My text this evening is Acts 26 and verse 28, King Agrippa’s reply to Paul where he says, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian?” Now these eight little words have to be the saddest ever to grace the pages of the Bible. It strikes at the very heart of the problem of men and women living in today’s world. However, to understand this verse properly, we have to consider it in its context, and examine the events that lead up to this man making such a terribly sad statement.
What was the situation? Well the Apostle Paul had been kept prisoner for over two years in Caesarea by the Roman Governor Felix. However, Felix was replaced by another Governor named Festus, and straight away, before he can settle in, the Jews are in to see him, demanding Paul be delivered to them. In chapter 25 and verse 2, we learn that Festus had just taken office when the Chief priests and elders came to complain about Paul. They hated Paul. Why? - Because Paul had been one of them! Now he was preaching the Gospel, which they hated! Although he had been out of the way for two years, such was their hatred of Paul that as soon as a new governor was on the scene, they were in stirring up trouble. They wanted Festus to bring Paul to Jerusalem in order that they could lay in wait, ambush and kill him. HOWEVER, THE NEW GOVERNOR REFUSES TO CONDEMN PAUL.
Now not long after this incident, a special induction ceremony was held for the new Governor to celebrate his coming into office at Caesarea.
The Jewish King Agrippa comes to visit with his sister Bernice. Therefore, they come to pay their respects to the new Governor. “And after certain days King Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus.” This was a sort of diplomatic visit, as it were. Now, it is while they were visiting that Festus brings up this matter of his prisoner Paul, who he had inherited from this predecessor and whom the Jews desired to kill.
Agrippa is interested in this, and asked Festus if he could hear Paul for himself. Festus readily agreed and “on the following day, when Agrippa come, and his sister Bernice, there was great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and the principal men of the city.” This meeting was not going to be some sort of cosy, quiet little interview between Agrippa and Paul. No, this occasion had a degree of pomp and ceremony about it. Festus, Agrippa, Bernice and everybody who was anybody in Caesarea was there!
However tonight, I want to concentrate on just three people who were there within this great assembly, namely, Paul, Agrippa and Bernice. These are the central characters in all the events that will follow, so it is very important that we discover just who these three people were in order to try and understand why Agrippa was “Almost a persuaded.”
Paul, we know well, because he wrote over half of the New Testament. Voltaire, the French philosopher, described him as “That ugly little Jew.” Now it is said that Paul was not much to look at physically; neither was he strong or attractive. However, when Paul spoke, people listened! His speech was not the flowing speech of the great orators or the feeble sound bytes of modern day politicians. No, His words in Acts 26 are not spoken lightly, just for the sake of saying it. His words were the words of life, the good news, the Gospel, and they were spoken to save the soul of this man Agrippa.
Did you notice in our reading that Paul making his great defence of the Gospel? Although all the leading men of the city are assembled around him, Paul has one purpose, and his eyes are focused upon one man in his congregation.
His eye is on Agrippa. He mentions Agrippa’s name all the time during his defence. He did it in verse 2, verse 7, verse 13, verse 19 and verse 27. He made direct reference to Agrippa. He was in this great assembly, but he was talking to Agrippa. There’s no doubt, what was in Paul’s mind; he was after the soul of this man. So, he kept addressing himself personally to Agrippa!
Christian friends; there is a lesson for us here! Here is Paul in the midst of this great gathering, with all the leaders and dignitaries of the city around him, but he is not afraid! We too should be bold and be ready at all times to give reason for the hope that is in us to all we meet. Not because of any supposed strength or ability we think we might possess, but rather because the Lord has commanded us to preach the Gospel to every living creature!
So who was this man Agrippa? Well, lets give him his full title, shall we? His full title was King Herod Agrippa the 2nd. Now when you read the New Testament, you will come across the name King Herod many times, but it won’t be the same King as this one! There was a whole family of these Kings. This man was the very last of the Herodian kings. It was this man’s great grandfather, Herod the Great, who killed all the baby boys in Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus. It was this man’s uncle, Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist. It was this man’s father, Herod Agrippa the 1st, who put to death the Apostle James, and would have executed Peter too, had not the Lord sent an angel to rescue him.
Therefore, this man’s grandfather, uncle and father were the Herods who had been opposing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All of these men had died, or had been disgraced shortly after these events.
