A Jew, a Roman, and a Christian

A Jew, a Roman, and a Christian 2022 01 30

Acts 16:35 – 40  

Though the title of our sermon this morning may sound like the set up for a joke, it is not.  In fact, it is a tri-fold description of the man we are reading about in our passage today – also known as a trichotomy.

Acts 16:35 – 40

This is the first time we hear Paul speak of his Roman citizenship.

  1. However, he did not speak about it to prevent his illegal arrest, nor the illegal beating he received. He says nothing of it until all this abuse is totally said and done.
  2. Because Paul endured his illegal treatment, he was in the position to lead the keeper of the prison and his entire household to Christ and see them baptized.
  3. When he finally did speak of his rights, he pursued them only to the point that it furthered the cause of Christ and protected the new Christian brethren of Philippi. The magistrates would now be more careful in their treatment of Paul, not immediately expelling him from the city, giving him time to comfort the brethren.

 

The trichotomy of Paul’s identity:

  1. A Jew:             Paul was a Jew; He was a Hebrew of the tribe of Benjamin.
  2. A Roman:       Paul was a natural born citizen of Rome because his dad was a Roman.
  3. A Christian:     Paul was a born again, blood bought child of God and servant of Jesus Christ.

 

  1. Paul was a Jew, and treated as such in the Roman province of Philippi.
    1. The Jews under the rule of Rome:
      1. Joh 11:47-48 “Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.”
      2. As a Jew, Paul was ethnically a part of a people being ruled over by the Roman government. The Jews’ privileges were granted only at the graces of the Romans and were often revoked at their pleasure.  Paul was a Jew!
    2. Paul was also a Roman, and as a freeborn Roman, Paul had RIGHTS!
      1. The Rights of Roman Citizens:
        1. Jus suffragiorum: The right to vote in the Roman assemblies.
        2. Jus honorum: The right to stand for civil or public office.
        3. Jus commercii: The right to make legal contracts and to hold property as a Roman citizen.
        4. Jus gentium: The legal recognition, developed in the 3rd century BC, of the growing international scope of Roman affairs, and the need for Roman law to deal with situations between Roman citizens and foreign persons. The jus gentium was therefore a Roman legal codification of the widely accepted international law of the time and was based on highly developed commercial law of the Greek city-states and of other maritime powers. The rights afforded by the jus gentium were considered to be held by all persons; it is thus a concept of human rights rather than rights attached to citizenship.
        5. Jus connubii: The right to have a lawful marriage with a Roman citizen, to have the legal rights of the paterfamilias over the family, and to have the children of any such marriage be counted as Roman citizens.
        6. Jus migrationis: The right to preserve one’s level of citizenship upon relocation to a polis of comparable status. For example, members of the cives romani maintained their full civitas when they migrated to a Roman colony with full rights under the law: a colonia civium Romanorum. Latins also had this right and maintained their jus Latii if they relocated to a different Latin state or Latin colony. This right did not preserve one’s level of citizenship should one relocate to a colony of lesser legal status; full Roman citizens relocating to a Latina colonia were reduced to the level of the jus Latii, and such a migration and reduction in status had to be a voluntary act.
        7. The right of immunity from some taxes and other legal obligations, especially local rules and regulations.
        8. The right to sue in the courts and the right to be sued.
        9. The right to have a legal trial (to appear before a proper court and to defend oneself).
        10. The right to appeal from the decisions of magistrates and to appeal the lower court decisions.
      2. A Roman citizen could not be tortured or whipped, nor could he receive the death penalty, unless he was found guilty of treason.
        1. If accused of treason, a Roman citizen had the right to be tried in Rome, and even if sentenced to death, no Roman citizen could be sentenced to die on the cross.
        2. Roman citizenship was required in order to enlist in the Roman legions, but this was sometimes ignored. Non-citizens joined the Auxilia and gained citizenship through service. ~ From Wikipedia ~
      3. Paul was a Jew, Paul was a Roman, but most importantly Paul was Christ’s! Paul was a Christian! He was a blood-bought child of God and a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ!!
        1. The Christian:
          1. 1Co 6:19-20 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
          2. 1Co 7:22-23 “For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.”
          3. 1Pe 2:9-12 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
        2. The trichotomy of the Christian’s identity:
          1. Ethnically I am considered an “Anglo Saxon” which means what? I have never been to England or Germany.  By birth and virtue of citizenship I am a Canadian.  By the new birth and virtue of the operation of God our Creator I am a child of God, purchased with the incorruptible blood of Jesus Christ!
          2. I am a Canadian and as such my country’s Constitution recognizes certain universal rights under our Charter of Rights and Freedom, including freedom of assembly and freedom of religion.
            1. We are living in amazing and perilous times. We all have ethnic backgrounds that vary from family to family.  But we that are Canadians have rights and freedoms that are guaranteed by our constitution.
          3. The question remains, which identity will be ours? Will it be as it is with so many, our ethnicity or our earthly citizenship, or will it be the identity of Christ?  Paul chose to continually suffer the loss and abuse of his rights.  He did this for the sake of the gospel and the cause of Christ.  When the time comes for men to stand, whose identity will we stand in?  Will we stand in our ethnicity?  Will we stand as Canadians?  Or will we stand as followers of Christ?
            1. 2Co 5:14-20 “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
          4. This is absolutely not to imply that Paul was some kind of pacifist that rolled over at the sign of the least resistance:in fact, Paul was a warrior, who fought a good fight, warring against the world, his own flesh, and the devil!  To the Jews Paul was a seditious rebel (Acts 24:5), to the Gentiles he was a troublemaker and law breaker (Acts 16:20-21).  It is imperative that we learn the lessons of true Christian warfare and the weapons of that warfare that we may be what we ought to be FOR CHRIST:  1Co 4:3-4 “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.”
        3. Our Warfare and the equipment thereof:
          1. Our warfare is spiritual, because our enemies are spiritual. Eph 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
        4. The Weapons of our Warfare and the theatre thereof:
          1. It is a spiritual war, and it is in our own minds. 2Co 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
          2. Though I love being a Canadian and I love Canada, I must, however, find my true identity not simply as a Canadian, but as a child and servant of the living God!
            1. Too many Christians right now are fighting for freedom, rather than for souls!

