Acts 22

The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them. ‭‭Acts‬ ‭22‬:‭22‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A citizen is a person who legally belongs to a particular country.  Citizenship allows a person certain rights and privileges, as well as protection.  The Declaration of Independence states that “…they [all citizens of the United States of America] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Paul understood the power of claiming a certain citizenship.  His Roman citizenship saved him from being flogged and beaten without a proper trial.  Another thing that is true of citizens, is that they adopt the culture and practices of the country or kingdom to which they belong.  The sad reality is that because we live in a fallen world, every person is born into the kingdom in which Satan rules.  “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4, NLT).  In the absence of Christ, everyone grows up adopting the culture, practices and values of the world, which inevitably lead to misery and death.  “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things” (Philippians 3:18-19).  Thank you, Lord, for sending Jesus to rescue anyone who wants to escape this grim fate!   Paul explains this in Ephesians 2:1-6: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air…All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts…But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions…And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”  Accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior grants us a new and superior kind of citizenship.  Paul tells us that  “…our citizenship is in heaven…” (Philippians 3:20).  As citizens of heaven, we are given certain rights, privileges, and protection that far surpass anything that we have on Earth.  We actually become new people, transformed by the Holy Spirit, who is sent to dwell within us.  He changes our sinful, worldly desires into ones that aim to glorify God.  In the process we gain contentment, joy, the freedom of forgiveness, and the blessed peace that comes from being loved unconditionally.  We receive the power and privilege of being able to escape this world’s flawed value system and instead learn to live for eternity.  It is true that our heavenly citizenship does not guarantee us freedom from pain and trials.  However, we are armed with weapons to effectively defeat our enemies and we are always given exactly what we need to persevere through anything.  Jesus promises us inner peace, regardless of what we are going through.  He said “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  The next time that you feel that you are being attacked by this world and you feel your joy being stolen from you, try reciting this crafted line from what could be called our “Declaration of Dependence” on God: “We, the people of heaven, have been endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are eternal life, freedom from slavery to sin, and the ability to experience joy and peace regardless of our circumstances.”