Last week we ended with Paul defending himself before Felix the governor. We pick up in Chapter 24 verse 22 as we see Felix avoids making a decision in Paul’s case.

Acts Lesson 36 Study Questions

1.    Let him have liberty: Felix tried to walk a middle ground. He knew Paul was __________, yet he did not want to identify himself with Paul’s gospel and the __________. So he made no decision and kept Paul in custody.

2.    He reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come: These were the three points Paul used when he spoke to Felix and Drusilla. These are three ______ many modern preachers would _______ speaking about, especially in speaking to a high figure like Felix.

3.    The claims of Jesus are never ___________ for us. If we insist on waiting for a convenient time, we will wait for an eternity – an eternity spent in agonizing __________ from God.

4.    In a way, people like Felix and Pilate are the guiltiest of those who _______ Jesus Christ. They know what is right but refuse to do right purely out of the _____ of man. They have an eternally fatal lack of courage.

5.    We can see that Paul’s generous imprisonment in Caesarea was actually a ____________ provision of protective custody against the murderous intentions of the religious leaders. It was also a season of rest and replenishment after his years of hard missionary service, _________ him for the challenges in the years ahead.

6.    Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea: We don’t know if Festus knew the intentions of the Jewish leaders or not. Either way, he ________ to grant their request for a change of venue, and this was another way that God __________ Paul.

7.    Many in the Bible were the target of false accusations (such as Joseph and Daniel). Yet in another sense, every follower of Jesus is the ________ of false accusations by the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). Thankfully, Jesus is our ________ against condemnation and false accusation (Romans 8:33-34).

8.    I appeal to Caesar: It was the right of every Roman citizen to have his case heard by _______ himself, after initial trials and appeals failed to reach a satisfactory ________. This was in effect an appeal to the supreme court of the Roman Empire.

9.    Of this King Agrippa, his great-grandfather had tried to kill _______ as a baby; his grandfather had John the Baptist beheaded; his father had martyred the first apostle, ______. Now Paul stood before the next in line of the Herods, Herod Agrippa.

10.     It is not the custom of the Romans: Festus appealed to the strong tradition and system of _____. He would not condemn Paul without a ______ trial.

11.    I also would like to hear the man myself: Agrippa’s curiosity meant that Paul would have another opportunity to speak God’s ______ to a Gentile ruler. This would be the _______ such opportunity for Paul in Acts 24-26 (Felix, Festus, and now Agrippa).