 

Conclusion:

Christians need to let go of the idea of the Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a guarantee of their freedom and religious liberty.  The Apostle Paul was a free born Roman Citizen. He had the right to appeal to Caesar; he was immune to the death penalty, except for treason; immune from public beatings; he could vote, own property, petition magistrates, and even own slaves. Yet when Paul’s “religion” became intolerable to Roman law, and too controversial for the balance of power between Rome and its provinces, he was thrown into prison without a trial, then led out of town to be beheaded for the good of the state. Canadian Christians have long expected religious freedom, just like our neighbors to the south, by forbidding the government to make any law prohibiting the establishment of religion, or the free exercise thereof. Next, they began regulating and restricting the government for religious reasons. As regulations grew these crept into public venues, schools, public buildings, parks, sidewalks, neighborhood covenants, door knocking ordinances, where they were all first designed to codify and retain Christian values and rights. By doing so, we have made the law the arbiter and regulator of our Christian freedom. Thus, we demand our “Rights and Freedoms” and that the courts and legislators enforce those rights.  Whatever the government legislates and adjudicates, it controls for its own good. When Christians become the burden and bane of our society, all the political scheming in the world will not protect those who are no longer good or useful to the state.  It’s time for us to put all our hope and faith in God our Creator and his Holy Word and be willing to suffer the consequences from our own nation for doing so. The Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms can be amended, voided, re-defined, or replaced. But the Word of God our Creator and Lord will stand forever.  Amen