Now, this is important, because it tells us something about the mental state of this man Agrippa was in as he heard the Gospel. It is important, you know how you hear the Gospel. It is important the mental state you have, the thoughts you have as you listen to this Gospel, it is important how you have come to church this evening. My friends, have you come to receive the benefit of the Gospel? No matter who is preaching? I hope we do. So then, it is vitally important what is running through our minds as we listen to the gospel. Now Agrippa had many things on his mind as he listened to Paul. Somehow, the destiny of his family had been mixed up with the faith of Jesus. His family had opposed the gospel, and had all died or been disgraced because of it. Now no one can listen to God’s word without having that in their mind.
So, you can imagine then, that when Festus mentions Paul preaching Jesus, Agrippa immediately shows interest and desired to hear him! However, there’s another reason why he was interested! Agrippa, you see was an expert on Jewish affairs and religion. Paul says this in verse 3, when he acknowledged that Agrippa was an “expert in all the customs and questions which are among the Jews.” Now for the very first time, this man, who was an expert on the Jewish religion was about to hear of the true Messiah.
The last of these three characters was Bernice, and I believe that she, in many ways is the key to all that followed. Bernice was Agrippa’s sister. She had been married to her uncle, and had she had deserted him. She married a man called Polymon, and run away from him. Now she was living in an incestuous relationship with her brother Agrippa.
They were brother and sister, living together as man and wife. That was the relationship of this brother with his sister, and that you see is very important in considering all that follows.
Now knowing this background, you will probably understand the position that Agrippa was in as he listened to the Gospel. In front of him was a preacher, making no secret of the fact that he was out to convert the King and kept mentioning the King by name every five minutes throughout the whole of the sermon. In Agrippa’s mind was the mess that the past two or three generations of his family had got into by opposing the message of Jesus. By his side was his sister, a visible reminder of his own sin and depravity. These things must have crossed his mind as he listened to the preacher in front of him. His background which was so obviously anti-gospel and anti-Jesus. His sister, reminding him of what his present situation was before a Holy God. That’s the historical background to this story.
HOWEVER, IT IS NOT HISTORY THAT WE NEED TODAY, WE NEED SOMETHING THAT WE CAN APPLY TO OUR OWN LIVES. So let’s start to look at this. Here you are sitting in a service, listening to the Gospel almost 2000 years on from Agrippa. Before you, YOU have a preacher, who makes no secret of his purpose, which is the salvation of your soul. That means that if you are not a Christian, that you should be saved, and that you should be saved tonight! There’s no secret about that from me or anyone else who stands in this pulpit Sunday by Sunday. In that, we are like Agrippa. Now Paul made his sermon very personal for Agrippa, because he keeps on mentioning him by name all the time. Now I won’t do that to you, but don’t be surprised if GOD does! Don’t be surprised if God will make what I’m going to say this evening very, very personal to YOU! God has a habit of doing just that, of taking the words and statements in a sermon and so directing them to your own situation and circumstances that you believe that the preacher is getting at you. I’ve lost count of the number of people who have been converted and experienced this – “I thought he was talking about ME!” – very personal. Paul made his sermon very personal, and God can make His word very personal to YOU! He can make you feel very uncomfortable as you sit there listening to the gospel. He can make you feel as if there is no one else here in his hall except you and Him, and that you are standing there answering to Him for all your sins. He can make you feel like that. I won’t mention you by name, but God CAN! Don’t be surprised if He does!
Perhaps, in you mind, you may be thinking how few Christians there are in your family. I believe that Agrippa certainly must have thought about his own family’s reaction to Jesus. Maybe you are thinking the same thing. Your family may not be as opposed to Jesus as Agrippa’s, but you know only to well that if you become a Christian, you will have little sympathy at home. Very little sympathy from your wife or husband, or your mother or father. Very little sympathy from your family. Look out if you go to work tomorrow morning when you tell them that you are a Christian. You know very well that you will get very little sympathy in work tomorrow morning if you go in there and say that you are a Christian. If you are converted tonight my friends, you have no sympathy from your family. They won’t mind you coming to church, but don’t get too religious, and don’t get saved, because if you do, you’ll have opposition. You’ll have it at home, and you’ll have it in work.
Maybe like Agrippa, you are thinking about the reminders of your own sin in your life. Agrippa’s reminder was sitting right along side him. Bernice was his reminder of his own sin and depravity. Now I’m not suggesting that your sexually warped like Agrippa. But aren’t there many things in your lives that are wrong, things that you enjoy, things you love, things you are not prepared to give up?
You know that these thing are wrong because God says they are wrong. You don’t have to be in an incestuous relationship to be a sinner. They’re wrong. Our lives are filled with these things. Sin is not something that others do. The Bible tells us that; “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). Well, that was Agrippa’s background as he listens to the Gospel. It could be our background as we hear the Gospel tonight.
