The Only Life-and-Death Decision

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”.
Acts 26:28

People feel intense pressure when they are discussing life-and-death issues—especially if their own lifestyles are at stake. This is why discussions about Christ can be so intense. Christ’s message to the unbeliever is, “Your way of life is hellish. I am your only hope.” People are intensely uncomfortable with that.

When Paul preached to Agrippa, he turned the pressure to full steam. Agrippa reacted like so many do under the pressure of the truth: He squirmed. He protested. He procrastinated. He escaped.

Matthew Henry explains why.

WALK WITH MATTHEW HENRY
“Agrippa could not but agree that the Old Testament prophecies found their fulfillment in Christ.

“And now that Paul urges him solemnly, he is nearly ready to yield to the conviction of the Spirit.

“He sees a great deal of reason for Christianity. The proofs of it, he admits, are strong; the objections against it, trifling.

“If it were not for his obligations to tradition, his respect for the religion of his fathers and of his country, his regard to his dignity as a king, and his secular interests, he would turn to Christianity immediately. Many are almost persuaded to be saved, who are not quite persuaded.

“They are under strong convictions of their duty, and of the excellency of the ways of God, yet are overruled by some outward circumstances, and do not pursue their convictions.”

WALK CLOSER TO GOD
King Agrippa’s symptoms: shortsighted vision, a tendency to sacrifice conviction for convenience, and a preoccupation with worldly affairs and popular approval.

The only known cure for such a condition? Taking Jesus Christ—the same Christ whom the apostle Paul proclaimed—at his word.

It was a life-and-death decision—perhaps the very one you are wrestling with today. Agrippa knew the cure, but he wasn’t willing to take it. Are you?