Albert Barnes Commentary Acts 26:25

"But Paul saith, I am not mad, most excellent Festus; but speak forth words of truth and soberness." — Acts 26:25 (ASV)

I am not mad. I am not deranged. There are few more apt turns than the one Paul gives to this accusation from Festus. He could have appealed to the course of his argument; he could have dwelt on the importance of the subject and continued to reason; but he appeals at once to Agrippa, bringing him in as a witness that he was not deranged.

This would be far more likely to make an impression on Festus's mind than anything Paul could say in self-defense. The same reply, "I am not mad," can be made by all Christians to the charge of derangement that the world brings against them. They have come, like the prodigal (Luke 15:17), to their right mind. By beginning to act as if there were a God and Savior, as if they were to die, and as if there were a boundless eternity before them, they are conducting themselves according to the dictates of reason.

And just as Paul appealed to Agrippa, who was not a Christian, for the reasonableness and soberness of his own views and conduct, so all Christians may appeal even to sinners themselves, as witnesses that they are acting as immortal beings should act. All people know that if there is an eternity, it is right to prepare for it; if there is a God, it is proper to serve Him; if a Savior died for us, we should love Him; if there is a hell, we should avoid it; if there is a heaven, we should seek it.

And even when they charge us with folly and derangement, we may turn at once to them, appeal to their own consciences, and ask them if all our anxieties, prayers, efforts, and self-denials are not right. One of the best ways of convicting sinners is to appeal to them just as Paul did to Agrippa. When so appealed to, they will usually acknowledge the force of the appeal and will admit that all the solicitude of Christians for their salvation is according to the dictates of reason.

Most noble Festus. This was the usual title of the Roman governor .

Of truth. This means in accordance with the predictions of Moses and the prophets, and the facts that have occurred in the death and resurrection of the Messiah. In proof of this, Paul appeals to Agrippa (Acts 26:26–27). Truth here stands opposed to delusion, imposture, and fraud.

And soberness. Soberness (σωφροσύνη, wisdom) stands opposed here to madness or derangement, and denotes sanity of mind. The words that I speak are those of a sane man, conscious of what he is saying, and impressed with its truth. They were also the words of a man who, under the charge of derangement, evinced the most perfect self-possession and command of his feelings, and who uttered sentiments that were deep, impressive, and worthy of humanity's attention.

The term "soberness" signifies "a sound mind."