Notice how Paul starts by telling Agrippa about his own background. This is how Paul approaches the man. He starts by telling of his own background. Now Paul was not brought up as a Christian. Regardless of what anyone tells you to the contrary, nobody is born a Christian! You may look at certain people, and say to yourself that surely they have been Christians all of their lives. However, no one has been a Christian for all his or her lives! There was a time when all of us were not Christians. Paul tells us in this chapter that there was a time when HE was not a Christian. Although he had been very religious, and lived as a Pharisee, he had not been a Christian. Now listen to how Paul describes his background in verses 9, 10 and 11. He’s talking to this man who’s family had be vigorously opposed the Gospel of Jesus. This family, who had murdered the babies in Bethlehem, murdered John the Baptist and murdered James the Apostle. Listen how Paul describes himself to this man. “I verily though with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.” (Acts 26:9-11).
You see what Paul was telling Agrippa was this, “It wasn’t just your family that persecuted Christians, look what I did!” It wasn’t my father, it wasn’t my uncle, and it wasn’t my grandfather. I was the one who held their coats when they stoned Stephen. I was the one that organised them and urged them on. I was the one who put them in prison. I was the one who was vigorously opposed to the Christian faith. Can you see what Paul is getting at, he’s saying, “Agrippa, if you think what your family has done to believers is awful, look what I did. It wasn’t my family that did such terrible things to Christians, I was the one who held the coats when they stoned Stephen, I was the one that organised and murdered them”. If Agrippa thought that his family background was against him becoming a Christian, Paul says, “Look at me! Everything about my background was anti-Christian and anti-Gospel”. Now why did Paul do that? Why did he speak to Agrippa in that way? Well, I think it was because Paul knew that it was not easy to be a Christian before people you once worked with, and once shared the same pleasures with. These Jews, of whom Paul was their blue-eyed-boy at one time, who were opposing him, who wanted to ambush and kill him, these were the people who once thought that Paul was everything. He was the star attraction; he was the budding young politician and preacher. He was the one they looked to, but he had changed and had accepted Jesus, and O how they hated him for it! Paul knew this, he knew that it was not easy to be a Christian. How do you cope with old friends who think you now have gone funny? Who think you have gone religious? Who now consider you very narrow-minded? How do you cope with old friends who laugh in your face at the things that are now precious to you? If these fears were present in Agrippa’s mind, Paul is able to identify with him and say, “I’ve been there too.”
But what about us? How many of us are not Christians this evening because of this very same reason?
“If I go home tonight and say that I’m a Christian, what is my family going to say? What will my parents say? What will my husband or wife say? What will they say in work tomorrow?” How do you cope with that situation? Some of you might be saying to yourselves, “If I become a Christian, they’ll laugh and make fun of me, I’ll never be able to keep it up”. That was the very first thing I said after my conversion, “How will I ever be able to keep it up?” Paul’s answer to this concern of perseverance is found in verse 22, where he tells us that, “We obtain help from God”.
Paul can say to Agrippa, “I can understand your fears, but I’ve been there too.” He is encouraging this man, isn’t he, preparing the way for the Gospel to come in. He’s taking away his fears and preconceived notions and he’s answering the unanswered question.
Here we have a preacher who can identify with his hearers problems, even though for him his congregation is only one man at that moment. However, the preaching of the Word of God is not just to assure sinners of God’s help when they become Christians. No, the first function of the Gospel is to tell people that they are sinners, and that they need to be converted.
If Agrippa is to become a Christian, then this unhealthy relationship with Bernice must stop. The preacher makes no bones whatsoever about that. Tonight, I’m here to tell you the same thing. If YOU are to become a Christian tonight, there HAS to be a change in your life. There MUST be a change in your life! You cannot go on doing the things that you used to do. You see, a preacher, whether it is Paul or any other, has been given a commission direct from God. Paul tells Agrippa what that commission is in verse 18. “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in that is in me.” (Acts 26:18).
