Sermon preached on October 8, 2006 by Laurence W. Veinott. © Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. Other sermons can be found at http://www.newlifeop.org/.
On February 15, 1982 there was a huge storm in the North Atlantic. One hundred and seventy-five miles off the coast of Newfoundland, the Ocean Ranger, the world's mightiest drilling rig, was pounded by waves more than 60 feet high. There were 84 men aboard. The rig was considered unsinkable, which seems ironic, since the Titanic, the unsinkable ship, lay on the bottom of the Atlantic not far away. But that's what they thought about the Ocean Ranger, as it was the largest semi-submersible, offshore oil drilling platform in the world. (Wikipedia.org)
"Sometime after 7 P.M. (NST), the Ocean Ranger reported another giant wave had crashed over the rig, smashing through the ballast control room port hole. The port hole was only 30 feet (9m) above the water line and did not have its steel storm plate installed. Water rushed in, soaking the control panel and shorting out its analogue relays, causing the rig to list to about 10 degrees.The crew removed the relays, rinsed them in clean water to get the salt out of them, and dried them with a hairdryer. But when they reinstalled the relays and turned on the power, the control panel was still wet and shorted out again.The crew then attempted to manually start the pumps to right the rig, and here made the critical error that led to its demise. There were no manuals on board explaining the ballast control system. Knowledge about it had been passed from one crew rotation to the next by word of mouth. Instead of emptying the ballast tank on the side where the rig was listing, they instead pumped in more water, increasing the list to about 15 degrees.Its fate was sealed."
The rig overturned and sank and all 84 men were lost. It was a horrible tragedy.
In a tough situation, you need to know exactly what to do. Doing the wrong thing, like letting more water in the wrong tank, like they did on the Ocean Ranger—can be disastrous. One of the results of the investigation was that the crew wasn't trained properly.
We Christians need to know how to react in difficult situations. Look at the apostle Paul here. He's been imprisoned falsely. He's been charged with serious crimes—but the charges are false.
How should a Christian react in such a situation? What's the best way to react? We need to know what to do and how to handle ourselves, because danger lurks. If a Christian lashes out because of false charges, if he exhibits hatred or anger that is not righteous—then the evil one has won and the cause of Christ is damaged. If a Christians loses all hope and becomes despondent and discouraged, and loses their joy—then their witness is diminished and the cause of Christ is hurt.
So we need to know how to respond and react to false charges. The passage before us is particularly helpful in this regard. It shows how the apostle Paul conducted himself in relation to the charges made against him while he was at Jerusalem.
Although you may not be facing false charges, the lessons that Paul teaches us here can help you when we are facing just about any difficult situation. So let's look at the lessons that the Holy Spirit teaches us here.
The first thing you should see here is that
Paul had great trust in God.
We don't see Paul being timid or afraid. He presents his case boldly. He knows he is blameless and he stands courageously before Felix and defends himself and Christianity.
God is a God of truth and He stands by His truth. Paul knew that. He held on to it as a unshakable principle. Paul before Felix is a man who is trusting in God.
This is a lesson we need to take to heart because it is easy to buckle under the strain and lose hope. Remember the prophet Elijah, and how he became afraid when Queen Jezebel threatened his life? He ran away and went a day's journey into the desert. (1 Kings 19:4)
"He came
to a broom tree,
sat down under it
and prayed that he might die.
'I have had enough, LORD,
Take my life;
I am no better than my ancestors.'"
He was
discouraged and despondent. He lost heart. He was tired of
the fight.
But Paul was nothing like that.
Even
though his opponents were talented and resourceful, Paul
stood firm.
Consider
his opponents. They obtained the services of a
good advocate.
Tertullus seems to have been a skillful trial lawyer and
they enlisted his aid in prosecuting Paul.
Tertullus' strategy was very good. He began
by using flattery on the judge. Although Luke is just
giving us a summary of Tertullus' speech, F. F.
Bruce suggests
that since in his summary, Luke gives such emphasis to the
flattery, it could very well reflect a major part of his
speech. He writes,
"it may be an echo of the proportion of the actual speech that so large a place is devoted to the lavish flattery of the exordium."
Flattery can be very effective on some people, particularly on vain people.
I read a spoof one time about the great composer Richard Wagner on a record label. Wagner was reported to have been very vain and proud. The spoof had to do with him reading a review of his work. The reviewer said something to the effect that the music was the work of an absolute genius, that it was ground-breaking, so sublime that it was the greatest music ever composed. Wagner was reported to have said about the reviewer,
"I must meet this intelligent, insightful and perceptive young man."
Flattery can win some people, particularly if they are vain.
