With A Clear Conscience

Acts 24:1-27

Accused of Religious Sedition

1 Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.

2 And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: "Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight, 3 we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. 4 Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us. 5 For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, and wanted to judge him according to our law. 7 But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands, 8 commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him." 9 And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so.

The Good Defense Before Felix

10 Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: "Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, 11 because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. 

14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. 15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. 16 This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

17 "Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, 18 in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. 19 They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. 20 Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, 21 unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, 'Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.'"

Felix Procrastinates

22 But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, "When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case." 23 So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

24 And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 25 Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you." 26 Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.  27 But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

Paul always strived to have a good conscience (Hebrews 13:18, 1 Peter 3:16) before God and man as here when he was falsely accused and brought before a court for the proclamation of the gospel which offended the religious as national seditious words to their theocracy.  The Jewish religious leaders hired a good lawyer to present their case against the apostle to the Roman governor and representative judge of the empire there.  The lawyer tried to use complements to the governor to get him on their side before laying out the trumped-up charges against Paul.  He spun the accusations as seditious speech to create dissension among all Jews through the whole world and cast him negatively as the ringleader of the Nazarenes who represented Christ.  They further falsely accused Paul as a defiled of the temple because he taught the fulfillment of the Law there to all who would hear and they did not want their fellow Jews to be proselytized to that way which they felt threatened by.  They spun Paul’s rescue from their violent mob as Roman aggression in protecting the accused as a way to blame the Roman government as well, just as the spirit of antichrist moves many a court pros today to force the hand of government to bow against God’s people and message.  When Paul was permitted to take the stand in his defense he made  good one in stating the actual facts of the matter and his good conscience motivating him to speak the good news of the fulfillment of the was of the scriptures which the Jewish Law came from.  He told the court plainly how he simply worshipped at the temple without causing any disputes or stirring up the crowd by inciting them in any unlawful conduct.  What he did confess was how he was worshipping the God of their fathers while “believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets (Acts 24:14).”  Paul backed up that statement by asserting the common hope of the resurrection of the just to come (though he meant the justified made just in Christ as it is written in Romans 3:26 and not by the impossible keeping of every point of the Law as James 2:10-11 makes clear).  The defendant demonstrated in all things how he made his aim to have a conscience without offense toward God and men in transparent (2 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Thessalonians 2:3-5) and honest speech, motive, and actions to prove his innocence in the face of the accusations he faced.  He capped off his defense by revealing the one statement which he cried out that got him in trouble, “Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.”  Felix the governor weighed all these facts and deferred judgment until Lysias the commander (Acts 23:26) came there to corroborate their stories.  He ended up keeping Paul in prison as he procrastinated the judgment and spoke often with Paul about this faith of the gospel.  Paul explained and reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (John 16:8-11) as accountability for sin and the need for forgiveness in the righteousness of Christ alone to save.  Felix then backed away from his visits out of fear of hearing he was facing God’s judgment while also hoping that Paul would buy his way out of jail.  He ended up leaving him alone to hand over responsibility to the next governor to replace him to deal with Paul as a way to escape confronting the need of a savior.  Many people still react this way when hearing the gospel and denying or skirting the issue of their sin and accountability to God and in their fear and pride stop listening to the gospel of salvation freely offered them.  It is our task to freely and honestly speak with a good conscience (Acts 20:26-27) and not shun to declare to others the whole counsel of God including the bad news of our judgment apart from Christ together with the good news of salvation by His work on the cross and not our works, for who can raise himself from death to life (John 5:24) apart from God doing it?  That is the full gospel of hope in Christ which we testify of to all.  This moves us to follow Paul’s example to proclaim the truth With A Clear Conscience as we declare the whole counsel of God which is the full gospel of bad news answered by the good news of Jesus Christ.