That was his commission. What he is telling us is this, that a man or a woman, whether its King Agrippa, or us or anyone else, before they are converted, live in darkness. If you are not a Christian that is how God sees you, in darkness. That is why you cannot listen to the Gospel. That’s why you don’t understand the Gospel. Why is it that we can sit under the sound of the Gospel for years and still not understand it? Because the God of this world has blinded the mind, says Paul. That’s Satan, the power of Satan. That’s why you can sit in a Church, listen to the preaching and still not understand. It’s the power of sin. It’s nothing to do with the preacher, it’s nothing to do with the sermon, and it’s nothing to do with being bored. It is to do with your mind and your spirit if you are under this power of darkness, and you have to recognise this. This business of being a Christian is not merely matter of being persuaded to change your mind about certain things. It is the breaking of the power of darkness, and of Satan. In addition, because we are under the power of sin, we’re under the wrath of God. The Bible is full of this; it isn’t just a matter of not being a Christian. If you are not a Christian, then you are under the judgement and power of God. Jesus says this; if you are not a Christian, “YOU ARE CONDEMNED ALL READY!” It isn’t a matter of waiting for that great day in the future. We are condemned already! Condemned by sitting in an Evangelical Church on a Sunday Evening. You see a person before conversion is in darkness. We have to grasp this. We have to understand exactly what sin does to us. We got to understand that God treats sin very, very seriously, whether it’s the gross sins of Agrippa and Bernice, or our far more respectable sins of pride, envy and jealously. God treats sin seriously. God treats sin so seriously that He nailed his Son to the cross of Calvary. That’s how seriously God takes it. Therefore, we ought to take sin very seriously too.
Thank God, my friends that in Jesus, there is light to shine even into the darkest of hearts!
What heart was darker than Saul of Tarsus was? What mind was so shut up against the Gospel than the mind of this zealous Pharisee? Yet, the light of God broke into that mind. You see, there is hope for us all, isn’t there? There is forgiveness for all our sins. There is not a man or women in Neath this evening whose sins are beyond the cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ. There is forgiveness for all our sins, in the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a liberating power in Christ, far greater that the enslaving power of sin. That’s the gospel that Paul preaches to this man Agrippa. Here’s the Gospel in verse 23, “That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead…” Why should Christ suffer? Why must Christ suffer? Well, because of your sins, and because of my sins. If he had not borne our sins, no one else could have borne them. We sing it in that old hymn, don’t we; “There was no other good enough, to pay the price of sin.” That is why he had to suffer. He suffered because of the love, grace and mercy of God to a sinful world – because “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.” Now it’s God’s holiness that makes Calvary necessary, but its God’s love that makes Calvary possible! If it wasn’t for His holiness, demanding that sin should be punished, there would be no need for Calvary. However, if it wasn’t for His love that provides us with a saviour, it would not be possible in the first place. So here is the glory and wonder of the gospel, that God has done these things for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul preaches these things to Agrippa.
Now, how does Agrippa react to all this and perhaps more importantly, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO REACT? Well, there will always be some people like Festus, who just cannot understand. Festus heard exactly the same things as Agrippa heard, but his reaction was to exclaim, “Paul, much learning has made you mad.” (Acts 26:24). You see Festus had dismissed this whole matter out of hand as complete and utter nonsense.
However, Agrippa did understand. Listen, in verse 26 Paul replied, “Festus, I’m not mad, but the King knowest of these things, before whom also I speak freely, for I am persuaded that none of thing things are hidden from him.” (Acts 26:26).
Now that’s an interesting statement. None of these things is hidden from the King. If they are not hidden, then they are revealed, if they are revealed, who has revealed them? I’ll tell you whom! GOD HAS REVEALED THEM! God was dealing with this man. You see there are some people who hear this Gospel that cannot deny it. God is at work. God makes it clear to their hearts that this is the truth.
Well, is that enough? Do we leave it there? No we don’t. Paul didn’t leave it there. You see, if the apostle was right, and Agrippa did believe, and I believe that is what Paul seems to say to Agrippa in verse 27, “King Agrippa, believeth thou the prophets?” “I KNOW YOU BELIEVE!” Remember, this is Paul speaking! He is not just saying this in an offhand manner here. No, he was stating that Agrippa did believe in the prophets and in the scriptures. If this is true, and he did really believe these things, was he then at this point a Christian? Well, I’m afraid that the answer to that question was that he wasn’t. You see King Agrippa was a believer in the Jewish faith, but he wasn’t a Christian. He was almost a Christian. Now what do I mean by that? Well the has been much debate over exactly what Agrippa said. If you have a New International Version of the Bible, this verse says, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian.” It seems to have a different emphasis to the Authorised Version’s “almost thou persuadest me”, doesn’t it. Now this verse is apparently one of the most difficult texts in the Bible to translate. It has been translated in various ways, and interpreted as a trivial jest, bitter sarcasm, a burst of anger and sincere conviction. It has been translated and interpreted variously by theologians and commentators like that.
