that no sin or sin-tainted sinner could enter that City of Yet Felix knew nothing of justice, righteousness or honesty in his dealings as governor. Historians tell us he ruled his subjects with the spirit of a slave master, in all lust and cruelty. The Bible itself reveals him as a grafter, a fault still common among politicians in our day. The verse immediately following our text tells us, “He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him ...” In other words, he thought someone would bribe him to free Paul. Yes, Paul talked to him about righteousness! The Word of God is plain in noting, “every way of a man is right in his own eyes” (Proverbs 21:2), and, “most men will proclaim every one his own goodness” (Proverbs 20:6). Felix, like all other sinners, would have felt his own righteousness sufficient. So Paul would have reminded him of God’s indictment in Isaiah 64:6, “We are all as an unclean thing, AND ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHY RAGS; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (emphasis added). He would have said to Felix, “Your Highness, I am aware that you have done many noble things, both as an individual and as a representative of the Roman government. But no matter how fine you feel these acts have been, by God’s standards of absolute holiness they are nothing more than ‘filthy rags,’ unclean and unacceptable to a Holy God. No righteousness which you have done or can do will make you acceptable to Him.” But Paul would not have told Felix he must have perfect righteousness to enter Heaven, explaining the worthlessness of his own righteousness in the sight of God, without telling him how he could meet God’s conditions and have righteousness acceptable to Deity. He would have told Felix, Drusilla, and the others assembled that day the same thing he told the saints at Corinth: “For [God] hath made [Christ Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Corinthians 5:21). In other words, he would have said, “Felix, those who are ‘in Christ’ are clothed in His righteousness, meeting the qualifications of perfect holiness. The important thing is for you to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your person Savior, making it possible for the Heavenly Father to clothe you in the righteousness of His dear Son.” Yes, Paul talked to Felix about righteousness. Second, he discussed, Temperance Unfortunately, because of the emphasis of the WCTU about this subject – and we thank God for every female, or male for that matter, who is against the dirty booze business; so are we! – 21st century minds have been conditioned to think of “not getting drunk” when the word temperance is used. While it certainly includes abstaining from alcoholic beverages, the wider meaning of the word temperance is simply “self-control” – and this is how it is used in our text. Paul talked to Felix and Drusilla about self-control! Keep in mind that this was an age when people lived to lavish themselves through intemperance. They were intemperate when it came to liquor. They were intemperate when they sat at banqueting tables. They were intemperate in just about everything they raised a hand to do. And Paul talked to them about self-control. Even more! The woman seated at Felix’s side as his wife, Drusilla, he had tempted away from her first and legal husband, then taken her to himself in what the Bible calls an adulterous act. And Paul talked to them about self-control! Not only did he thunder out about righteousness and self-control, but he also emphasized, Judgment to Come! Paul told Felix and Drusilla what he told the church at Paul warned Felix and Drusilla that when they faced God they must give an account of every sin, of their response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and their rejection of God’s dear Son. Without fear or favor, Paul presented Hell-fire and damnation as the eternal consequence of living and dying without Christ. Reaction of a Fool! How did Felix respond? The Word of God tells us he was deeply convicted, that he literally trembled with fear, yet sent Paul away, saying, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” In other words, “Not now; by-and-by!” How unlike the reaction of the trembling sinner in Acts 16 was the response of Felix. In that earlier chapter, the warden of the penitentiary “came trembling” (as did Felix later), falling down before Paul and Silas, begging them to show him how to be saved. When they explained the simplicity of redemption through faith in Christ, the warden happily trusted the Savior, along with all the members of his family. Not so with Antonius Felix! Instead, he delayed salvation, becoming one of the most notorious procrastinators in all of human history. He played the fool! Why was Felix’s reaction folly? Or, perhaps more to the point, why is a sinner of the 21st century who puts off salvation playing the fool along with Felix? Let’s list some of the reasons why the reaction of Felix was – and still is – folly. I. Felix Thought He Had More Time! Anyone, like Felix, who puts off salvation under the impression that there will be time in the future to settle it is playing the fool. The truth of the matter is that any sinner could wake up in Hell at any moment! God has the POWER to put you there! Surely you do not doubt this. If Jehovah God had the power to create the universe, to simply speak and the sun, moon, stars, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and all the other planets in our galaxy – and the thousands of other galaxies – sprang into being, He would have no trouble whatsoever in picking you up and tossing you into Hell at any moment! It is as simple as that. This God who had the power to perform those wondrous miracles for Moses in Egypt, turning the water