Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Acts 26:32
It’s fitting that we should consider this text this week since today we were able to exercise one of our rights as American citizens–the right to vote for the person that should occupy the highest office in this nation. In our text, we are reminded that Paul, when previously on trial, had exercised his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to the higher court of Caesar in Rome. Agrippa’s view concerning Paul’s appeal was that if he had not done it, he would have been set free at this time. But Agrippa didn’t understand that God had big plans for Paul which included this trip to Rome. Paul’s appeal to Caesar is in fact a great example of how we should properly use our own rights and privileges as citizens of our country.
At least three times in the book of Acts we’ve seen the apostle use his Roman citizenship to his advantage. The first time was in Act 16:37 as he responded to the officials of Philippi who had sent word to the jailer to let Paul and Silas go: “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.” The result was a humbling of those officials who came and pleaded with the apostle to depart. Paul had brought their wrongdoing to bear upon them, and they would think twice before mistreating the believers who would be left in Philippi as Paul continued on his missionary journey.
The second time the apostle exercised his right as a Roman citizen was in Jerusalem in Act 22:25. Here he was about to be beaten by the Roman soldiers who were trying to get to the bottom of why there was such an uproar concerning 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?’ ” Immediately, the Roman soldiers were afraid. Paul was spared his beating, but, more importantly, he was granted a much larger audience before which to give his defense, a defense that included sharing his hope in Christ.
Finally, Paul’s actions referred to in our main text took place in Act 25:10-11. Paul was in Caesarea at this point, standing trial before Festus. The Jews, however, wanted Paul to be returned to Jerusalem for trial so they could ambush him during the move and kill him. When Festus asked if Paul was willing to be tried in Jerusalem, he replied, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.” Back in Act 23:11, the Lord had encouraged the apostle, telling him, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” Paul, therefore, used his Roman citizenship while in Caesarea to help reach that ultimate goal of testifying of Christ in Rome.
So, what do we gather from all of these examples concerning our own responsibility with using our national citizenship? Simply put, we ought to use our rights as American citizens with a kingdom view in mind, understanding that we are first and foremost heavenly citizens. It is worthy to ask ourselves daily how we might use the liberties we enjoy to further the kingdom of God. We have many rights and privileges available to us. Use them for God’s glory and for the furtherance of the gospel.
Jamie