THE LIVING CHURCH
Meditations in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 26:24-32

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FESTUS interrupts Paul in his defence. It is plain to see that he is effected powerfully by Paul's words, but the result is anger and contempt. On the other hand, Agrippa (v.26) is effected differently. The words of Paul are powerful to him as well, and the result is that he is almost persuaded to become a Christian, but not quite.

The Gospel, when it is preached in truth and conviction, is always honoured by the Holy Spirit, and therefore comes with power to those who hear. People are powerfully effected, but not always in the way we desire.

Paul expresses the desire of all who seek to witness to Christ. In verse 29 he expresses the deep desire he has that all should be believers and followers of Jesus as he is. This was not because he wanted to gain disciples, but rather that Jesus should gain disciples. His desire was that his hearers should believe and so be saved from their sins and their punishment, and be brought into the love and grace of God.

This passion of Paul that all should be saved and reconciled to God needs to be our passion too. This passion is the motivation for evangelism. We need to be like Paul who saw how precious Christ was to him, and how precious is the work Christ did for him on the cross. We need to be those who have so dwelt upon Christ and what he has done for us, that we will say with Paul that we count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ his Lord.

Agrippa loved the world too much, and the weeds of worldly love suffocated the word of the Gospel, so that it was not allowed to grow in his heart. Although he did not know it, Agrippa sought to gain the world, and so lose his own soul. Festus, could not deny the power of the truth of the Gospel, but his heart was hard. All that the word produced in him was pain, as it hit his hard mind and heart, so causing him some sort of pain and discomfort, but then bouncing off and not penetrating his heart.

Jesus expressed these different reactions to the Gospel in the parable of the sower. We must not be discouraged by the response like that of Agrippa and Festus. Jesus said that some seed falls on good ground and brings forth fruit so that people are reconciled to God.

When Agrippa and Festus react as they did, Paul enforces the Gospel by three affirmations in verses 25 to 27. Firstly, Paul tells Festus that the words he spoke were true and reasonable. This is the first thing we need always to hold firmly. The Gospel of Jesus is based on fact. It is true. Jesus was born. He did live on this earth. He did demonstrate that he was God and Saviour by rising from the dead, and in all the miracles he performed. He did reveal God, in mercy and love, to us. There is no other religion that can make such a claim.

Secondly, the Christian message which Paul preached was not proclaimed in secret, but openly for all to hear and understand, to believe and prove to be true. There is nothing to hide in the Gospel. There is no cheat hidden away, which undermines all credibility. There is no trying to deceive. The Gospel is the power of God to save us. Nobody who has truly received Christ will be disappointed. In the Gospel there is real forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and eternal life.

Thirdly, the Gospel is eternal. This is seen in that throughout the Old Testament, from the beginning of time, from the beginning of humanity's fall into sin and separation from God, God has proclaimed that he has provided forgiveness and return to fellowship with him, in the Saviour he would send. This eternal word commences in Genesis 3, where God tells Adam that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent. The seed of the woman is Christ, and the serpent is the evil one, Satan.

There is no greater work we can do on earth than what Paul did, which is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us be as ready and keen to do it as did the Apostle.