into blood; changing rods into snakes and back to rods again; smiting the dust of the earth and changing it into lice; causing the death of the first-born throughout all the land except where the blood was on the doorposts; splitting the Red Sea for Israel to cross on dry land, then returning it to normal and drowning Pharaoh’s army; bringing water out of the rock; causing the rod to blossom and bud and produce almonds overnight – along with all the other miracles – would have no trouble ending a poor sinner’s life on earth and ushering him immediately, nonstop, into Hell. The Mighty God who could make the sun stand still about the space of a day for Joshua to gain victory over the Amorites; used Gideon’s little band of 300 to wipe out the Midianites who were “like grasshoppers for multitude” and whose camels were “as the sand by the seaside for multitude”; who could turn the shadow of the sun dial backward 10 degrees – about 40 minutes – for King Hezekiah, to assure him that he had added fifteen years to his life; such a God would have no trouble putting any sinner or all sinners into Hell at any moment. As easily and handily as a man would step on an ant or pick up a stick and throw it into the fire, so God could take any sinner and toss him into Hell at any time He so pleased. Not only could God put you into Hell at any moment, He is under no obligation whatsoever to let you live another heartbeat! God has no covenant, no promise with a lost sinner. Every promise in the Bible is wrapped up inseparably with the Lord Jesus Christ. As long as you are in rejection of Him, refusing to accept His grace, God owes you nothing. In fact, you cannot even expect the care and consideration a father gives a child. In spite of all the glowing “Brotherhood Weeks” and prolific talks about the universal Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, the whole idea is like a scared boy whistling through the cemetery at Understand clearly the teaching of the Word of God: if you have never been born again, you are not the child of God! Quite the contrary, you are the devil’s child. Jesus made this very clear in John 8:44 when He said: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Let us go a step further in this biblical reasoning. If you have never yet trusted Christ, not only does God have the power to put you into Hell at any moment, and not only is He under no obligation whatsoever to let you continue living, you deserve to be in Hell right now! Please understand that it is only God’s grace which allows you to live and give you repeated opportunities to be saved. There are no exceptions to this. If all of us were to receive what we deserve, we would all be in Hell this very moment. I would be; you would be. Our sins have earned eternal damnation for us. Yet this is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. The Son of God came to this earth, lived some thirty-odd years, died on the cross, was buried, then rose again on the third day to provide a redemption. He did all this so that we, if we would trust Him, would not have to receive what we deserve! Go another step with me. If you have not yet received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are already under condemnation! John You are not going to be condemned at some great judgment morning in the bitter by-and-by. No, if you have not yet trusted Jesus Christ, you are already condemned. There is a sense in which your case has already come to trial before a Holy God. He has found you guilty of sin and rejection of His Son, and He has sentence you to eternal damnation. (Thank God, however, if you will trust Christ as Savior today, that decision of the But the biblical case against you is even stronger. Not only does God have the power to put you into Hell at any moment, not only is He under no obligation to let you live another heartbeat, not only do you deserve to be in Hell right now, not only are you already under divine condemnation, but the Bible says the wrath of God already abides upon you! John Let the stark terror of that statement fill your soul with fear! All the wrath of God that your sin and rejection of Christ deserves abides upon you this very moment. Only the hand of God’s mercy, holding it back like a dam holds back a rushing flood of water, keeps it from bursting upon your soul this very moment. How much longer will God hold it back? No one knows, but the longer it is held back, the greater the flood of destruction when it is released. Do not, like Felix, play the fool in thinking you have plenty of time. How much time do you have? Do you know? Of course you do not; that is impossible. Do you have twenty years? Could you say that twenty years from this day you will end your rebellion against God and His Son, opening your heart to Christ as Lord and Savior? No, you do not know whether you will be dead or alive twenty years from now. You do not know, if you are alive, that you will have any desire to be saved, or that friends will be praying for you, or that you will even be attending gospel services, or reading a gospel message. Do you have fifteen years? Again, you do not know if you will be dead or alive. Do you have ten years, or five years, or even one year? You do not know. What about a single day? Could you for certainty say you will get saved tomorrow? No, no! As Proverbs 27:1 warns, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” The only time you can be sure of is this moment, this second, this heartbeat. Do not play the fool with Felix and pretend that you have plenty of time to get saved. Again, Felix was a fool because, II. He Resisted the Holy Spirit’s Pleading! In recording the story, the Holy Spirit observed, “Felix trembled.” Was this an outward trembling that all could behold? We have