Acts 26:22-27


Sermon preached on January 7, 2007 by Laurence W. Veinott. © Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Other sermons can be found at http://www.newlifeop.org/.

A few years ago Edward J. Larson and Larry Witham surveyed various scientists about their religious beliefs. They found that about 40 percent believe in God. (Vern Poythress, Redeeming Science, p. 14, footnote 4)

"But they also found that the 'elite' of American scientists, represented by the National Academy of Science, contained a higher percentage of disbelief—more than 90 percent…"



Only 10 percent of the elite scientists believe in God. Does that bother you? Does it make you question your faith? Many skeptics today would tell you that Christianity is for people who do not want to think. Christians are often characterized as people who are ignorant and who close their eyes to the truths of science and the world.

The world wants to view us the same way many viewed Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. You remember him. He was Iraq's Information Minister. He is best known for denying that the Americans were winning the war in the face of clear evidence to the contrary. He became known as 'Baghdad Bob' and actually became quite popular in some circles because the things he was saying were so ridiculous. Probably his most outrageous press conference took place in Baghdad on April 7, 2003 when he said,

"The Americans are not there. They're not in Baghdad. There are no troops there. Never. They're not at all."



Yet at the very time he was making those assertions, American tanks were patrolling the streets only a few hundred meters from where Baghdad Bob's press conference was held. Anyone with a TV could see the American troops in the center of Baghdad.

Many view Christianity like that. They consider it ridiculous. Some consider it even worse. We see this in Festus. Paul had been preaching the gospel to Festus, King Agrippa, Bernice and others and Festus suddenly interrupted him. He shouted,

"You are out of your mind, Paul!
Your great learning is driving you insane."

Festus heard Paul's preaching and he thought that anyone who believed that had to be insane.

Paul's response to Festus is important for it shows us how we Christians should respond to charges of stupidity or insanity. He makes great and important points here that shows us how to defend the gospel. He said,

"I am not insane,
most excellent Festus.
What I am saying is true and reasonable.
The king is familiar with these things,
and I can speak freely to him.
I am convinced that none of this
has escaped his notice,
because it was not done in a corner.
King Agrippa,
do you believe the prophets?
I know you do."


There are three things for us to consider here. First, Paul stated that the gospel is true. Second, he stated that the gospel is reasonable. Thirdly, he directed their attention to the prophets and the recent history of Jesus' life. Let's look at these things.

First, the gospel is true.

There are three implications that flow from this that I want to draw your attention to.

First, if something is true, it doesn't matter how many people believe it—it's still true.

Truth is not dependent upon what percentage of people believe it. For years many people believed that the sun revolved around the earth. But that didn't change the fact that the earth revolved around the sun. Also, for centuries many people also believed that the earth was flat and that you could fall off the end of the earth. But that didn't change the fact that the earth was round.

Truth is objective. It's in accord with reality. If something is true, it's true whether people believe it or not. As Vern Poythress says, (Redeeming Science, p. 49)

"God really does exist, whether people think so or not."



Even if all people believe it or all people disbelieve it— truth is not affected one way or the other—it still remains the truth.

What this means for you who are Christians is that there is nothing to be embarrassed about even if you are in the minority. Sometimes the vast majority of people are just plain wrong.

Of course being in the minority about something doesn't mean you're correct. But the point is that truth is objective—if something is true it doesn't matter how many people believe it or disbelieve it—it's still true. I don't think that any intelligent person would suggest that you accept something as true merely because the majority of people think it's true. No. The correct thing to do is to investigate. What percentage of people believe something is irrelevant. You need to look at other things rather than that. Merely looking at the percentage of people who believe something is not a guaranteed way to find the truth. People sometimes try to use percentages against us—trying to show us that Christianity can't be true. But that whole argument is irrelevant and specious.

The second implication is that

if something is true it is in accord with reality.

This is key. When Paul replied to Festus and stressed that the gospel was true—he was asserting that it is in accord with reality. If something is true, it's true. There is no danger that it can be disproved, that it can be shown to be false. It's impossible. Before Festus Paul implied that Christianity can stand up to inspection and scrutiny. He had no fear of Christianity being exposed as a fraud or a charade. You who are Christians should share that conviction. Christianity has nothing to fear from true science or from close inspection.

