Paul and Silas felt that to maintain the dignity of Christ’s church, they must not submit to the illegal course proposed by the Roman magistrates. The apostles were Roman citizens, and it was unlawful to scourge a Roman, save for the most flagrant crime, or to deprive him of his liberty without a fair trial and condemnation. They had been publicly thrust into prison, and now refused to be privately released, without proper acknowledgments on the part of the magistrates.{LP 79.2}

For at fastholde værdigheden i Kristi menighed følte Paulus og Silas at de ikke skulle underlægge sig en ulovlig optræden over for de romerske byfogeder. Apostlene var romerske borgere, og det var ulovligt at piske en romer, blot for en skamløs forbrydelse, eller berøve ham hans frihed uden en retmæssig dom. De var offentligt kastet i fængsel, og nu nægtede de at blive løsladt i hemmelighed, uden en ordentlig anerkendelse fra byfogedernes side.