49 Sermon Illustrations on Corruption

The man of the world in the olden time bowed to the fallen statue of Jupiter, by way of bespeaking the favour of the god in the event of his being again lifted on his pedestal. What are those provisions for the flesh, which too many Christians so readily make, but a kind of homage to the old man whom they profess to have renounced?

Character can be made black as easily, but not as easily restored, as the skin of the lady mentioned in the extract below:

A celebrated Parisian belle, says the _Popular Science News_, who had acquired the habit of whitewashing herself, so to speak, from the soles of her feet to the roots of her hair, with chemically-prepared cosmetics, one day took a medicated bath, and on emerging from it she was horrified to find herself as black as an Ethiopian. The transformation was complete; not a vestige of the “supreme Caucasian race” was left. Her physician was sent for in alarm and haste. On his arrival he laughed immoderately and said, “Madame, you are not ill, you are a chemical product. You are no longer a woman, but you are a ‘sulfid.’ It is not now a question of medical treatment, but a simple chemical reaction. I shall subject you to a bath of sulfuric acid diluted with water. The acid will have the honor of combining with you; it will take up the sulfur, the metal will produce a ‘sulfurate,’ and we shall find as a ‘precipitate’ a very pretty woman.” The good-natured physician went through with his reaction, and the belle was restored to her membership with the white race.

Athenian society decayed at last, not at all because its artists had reached the limit of human invention, or its philosophers the necessary term of human thought, but because the moral faculties and tastes which should have presided in that society were not developed in proportion to the esthetic and intellectual powers which added to its ornament. It was outwardly like the statue of Minerva in the Parthenon, of costly ivory, overlaid with gold; but it was wood within; and the wood rotted; that is all that can be said of it. Then the cunning of the ivory, and the splendor of the gold, fell and were broken, and the nations gathered the shining fragments.

— RICHARD S. STORRS

If a drunkard knew that a certain number of drinks would make his face permanently black, how many men would drink? And shall we be less careful about the face of our soul?

Many a man grows so accustomed to his evil environment that he fails to realize how he is being spiritually ruined.

In a certain laboratory experiment a live frog was placed in water heated at the rate of .0036 of a degree Fahrenheit per second. The frog never moved or showed any sign of distress, but was found at the end of two hours and a half to be dead. The explanation was that at any point of time the temperature of the water showed such little contrast with that of a moment before that the attention of the frog was never attracted by it. It was boiled to death without noticing it.

An American traction-owner, visiting St. Petersburg, was imprest with the inadequacy of the horse-car service and employed engineers to work out a modern system. Failing to make an impression on the local officials, he had abandoned the plan when he fell in with a clever Russian who assured him that his ignorance of the ways of the country was responsible for the failure, and offered to engineer the deal for a part interest in the company. The first step was to purchase, for several thousand rubles, the sympathy and support of a certain _danseuse_ of the capital. Everything went smoothly and Witte, the Czar’s Prime Minister, finally wrote a report recommending the scheme, and the Czar endorsed on the document: “I approve this in every particular.” Thereupon an American rival attempted to blackmail the successful franchise-holder. When the man refused to be held up the rival set various influences at work. A few days later Plehve handed the Emperor a report condemning the traction scheme and favoring its annulment, across which Nicholas wrote: “I approve this report in every particular.” Horse-cars still operate in St. Petersburg. (Text.)

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with the enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in our family.

Mom taught me to love the Word of God, and dad taught me to obey it. But “The Stranger” was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales, adventures, mysteries and comedies. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening. He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Buck and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars.

“The Stranger” was an incessant talker. Dad didn’t seem to mind. But sometimes Mom would quietly get up while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of a faraway place, go to her room, read her Bible and pray.

I wonder now if she ever prayed that “The Stranger” would leave. You see, my dad ruled the household with certain moral convictions. But “The Stranger” never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity for example, was not allowed in our house - not from our friends or adults. Our long-time visitor, however, used occasional four-letter words that burned my ears and made dad squirm. To my knowledge, “The Stranger” was never confronted.

