Paul knew something about the privilege of citizenship.  After being imprisoned for preaching the gospel at Philippi, and unlawfully beaten, He and Silas were miraculously set free from their confinement (Acts 16:16-26).  This led to the famous conversion of the Philippian  jailer (vers. 27-34).  After this, when the authorities were sent to release Paul and Silas from jail, Paul revealed his secret—he and Silas were Roman citizens (ver. 37).  Knowing the power of citizenship, Paul demanded an apology, which he received (ver. 39).

This was not the last time Paul took advantage of his Roman citizenship.  Years later, after having been arrested again, when he knew he would not be treated fairly by the Jews who were bringing charges against him, he appealed to Caesar to gain an audience with the emperor and be judged by his higher court (Acts 25:1-12). Such was the power of being a citizen of Rome.

Paul took advantage of the significance of citizenship in another way when he wrote to the saints at Philippi.  He knew that Philippi was a Roman colony.  Roman colonies were places where Roman soldiers would often retire, keeping their Roman citizenship, with all of its advantages, even though they lived away from Rome.  In Roman colonies, the majority of people would adhere to Roman customs, wear Roman attire, speak the language of Rome, etc.  Though Roman colonies could be hundreds of miles away from Rome, they greatly resembled the capital city.  Paul used this as a reference point in writing to the church at Philippi.

Philippians 3:20 (ESV)
²⁰  But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

This is true of all of us who are Christians.  The question is… do we act like it?  No Roman citizen was ever ashamed of being so.  Are you in any way ashamed of being a citizen of heaven?  Paul certainly wasn’t.

Philippians 1:20 (ESV)
²⁰  As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

Let us be like Paul, not being ashamed of anything associated with Christ or our heavenly home.  Let us openly keep the law of heaven, that is, the gospel of Christ.  Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…(Romans 1;16), and neither should we be.  We must teach the gospel at every opportunity that we have (Matthew 28:19).

Let us wear the garments of heaven by dressing with modesty and shamefacedness (1 Timothy 2:9).  While Paul was addressing women in this passage, no one seriously doubts that the principle applies to all disciples.  We must avoid both underdressing and overdressing, clothing ourselves in a way that is decent and respectable, and pleasing to God.

Let us use the language of heaven, making sure that our speech is seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6).  Paul admonishes us to be careful how we speak, not allowing any corrupt communication to come out of our mouths (Ephesians 4:29).

If heaven is going to be our home after a while, we must be sure that we are citizens of it right now.  In a Roman colony, it was easy to spot a Roman citizen.  In the church of Christ, it is easy to spot a citizen of heaven.  Are you one of them?

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.