Signifying the Crimes – Acts 25:24-27

One of the most troublesome aspects of current “War on Terror,” as far as I see, is the detaining of suspects.

I don’t profess to have inside information, or even very good information at all, but it appears to me that there are multitudes of people being held without formal charges being laid against them.

They are being taken from their homes and even from their country on the mere suspicion that they have, or that they are likely, to carry out terrorist activities.

And I have no doubt that some of them would do exactly that if they were given the opportunity.

But if they hadn’t been planning on doing it before, they probably are ready to do it now.

Aren’t there some vague similarities between what those people are suffering and what the Apostle Paul was suffering in Caesarea?

He was being held without bond, except if you think that paying bribes are equivalent to posting a bond.

He was being held without bond and without formal charges.

The accusations that the Jews had laid against him had been discounted by both Felix and Festus.

And yet there he was still being deprived of his liberty, demanding to be charged and tried before Caesar.

But as Festus said to King Agrippa, “I need to be able to tell Caesar what the charges are against this man.”

I would like to use these four verses, this morning, as a springboard to a higher judgment than even Caesar.

I know that we’ve looked at God’s judgments recently,

But it’s not so much the trial in which I am interested this week, as it is the matter of those charges.

Without exception, we are all going to stand before God one day.

“As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

There have been many millions of people who were been born before 1900, and all but handful have died.

The only exceptions have been a few centenarians – people over a hundred years old – and an even tinier group whom the Lord chose to take to heaven without death.

Death is more certain than taxes, and taxes are pretty certain.

“For we must needs die, & are as water spilt on ground, which cannot be gathered up again.”

“What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? ”

“All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”

“For the living know that they shall die.”

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

And just as guaranteed as death, is the judgment of God which follows.

“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”

“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

The Lord Jesus said, “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

“Every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

You are going to be judged by God, the omniscient (all knowing) God; the absolutely righteous & holy God.

Under those circumstances, wouldn’t the charges against you be useful knowledge?

As Paul’s latest kangaroo court began that day with Agrippa, Bernice and a host of dignitaries gathered, Festus opened the festivities with a quick summary.

He pointed out that the Jews had laid charges against Paul.

But the charges which were worthy of consideration in a Roman court of law had never been proven,

and the rest of the charges, those about which the Jews were most concerned, were not capital offenses.

Please realize that the world is going to make its charges against you.

Your neighbors, your relatives, your co-workers & everyone who knows you have their opinions about you.

As we said last Wednesday, some might hate you, some might be perplexed about you, some are curious and some don’t care whether or not you live another moment.

You will have some friends, and some will even love you unconditionally.

But essentially the opinions, conclusions and charges of those people mean nothing.

Just as Festus said, “the Jews want Paul dead, but I found he had committed nothing worthy of death.”

And if we took a vote here his morning, we’d probably find for the accused and say that he was not worthy of death.

However, that is not the verdict of the only Judge who really matters.

The Lord has said, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

The Lord has said that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

And then He added, “the wages of sin is death.”

Because the keys of death and hell hang at the side of the Son of God,

and because we see that all human beings die,

we must logically assume that God finds us all guilty of capital sins.

But what about those charges against us?

The basic charge is “sin.”

What, to you, is the most heinous, despicable, reprehensible of all sins?

Whichever one you choose, you’d have to multiply it’s hideousness a thousand times before you could begin to measure how the holy God feels about that same sin.

In fact, if you picked a sin which you practice regularly

and which you therefore think is insignificant on the sin-scale,

you probably can’t begin to understand how heinous it appears to the Lord.

The reason is because you are a sinner, while the Lord is absolutely pure and holy.

It is impossible for you to see the sinfulness of sin, because you are a sinner.

When I lived in Colorado, our house was in Northglenn on a plateau overlooking Denver.

When there was an inversion of air, Denver would become enveloped with smog, but those of us who lived in the northern suburbs were usually in nice clean air.

