Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him. Acts 24:26
Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, and ruler of Galilee in Jesus’ day liked to listen to John the Baptist preach (Mark 6:20). Yet when Herod’s stepdaughter asked Herod for John’s head, Herod had John beheaded (Matthew 14:6-12). Apparently, liking good preaching may mean nothing.
In Acts 24, Felix apparently liked talking with the Apostle Paul—while Paul was under arrest and unjustly imprisoned based on groundless charges. Knowing what we know about Paul, it is unlikely that when Felix brought Paul in for “conversation,” that the two jawed about news, weather, and sports. As Paul said, “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16-18).
Yet Felix continued to keep Paul imprisoned and eventually shipped Paul off to Rome as a prisoner. Paul was eventually beheaded in Rome.
Is there a lesson to be learned? Enjoying good preaching and conversation about the Lord does not guarantee that one is a child of God. I wonder how many will one day stand before the Lord and say, “Lord, Lord, I liked to listen to preaching,” and will then hear the words, “Depart from Me, I never knew you!”?
It doesn’t matter how much one enjoys good preaching if one fails to trust in Jesus for forgiveness of sin and salvation. The point of preaching is not entertainment or even mental stimulation. If those kinds of interests are why one likes to listen to good preaching, it will end up meaning nothing at all in the day of judgment.