My dad was a teetotaler who did not permit alcohol in his home, not even for cooking. But “The Stranger” felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made smoking cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely about sex. His comments were sometimes suggestive and generally embarrassing.

I now know that “The Stranger” influenced my early concepts of the man/woman relationship. As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the “Stranger” did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since “The Stranger” moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. But if you were to walk into my parent’s home today, you would still find him sitting over in the corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name? ... We always just called him TV.

Prayer: Father give me the discernment to know what I should and should not watch. Amen! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

________

Copyright (c) 2006 – Christian Weekly Devotion - All Rights Reserved

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[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]

How faith has, and can, influence politics. A sidebar discusses the religion (and corrupt politics) of Grant, and Harding (a Baptist). They were genuinely religious but it did not have enough effect on their public affairs.

Article: Operation Greylord was an ambitious federal sting in Chicago to uncover crooked judges. Judges John J. (Dollars) Devine routinely took $100 to fix drunk driving charges. His bagman told clients: "Here I am. Fill me up." Police sergeants were allowed to stand in for judges during "bum call." One sentenced a bum to death.

Judge Devine: "Thanks are nice, but they don't go very far. For those who help you, you should show your appreciation."

Judge Wayne W. Olson: "I love people that take dough because you know exactly where you stand."

Other verses on bribery:

EXO 23:8 DEU 10:17 DEU 16:19 DEU 27:25 1SA 8:3 1SA 12:3 2CH 19:7

JOB 15:34 JOB 36:18 PSA 15:5 PSA 26:10 PRO 6:35 PRO 15:27 PRO 17:8

PRO 17:23 PRO 21:14 PRO 29:4 ECC 7:7 ISA 1:23 ISA 5:23 ISA 33:15

EZE 22:12 AMO 5:12 MIC 3:11 MIC 7:3 ACT 24:26

Gives a history of policing, and discusses a theology of policing. They need special attention from pastors. Talks about problems, temptations they face.

Since we don't like to feel divided, we separate ourselves from the source of tension, God.

Phyllis Schlafly wrote a fascinating editorial on how the most destructive theories and philosophies of our time originated in flawed individuals. Margaret Mead, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Pablo Picasso all created new ways of thinking. But the theories put forth by these enormously influential intellectuals are simply rationalizations of their own sexual desires.

[article gives expanded details on their error]

Christians are also good at rationalizing their sins. God is reduced to a vague concept of love. And their spiritual lives disintegrate.

Can you imagine working at the following Company?

It has a little over 500 employees with the following statistics:

*29 have been accused of spousal abuse

*7 have been arrested for fraud

*19 have been accused of writing bad checks

*117 have bankrupted at least two businesses

*3 have been arrested for assault

*71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit

*14 have been arrested on drug-related charges

*8 have been arrested for shoplifting

*21 are current defendants in lawsuits

*In 1998 alone, 84 were stopped for drunk driving

Can you guess which organization this is? Give up?

It's the 535 members of your United States Congress. The same group that perpetually cranks out hundreds upon hundreds of new laws designed to keep the rest of us in line.

[Update: this list is misleading in that it implies all these crooks are in the current congress. Actually, it is a compilation from all the people who have ever been in Congress; it was put together by the CAPITOL HILL BLUE website (www.chblue.com). Info comes from www.truthorfiction.com]

The guy had been shipwrecked years before and had never lived alone on this desert island. One day he was excited to see a ship off-shore which had seen his signal flag in the palm tree. A small dinghy came ashore with one occupant. The fellow rowing it handed the marooned sailor a bundle of newspapers and told him, "The captain sends you these papers and suggests you read them before you decide whether you want to be rescued."

________

Hoover Rupert, WHY DIDN'T NOAH SWAT BOTH MOSQUITOES? (Lima, OH: CSS Publishing Co. Inc., 1994), p. 89

With each passing news cycle, the story of Enron's collapse becomes more sordid. Conduct that ranged from questionable to quite possibly illegal has tarnished the reputations of nearly all of Enron's senior management.

But there's one notable exception. One vice-president did the right thing -- and did it because of her faith and the worldview it produces.