The problem is that philosophers and scientists sometimes make up theories or rules—not that disprove Christianity, but dismiss it and its claims outright. Some of the greatest attacks upon Christianity don't come as a result of careful investigation—rather they come from false philosophical positions that reject Christianity out of hand.

For example, the humanistic philosopher Immanuel Kant taught that phenomena in this world could never directly reveal God. (Poythress, p. 35) Kant told us that it is not even possible for God to act in the ways that the Bible describes Him acting—like speaking from heaven at Mount Sinai.

But what's important to understand is that Kant did not disprove anything about Christianity. He just assumed that it could not be true. He dismissed Christianity out of hand, with great audacity. He taught that even if there was a God—He couldn't reveal Himself to us. His reaction to Christianity was to make up a false god, put him in a box, and refuse to let him out. He did not prove anything against Christianity.

It's the same with science. By definition the scientific method deals with things that are verifiable, repeatable and falsifiable. Some things about Christianity don't fall into those categories—so science properly doesn't deal with those things. But that doesn't mean that science has disproved them and they're not true. Science has never disproved that Jesus rose from the dead. It has never disproved one of His miracles. It has never disproved His teaching. Those things can't be disproved because they are true. We have nothing to fear from true science.

Indeed, if the fall into sin hadn't occurred, scientists would be at the forefront in the praise of God. They are the ones that, when they do their investigations, are discovering the marvels of His handiwork. As Vern Poythress writes, (Redeeming Science, p. 26-27)

"in reality, what people call 'scientific law' is divine. We are speaking of God himself and his revelation of himself through his governance of the world. Scientists must believe in scientific law in order to carry out their work. When we analyze what this scientific law really is, we find that scientists are constantly confronted with God himself, the Trinitarian God, and are constantly depending on who he is and what he does in conformity with his divine nature. In thinking about law, scientists are thinking God's thoughts after him."



But most scientists don't even believe in God, in Christianity? If Christianity is true, as Paul claimed, why don't most scientists believe it? They are among the smartest and most blessed people in the world. Why don't they believe? There are at least three reasons.

First, it's because the church, at some points in her history, has mistreated scientists.

One only needs to point to its mistreatment of Galileo. He has been referred to as the 'father of modern astronomy' as the 'father of modern physics' and as the 'father of science'. (Wikipedia) Yet how the Roman Church mistreated him! In 1616 the attacks upon Galileo had become so bad that he had to go to Rome to try to persuade the church not to ban his ideas. But Cardinal Bellarmine ordered him not to 'hold or defend' the idea that the earth moves and the sun stands still at the centre. Later, in 1633, Galileo was ordered to stand trial on suspicion of heresy. He was convicted and was required to recant his belief that the sun was at the center of the solar system. His idea that the sun was stationary was condemned as 'formally heretical'. His books were banned and he was imprisoned.

That's how the Roman church treated Galileo, the father of science. It's no wonder that many scientists are opposed to Christianity. If someone treated your father like that you'd be the same. You'd be forever suspicious of them.

The second reason many scientists don't believe the truth of the gospel is because Christians have many times stupidly misinterpreted the Bible.

For example, when scientists like Galileo discovered that the earth revolved around the sun many Christians said it could not be true because the Bible taught that the earth was immoveable. They quoted passages like Psalm 93:1 which said,

"The world is firmly established;
it cannot be moved."

But they were misunderstanding and misapplying that verse. It was not giving a technical, scientific statement about astronomy and the movement or non-movement of the earth. Rather it was stating in ordinary terms, that for human beings, (Poythress, p. 44)

"the earth does remain fixed underfoot as we walk around on it."



In other words, we are not to take Psalm 93:1 too literally. We must remember that the writers of Scripture wrote from the perspective of the terrestrial world, and from that vantage point the sun does rise and set. When the Scriptures refer to things like that, it is not describing them from a technical, scientific perspective. Rather it is using ordinary language like we use today.

The third reason many scientists do not believe in the truth of the gospel is because of their idolatry.

Vern Poythress writes, (p. 42, 54)

"People either serve God or serve an counterfeit god.""Contrary to secularist myth, science in practice is innately and irrepressibly religious: it serves either God or idolatry. But one of the features of idolatry is deceit. In this case, idolatry conceals from itself that it is idolatry."



Truth is associated with God's essential nature and with Christ. Sinful man rejects this truth. Thus he involves himself in idolatry. In Romans 1:25 the apostle Paul refers to idolatry as exchanging the truth of God for a lie.

