Acts 22 - Paul Tells The Roman Officials About His Conversion Story. His Rights As a Roman Citizen Keep Him Safe!

Click Here to Read or Listen to Acts 22

Paul addresses the Roman Council and then shares the story of how he was going up to Damascus to persecute Jewish Christians, when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. This is one of the most famous conversion stories in the history of the bible. A lot of people will call their conversion, "a road to Damascus experience". 

We all go down different roads and have different intentions for doing so. But at one time in our lives Jesus invites us down a different road. The one that follows him. He said he was the "Way". He is the way to the Father and the way to eternal life. The early church were called "followers of the Way". 

Part of the beauty of Paul's conversion was that he was formerly killing Christians and now was preaching the gospel of Christ to all people. This gave him a lot more validity. Even his own people were persecuting him, because he was now preaching the same message of the kingdom that Jesus did. Paul was even there at the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. 

Verse 21 ends with the call of Paul, which was to go far away to the Gentiles. He had been engaged in this mission for the past three years before the Lord brought him back to Jerusalem, before the Roman courts. 

As the mob still raged against him, the Roman officer was not sure what to do with him because the Jews were inciting a riot. His main job was to keep order in the city. When he ordered Paul to be flogged Paul said, 

“Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

Now Paul had some leverage. Even better yet, Paul was born a Roman citizen unlike the commander he was talking to, who had to buy his rights to citizenship. When they realized this, they were alarmed, so they released him. The next day the official called together the Sanhedrin, which was made up of the 70 elders of the synagogue. He asked Paul to address them.

Again, we see God ordaining all of these events from Paul's conversion to his Roman citizenship saving his life. God works the same way in your life. We don't always know why things happen to us, but God promises us in Romans 8:28, "He works all things together for good for those who call on his name."

How can your current life circumstances point to what the Sovereign Lord is doing in your life? 

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