A Convenient Time
Acts 24:24-25 NKJV
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. 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.”
Felix, the governor, was listening to Paul regarding faith in Christ. As governor, Felix was aware of what was going on in the area under his control. He was familiar with the Way, a term given for the message of the gospel. That’s an accurate moniker. The gospel of Christ is the Way to salvation and righteousness. Jesus declared Himself to be the Way, the truth, and the life, and no one could come to the Father except through Him. Felix may have been gathering information about what was taking place in his region, but he got more than he bargained for.
Paul spoke with Felix about faith in Christ. Paul also spoke of righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. And as Paul spoke, Felix became afraid. If you know you have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, hearing about Him does not make you afraid. If you know you are united with Christ, then the idea of righteousness is going to make you excited, not afraid. If you know anything about the new birth, you know you have the capacity for self-control. You may not be walking in self-control, but you are hopeful that you will or at least can. And if you know about the love of God that was demonstrated through Jesus, you are not afraid when the subject of judgment comes up. But Felix was afraid. Felix had not bought into the Way. He was still a ways away from the Way. It’s a bad pun, but it’s the truth. But what Felix said next is the cry of so many throughout the ages.
“...Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” Felix is under conviction. This is not condemnation; Paul was not condemning the governor. But the Holy Spirit will convict someone that they are not in right standing with God. When someone is under conviction, they will do one of three things. Reject the truth outright and walk away. Accept the truth and receive the Lord. Or put off the decision until a more convenient time. Granted, some people eventually come around and receive the Lord, and some eventually harden their hearts and walk away. But a more convenient time is a procrastination term. For far too many, the convenient time never comes. It appears that the convenient time never came for Felix. After two years of procrastination, he was replaced by Porcius Festus. We can only hope that Felix had heard enough to receive at a later date. Only heaven knows.
Application
The challenge we all have to be aware of is putting off the important things of God until a more convenient time. Strictly speaking, for myself, there have been times I have sensed a nudge from the Holy Spirit to do something, and I put it off until a more convenient time. For me, this has been in the area of giving offerings or calling someone who came to my heart. There have been times I knew the Lord wanted me to give toward a particular ministry, but I dragged my feet. The problem with a convenient time is that sometimes it just does not come. Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” If we keep waiting for perfect conditions, the convenient time, we will never get anything done.
Don’t wait for the convenient time; go ahead and do it now.