Not only did Tertullus flatter Felix, he distorted the facts and told lies. He represented Paul as a troublemaker. Literally, he referred to Paul as a 'pestilence'. What he was saying was that Paul was a, (Boice, p. 388)
"plague of mammoth proportions. He was an infectious disease. He spread contagion. Tertullus was suggesting that if Paul were set free, he would spread turmoil, disorder, and maybe even rebellion throughout the empire."
Again this was not true. Paul never advocated rebellion against Rome. You'll remember his teaching in Romans 13:1f where he said,
"Everyone
must submit himself
to the governing authorities,
for there is no authority
except that which God has established.
The authorities that exist
have been established by God.
Consequently, he who rebels
against the authority
is rebelling against what God has instituted,
and those who do so
will bring judgment on themselves."
Paul
never advocated rebellion against Rome. He was preaching
the good news of Jesus Christ. What Tertullus was saying
was not true.
Tertullus also said that Paul had tried to desecrate the
temple. Again, this was not true. Paul did nothing of the
sort. Tertullus also said that Paul stirred up riots among
the Jews all over the world. This, too, was a lie. He then
charges Paul with a crime that was really a crime of Paul's
opponents—that of causing a riot. F. F.
Bruce writes,
(Acts, p. 466)
"To represent the riotous attack by the mob as an orderly arrest carried out by the officers of the Sanhedrin or the temple police was to twist the facts even more violently than Lysias had done in his letter…"
Paul's opponents were very skillful in deception and lies. But Paul did not fear.
Why did Paul not fear?
One of the factors was that Paul was righteous. He knew that all they could come up with was false charges. Although even false charges can be nerve-racking, charges that can be proved true are much more worrisome.
The lesson for us here is that you Christians need to make sure that you live so righteously, that even if people make charges against you, they will not be able to prove them.
Paul was not guilty of any wrongdoing. He was scrupulous about his behavior. As he said in verse 16,
"I
strive always to keep
my conscience clear
before God and man."
His
accusers could not prove their case against him. F.
F.
Bruce writes,
"it is… one of the prime motives of Luke in writing his twofold history to demonstrate that there was no substance in it at all—that competent and impartial judges had repeatedly confirmed the innocence of the Christian movement and the Christian missionaries in respect of Roman law."
Paul was righteous. The only charges they could make against him were false charges.
So it is to be with you. In 1 Peter 2:12 Peter wrote,
"Live
such good lives among the pagans that,
though they accuse you of doing wrong,
they may see your good deeds
and glorify God on the day he visits us."
And
in
1 Peter 3:16-17 we read,
"keeping
a clear conscience,
so that those who speak maliciously
against your good behavior in Christ
may be ashamed of their slander.
It is better,
if it is God's will,
to suffer for doing good
than for doing evil."
We are
called to be holy. How wonderful it would be if the only
charges people can make against us are false charges.
But there was another factor that might have caused Paul to
be afraid. This has to do with the fact that
Felix
was not a just judge.
We're
not told what Felix thought of the flattery that Tertullus
directed toward him. One of the commentators (Boice)
suggests that Felix was shrewd enough to have,
"listened with tongue in cheek."
This is because Tertullus flattery was not based on truth at all. Felix was not a good ruler. He had been a slave and became a freeman under Claudius. He catered to the depravity of the emperor and rose in court until he was finally awarded the governorship of Judah. He had put down several insurrections with such barbarous brutality that the Jews hated him. F. F. Bruce writes,
"many Jews who, if they had know them in time, would have applied to his 'peace' the words which Tacitus puts into the mouth of the Caledonian hero Calgacus: 'they [the Romans] create a desolation and call it peace.'"
Felix's rule was not only characterized by brutality, but also by immoralty. His wife Drusilla was the daughter of King Herod Agrippa I, (whose death Luke described in Acts 12). She was the sister of King Agrippa and of Bernice. When she was a teenager, she was married to another king. With the help of a Cypriot magician, Felix seduced her and secured her for himself. The corruption of his rule finally became so great that Nero, who was corrupt himself, could tolerate it no longer and recalled him. Felix would have been executed, except his brother intervened on his behalf.
Felix's rule was also characterized by graft and corruption. We see this from the end of the chapter. Verse 26 tells us that he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. Verse 27 tells us that another reason he kept Paul in prison was because he wanted to grant a favor to the Jews. Felix was a corrupt judge.
Thus it is no wonder that Paul's opening words were nothing like those of Tertullus. He merely said that he knew that Felix had been a judge for a number of years so he was glad to make his defense to before him.
How could Paul say that to Felix? It was because he trusted in God. He knew that God was in control. He could plead his case before Felix because even though he knew that Felix was a corrupt judge, God, if He saw fit, could overrule and vindicate him.
The second great lesson we see here is that in facing false charges,
you need to have a firm and unwavering commitment to the truth.
The truth. That's what we are to love. The truth—that's what we are to speak.
