Is It Lawful?

As a Lebanese citizen, I know what it’s like to struggle with visas. I love to travel, but unless you hold a European or American passport, you often have to go through a painstaking process of submitting countless documents and then waiting to see whether you’ll be approved or not. 

Yet, when I return to Lebanon, I walk with confidence, knowing I belong here as a citizen of this country. My wife, however, holds two passports. As a German citizen, she moves through European airports with ease and confidence. At times, she even challenges officers who give me a hard time, because she knows her rights as a citizen of the EU. On the other hand I do not argue with officers as I know as a person who is not a citizen, my rights are limited. 

We see a perfect example of this in Acts 22:25, Paul is about to be scourged by roman soldiers and he calls out "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?" 

If you were a Roman citizen, you had rights. You could not be judged without a proper trial, and even if the outcome was unjust, you had the right to appeal to Caesar himself. 

Paul understood this. When he was about to be beaten, he spoke up and said, “Is it lawful to do this to a Roman citizen who has not been condemned?” The moment he opened his mouth, everything changed and the soldiers and even the commander began to fear, because what they were doing was illegal. Paul knew his rights, and he used his voice to enforce them. 

This is a picture of our reality as citizens of heaven. Just as it was unlawful to mistreat a Roman citizen, it is unlawful for the enemy to touch what has been bought by the blood of Jesus and belongs to God. When you know who you are, you realize that what the devil tries to bring into your life has no legal ground. 

Paul opened his mouth and that’s why he wasn’t beaten. The book of Revelation says that we overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. In other words, what Jesus has done gives us the legal victory, but our words enforce it. 

And here is the powerful contrast: 

Jesus had every right to speak. He was completely innocent, uncondemned, and without sin. His words carried undeniable authority. We see this in the Gospel of John. When the soldiers came to arrest Him, He asked, “Whom do you seek?” When they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth,” He replied, “I AM.” And in that moment, they all drew back and fell to the ground. That’s the power of His voice and authority that flowed out of Him when He spoke. 

He could have spoken again. He could have stopped everything. He could have claimed His rights and because he was innocent He could have called to the father and God would have stopped it all and delivered him and we would have been lost, but He did not. 

In Isaiah 53, it is written twice that He did not open His mouth, “like a lamb led to the slaughter,” and “like a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” The repetition shows this was not weakness, it was a deliberate choice. 

He remained silent. He chose not to speak so that we could have the right to speak. He forfeited His rights so that we could walk in ours. He was silent so our voices could carry authority. 

He was condemned so we could be justified. He suffered so we could be healed. He took it so we could be free. 

So now, we don’t stay silent. We speak back not from fear, but from our new identity. We speak not to beg for victory, but to enforce the victory He already secured. 

So the next time symptoms, lack or anything that is not of God tries to come your way, you look at it in the face and say, “Is it lawful for you to condemn a citizen of heaven, a child of the most high God?” 

Main scripture: Acts 22:25 NASBS 

But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"