The February 2 issue of WORLD magazine reports that Sherron Watkins never aspired to be a hero. And she certainly never imagined that there would be T-shirts reading "Thanks, Sherron Watkins, Our Hero."

Watkins was an Enron vice-president who worked for the company's chief financial officer. It was there that she became aware of the questionable accounting practices that Enron used to hide the extent of its losses and the lie about its bottom line figures.

Watkins was initially afraid to confront senior management about the irregularities. But after talking to a friend and her mother, Watkins drafted a six-page memo to Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. In it she expressed her concern that the company "will implode in a wave of accounting scandals." She went further calling Enron a "crooked company" whose profits were "nothing but an elaborate hoax." She expected to be fired and was surprised when she wasn't.

Watkins not only had the courage to risk her job, she -- unlike other Enron executives -- refused to use her insider knowledge for personal gain. Despite seeing the company coming apart, Watkins never sold her stock.

Now, why, in the midst of what TIME magazine called "a failure of character," did Watkins stick her neck out? Would it surprise you to learn that she's a Christian? As her mother told WORLD magazine, Watkins' "strong Christian background" made her want to do the right thing in situations like the one she confronted at Enron.

And to discern what the right thing was, she didn't turn inward or to business ethicists. Instead she sought the counsel of her pastor and the people in her Bible study group.

Watkins' behavior has made her, in the LONDON GUARDIAN's words, "the toast of America." But as her Sunday school teacher told WORLD magazine, her Christian friends sometimes wonder what the big deal is. After all, she was only doing what a Christian should do.

Sherron Watkins' actions are not only an example of the difference Christian faith can make in a person's life, although they certainly are that. Her actions are -- more than that -- a reminder of the cultural impact that a Christian worldview can have.

When our post-Christian culture rejected Christianity, it rejected the belief system that makes behavior like Watkins' possible. Today few, if any, business schools teach their students the difference between right and wrong. There are no courses in business ethics, as I discovered when lectured at Harvard Business School some years ago. So, absent a worldview that thinks in terms of moral absolutes, rather than next quarter's earnings, there's no reason to expect people to act against self-interest and do the right thing. That's why Watkins' actions stand out.

We'll hear more about Sherron Watkins. And Christians ought to be prepared to take advantage of this opportunity to tell our neighbors the real significance of her story: That doing the right thing starts with believing the right thing.

For further reading:

Bob Jones, "Reluctant Hero," WORLD, 2 February 2002.

BreakPoint with Chuck Colson, "The More Things Change: Enron," 17 January 2002.

_________________________

Copyright © 2002 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. 'BreakPoint with Chuck Colson' is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

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James Treffinger was touted as one of the brightest politicians in New Jersey. In college he won a Fulbright scholarship. He began as a councilman and mayor of Verona, then advanced to the executive of large Essex County. He was in line to become the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. “I had a holier-than-thou belief that people really did need someone like me to fight for them,” said Treffinger, who ran as a Republican bent on reform.

His real motivation was fame, which he called his addiction. “I became a workaholic enthralled with politics,” he said. He said he ignored his family's pleas to bow out of politics. “I had a delusional belief that my growing fame would somehow make my family and friends proud.”

Then federal authorities raided his office. In May 2003, Treffinger pleaded guilty to obstructing an FBI investigation into his dealings with a sewer-repair firm that had been awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in no-bid county contracts. He admitted arranging for his aides to help conceal $10,000 in campaign contributions from the company.

Although he was raised a Roman Catholic and even taught Sunday School in the church, under his wife’s influence he began attending Brookdale Baptist Church. He became close friends with the pastor and became born again on October 17, 2002. Eleven days later, however, Treffinger was arrested outside his house and handcuffed by federal authorities.

“Prison is an awful experience, it's supposed to be” said the 54-year-old Treffinger. He was released from the Schuylkill Federal Correctional Institute in Minersville, Pennsylvania, just before the Christmas holidays after completing a 10 1/2-month sentence.

Though he never feared for his physical safety, Treffinger said he “feared for my stability, my strength and, at times, my sanity.” One of the worst parts, he said, was never being called by name. In prison, he was known simply as inmate 2509005. “To have a number replace your name was unnerving,” he said.

