In Paul’s Letter to young Timothy he wrote many things about how the church should be run and how we should act as Christians and today’s text is part of that letter that was written. Now this letter was written around 64 a.d. while Nero was in power. Nero was a terrible ruler who blamed Christians for the fire that burned Rome down. Just to tell you how cruel he was Nero would pour oil on Christians then set them on fire and use them for lighting. The political climate wasn’t much different than it is now. They had bad rulers who would lie, cheat, steal and kill just like we do know a days. So it’s hard to fathom that he would encourage the church to pray for these people.
I think that if Paul had written this part of the letter to me I would probably have responded to him in a not so positive way. I would probably have responded this way.
Dear Paul,
I received your letter and hope all is well with you, I first want to thank you for the encouragement and the instruction that you have given me and I plan to implement and follow your directives to the best of my abilities.
But I must tell you my friend it’s going to be really hard to pray for some of these people.
Take the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad who has just been accused of killing his own people with chemical weapons. It will be hard to pray anything positive and uplifting for someone who has just murdered his own people not just men & women but helpless children.
And even our own president who wants to go to war over this and have more killing and by stepping in would be helping aid our own enemies. Paul my friend it will be hard to pray for these men.
My friend I want you to know that you are asking for a lot, expecting us to pray for our leaders when every time we turn around they are lying to us and acting immorally and we can’t trust them at all. Praying for anything other than the wrath of God to come upon them swiftly will be very hard to do.
I know God desires all men to be saved but sometimes I don’t. But sometimes I’m like Jonah I want them to be punished I want them to get what they deserve. I think that there are some who deserve to be punished in an eternal lake of fire and be tormented as they have tormented others.
I know that it’s wrong to think that way. I realize I am not the supreme ruler I am not God and it’s his place to Judge not mine.
So I will do my best to pray and intercede on their behalf because that is what we are called to do. Who knows what the world would be like if we didn’t.
Your Brother in Christ
Mike.
I want to tell you something I know that it’s hard to pray for evil people, men who are warmongers, liars, thieves’ people in our government who talk out both sides of their mouth but brothers and sisters that is what we have been called to do. In His Sermon on the Mount which is recorded in Matthew Jesus tells us Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. We need to stand in the gap and lift these rulers and leaders up and pray that they get a good dose of Jesus and turn from their ways and live for Christ. Its Gods desire that all come to Christ and we must do all we can to be a good witness and testimony of Christ by living a godly life and showing love to all.
We know that God desires for all his children to come to Him whether we do or not and we must realize that judgment is not up to us.
As Christians we are called to love people and our love is not contingent on whether they love us or not. We have been charged by our mediator Jesus Christ to Love God, and Love others.
And we should pray. Pray for our country, other countries, our state, our local government, even our enemies. Let’s face it if God desires for everyone to be saved so should we.
Not only must we pray we need to let people know the way to salvation.
There is only one way to the Kingdom and that’s through Jesus the Christ, the one man who died on the cross for our sins in order to allow us to be saved. HE IS THE ONLY WAY.
People may try to say that there are many ways to God. I’m a good person, I go to church, and I put money in the offering plate. All of these things are well and good but they don’t get you where you need to go. Only a relationship with Jesus Christ will get you to the Kingdom.
Jesus has told us
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
We are also told this in first John Chapter 2
If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Brothers and sisters we are no different than the rulers of the world and the elected leaders of our government.
We all are sinners. You may so whoa hold up preacher me aunt a sinner? Well you can go on and keep telling yourself that lie. The bible says we all have sinned and fell short. We have all missed the mark.
Oh I know we don’t commit murder and steal and all that stuff. But when we stand before God on the day of judgment it isn’t gonna matter how good of a person you are, it isn’t going to matter how much money you have , or what kind of car you drive or any of that stuff that we think matters .
Look here’s what is going to matter, do you know Jesus Christ, do you have a relationship with the Son, and have you accepted Christ as your Savior?
Look we will never be perfect that’s what grace is all about. We all are sinners when we learn right from wrong we break the Ten Commandments, we rebel against our parents, we cuss, we live immoral lives then when Jesus gets hold of us all that changes we don’t want to live a life of sin anymore.
Do we mess up? Sure we do but if we have been saved we don’t continue in sin we dust ourselves off and try again and Jesus Christ our advocate, his blood, affords us the grace we need. Jesus paid the debt for all our sins, our past sins are forgotten and when we mess up grace intervenes on our behalf.
So if we can be changed so can all those other sinners. And if they won’t do right on their own lets stand in the gap and pray that Jesus will get hold of them the same way that he did us.
Will everyone be saved? I hate to say it but probably no. But those that believe in Jesus and repent of their sins and are baptized and resurrected with Christ will be.
Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but through me.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Pray for those rulers and leaders Even if you find it hard, maybe God will change them.
