“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’” (Acts 24:24-25).

Felix heard Paul preach the “faith in Christ.” We aren’t given the transcript of the entire sermon, but we are given an outline of its contents. The message that Paul preached consisted of three things that Felix needed to hear: righteousness, self-control, and the certainty of judgment.

Righteousness is God’s standard of right and wrong. Historians tell us that Felix was a wicked and cruel man. He needed to know that God had established a standard of right and wrong, and that he had violated this standard. Today, many people try to make their own standards. However, they need to hear and know that God has established the standard of right and wrong. God has told us in His word what constitutes good and evil. We cannot preach the “faith in Christ” and fail to point out God’s moral standards.

Self-Control is the response God expects man to have regarding a knowledge of His standards. Since there is a line drawn between good and evil, we are expected to stay on the side of that line that pleases God. When we are tempted to violate God’s standards, we must practice self-control. We must tell ourselves, “No!” Felix was a Roman Governor. Few people were in a position to tell him “No,” and he lacked the character to tell himself “No.” People today have access to many sinful and harmful things. We are all equipped with freewill, which means we must all practice self-control. People need to hear that the “faith in Christ” is not a license to pursue all their passions. The “faith in Christ” calls for us to control our impulses and tell ourselves “No!”

Judgment to Come is man’s motivation for practicing self-control. There are consequences for violating God’s standards. Some of these consequences are experienced immediately and permanently in this life, but the real consequences are in the life to come. The “faith in Christ” tells us “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).

Felix understood Paul’s message. He was afraid, but he did not act upon this fear. The “faith in Christ” calls upon man to repent of his sins and accept the forgiveness made available through the shed blood of the Savior. Felix chose to put this off until a more convenient time. As far as we know, this convenient time never came.

God has given you this day. You are not promised tomorrow. Judgment is coming. Make your life right with God, on His terms, and prepare yourself for eternity.