Citizenship

What are the privileges of being a United States citizen?

You can be president of the United States.

You can vote in US elections.

You can travel to many countries without having to apply for a Visa.

Citizenship comes with many benefits.

In Biblical times, Roman citizenship was a privilege.

Roman citizens could vote in elections.

They could hold public office.

They could own property.

They were received certain protections according to Roman law such as being immune for punishment by flogging or crucifixion.

There were three ways for someone to become a Roman citizen:

You could be born to Roman citizen parents.

You could do a great deed for the emperor and by awarded Roman citizenship.

You could bribe a government official to obtain Roman citizenship.

In the book of Acts we get a glimpse of the privilege of Roman citizenship:

Hechos de los Apóstoles 22:23–29 NIV

23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 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. 25 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?” 26 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.” 27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. 28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. 29 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.

Notice how the Roman guard questions Paul on how he obtained Roman citizenship.

Paul says - I was born a roman citizen.

Immediately they stopped flogging Paul for they knew this was against Roman law.

Paul would eventually be carried off to Rome to present his case before Cesar.

But until then, he would continue preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to both Jews and gentiles.

He would present the gospel of Jesus to those in governmental authority.

…all the while being protected by Roman law.

God in his infinite wisdom had planned this before the foundation of the earth, that Paul would be born a Roman citizen such that he would fulfill his calling as an apostle to the gentiles through the privilege of his Roman citizenship.

In the same way, we can be absolutely sure that God knows our life and circumstances.

God has us exactly where he wants us so that we will serve him according to his will.

God made us to be born in a specific family, and to live in a certain area of the world so that we would bring glory to his name and to share the good news of Jesus Christo with those that we encounter.

Nothing that happens in our life is a mere coincidence - it is all part of God’s plan for our life so that we may give glory to his name.