The Problem of Spiritual Procrastination (Acts 24: 22-25)

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Episode Notes: The Problem of Spiritual Procrastination

Scripture Reference: Acts 24:22-25

Summary:

In this episode, we dive into the dangers of spiritual procrastination through the story of Paul’s interaction with Governor Felix. Despite hearing the gospel and feeling convicted, Felix delays making a decision, waiting for a more "convenient" time—a time that never comes. His story serves as a warning about the eternal consequences of delaying obedience to God.

Key Points:

1. The Scene (Acts 24:22-25):
2. Felix and Drusilla’s Background:
3. Paul’s Bold Message:
4. Conviction Without Action:
5. Biblical Examples of Confronting Sin:
6. The Gospel of Grace:
7. The Danger of Procrastination:
8. Take Action Today:

Memorable Quotes:

• "Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried." — Unknown
• "Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin." — Victor Kiam

Reflection Questions:

1. What steps of faith or obedience have you delayed, waiting for a "better" moment?
2. How can you move from conviction to action today?
3. How does recognizing your spiritual condition lead to a deeper dependence on God’s grace?

Call to Action: If today’s message has resonated with you, take a moment to reflect and act. Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement to overcome spiritual procrastination. Join us next time as we continue walking through God’s Word together.

Transcript

The Problem of Spiritual Procrastination.  (Acts 24: 22-25)

 Transcript: 

Have you ever found yourself putting off something you know you should do? Maybe it’s a conversation, a task, or a decision that keeps getting postponed. There’s a word for this common tendency: procrastination. 

Most of us do it to some degree, but today, I want us to explore what Scripture teaches about it in terms of spiritual procrastination.

We’ve been working through the book of Acts, and today we AGAIN return to chapter 24, where Paul makes his defense before Governor Felix. We’ve already studied much of the chapter, but I’m returning again today because the final verses provide one of the clearest biblical examples of procrastination and within this part of the story, we’ll find a profound spiritual truth worthy of our attention….

 Let’s set the scene by reading again Acts 24:22-25:

 22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 As Paul talked about 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.”

 Felix procrastinated. He heard the truth and understood the stakes, but he chose to delay making a decision.

 Before we unpack this further, let’s take a moment to understand who Felix and his wife Drusilla were. Felix was known for his brutal leadership. He even hired assassins to kill the high priest. His wife Drusilla was the great-granddaughter of Herod the Great—the same Herod who ordered the massacre of children in Bethlehem.

Her family history was filled with violence: her great-uncle killed John the Baptist, and her father executed James, one of the apostles. At the time of this encounter with Paul, Drusilla was likely in her late teens. She had already left her first husband to marry Felix, a union marked more by political ambition than by love.

 Despite their sordid history, both Felix and Drusilla had some knowledge of the Christian faith—referred to as "the Way" in verse 22—and said wanted to learn more. So, they summoned Paul to hear his message.

 Paul’s response is striking. He reasoned with them about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. This wasn’t a feel-good sermon. It wasn’t designed to flatter or entertain. Paul confronted their sin head-on. Felix, a man characterized by tyranny and indulgence, was anything but righteous. 

 A Roman historian described Felix’s character with two words: tyranny and sexual indulgence. Yet Paul spoke boldly, proclaiming the truth that a holy God demands righteousness—and that this righteousness is only available through faith in Jesus Christ.

 Paul’s message unsettled Felix. He became fearful, yet instead of responding with repentance, he procrastinated. He pushed the decision down the road, waiting for a "convenient time" a time that would never come.

 This story isn’t just about Felix; it’s about us. How often do we delay doing what we know is right, waiting for a more convenient moment? Let’s explore what we can learn from Felix’s tragic mistake and how procrastination can keep us from God’s best for us.

 Now, if talking about righteousness wasn’t pointed enough, Paul’s next subject in his reasoning with Felix and Drusilla was self-control. He wasn’t picking abstract theological concepts; he was addressing personal, convicting truths that hit home. Somebody once said, "Man can control almost everything except himself." Felix and Drusilla were prime illustrations of this truth.

 Drusilla, despite being born into a Jewish family, lived as if God had never given the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. She left her first husband to become Felix’s third wife. Felix himself was an unscrupulous official, known for lying, bribery, and even murder to maintain power and eliminate enemies. Self-control was entirely absent from their lives. Paul, with boldness and precision, addressed the very sins they struggled with most.

 By putting righteousness, self-control, and judgment together, Luke shows us that Paul presented the message of God’s absolute standard of holiness and humanity’s failure to meet it, and the certainty of accountability before God.

 Judgment wasn’t a vague idea—it was a divine reckoning they could not escape. Felix and Drusilla were going to be held accountable for their lack of righteousness and self-control. This is precisely what made Felix tremble.