Now I would like to argue this evening that it isn’t just a matter of what a Greek word means, but rather it’s the whole context in which this verse is found that determines its interpretation. The context here leads me to say that Agrippa’s words were a sign of sincere conviction, and that the Authorised version is correct in its interpretation. “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” You see, Paul said that he believed. These things were not hidden, but revealed to him. Almost, almost persuaded. Now you might think that almost is far better than being nothing at all. However, it isn’t! Almost is never enough. Remember the words of that old Sankey hymn,
“Almost persuaded now to believe,
almost persuaded Christ to receive,
Almost will not avail,
sad, sad, the bitter wail,
almost but lost…”
You see, almost means hell. Why was Agrippa only almost persuaded? Let me say again, God was at work in this man. It wasn’t just the preaching. This Agrippa believed the scriptures. This man believed what Paul was saying to him. He was moved to that point of “almost.” Now why only almost? Was there a fear of what people might say? There can be an element of that. Was it because he loved his sin so much, and that he wasn’t prepared to give up his relationship with Bernice? We’ll never know. However, this we do know as a certainty – Almost is LOST! How many of us are almost persuaded? Some of you have heard the gospel on many times. There is nothing in the Gospel that you disagree with. You’re not like Festus, dismissing the whole thing as a load of rubbish. You wouldn’t come back week after week if that were the case. Perhaps you may have come to this point of almost believing before.
My friend let me tell you this; to be almost a Christian is to be in the most ridiculous position for a human being to be in. In fact, I would argue that Festus’ reaction is more sensible and more logical than your reaction. It is more logical to dismiss this Gospel as a load of rubbish than to believe it all, and still not be a Christian, That’s what the Almost Person is! You can understand a person who dismisses the Gospel as nonsense. But how can you understand a person who tell you that they believe themselves to be a sinner. Of people who say they believe in Jesus, and know that He did rise from the dead. Men and women who are aware that Jesus is coming again and still haven’t turned in repentance and faith to Christ. O, there are many, many people like that who regularly attend our chapels and churches in Wales today! Almost is not enough. There is no excuse for being almost a Christian. Paul said, “I would to God, that not only thou, but all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am.” (Acts 26:29). Altogether, that’s what we should be.
You see if God had almost loved us, there would be no gospel to preach, and if Jesus had almost died upon the cross, there would be no forgiveness of sin. There should be no almost about our dealings with God. Altogether, says Paul that’s what we want to be. Altogether such as I am. What does that mean? It means conviction of sins, It means repentance, it means faith, it means trust, it means being born again. That’s altogether. You see the Gospel found Agrippa in the midst of his sin. His sin was particularly gross. However, it doesn’t matter what our sin is because the gospel finds us all in sin, whether it’s Agrippa’s sin of an incestuous relationship with his sister, or our more respectable sins. You see man is not merely in a mess, he is a mess. He doesn’t merely live in a sinful environment; he is part of that environment. He makes that environment – this world is what you and I have made of it – and we contribute to it! We are sinful. We are not merely under the influence of sin, we wallow in it.
Think what life could be with out sin! Yet, we still don’t take sin seriously. However, God takes our sins very, very seriously.
I thank God that this Gospel offers us far more than forgiveness of sins. It offers us a saviour, a real person. When this person, this saviour comes into our lives, it isn’t just God doing something for us, its God coming into us, in the person of Jesus. When he comes in, he brings into our lives forgiveness, praise God, that’s crucial, but he brings us something else too. He brings in a new nature, He transforms us and makes us new creatures. He gives us new hearts, new desires.
If you trust in Jesus, your salvation will be sure. There is the God that we have to meet, not as our judge, but as our saviour. To almost believe all that, and not repent of our sins and turn to Christ is to reject Him. What we should do is to flee to Jesus, and do it now.
God has given us another chance to hear the Gospel. You may not have another one! You cannot play with God, for he has said, “My spirit will not always strive with man.” (Genesis 6:3). However, God has given you another opportunity tonight to hear the Gospel. I wonder if I am speaking to someone here tonight who has been under this feeling of almost for a long time, and you know that you should have been converted ages ago. Well I tell you this, don’t play with God! My friend, if God has been dealing with your heart turn to Him now, and ask Him not to be almost but totally yours. Ask Him to forgive your sins. Ask Him to cleanse you, whatever that sin. Come to Him in faith, believing and receive this gift of Christ, and you will know what it is not to be almost, but full of the Lord Jesus Christ.
AMEN