seen sinners physically tremble with conviction many times. A scene is thrown on the screen of our memory right now of a big, husky, 6-foot, 200-pound truck driver in Did Felix tremble like this and cause the others to turn and look and wonder what was happening? Perhaps so. Or possibly the trembling referred to by the Spirit of God was merely the inward trembling every sinner experiences when his heart is pierced with the conviction of the Word of God. This kind of trembling can be camouflaged. We have seen sinners seated in pews, legs crossed and arms folded, almost a sneer on the face – who later testified of the burning conviction that was in their soul all of the time. We have seen others pretending to be asleep, yet every word of the message was piercing deep into the soul and causing the troubled unrest only the Holy Spirit can produce in a heart. Whether Felix trembled outwardly or merely inwardly we cannot say, but he made the same mistake as Yet doing so is mighty dangerous business. The Holy Spirit of God is too sensitive for such resistance; you cannot safely trifle with Him. Every time you say “No!” may be your last opportunity to be saved. One time I was conducting a crusade in a We went north of town to the family farm and drove up to a lovely brick, ranch-style house of beauty and wealth. The pastor knocked at the door and a charming lady appeared, recognized him immediately, and invited us in. She explained that her husband had gone to town for groceries but would be back directly, so we accepted her invitation to be seated and wait. Following a few moments of light, informal talk, I explained that we had come to talk to the husband about his soul, but since he was not there, what about her? In just a few moments she had admitted her need for Christ and was broken over the matter of sin. I explained very simply how to be saved and then the three of us knelt in that farm living room. I prayed first, then she poured out her heart and soul to God, receiving Christ, and then the pastor prayed a brief prayer of thanksgiving and rejoicing. It was nearly When we got almost back to town, at a bend in the road was a grocery store and gas station with the owner’s name above the door. Just as we started to pass, a man stepped out with a sack of groceries in his arms. The pastor shouted “There he is,” slamming on his brakes and making a U-turn into the parking lot of the country store. By the time we emerged from the automobile, the gentleman in question was standing in front of a gasoline pump, talking with the owner of the store. The pastor introduced me to both men and although I did not understand why at the time, I ignored the man whose wife had just been saved and centered my attention on the businessman. When I asked him where he would go if he fell over dead beside the gasoline pump, he looked me in the eye and said, “Preacher, I am a member of such-and-such church in town – and have been for many years. Yet I know my church membership will not keep me out of Hell. No, I am not saved – and I understand that if I were to die right now, I would go to Hell.” Quickly I took out my New Testament and showed him carefully how to be saved. He said he understood exactly what he should do, but like Felix before him and many since him, he added, “I’m not ready right now.” I tried to show him verses of Scripture containing God’s warning about neglect, but he just continued to say, “I’m not ready. I’m not ready.” When he continued to reject the invitation, I did something I do not recall ever having done before and I am confident I have never done since. I took the back of my hand and tapped him lightly on the chest, saying as I did so, “Dear friend, this may be the last opportunity you will ever have to be saved.” He started to smile, as if to say, “Yes, I’ve heard that many times before and yet here I am, still with an opportunity to be saved.” But suddenly the smile left his face and, with dead seriousness, he looked me in the eye, saying, “Preacher, you are right. I know it. But I’m just not ready and, if you will excuse me, I have a customer and I must attend to him.” He very graciously accepted my little booklet, Heaven Can Be Yours! and promised to read it. He also promised to come to the revival and hear me preach before the meeting closed the following Sunday night. So did the gentleman whose wife had been saved that morning. The latter came several times – although he did not get saved and the pastor told me he died a horrible alcoholic death about two years later. The businessman did not keep his word; he failed to attend a single service and the meeting closed on Sunday night without his presence even once. Early Monday morning we were having breakfast in the parsonage, prior to the pastor taking me to He called a name I was not familiar with – probably a local undertaker – and said sadly, “He just called to say that Mr. ____, about 10:30 last night, got up from his easy chair and crossed the living room to turn off the television, but suddenly cried out in alarm, grabbed at his chest, slumped to the floor with a heart attack and was dead on arrival at the hospital! It was my businessman friend! Like Felix, he had played the fool and resisted one time too many the Holy Spirit’s persistent pleading to be saved! Again, Felix was a fool because, III. He Neglected A Present Just think of it! Right then and there Antonius Felix could have passed from death into life, from darkness into light, changed his inheritance from the chains of Hell to a glorious home in Heaven, transformed his relationship from a child of Satan to a child of God – all in a moment of time. What a golden opportunity he trampled under foot by his procrastination! Yet, are you any different? If you have never been