Sometimes when descending that plateau, the smog was so thick that we couldn’t see the skyscrapers down town.

We dreaded driving into that polluted atmosphere, but once we were there, we no longer recognized the problem.

That is an illustration of the nature of sin.

Sinners cannot truly recognize the nature of sin in general, or of their sin in particular.

The holy character of God is the only standard by which moral values – and sin – may be accurately judged.

To the person who disregards God, there are no moral standards other than social custom or the dictates of his corrupted conscience.

And to this kind of person immorality isn’t sin, it’s just a morality to which they disagree, like homosexuality.

But sin really is sin because it is unlike God.

It is contrary to the Lord; it is the transgression of God’s law or will.

Where there isn’t any God to compare it to, there really isn’t any sin.

But there is a God, and He shall judge every person on this planet.

While it is true that disobedience of God’s law is sin, it doesn’t mean that disobedience is the only sin.

Selfishness is sin, but sin is not always selfish.

The love of money is the root of all evil, but evil can’t be confined to the love of money.

Unbelief is sin, but sin ir more than unbelief.

So how are we doing so far?

Is there anyone here who has not broken, or transgressed, any of the laws of God?

Is there any among us who isn’t just a tiny bit selfish, wanting his way over the good of someone else?

Can you honestly say that you have no love for money whatsoever?

Then how about emptying your wallet and giving it to one of Micah’s.

The Bible demonstrates the exceeding sinfulness of sin in at least three different ways:

The first demonstration of that sinfulness took place in Heaven.

One angel harbored something which most human beings praise as highly commendable:

Lucifer was filled with an unholy ambition.

One sin; one sin which most of the world wouldn’t even blink at, made that angel, one of the favorites of Heaven, to become an eternal enemy of God.

And that one sin cast a pall over all of creation. One sin; one angelic sin.

The second demonstration of the exceeding sinfulness of sin was seen on earth.

One individual, one man, the first of the human creation committed just one sin .

And again that sin was so small that in today’s world it wouldn’t bring a raised eyebrow.

Have you ever seen someone in the grocery store pluck a grape and start eating it, without putting any grapes in her shopping cart.

One piece of stolen fruit.

But that sin so corrupted the blood of that man that every one of his descendants has been a sinner ever since.

That one bite of fruit brought death to that man and eventually killed the billions of children that he fathered and grand-fathered and great-grand-fathered.

That one sin made him worthy of hell.

And the third demonstration of the sinfulness of sin, was seen at Calvary.

Of course at Calvary, the infinitely wonderful, the absolutely innocent, and perfectly holy Son of God died as an atonement for the sins of millions of God’s elect.

But that Christ should have died is illogical from the perspective of the sinner.

First of all, God cannot die, but for this special purpose “the Word became flesh.”

Second, that Christ should want to suffer death for sinners like us is something inconceivable.

Third, that the angels of God didn’t pour out of Heaven to prevent this travesty can be understood only in the fact that it was the eternal will of the God-head that Jesus Christ die for us.

“Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”

There was no other way possible to answer the problem of sin, except in the death of God’s Son.

Without the shedding of Jesus’ blood there would be no remission of sin.

If the crucifixion was the only illustration of the sinfulness of sin, it couldn’t possibly be painted any more black.

How all of us became sinners is perhaps the key doctrine in all of Biblical Christianity.

Genesis describes the way that innocent & untested human was approached by the already fallen Satan.

Eve was tempted to question the rule and authority of God;

she was tempted to think of herself rather than the Lord.

She disobeyed God’s command, and Adam quickly follower her choice.

That put sin into the human blood-line, and no matter how many children have been born to the children of that first couple, that sin has not been diluted in the least.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

The person who denies what I have just briefly described attacks the very heart of Christianity.

He says that the Word of God isn’t true, and thus he attacks the veracity of God Himself.

He lifts up himself and his neighbors and comes perilously close to idolatry.

He renders the need and importance of death of Christ, and all the doctrines of salvation unimportant if not actually unnecessary.