Since his religious conversion, he realized “my jail cell was my ego.” In prison he taught high school classes and organized Bible classes and evangelized the prison population. Treffinger said sixteen of his students received their diplomas and four other men became Christians.

The church has become a lifeline for Treffinger, who lost his license to practice law due to his crime. After his release from prison, he was hired by the church as administrator of its elementary school. One year to the day after he began his prison sentence, in his first public appearance after his release, he stood in the pulpit of the church and asked for the congregation’s forgiveness. He compared himself to the Prodigal Son who is welcomed back by his father despite his wanton behavior. He told them he is at peace with himself because of his new relationship with God.

President Warren Harding is a sad example of a politician gone wrong.

He was an American Baptist, like my church, and served as a trustee in the Trinity Baptist Church of Marion, Ohio. When he became president the country entered the Roaring Twenties. There was peace and prosperity and he was hugely popular.

But behind the scenes, some of his friends were using their positions to get rich. A swindle called the Teapot Dome Scandal rocked the capital. Harding complained, “My...friends...they're the ones that keep me walking the floors at night!”

He is now remembered as a disgrace, not because of what he did, but what he allowed others to do. Harding's impressive tomb in Marion is barely visited.

Chester Arthur was a political hack. Throughout his career he got ahead by patronage. In 1871 he was appointed Collector of the Port of New York and used his 1,000 employees to further the partisan interests of the Republican party. His salary was $6,500 but he got to keep a percentage of the cargoes and fines and so made $50,000 a year, more than the President. In 1878 political reformers cleaned out the New York political machine and Arthur was fired.

In spite of this, the Republicans chose Arthur to be their Vice President in 1880. It was his first and only election, and he and Garfield narrowly won. A year later, Garfield was assassinated and political hack Arthur became the 21st President of the United States.

As President he surprised both friends and enemies when he followed his own light. He called for both Civil Service reform and sound monetary policies. He fought to abolish the income tax and lowered tariffs. He vetoed a Chinese exclusion bill and wasteful projects.

Going against his Republican Party, he supported the first comprehensive United States Civil Service legislation. It was the beginning of a new era of reform in national politics. From this point on, government jobs were given based on a person’s ability instead of a person’s politics.

All of this made the Republican party mad and cost him the nomination for a second term. It didn’t really matter because he had an unrevealed sickness and died a year and a half after leaving the Presidency.

Journalist Alexander McClure later wrote, “No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted as Chester Alan Arthur, and no one ever retired ... more generally respected, alike by political friend and foe.”

________

Adapted from "Chester Arthur," no author given, and Wikipedia.org, "Chester A. Arthur," .

A doctor was once riding from Yezd to Kerman, in Persia, to make a visit. Arriving at a post-house, and finding no horse, he demanded a mule. On this beast he made the next stage, to be told on arrival that there was only a donkey available. Accepting this mount from necessity, he reached in time another stage, where he met the announcement that nothing in the shape of an animal was obtainable but a cow! The story stops there, drawing the veil of silence over the rest of the journey.

An evil life is successively degraded, declining in guilt and misery to depths lower than the brute. (Text.)

The terrible crimes and miseries of the East End of London have recently been brought into great prominence, and one of the most distressing features of this subject is that considerable numbers of these appallingly miserable characters were once respectable and happy. They were the children of honorable parents, they were trained in schools and sanctuaries, they were members of rich and influential circles; then they chose the down grade; they were first guilty of unbecomingness, then of acts of graver misconduct; at length their friends lost sight of them, they lost sight of their friends; then ever lower lodging-houses, lower ginshops, lower pawnshops, until at last those who had been tenderly nursed, educated in universities, clothed in scarlet, were submerged in filth, crime, misery, simply unutterable. All this dire catastrophe once seemed impossible to them, as now it seems impossible to us; but forget not that the doubtful ever passes into the bad, the bad into the worse, the worse into the unspeakable.--W. L. WATKINSON, “The Transfigured Sackcloth.”