saved, this very moment, right now, through a simple surrender to Him as Lord and Savior, you could be forgiven, redeemed, justified in the sight of a Holy God! If you turn down an opportunity like this, do you not agree that you deserve to be called a fool, just as Felix? Felix did not plan to go to Hell. No one does! The fact that Felix did not intend to do so is indicated by his words to Paul, “I will call for thee!” He did not mean to slam the door on the matter of personal salvation; it was just that he did not want to settle it then and there. If we could call the roll of the damned, the majority of Hell’s inhabitants would testify they had not planned to go there, but fully intended to make Heaven their home. Yet, the Savior said relatively few go to Heaven. He declared in Matthew 7:13, 14: “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Is that true? Do few enter the strait gate and travel the narrow way to Glory, while the majority pass through the wide gate and down the broad road to damnation? Yes, that is what the Savior said. Probably most of them – at least those who have heard the plan of salvation – were like Felix: they simply neglected salvation until it was too late! Here is one final observation about Felix’s folly, Seems now some soul to say, “Go, Spirit, go thy way, Some more convenient day On Thee I’ll call.” We have sung that song so much we think it is what Felix said, but it is not. He did not say ‘some more convenient day.’ He simply said: some convenient day! Will you hear us when we say it is always hard to give up a life of sin, always difficult to turn to Christ? The individual who waits for a convenient time to get saved will never get saved. The one who waits until later will find Satan causing some kind of distraction, or bringing some excuse to mind, leaving the lost sinner to put off again what needs to be settled. Yet, on the other hand, there is a sense in which right now is the most convenient time anyone will ever have. You see, each time a sinner says “No!” to God, the easier it is to say “No!” the next time. And every time he says “No!” it will be harder to say “Yes!” Like any personal worker experienced in soul winning and any preacher majoring in evangelism, there are many stories we could tell of men, women and children neglecting salvation. Suffice it to say, the longer individuals put off the decision for Christ, the less and less conviction they experience. We have known men to tremble and weep under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit who, after continually turning down the invitation, eventually reach the place they can laugh and smirk when faced with exactly the same type of preaching that caused them to previously tremble. So there is a very real sense in which right now is the most convenient time you will ever have to be saved. Yet, it should not be a matter of convenience for you. Don’t you think you had better take the season that is convenient with Almighty God? Surely you do not think God is some kind of a waiting boy who gladly stands back in the wings until you get ready to whistle for Him, do you? Oh, not to take the season that is convenient with God is to insult Him. Dare you do that? Isaiah 55:6, 7 says: “Seek ye the LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND, call ye upon him WHILE HE IS NEAR: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (emphasis added). Yes, you had better take the time convenient with God, the time when He may be found, the season while He is near. It is interesting that Felix “communed” with Paul “often” after his folly (Vs. 26), yet there is no mention of him ever “trembling” again. Felix failed to find that convenient season. In fact, Felix is in Hell right now while you read these lines. While the Bible does not say so, history does! Within two years of the incident in our text, Felix had been removed from his position as governor and then exiled in disgrace. In that exile he committed suicide and hurled, by his own hand, his lost soul into eternity and Hell. Don’t walk any longer in the footsteps of Antonius Felix. That highway leads to Hell! Conclusion Good intentions about being saved are not enough. Apparently Felix had good intentions and communed with Paul often, planning “by-and-by” when he had a “convenient season” to be saved. Yet he played the fool and neglected too long, winding up in Hell. Surely you see what a fool Felix was! Yet, if you are still unsaved, are you any less a fool than he? You may be highly educated according to the world’s standards – as no doubt Felix was – yet in the matter that really counts, with eternity hanging in the balance, you are making a fatal mistake. Why not end your rebellion to Jesus Christ right now, claiming Him as Lord and Savior? Since Romans If you will, right now, wherever you are, open your heart to Christ, then let us know about it so we can rejoice with you. You could write us a letter in your own words, or you could simply use the form below to give us the good news. Dr. Robert L. Sumner THE BIBLICAL EVANGELIST Dear Brother Sumner: I have read your sermon, “The Folly of Felix,” and I do not want to play the fool like he did. I am ending, right now, my rebellion and rejection of Jesus Christ. This very moment, the best I know how, I am asking Him to save me. I trust Him to keep His word and do it. On the basis of His death, burial and resurrection from the grave, I am placing all of my faith and trust in Him, and in Him alone, for Heaven. Please write me a letter of counsel and encouragement, explaining how I can live the Christian life now that I have been saved. (Signed) _____________________ Address _____________________ ____________________________ |
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