American Christian (Ep 79)

AMERICAN CHRISTIAN #79
“Citizenship and the Gospel”

Acts 22:22-29

And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”  Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?” (Acts 22:22-25) NKJV. 

Don’t’ miss this, in flogging [scourging], a whip of thongs—either knotted cords or wire having bristled ends, sometimes strung with knucklebones or lead pellets—was applied repeatedly to the back of a person positioned on the floor, at a pillar, or suspended from the ceiling. The person was stretched out with bound arms secured so he could not deflect the blows.

So, as the soldiers were stretching Paul out with thongs about his wrists to secure him for scourging, he asked a question of the centurion: “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried?” (22:25).

We have a dual citizenship, one part of us is of earth and nation and the other is of being a citizen of heaven. Dr Nichols examines and asks the question as to why Paul doesn’t make his claim as being a citizen of heaven, rather he states he was “born a citizen” (Acts 22:28).  Whatever happened to the idea of government officials as “public servants”?  Where is the accountability in today’s government? And what of us? We too need to always know our place as opportunities arise.  Let’s be accountable to what we’ve been given, amen!

(35 mins)