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?”
Acts 22:25 NIV
In the previous chapter, Paul expressed his willingness to suffer and even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. And he did suffer repeated and eventually died for Christ. Just prior to this passage, Paul had endured a beating at the hands of the Jews. But here he avoided a flogging at the hands of the Romans by claiming Roman citizenship. He was not afraid to use the law to avoid an unnecessary beating.
The law of our land is not always advantageous for us as believers. Nor should we really expect it to be. But when it is, there should be no problem with taking advantage of it. Especially if it will serve to advance the gospel while avoiding a beating or some other suffering.
But we should never compromise our faith in order to avoid suffering. Or even inconvenience. We should be faithful to the Lord Jesus in all we do or say, regardless of the consequences. But, as Paul demonstrated, there is no reason to suffer needlessly. If we can avoid it without compromise, we should.
