“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.” Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.” — Acts 24:24-26
Greed. It is only preceded by Pride on the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. Upon Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem by Jews on unproveable charges, and after escaping an ambush to kill him (Acts 25:3), he appeared before Felix in Caesarea. Due to Paul’s refusal to give him a bribe, he spent another two years there before he was sent to Rome, after having made his appeal to Nero (Acts 24-28).
Much is known about Felix, who was the procurator (governor) of the province of Judea from AD 52-60. While in prison in Caesarea, the Apostle Paul was able to share the gospel with him on several occasions and also with his Jewish wife Drusilla. Felix had been appointed by the petition of his brother, Marcus Antonius Pallas, the secretary of the treasure under the Roman Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54). Claudius was subsequently poisoned by his wife and replaced by the infamous Nero, an even greater thug! The cruelty of Felix, coupled with his own greedy penchant for briberies, also led to a great increase of crime as a judge in Judea. The period of his rule was marked by internal feuds and disturbances, which he put down with severity. Great crowd to be around!
There are over 100 Bible verses that speak of greed. The word literally means, “covetousness,” and is associated with the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10). Jesus spoke of it in the context of two brothers, one of which wanted Him to divide his evidently large inheritance with the other. When asked, Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own” (Luke 12:13-15). Time to downsize?
I remember reading the famous Modesto Manifesto, an agreement by the late Billy Graham and his team of Cliff Barrows, Grady Wilson and Beverly Shea, as they began their ministry in Los Angeles in 1948. They suspected that thousands of dollars (eventually millions) would come to them if their crusades were blessed by God. They agreed together that they would never covet money—never. They would always report the exact amount that they received and always be as thrifty as possible. As a result, in over 50 years of ministry, there was never a hint of financial abuse.
I learned early as a pastor that there were several things that could take you down in your ministry, of which you needed to be very careful. One of them was money. So be careful dear saints, in or out of ministry. The only bank account that will be worth anything is your heavenly one. So, as they say today, “Pay it forward,” let’s make that “forward” be to the Kingdom of God—and don’t be afraid to hold the ministries that you support be accountable—including your church! — Maranatha!
“God is good all the time. All the time God is good!”