The gospel confronts people with their sin and calls them to repentance. Many refuse to believe and resort to idolatry. As Jesus said in John 3:19-21,

"This is the verdict:
Light has come into the world,
but men loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil.
Everyone who does evil hates the light,
and will not come into the light
for fear that his deeds will be exposed."

It was that way with Festus. It is probable that Paul's words were striking home to Festus. How is he going to evade the truth and force of the gospel? He declares Paul to be mad. Lenski writes of Festus, (p. 1050)

"it is self-defense, a thrust to remove all that Paul was saying… If Paul is just raving, if his mind is unbalanced, that excuses Festus—he may brush aside all that Paul says."



Christians, don't be surprised if the world looks down on you, ridicules you, calls you stupid, non-intellectual or insane. The gospel is foolishness to them. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18,

"For the message of the cross
is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved
it is the power of God."

Festus' reaction was not unusual. After the Spirit came upon Christians on the Day of Pentecost, many of the Jews from all over the world heard Christians declaring the wonders of God in their own language. They were amazed because they knew them men were Galileans. (Acts 2:5f) They wondered what it meant. But we read, (verse 13)

"Some, however,
made fun of them and said,
'They have had too much wine.'"

They accused them of being drunkards.

Some people reacted the same way when Jesus did wondrous works. In both Matthew 9 and Matthew 12 the crowd was amazed because Jesus healed men who were demon possessed. In Matthew 9:33 they said,

"Nothing like this
has ever been seen in Israel."

In Matthew 12:23 the astonished people said,

"Could this be the Son of David?"

But the Pharisees, instead of praising God for what Jesus did and believing on Him, replied, (Matthew 12:24)

"It is only by Beelzebub,
the prince of demons,
that this fellow drives out demons."

Their sin made them reject and deny the truth of God even in the face of clear evidence of its truth.

Christianity is in accord with reality. God created the universe. He created man, upright and holy. Man sinned. His sin brought corruption and death into the world. God sent His Son to save sinners, to live perfectly for them, to suffer and die in their place. Jesus rose from the dead for their justification. Whoever believes in Him will be saved. These things are true and are in accord with reality.

But in the context here we should understand that

when Paul declared that the gospel was true he was pointing Festus and King Agrippa to Jesus—who is truth Himself.

It's important that we Christians appreciate what Jesus said about Himself and His mission. In John 14:6 Jesus said,

"I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me."

Jesus declared Himself to be the truth. In John 18:37, in response to Pilate's assertion that Jesus was a king, Jesus replied,

"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."

Jesus associated Himself with the truth. In Ephesians 4:21 the apostle Paul took this up and said,

"Surely you heard of him
and were taught in him
in accordance with the truth
that is in Jesus."

The truth is in Jesus. He came to reveal truth. He came to reveal the Father. He came to bring us to the truth. William Hendriksen writes, (Ephesians, p. 212-213)

"The truth with reference to man's fall into sin, his desperate condition by nature, the salvation procured by Christ, the necessity of faith working through love, principles of Christian conduct, etc.: all these doctrines had Christ as their very center. In Christ's suffering and death by crucifixion the addressed had been able to read how deeply fallen they were, necessitating the death of God's only-begotten Son, a death both painful and shameful. In his triumphant resurrection, ascension, and coronation they had received proof positive that salvation had been achieved. In Christ's constant emphasis upon the fact that men must come to him and rely on him completely, they had been given a lesson in the necessity of faith as appropriating organ of salvation… Was not he the very embodiment of the truth, the truth in person?"



The gospel is true because it is the gospel of Jesus, who is truth Himself. It's noteworthy that just before Jesus death Pilate asked Jesus,

"What is truth?"

Jesus did not answer with words. Leon Morris writes, (John, p. 294)

"No answer is given in words, but the Passion narrative gives the answer in deeds. As. A. Corell puts it, 'There can only be one meaning of alntheia in the Fourth Gospel: it is the truth about the death and resurrection of Jesus…"



This leads us to the second point Paul made to Festus. He said that

the gospel is reasonable.

The Greek word used here means, (BDAG)

"soundness of mind, reasonableness, rationality"



The word that Paul uses here could also be translated, "sanity" – the opposite of madness. (Alexander) Paul is stating that neither he nor the gospel was irrational.

The reason the gospel is reasonable is because it deals with the realities of man's sin in the only appropriate way. No other religion is reasonable because none of them deal with sin adequately. Christianity alone is reasonable.