 But here’s where things might become puzzling: Was Paul telling Felix that in order to be saved, he needed to exercise righteousness and self-control to avoid judgment? Was he advocating salvation by works? The answer is an emphatic no. Paul’s teaching is consistent with the gospel of grace.

 So, what was he doing here? The answer lies in how Jesus Himself dealt with similar situations. 

In John 16:8-11, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. These are the same three topics Paul discussed with Felix. The Spirit convicts’ people of their sin so they recognize their need for salvation. Paul’s approach mirrors the Holy Spirit’s own method of revealing people’s true spiritual condition. 

 Let’s look at two examples from the Gospels to understand this more deeply.

 Example 1: The Rich Young Ruler

 In Mark 10:17-22, a rich young man came to Jesus and asked,

"Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responded with a question of His own: "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God."

Jesus wasn’t denying His goodness—He was challenging the man to recognize that if he called Jesus good, he was acknowledging His divinity. The rich young ruler didn’t grasp this.

Then Jesus pointed him to the commandments, specifically the ones dealing with human relationships. When the man claimed he had kept them all since his youth, Jesus pressed deeper: "Go, sell everything you have, give to the poor, and follow me."

Why did Jesus tell him this? Was He teaching that salvation comes through poverty or self-sacrifice? No. The problem wasn’t the man’s wealth itself—it was that he trusted in his riches rather than in God. Jesus exposed the barrier keeping him from faith: his idolatry of possessions. 

This young man needed to let go of what he trusted and follow Christ. Similarly, Paul’s confrontation with Felix was designed to reveal his sin and his need for a Savior.

Example 2: The Woman at the Well

In John 4, Jesus engaged a Samaritan woman in conversation. After offering her "living water," she eagerly asked for it. But instead of simply giving it, Jesus said, "Go, call your husband and come back."

Why bring up her personal life? He wasn’t suggesting that marital purity was the key to eternal life. He was revealing her need to confront her sin and recognize her spiritual thirst. 

Her personal and many married and sexual relationships were evidence of her deep, unmet need for salvation. Jesus didn’t tell her to fix her life before coming to Him—He invited her to believe in Him as the Messiah who could quench her deepest thirst.

Both examples show that Jesus and Paul used the law and personal conviction to awaken sinners to their need for grace. 

The law exposes sin, but it cannot save. Salvation comes only through faith in Christ. When Paul reasoned with Felix about righteousness, self-control, and judgment, he wasn’t offering Felix a moral checklist. He was holding up a mirror to show Felix his need for God’s mercy.

The core of Paul’s message—and the gospel itself—is that Jesus Christ provides the righteousness we lack, the power for true self-control through the Holy Spirit, and deliverance from judgment by His sacrificial death and resurrection.

Felix trembled because he saw the truth about his own heart, but instead of repenting, he procrastinated. He postponed the decision that mattered most.

This brings us to the critical question: What are you putting off?

Are there sins you need to confront, a call to obedience you’ve been delaying, or the step of surrendering your life to Christ that you’ve been avoiding? Don’t wait for a "more convenient time"—that time may never come.

That’s the point. Take note of what Jesus did with both the rich young ruler and the woman at the well. He pointed them to the law and their own sin. He asked the ruler, “Do you know the commandments?” and the woman, “Go call your husband.” He didn’t tell them to change their behavior to be saved but rather brought them to the realization of their sinfulness and need for salvation. He was preparing their hearts, using truths the Holy Spirit could convict them with—about sin, righteousness, and judgment. 

I believe Paul was doing the same thing in Acts 24. He was not merely giving Felix and Drusilla a general message about Christianity; he was getting specific.

Paul declared that God demands righteousness, that self-control is necessary, and that judgment is coming. In short, he told them they were sinners—lacking righteousness and self-control—and that they were answerable to God. Paul was simply preaching the truth that the Spirit used to awaken hearts to salvation.

If only we can help people see their true condition as sinners, recognizing their lostness, leading them to salvation can be relatively straightforward. But most people think I’ll be fine—I’m not that bad. 

The more a culture drifts from God and denies sin, the harder it becomes to break through that self-righteous illusion. Paul’s task was clear: He needed to get Felix to recognize he was lost before he could point him to salvation.

The text tells us that Felix already had a better understanding of Christianity than Paul’s accusers (Acts 24:22), and Drusilla, being Jewish, certainly knew the Law. Paul was not telling them anything they hadn’t heard before. He was confronting them with the truth they had long resisted: You are sinners, and judgment is coming.

Look again at verse 25. Paul reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. And how did Felix respond? He was afraid. 

The Greek word here can be translated as “terrified” or “alarmed.” This was not a mild discomfort—Felix was visibly shaken. Imagine his expression, his eyes wide, his composure breaking.

