John Calvin Commentary Acts 24:14

"But this I confess unto thee, that after the Way which they call a sect, so serve I the God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets;" — Acts 24:14 (ASV)

But I confess. Because they had charged Paul with impiety and the polluting of the temple, he clears himself of both now, so that Felix might understand that his adversaries were motivated by ill will. For though the religion they professed was false and absurd, yet the study of it often found favor with men who paid little attention.

Therefore, it was to be feared that Felix, if he had formed any sinister suspicion about Paul, might not only pardon the zeal of the priests but also grant their requests. Therefore, Paul also refutes this point of the accusation, and in such a way that he does not touch on the faith of the gospel, because (as we have said) that was not a suitable place for making a confession of it.

But what does he mean when he says that he worships God according to the Way which they call heresy? Some think that this is added as a kind of concession, because his enemies interpret negatively what ought to be attributed to judgment and right choice—as if Paul were saying that the form of religion he followed is indeed called heresy, but undeservedly.

But since that name was not infamous either among Jews or Gentiles, it is unlikely that he is making a defense before a Gentile official concerning something they generally considered a commendation rather than a fault. When Christians confer together, the Spirit of God commands that heretics be considered detestable, and He teaches us to beware of heresies, because they bring plague, dissension, and devastation upon the Church.

Therefore, it is something not to be tolerated among the people of God, whose safety consists in the unity of faith. But because the Jews at that time openly boasted of their sects, that excuse, of which we spoke recently, was superfluous. Therefore, it remains that he either means he is a Pharisee, or that he calls the Jewish religion or the profession of the gospel a 'sect' (without infamy), because they were distinct from the practices and customs of all other nations.

Since he previously confessed himself to be a Pharisee, no difficulty will arise if we say that he repeats the same now, especially since he speaks shortly afterward about the resurrection of the dead. But because this first point only contains a confession concerning the worship of the God of his ancestors, I think that he is rather speaking generally of the Jewish religion, or of the Christian faith which flowed from it.

Paul was a citizen of Rome; nevertheless, as he was of Jewish ancestry, he confesses that he continues in the religion which he had learned from his ancestors. And the adverb of likeness serves this purpose, for it indicates a known thing: namely, the manner of worship to which the Jews were devoted.

He makes express mention of the God of his ancestors because it was not lawful for a Roman citizen to adopt the doctrine of the Law unless he was of Jewish descent. He also alludes to his adversaries, who treat him so cruelly, even though they both worship the one God.

I (he says) worship the same God (according to the manner handed down by my ancestors) whom they themselves worship, and even as they worship Him. Nor does it hinder his case that he had departed from the ceremonies of the Law and was content with the spiritual worship of God. For Paul thinks it sufficient for him to wipe away that stain of impiety which his adversaries had falsely cast upon him.

Therefore, the Papists are ridiculous, who falsely claim that Paul approves all manner of antiquity. 'We,' they say, 'worship the God of our ancestors with Paul, as the custom was handed down to us'; as if (even by their own judgment) it were sufficient for Jews or Turks to use the same shield against the faith of Christ.

But the apostle certainly did not intend simply to ground religion in the authority of ancestors, or to defend his godliness with a defense that could have been common to all the superstitions of the Gentiles; he meant only to silence his adversaries.

Nevertheless, he takes it as a clear fact that the ancestors, from whom the Jewish religion came, were good and sincere worshippers of God. Consequently, Jews who were not degenerate could rightly boast that the God of their ancestors whom they worshipped was the only Creator of heaven and earth, and that the local gods of the rest of the world were mere and vain inventions.

Believing all things. This is a short explanation of the preceding sentence. For, because he had not simply affirmed that he worshipped God, but added the word οὕτως (houtōs), or 'so,' he now sets down how he worships God. By this it appears what great care he takes lest he entangle himself in those incidental superstitions that prevailed among the Jews.

It is as if one of us today were to answer the Papists that he worships the God whom they profess, as we are taught from the Law and the Gospel.

From this let us learn that God is not rightly worshipped, nor can our obedience please Him, unless it is born of faith, which is the only foundation of godliness. For Paul (in order to prove himself a servant of God) does not thrust mere ceremonies upon them, but he states plainly that he believes.

Furthermore, this passage contains a profitable doctrine: that the only foundation of right and true faith is for a person to submit to Scripture and reverently to embrace its doctrine. Moreover, Paul in this instance divides Scripture into the Law and the Prophets, so that he may more plainly prove that he does not dissent from the universal agreement of the Church.