To see this, consider the curse of sin. What is sin's curse? It is death. Only Christianity deals adequately with this. As far as I can tell, all other religions are based on works. Now think about it—if a sinner could live for a trillion years and keep the law perfectly, and not be negligent in one point—would he have satisfied the curse of the law? The answer is no. The curse of the law is not that you have to live perfectly for a trillion years—the curse of the law is death. All other religions falter on this point. It is impossible to gain salvation through the law. (Romans 3:20) As Sherlock Holmes said,

"My principles are simple. When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, no matter how implausible, must be true."



To gain salvation through the law is impossible. The only way is through Jesus. He became our substitute. He came to this earth and suffered and died in our place. It is through believing in Him that sinners are saved. This is not implausible. Nothing could be more reasonable.

The third point Paul made to Festus is that

he appealed to the prophets and the recent things that Jesus did.

Paul turned to King Agrippa and said,

"The king is familiar with these things,
and I can speak freely to him.
I am convinced that none of this
has escaped his notice,
because it was not done in a corner.
King Agrippa,
do you believe the prophets?
I know you do."

In spite of what Immanuel Kant taught, Christianity is based on historical events. In 1 Corinthians 15:3f the apostle Paul wrote about things he described as being of 'first importance'—about how Jesus died for our sins, was buried, raised the third day according to the Scriptures and appeared to Peter, the Twelve and more than 500 people at one time, then to James and himself. He goes on to state that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, Christianity is not true, faith is futile and we are still in our sins. But then comes the great declaration in verses 20-24,

"But Christ has indeed
been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a man,
the resurrection of the dead
comes also through a man.
For as in Adam all die,
so in Christ all will be made alive.
But each in his own turn:
Christ, the firstfruits;
then, when he comes,
those who belong to him."

Jesus rose from the dead. He has given His Spirit to His people. We Christians know of His reality in our lives. In 2 Peter 1:16-19 he wrote,

"We did not follow cleverly invented stories
when we told you about the power and coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For he received honor and glory
from God the Father
when the voice came to him
from the Majestic Glory, saying,
'This is my Son,
whom I love;
with him I am well pleased.'
We ourselves heard this voice
that came from heaven
when we were with him
on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets
made more certain,
and you will do well to pay attention to it,
as to a light shining in a dark place,
until the day dawns
and the morning star rises in your hearts."

God made Himself know to Peter and the others. He has made Himself known to us in our hearts. His light has shined on us. That is reality.

Christianity is true and reasonable, based on the historical events of the gospel that were predicted by the prophets. But even more than that, Paul knew the reality of the power of the risen Christ in His life—the power of the Spirit—the power of forgiven sin, the power to overcome temptation, the power to live the life of the resurrected Christ, the power to be bold in the face of opposition and death—and the power to conqueror all enemies, through Him who gave Him strength.

The great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck wrote a book who title (in English) is, "Our Reasonable Faith". That's a great title, in line with Paul's statement here. In that book, Bavinck wrote, (p. 25)

"This declaration of faith on the part of the church is not a scientific doctrine… but is rather a confession of a deeply felt reality, and of a conviction of reality that has come up out of experience in life. The prophets and apostles, and the saints generally who appear before us in the Old and New Testament and later in the church of Christ, did not sit and philosophize about God in abstracted concepts, but rather confessed what God meant to them and what they owed to Him in all circumstances of life. God was for them not at all a cold concept, which they then proceeded rationally to analyze, but He was a living, personal force, a reality infinitely more real than the world around them. He was to them the one, eternal worshipful Being."



You who are Christians also know that power, that light in your lives. Be bold and courageous in the face of opposition and unbelief—the gospel is true and reasonable, pointed to by the prophets and confirmed in our experience and lives.

Lastly, for those of you who aren't Christians.

what defense do you hold on to so that you won't believe the gospel?

Festus fooled himself into thinking that Paul was insane. Many Jews on the Day of Pentecost accused the disciples of drunkenness. The Pharisees accused Jesus of using the devil's power. When these people were confronted with the reality of God, with His power—they made excuses and they refused to believe. They perished.

What's your excuse? Why aren't you believing? Whatever your excuse is—don't let it put you in hell. Understand that it's something that's keeping you from the truth. Leave it off and go to Jesus. Find truth and life in Him.