22 “They listened to him up to this word. Then they raised their voices, shouting, ‘Wipe this person off the earth — its a disgrace for him to live!’

23 As they were yelling and flinging aside their robes and throwing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be examined with the scourge, so he could discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. 25 As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, ‘Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?’

26 When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, ‘What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.’

27 The commander came and said to him, ‘Tell me — are you a Roman citizen?’

‘Yes,’ he said.

28 The commander replied, ‘I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.’

‘But I was born a citizen,’ Paul said.

29 Therefore, those who were about to examine him withdrew from him at once. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.

30 The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and placed him before them.”

Acts 22:22-30

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I absolutely love the pacing and build up of this brief exchange. There is something ultimately satisfying about being in the right, and in being vindicated. It feels good to be in the right, and we all like it…sometimes a little too much. But here, we see Paul being right in a way that communicates authority and truth without being overbearing or rude. So, here we find a wonderful example of how we can handle adversity and deal with wrong doing that comes against us. 

Paul could have blustered and shouted and fought, but he let the truth be truth instead. Paul let the truth of the situation speak for him rather than trying to increase his own personal volume to ‘compensate’ for the misjustice that was being committed against him. The truth was enough, and it was all he needed. AS the opportunity arose for him to say what needed to be said, he said it and just let the truth hang out there, revealing itself. In this case, it meant that he should be arrested and bound like a common criminal without someone at least doing some fact checking. The guard just saw the mob, saw that Paul was the object of their wrath, assumed he had done something wrong, and they began to act as they saw fit. But as a Roman citizen, Paul was entitled to better treatment than that, and it was not given to him. So, Paul stands vindicated the moment a light is shed on the situation.

As Christians, we need to make sure that we don’t fight like the world does. We need to make sure that we don’t engage at a base level, resorting to crude tactics, verbal assaults, sneaky plans or gossip-fueled back-stabbing. Instead, we let the truth be truth. Simple as that. We speak it when the opportunity allows, and we are entitled to be bold with it, as Paul was here. But we are not entitled to be ugly with it, demeaning with it. Paul’s allowed truth to be truth without any extra help from him. Because, in reality, truth doesn’t need the ‘help.’ It doesn’t need a biting tongue or an angry tone. James 3 reminds us of the damage that a loose tongue can cause, and truth, while exposing wrong, doesn’t seek to wound or gouge. Truth does cut deep, but not in the way that the human tongue is prone to cut. It has its own way, its own devices.

Simply let the truth be the truth. Deliver it with gentleness. Speak truth in love.

As you GoLove others in Jesus Name, there is a prerequisite to speak the truth. It goes hand in hand with the Gospel. After all, Jesus is The Way, The Truth & The Life (John 14.) And the only way people will come to see and truly understand the truth is through Him. He does not need us to bruise hearts with our tongue in order for conviction to take place. That is the work and place of the Holy Spirit. We are simply couriers entrusted with a message of great joy.