Note 4 at Ac 24:25: Paul reasoned with Felix of "righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come." Today, most people reverse this order when witnessing to the lost. They use God's judgment as the primary motive for repentance. They preach impending judgment if there is no repentance, and holiness as a necessity for obtaining God's mercy. Then last of all--if at all--they mention that if the conditions are met, God will grant righteousness, or right standing, as a reward.

Paul started by explaining that righteousness was a gift from God, with faith being the only payment to be made on our part. He explained temperance, or a holy life, not as a way to obtaining righteousness, but as a result of a changed life. Then he used the judgment to come as a closing argument for salvation.

If people's motivation for calling on the Lord is to escape disaster, then that will continue to be the way they think after their conversion. Unless they are taught differently, people will tend only to depend on the Lord in crisis situations. But those who are drawn to the Lord because of the goodness of God (Ro 2:4) have an advantage. The goodness of God will continue to motivate them in the good times and the bad.

By using the very compelling argument of eternal judgment as the primary--and sometimes only--reason for accepting the Lord, we have unknowingly taught people that salvation is just for the life hereafter. But that is not true. If there were no judgment to come, we would still desperately need the Lord. Only in Him can we find true happiness and peace in this life. Salvation is not just an insurance policy; it is the way to experience the supernatural life and goodness of God in our daily lives here and now.

Note 5 at Ac 24:25: The Greek words used for "trembled" are "GINOMAI" and "EMPHOBOS," and they mean "to cause to be...to become" and "in fear, i.e. alarmed" (Strong's Concordance). EMPHOBOS is only used five other times in the Bible, and in those cases it is clearly referring to fear (Lu 24:5, 37; Ac 10:4, 22:9; and Re 11:13). Therefore, we can say that it was fear that caused Felix to tremble.

Felix had much to be alarmed about. As mentioned in note 2 at Ac 23:24, Felix was a tyrant with virtually no morals, as exhibited in his seduction of Drusilla while she was still married to another man (see note 2 at Ac 24:24). The fact that Felix trembled as Paul reasoned with him shows that God was convicting him, but he chose not to respond positively.

Note 6 at Ac 24:25: Many people have this same attitude today. They want to finish doing "their own thing," and then when they're through, they will turn to the Lord. But it doesn't work that way.

Jesus said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (Joh 6:44). People can't come to God when they get ready. They have to come at the Lord's invitation. Ge 6:3 says, "My spirit shall not always strive with man."

There is no record that Felix's convenient season ever came. Surely one of the torments of hell will be the memory of spurning the conviction of the Holy Spirit. If we could hear Felix today, he would cry out, with the rich man that Jesus spoke of (Lu 16:27-28), to heed the drawing of the Holy Spirit and not put Him off.