Tertulus umumnya dianggap sebagai Yahudi [[Yudaisme Helenistik|Helenistik]],<ref>The MacArthur Bible Commentary John F. MacArthur, Jr., John MacArthur - 2005 "Tertullus. Possibly a Roman, but more likely a Hellenistic Jew (cf. v. 6)."</ref> meskipun ia berasal dari bangsa kafir.<ref>Acts p213 Paul W. Walaskay - 1998 "Not only that, they have hired an attorney, Tertullus, well-versed in Jewish and Roman law, to present their case against Paul. Tertullus appears to have been either a Hellenistic Jew (his Greek is impeccable) or a Gentile; "</ref> Tak jelas apakah pengadilan tersebut dilakukan dalam bahasa Latin atau Yunani.<ref>Ben Witherington The Acts of the Apostles: a socio-rhetorical commentary 1998 p704 "Normally one would expect the trial to be undertaken in Latin, which might militate against Tertullus being a Jew, unless he was from the Diaspora. It is not impossible, however, that the trial, or at least the speeches, was in Greek"</ref>
Saat menghadap [[Antonius FelixFeliks]], Tertulus menjadi orang pertama yang tercatat memakai kata jamak "Nasrani" (bentuk jamak dari ''Iesous ho Nazoraios'' "Yesus dari Nazareth") untuk menyebut [[umat Kristen]], meskipun pemakaian istilah "Kristen" kemudian dipakai di [[Antiokhia]], dan oleh [[Herodes Agripa II]] dalam pengadilan Paulus berikutnya di hadapan [[Perkius Festus]].<ref>The Routledge companion to the Christian church p13 ed. Gerard Mannion, Lewis Seymour Mudge - 2008 "Acts is also one of the two books in the New Testament that call the early community 'Christians' (Christianoi). ... is used once in Acts in the mouth of Tertullus, the advocate who accused Paul before Felix in Acts 24."</ref> Pemakaian Tertulus terhadap istilah Yunani ''Nazoraioi'' selaras dengan istilah Ibrani ''[[umat Kristen|Notzrim]]'' yang ditemukan dalam kesusastraan rabbinikal pada masa berikutnya.<ref>Martinus de Boer p252 in ''Tolerance and intolerance in early Judaism and Christianity'' ed. Graham Stanton, Guy G. Stroumsa</ref> Tertulus mungkin tak memakai istilah Antiokhia ''Christianoi'' (Ibrani: ''Meshiykhiyyim'' משיחיים) karena ''Christianoi'' berasal dari kata Yunani ''Christos'' (artinya "Orang yang Diurapi", "Mesias") karena dapat membuat Tertulus dianggap mengakui Yesus dari Nazareth sebagai "Orang yang Diurapi" atau "Mesias."<ref>Arthur Powell Davies ''The meaning of the Dead Sea scrolls'' 1956 "The second mention of Christianoi in the New Testament is also in the book of Acts (xxvi, 28). King Herod Agrippa says to Paul, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christianos." Agrippa probably meant it in derision. .. He was himself a king in Israel, an "Anointed One," and therefore quite literally a "Christos" of the existing order."</ref>