Dr. Watkinson tells us that some years ago two scientists of Vienna made a series of bacteriological experiments on a number of bank-notes which had been in circulation for some time. The result of their researches was sufficiently startling. On each bank-note they discovered the presence of 19,000 microbes of disease--some of tuberculosis, some of diphtheria, and some of erysipelas. More than that, they found one bacillus peculiar to the bank-note--the bank-note microbe, so to speak, because it is found nowhere else. It thrives and fattens and multiplies on the peculiar paper of which a bank-note is made. Is there not a parable here?

If every evil use that is made of money were to leave its mark on the coin or bill, how great would be the moral infection thus recorded.

Some of the intruding insects that come from oak galls are not harmless. They are the ones called parasites. They live in the houses not for the sake of the protection or the food furnished by the house, but in order to eat the actual dwellers in the house. Often and often not a single real gall-insect comes out in the spring from many of the little houses, but only a little swarm, or sometimes just two or three, or even one, of these insect-devouring parasites that has eaten up the rightful owners of the house.--VERNON L. KELLOGG, “Insect Stories.”

With each passing news cycle, the story of Enron's collapse becomes more sordid. Conduct that ranged from questionable to quite possibly illegal has tarnished the reputations of nearly all of Enron's senior management.

But there's one notable exception. One vice-president did the right thing -- and did it because of her faith and the worldview it produces.

The February 2 issue of WORLD magazine reports that Sherron Watkins never aspired to be a hero. And she certainly never imagined that there would be T-shirts reading "Thanks, Sherron Watkins, Our Hero."

Watkins was an Enron vice-president who worked for the company's chief financial officer. It was there that she became aware of the questionable accounting practices that Enron used to hide the extent of its losses and the lie about its bottom line figures.

Watkins was initially afraid to confront senior management about the irregularities. But after talking to a friend and her mother, Watkins drafted a six-page memo to Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. In it she expressed her concern that the company "will implode in a wave of accounting scandals." She went further calling Enron a "crooked company" whose profits were "nothing but an elaborate hoax." She expected to be fired and was surprised when she wasn't.

Watkins not only had the courage to risk her job, she -- unlike other Enron executives -- refused to use her insider knowledge for personal gain. Despite seeing the company coming apart, Watkins never sold her stock.

Now, why, in the midst of what TIME magazine called "a failure of character," did Watkins stick her neck out? Would it surprise you to learn that she's a Christian? As her mother told WORLD magazine, Watkins' "strong Christian background" made her want to do the right thing in situations like the one she confronted at Enron.

And to discern what the right thing was, she didn't turn inward or to business ethicists. Instead she sought the counsel of her pastor and the people in her Bible study group.

Watkins' behavior has made her, in the LONDON GUARDIAN's words, "the toast of America." But as her Sunday school teacher told WORLD magazine, her Christian friends sometimes wonder what the big deal is. After all, she was only doing what a Christian should do.

Sherron Watkins' actions are not only an example of the difference Christian faith can make in a person's life, although they certainly are that. Her actions are -- more than that -- a reminder of the cultural impact that a Christian worldview can have.

When our post-Christian culture rejected Christianity, it rejected the belief system that makes behavior like Watkins' possible. Today few, if any, business schools teach their students the difference between right and wrong. There are no courses in business ethics, as I discovered when lectured at Harvard Business School some years ago. So, absent a worldview that thinks in terms of moral absolutes, rather than next quarter's earnings, there's no reason to expect people to act against self-interest and do the right thing. That's why Watkins' actions stand out.

We'll hear more about Sherron Watkins. And Christians ought to be prepared to take advantage of this opportunity to tell our neighbors the real significance of her story: That doing the right thing starts with believing the right thing.

For further reading:

Bob Jones, "Reluctant Hero," WORLD, 2 February 2002.

BreakPoint with Chuck Colson, "The More Things Change: Enron," 17 January 2002.