You are a sinner because you were born that way.

Like it or not, that is sufficient to condemn you to Hell.

That is the first charge against you, and it is the only necessary charge.

But then we can get personal.

In its fundamental character, sin is a unwillingness to abide under the rule of our Creator.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” – Isaiah 53:6.

“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin” – Proverbs 10:19.

“He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth” – Proverbs 14:21.

“The thought of foolishness is sin” – Proverbs 24:9.

“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” – Romans 14:33.

“To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” – James 4:17.

Try to do the impossible this morning and try to understand this subject from the Lord’s perspective.

You are a pure glass of water that has been filtered 70 times 7 times.

And into that absolutely pure collection of H2O molecules, someone dumps a cup of strychnine.

You are not only polluted, but you are dead.

Jehovah is absolutely pure, holy, and righteous (there are no synonyms for “righteous”).

God demands the same thing from us, and without that there will not any fellowship with Him.

For example James 4:17 says, “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

When you know the right thing to do and you don’t do it, you have scooped a cup of strychnine into the pure glass of water.

When you simply didn’t do what you should have done to please the Lord, you sinned against Him.

One problem with that illustration is that you were already so polluted that this didn’t make enough of a change in your condition to be worthy of notice by other men.

But God is not a man.

“The LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

What are the charges against us?

“Sin” is a religious term; it is a Biblical term that a lot of people ignore as irrelevant to their irreligious lives.

“Evil” is a philosophical term which talks about anything which is disagreeable to us.

“Vice” is an ethical term; it is moral evil which speaks about something contrary to the majority opinion.

“Crime” is a legal term which denotes a violation of the law which a society or state has framed for its own preservation and protection.

But “sin” differs from these because it declares that there is a God, and generally speaking mankind wants to say that there is no God or there is no God above ME.

The Bible uses lots of different terms in laying its charges against you.

“Transgression” is when sinners steps to one side or steps over God’s will.

“Iniquity” refers to something which is altogether wrong in God’s sight.

“Error” is that which has gone astray.

“Sin” is the coming short or missing the mark of God’s standard.

“Wickedness” is the outworking and expression of our evil, depraved nature.

“Ungodliness” is anything lacking the proper fear of God.

“Disobedience” is just what every thing that you think that it means.

“Lawlessness” is a persistent contempt of divine law and living as if there are no moral or eternal rules.

And “unbelief” is the failure to believe and trust God.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Unbelief appears as one of mankind’s “besetting sins;” – universal to us all.

As in most human criminal trials, there might be one, two, or half a dozen different charges being considered at the same time.

And the jury may find the defendant guilty in one or two indictments and not in others.

The indictments against us might be presented in a variety of ways.

Some are related to the divine requirements, they are either omissions or commissions.

Some are related to the object, they are against God, neighbor, or self.

Some are inward and of the soul, while others are outward and of the body.

Some are purely personal sins, and others involve partners.

Some are intentional, and others may be due to ignorance.

Some sins may be considered more serious than others, even though there is no sin that is not serious in the eyes of God

Some sins can be committed by the lost alone, and others are committed by both the saved and lost.

Some sins are partially judged on earth, while others are judged only in eternity.

And some sins call for the Lord’s immediate vengeance, while others draw forth His longsuffering.

In the case of your trial the Judge will find you guilty of every count.

You and I are in serious trouble.

But there is an Advocate, a Saviour, a Deliverer available.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.“

In Christ Jesus; in Christ Jesus alone, there is forgiveness of sin.

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

“In (Christ)we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”

And through Christ we can receive justification – the imputation of His righteousness to us.

“And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

Not only by the grace of God may sinners like us be forgiven for our crimes, and made righteous in God’s sight, but this judge is even willing to adopt us into his family.

“When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”

And “as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

The charges against us are insurmountable and undeniable, but the grace of God is even more omnipotent.

It pays to know the charges against us.

It is even more important to know the Christ Who saves sinners like us.

Do YOU know the Saviour?