Acts 24.24-26 records, “A few days later Felix and his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, sent for Paul and listened to him talk about a life of believing in Jesus Christ. As Paul continued to insist on right relations with God and his people, about a life of moral discipline and the coming Judgment, Felix felt things getting a little too close for comfort and dismissed him. “That’s enough for today. I’ll call you back when it’s convenient.” At the same time he was secretly hoping that Paul would offer him a substantial bribe. These conversations were repeated frequently.” MSG

In his sharing of the gospel, the Apostle Paul tells us a few key elements of what it means to believe in Jesus. First, is the insisting upon a right relationship with God and His people. A right relationship with God must come through Jesus the Savior. Reconciliation to God comes by faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Apart from faith in Him, there is no peace with God.

In Christ is the forgiveness of sins and the appropriation of righteousness to us, making us clean and holy in God’s sight forever. This vertical reconciliation is manifest in a horizontal relationship with our fellow believer. All of the ‘one another’s’ in the Scripture are for teaching us to live before God with each other. This is how people know we are Jesus’ disciples, by our love for one another.
Second, we are to live like Jesus did by practicing moral discipline. Our flesh is our enemy, it’s wants are not God’s ways, having been corrupted by sin.

Therefore, we must put our flesh to death and live by the Spirit. We no longer live according to our earthly nature but live according to God’s nature, learning this from His Word and living it empowered by His Spirit.

Finally, we do all this not only to honor God now but because we know we will one day stand before the Lord God Almighty before Whom all men must give account for the life they lived in this body. Mercy, pardon, forgiveness and eternal reward is for all those who have loved God and lived according to His commands, but condemnation, banishment and eternal torment will be the outcome for all those who ignored God’s ways and instead lived to please themselves.