Acts 24:25 As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

Honest evangelism is always risky, at least to some extent, because it requires a call to repentance, and people don’t want to acknowledge that they are guilty. We have no idea what Felix was guilty of, but it’s clear from his actions that he didn’t have a clear conscience. It was actually wise of him to feel afraid, but what he did in response to his fear was not at all wise. Avoidance doesn’t change reality! His actions showed that he was not righteous or self-controlled, and had every reason to fear the coming judgment. Some preachers avoid talking about sin because they don’t want to “drive people away,” but that shows that they are more interested in numbers than in leading people to salvation. The Gospel is good news not because it says we are innocent, but because it says that repentance is possible. Far too many church members have never faced the fact that they are sinners, and have no hope apart from the atoning work of Jesus Christ. The only real risk in that is in people thinking that because they are sinners whose sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus, it doesn’t matter what they do now. Even Paul had to face that distortion directly: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2) If we don’t talk about sin because we want people to feel “comfortable,” then we have abandoned the true Gospel. That’s not at all to say that sin is all we are to talk about. God’s promises are absolutely glorious and they are very real, but we must never forget that repentance is a firm requirement, for ourselves or for anyone else.

As I have written before, I was liberated from a habitual sin by something Peter wrote. “But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.” (2 Peter 1:9) I have learned that if I dwell on what I have done, I’m far more likely to do it again. God’s forgiveness and cleansing are real, but the devil lies to us and insists on dragging up things that have already been dealt with. It isn’t “Into bliss and out of blister,” as my grandfather used to put it, because it is a living out of the holiness that we have in Christ. As Paul said, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) In my efforts to win people I am never to gloss over the reality of sin or the need for repentance.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me be always fully responsive to what You want to say and do through me, so that Your truth may go forth undistorted, shattering the lies of the enemy and setting people free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!