Engaging
The apostle Paul seems to have an interesting relationship with his national identities. I said "identities" plural because he was a part of two organizations. By lineage and race, he was a member of Israel. From the tribe of Benjamin, trained to be a Pharisee in the best schools, Paul was thoroughly enmeshed in the Israelite Nation. At the same time, he was a Roman citizen. This was a high honor.
When we first meet Paul, he is going by the name of Saul, and he's holding people's coats when they stone, Stephen. This is a position of authority, he was the one directing people to execute this young Christian for his faith.
After his conversion, he walks a tenuous line with his different citizenships. He always went to Jewish people, first, out of respect for them, and his loyalty to the tribe of Israel. When they rejected him, he would go to the Romans. Neither culture fully excepted him. Neither nation fully supported his faith. He’s brought ups and trials at different times by both Jewish and Roman authorities. None of them can find enough charges to convict him, so he ends his life in prison, potentially being executed, as an outcast for both nations.
I find it interesting that he didn’t just walk away. He stayed engaged. When Jewish people rejected him, he didn’t shake the dust off his shoes, he kept going to choose in every new city. When the Romans beat him, he uses his Roman citizenship as a way of defense. When Rome denounced him and kept him in prison, he did it at the round of his own citizenship. Instead, he appealed to Caesar, digging deeper into Roman culture, as a way to further the gospel.
It feels like our culture is becoming increasingly hostile to the faith, and I see many people holding back and not engaging. They stay remote and non-engaged, watching from the sidelines as America slowly spirals. I don’t think this is the way it's supposed to be.
Paul writes that our citizenship is in heaven, and we await a savior from there. He also tells us to pray for our leaders. We see him using cultural apologetics, and bold preaching to challenge people and draw them to Christ. Paul is deeply engaged. The Bible calls us to do the same.
When the Book of Acts ends, Paul is in chains, but the gospel is unchained. Right now in America, we aren’t in chains for our faith, but far too often the gospel is chained. We self-censor, back down, and refuse to engage the culture for Jesus.
I hope we can take a page from Paul’s playbook and learn how to be engaged in our national identity while clinging to our eternal identity. America isn’t the new Israel, but it’s the place God has called us to serve and live. To that end, we have to pray for revival in the nation and ask that the Lord will bring many people to faith.
With You;
Pastor Tim