Consider Paul here. His opponents were lying, distorting the truth, playing up to the judge and flattering him. Paul didn't do any of that. Paul was absolutely committed to the truth. He defended himself based on the facts. There was no distortion of the truth, no deception, but a mere refutation of the false charges.
You'll remember the exchange between Pilate and Jesus. When Pilate asked Him if he was a king, Jesus replied, (John 18:37f)
"You are
right in saying I am a king.
In fact, for this reason I was born,
and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
Pilate's
response was:
"What is
truth?"
Pilate
cared little for the truth. Tertullus and the elders cared
little for the truth—but Paul held to it vigorously. He did
this for a reason for
truth is
inseparably tied up with Christianity.
In
John 1:17 the
apostle John wrote,
"For the
law was given through Moses;
grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ."
In
John 14:17, 15:26 and
16:13 the Holy
Spirit is referred to as,
"the
Spirit of truth."
In
John 8:31-32 Jesus
said,
"If you
hold to my teaching,
you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free."
Leon Morris writes,
"To know
the truth is not to enter intellectual freedom as such, but
it is to enter into the liberating experience of being a
disciple of the Lord, with all that that means in terms of
freedom from sin and guilt, and of fellowship with and
knowledge of God."
We know
God and are His people. That means that we need to be
absolutely truthful. The children of the devil speak lies.
In
John 8:44 Jesus
said to His opponents.
"You
belong to your father, the devil,
and you want to carry out your father's desire.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
not holding to the truth,
for there is no truth in him.
When he lies,
he speaks his native language,
for he is a liar and the father of lies."
But not
so with God's people. In
Ephesians 4:24f the
apostle Paul urges Christians
"to put
on the new self,
created to be like God
in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must
put off falsehood
and speak truthfully to his neighbor,
for we are all members of one body."
This
shows us the folly of some people who believe that
the end
justifies the means, that it's okay to tell a lie or do
evil if you have a good end in view.
After
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead some people came and
reported this to the chief religious leaders. Then the
chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the
Sanhedrin. They said,
"What
are we accomplishing?
Here is this man performing
many miraculous signs.
If we let him go on like this,
everyone will believe in him,
and then the Romans will come
and take away both our place and our nation."
The high
priest
Caiaphas said,
"You
know nothing at all!
You do not realize that it is better for you
that one man die for the people
than that the whole nation perish."
He was
willing to sacrifice Jesus in order to save the nation. He
was willing for a good man to perish rather than the
nation. He was an advocated of the 'greater good' theory.
But that can never be an option for a Christian. We are to
have a firm and unwavering commitment to the truth. Hold to
the truth. Never let it go. Be prepared to suffer for the
truth.
The third thing we see about Paul defending himself is that
Paul
pricked the consciences of his hearers.
Paul
pressed home the fact of the coming resurrection and
judgment.
Again, it's important to note what Paul is doing here. Paul
is showing love to all who are listening. He reminds them
of the great resurrection where all will be raised to stand
before God. In
verses 14 and 15 Paul
said,
"I
believe everything that agrees
with the Law
and that is written in the Prophets,
and I have the same hope in God as these men,
that there will be a resurrection
of both the righteous and the wicked.
I strive always to keep
my conscience clear
before God and man."
Felix
for one, took note. A few days later he arranged for
himself and his wife Drusilla to listen to Paul.
Christians, when you're dealing with people who are playing
fast and lose with the truth and you see the truth being
slain—remind them about the coming resurrection and
judgment—of both the righteous and the wicked. Remind them
that no one will escape.
Fourthly, Paul story shows us that, even if we are
righteous, even if we defend ourselves well, (like Paul
did)
you may
still need to be patient.
Paul
wasn't vindicated at this trial. There was no verdict from
Felix. He delayed a decision. For two years Paul remained
in prison.
It was the same with
Joseph. We
don't know if Joseph was given a hearing after the false
accusation of Potiphar's wife—he may have just been thrown
in prison. He had to wait years for vindication.
But Jesus Christ rules. Truth will triumph. The right will
vanquish all. But we often have to be patient. Don't lose
heart.
If you're ever accusing falsely, remember that
God's
servants are often accused of falsely.
It's
interesting that
our Lord was
accused in the same way. In
Luke 23:2 they
said of Jesus,
"We have
found this man subverting our nation.
He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar
and claims to be Christ, a king."
When
Pilate said he found no basis for a charge against him,
they replied, (Luke 23:5)
"He
stirs up the people
all over Judea by his teaching.
He started in Galilee
and has come all the way here."
Jesus,
who was perfect in every way, was falsely accused.
No servant is above his master. Follow the way of Christ.
Live righteously. Love the truth. Hold to it. Love those
who falsely accuse you and try to prick their consciences
about the coming resurrection and how they need to be ready
for it.