_________________________

Copyright © 2002 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. 'BreakPoint with Chuck Colson' is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

*

Acts 24:22–25:12 — Paul from Felix through Festus to Caesar (outline by F. F. Bruce, NICNT) « Leader information shown in this fashion »

{A.} The Birth of the Church (1:1–5:42)

{B.} Persecution and Expansion (6:1–9:31)

{C.} The Acts of Peter & Beginnings of Gentile Christianity (9:32–12:25)

{D.} Church Extension from Antioch & Apostolic Decree at Jerusalem (12:25–15:35)

{E.} Paul Leaves Antioch & Moves to the Aegean World (15:36–19:20)

{F.} Paul Plans to Visit Rome and Gets there by an Unforseen Route (19:21–28:31)

{1} He Prepares to Leave Ephesus for Macedonia and Achaia (19:21–20:6)

{2} The Journey to Jerusalem (20:7–21:16)

{3} Paul at Jerusalem (21:17–23:30)

A. Meeting with James and the Elders (21:17–26)

B. Riot in the Temple (21:27–30)

C. Paul Rescued by the Romans (21:31-36)

D. Paul Obtains Leave to Address the Crowd (21:37-40)

E. Paul’s Defence to the People of Jerusalem (22:1-21)

F. Paul Reveals His Roman Citizenship (22:22-29)

G. Paul Brought before the Sanhedrin (22:30)

H. Paul Before the Sanhedrin (23:1-10)

I. The Lord Appears to Paul by Night (23:11)

J. Plot Against Paul’s Life (23:12–15)

K. The Plot Revealed (23:16–22)

L. The Tribune Prepares to Send Paul to Caesarea (23:23–24)

M. Letter from the Tribune to Felix (23:25–30)

{4} Paul at Caesarea (23:31–26:32)

A. Paul Taken to Caesarea (23:31–35)

B. Paul Accused before Felix (24:1–9)

C. Paul’s Defence before Felix (24:10–21)

D. Felix Adjourns Proceedings 24:22-23 (NKJV)

1. 22 But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, ‘When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.’ 23 So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him. « – read Josephus XX.viii.7 re more of this man »

2. Comment on the character of Felix

a. respecting the Way « – though he knew the truth he was not interested in its personal application; a fence-sitter »

b. respecting his decision « – he neither here nor later makes any decision in Paul’s case; a procrastinator »

c. respecting Paul « – that he be treated kindly, in a relative liberty (form of house-arrest) but had an ulterior motive as will be seen; Felix would exercise justice insofar as it was convenient and expedient »

E. Paul’s Interviews with Felix 24:24–26 (NKJV)

1. 24 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. 25 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.’ 26 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. « – Drusilla was only partly Jew, partly Edomite. Her father slew James; her great-uncle Herod, John the Baptizer;, her great-grandfather, Herod, the babies; left her former husband »

2. Comment further on Felix’ character

a. respecting the gospel « – curious but uncomfortable – one who knowing the truth cannot commit to it »

b. respecting Paul « – only cause to keep him imprisoned was Felix’ cupidity, how he could profit (Paul’s mention of his bringing alms or Paul’s nephew’s demeanor suggested $!) »

3. What elements of salvation did Paul present?

a. righteousness « – the necessity in order to stand before God, the ultimate authority (Matthew 5:8, Hebrews 12:14) »

b. self-control « – one of the evidences of salvation (Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Peter 1:6) vs being lost (2 Timothy 3:1–3) »

c. judgement « – faced by all due to sin, punishment only to be escaped by accepting Christ’s substitutionary death »

4. How did Felix respond to this good news? « – no decision for Christ (cf. Mark 10:21-22) so he must face punishment that until now he had avoided in this world; not an abstract discussion »

F. Felix Replaced by Festus; Paul Left in Custody 24:27 (NKJV)

1. 27 But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favour, left Paul bound. « – read Josephus XX.viii.8-9 about this transition »

2. Paul does not appear to have written any epistles in these two years; he could minister to church of Caesarea. Luke may well have been gathering material for the Gospel and the Acts.

3. What was Festus’ motivation? « – gaining political power through currying popular favour. »

G. Festus Visits Jerusalem 25:1–5 (NKJV)

1. 1 Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. 2 Then the high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him, 3 asking a favour against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem – while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. 4 But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. 5 ‘Therefore,’ he said, ‘let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if there is any fault in him.’