Roman leaders prided themselves on their ability to maintain stoic restraint, showing no emotion under any circumstance. But when the conviction of God gripped Felix, he could not hide it, fear overwhelmed him.

22.49

God pierced Felix’s heart, and he could not hide it. He realized he was a sinner. Now, when someone comes to that realization, what should they do? The Bible is clear about this. It doesn’t take a theology degree to understand it—just plain, simple truth. What should you do? Trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life.

Consider John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." And Ephesians 2:8-9: *"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works,

In Acts 24:24, the text tells us that Felix wanted to learn more about faith in Christ. Felix understood this truth. He realized he was a sinner. All he needed to do was acknowledge his sin and recognize his need for a Savior—someone who could rescue him from the penalty of sin. 

Salvation comes by trusting that Jesus Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead, and offers eternal life to those who believe in Him.

Is that what Felix did? Not even close.

Look again at verse 25. Felix’s response was: “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time, I will call for you.” He had two reactions, fear and procrastination.

Embedded in the very idea of procrastination is the fact that you know you should do something but choose to delay it. That’s the whole point. Felix didn’t say, “Yes, I’ll trust Christ,” nor did he say, “No, I won’t.” He didn’t attack Paul or Christianity either. Instead, he took a middle path: “Not now. I’ll think about it later.”

The essence of procrastination is this: you believe you should act, but you don’t. If you had no intention of doing something at all, it wouldn’t be true procrastination, it would be refusal. Real procrastination happens when you think, “I know I need to do it, just not right now.”

Often, procrastination soothes the conscience. We tell ourselves, “It’s not a big deal because I’ll get to it eventually.” This rationalization makes delay seem harmless. I suspect this is exactly what happened in Felix’s mind, and it’s the same excuse people use today when they avoid responding to the gospel.

Now, let’s be honest—everyone procrastinates. 

I’ll confess, I procrastinate too. 

But here’s my point: I rationalize my procrastination by telling myself it’s not serious. “I’ll handle it soon—it’s not a big deal.”

Now, back to Felix. He wanted more information. It says he had multiple conversations with Paul over the next two years (Acts 24:26), but there’s no record of him ever accepting the gospel. He delayed, and as far as we know, he never made the decision to trust in Christ.

When it comes to spiritual matters, procrastination isn’t harmless, it’s dangerous. In matters of salvation, it can be deadly.

When we put off responding to the gospel, we are playing with eternal consequences. This truth applies not just to those who haven’t trusted Christ, but also to believers who procrastinate in their walk with God.

In James chapter 1, James talked about the fact that we hear the word and don't do the word. Remember that passage? What was the consequences in James chapter 1 of hearing the word and not doing the word? Here's what James says.

Be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. And he observes himself, goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man that he was.

Procrastination is serious—deadly serious. For an unbeliever, it can lead to eternal death; for a believer, it can lead to deception. Hearing God’s Word, feeling convicted, and saying, “I’ll do it later” is not just a bad habit—it’s dangerous. Delaying spiritual obedience can harden the heart and deceive the soul.

A famous quote says, “Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.” Each time we put off obedience to God, we bury the opportunities He gives us to grow, serve, and fulfill His purposes.

Victor Kiam said it well: “Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin.” Each delayed act of obedience is a step toward deception and disobedience.

We all know how procrastination feels. I’ll admit, I procrastinate too—especially with emails. I rationalize my delays by thinking, “It’s not urgent; I’ll handle it later.” But let’s be clear: procrastination is a choice. For some I accept it is a mental health problem, a symptom of depression but for some it’s simply choosing to put something off. And if the problem is choice, the solution must be choice as well.

When it comes to spiritual decisions, procrastination is not innocent or trivial. It’s a choice with serious consequences. 

Choosing for a Christian can mean choosing disobedience. Some people hear biblical truth, nod in agreement, and think, “I’ll apply that later.” But this habit of spiritual procrastination leads to self-deception. They convince themselves they’re fine because they intend to obey, even though they never do.

I once read a blog post by someone who had struggled with procrastination for years. He admitted it cost him his education and said, “Procrastination is playing havoc with my life.” In the same way, spiritual procrastination wreaks havoc on our souls. It whispers, “I’ll do it later,” but later never comes.

The consequences piled up, and that is true of spiritual matters also! 

Imagine if a firefighter delayed rescuing someone from a burning building or if a police officer chose to drive slowly to an emergency—lives would be lost. Likewise, procrastination in spiritual obedience leads to serious consequences.

Procrastination can destroy lives, nations, and futures. It’s not a trivial matter—it’s life-altering.

The solution is simple: acknowledge the seriousness of procrastination and choose to act now, today. Obedience delayed is disobedience. Don’t be deceived into thinking it’s harmless. 

Choose today to respond to God’s truth without delay. That choice could change your life—and your eternity.