2. Why the early trip of Festus to Jerusalem? « – Felix had been recalled to trial in Rome for mishandling the Jewish situation. In Jerusalem were the principal Jewish authorities. He needed their co-operation for a successful rule in Judaea. »

3. In what ways was it beneficial for Paul to have Festus succeed Felix? « – he did not succumb to the Jewish suggestion of Paul going to Jerusalem and he was open to Paul’s being innocent »

4. Two years had gone by – those who vowed to kill Paul must have been really thirsty and hungry by now! « – there was provision for the setting in abeyance vows impossible to fulfill. »

5. What were Festus’ requirements of for the accusers? « – that they be those in authority, not the general populace. This meant that they could be held accountable for what they said and any false accusations would result in reprisals against those with the most to lose. »

H. Paul Appeals to Caesar 25:6–12 (NKJV)

1. 6 And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. 7 When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove, 8 while he answered for himself, ‘Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.’ 9 But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favour, answered Paul and said, ‘Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?’ 10 So Paul said, ‘I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. 11 For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.’ 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, ‘You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!’

2. What characterized the charges against Paul?

a. They were « – serious; they were not trivialities and would be items related to Roman rather than Jewish law … of treason, fomenting insurrection and so forth. »

b. The could not « – be proven; like those made previously, they would be accusations against Paul’s character and intentions; things not liable to objective demonstration »

3. What three charges does Paul specifically deny, and what was the implication of each?

a. He denies acting « – against the law of the Jews; this would have made him subject to their judicial process, by which he could not have suffered death but imprisonment for an uncertain term. »

b. He denies violating « – the temple; the one religious charge that could result in his being put to death. »

c. He denies offending « – the rule of Caesar; the charge that could bring execution even as a Roman citizen. »

4. What was Festus’ goal in suggesting the Jerusalem trip? « – to gain favour on what appeared to him as an insignificant point »

5. Beside the ambush plot, what was the specific exposure of Paul to injustice by going to Jerusalem? « – the council (Sanhedrin) would be Festus’ advisors in Jerusalem; as well, by giving in to the Sanhedrin on the venue, inexperienced Festus might well give in to them on other points. »

6. Should Paul have appealed to Caesar or trusted God to keep him safe in Jerusalem (see Acts 23:11) « – he knew from the Lord that he was headed to Rome in any event; also, from long past (Acts 22:18) that Jerusalem would not receive his testimony, and also of the former Jewish plot (Acts 23:16) … “Thou shalt not tempt (test) the Lord” (Matt 4:7, Deut 6:16), »

Synopsis:

Officer ran a red light, killing a pregnant woman, her son, and her sister who were in a van going the other way. The officer was drunk. The officer is on trial for manslaughter.

A fellow officer is reported as testifying that the drunk officer had had several drinks that day but did not specify the number. “He was unsure how many drinks Mr. Gray had that day.”

When the accident happened, the officers arriving at the scene observed alcohol on the breath of the drunk officer. Here is a report of his condition and his evasions and lies at the time:

“Sgt. Michael Siciliano, the patrol supervisor who arrived at the scene, and Capt. Brian White, the duty commander that night, gave more detailed accounts, saying that a frantic and visibly shaken Mr. Gray smelled of alcohol and said that the victims had caused the accident.

“Sergeant Siciliano said that during questioning, Mr. Gray had told him: ‘Sarge, I never saw them. They walked right out in front of my car.’ The sergeant conceded that Mr. Gray had not immediately been handcuffed because he was a police officer.

“Captain White said that by the time he had arrived at the scene, it was clear that Mr. Gray had been drinking and was trying to freshen his breath by eating Altoids mints.

“Captain White testified that Mr. Gray, a former high school classmate, admitted as much, saying: ‘I was drinking, but it was earlier. I had the greens all the way,’ referring to traffic lights. ‘I didn’t see them coming,’ the captain quoted him as saying.

“For Mrs. Herrera’s family, it was a difficult day of testimony, particularly listening to Officer Conway and claims that Mrs. Herrera and her family had darted into traffic against a green light.

“‘He was drunk and sleep-deprived,’ said Ramona Hernandez, Mrs. Herrera’s aunt, referring to Mr. Gray, in an interview after the proceedings. ‘How could he know the difference between a red light or green light?’”