Sermon Tone Analysis

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

[1]

The Apostle’s words in our text lead to the conclusion that prayer, and especially for those who govern, must be of first importance to the faithful.

If the public prayers offered in church services are any indication, one must wonder if modern Christians are convinced of this.

If people could hear the prayers Christians offered in the privacy of their homes during the previous days and weeks and months, I wonder whether those listening would be convinced that praying for those who govern is a priority in the lives of contemporary believers.

The message today is presented as a challenge—a challenge exacerbated by changing social conditions.

The message is a challenge to examine our prayers, which in turn reflect our own attitudes and our relationship to the True and Living God.

Join me in study of Paul’s instruction to a young pastor concerning prayer for those who govern.

PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO GOVERN MUST BE A PRIORITY — Who was the Emperor at the time Paul wrote this letter to Timothy?

What social conditions prevailed for those who sought to follow the Christ as Master over life?

The questions are not incidental to Paul’s instruction to Timothy—they are both germane and central.

The answers to such questions will provide occasion to discover our own responsibilities to government as followers of the Risen Christ.

The Emperor at the time Paul wrote this Letter to Timothy was Nero.

Nero reigned from 54 to 68 A.D. In the year 64 A.D., about the time Paul wrote this letter, a fire began in the southeastern angle of the Circus Maximus.

The blaze spread rapidly through the many shops clustered near where it had first begun.

After a week, it was thought the fire was controlled; however, the blaze broke out anew, continuing to burn for nearly a fortnight until the flames had destroyed ten of the fourteen Augustan regions into which Rome had been divided.

Though Nero was adulated by the Greek population, he was in substantial disfavour with the Roman populace.

The fact that neither Nero’s mansion nor that of his advisor, Tigellinus, were damaged, led to speculation that Nero himself had set the fire.

It was commonly bruited that the fire was set deliberately, and that Nero was responsible for the conflagration.

Though he likely didn’t set the fire, his lack of popularity fuelled the speculation; and the fact that he seized the occasion to rebuild the city in a manner suitable to himself only added to the resentment.

Nero and Tigellinus realised that if they could charge someone with the fire they would divert attention from themselves; and there was a group at hand—Christians.

Christians refused to worship the Emperor, they lived lives that were generally odious to the population, they met in secret, they spoke often of the destruction of the Empire and the coming of their God—in short, they were suspect and detested, having no strong advocate to promote their cause in the Empire.

At Nero’s behest, Christians in Rome were killed in large numbers, their deaths engineered in the most vicious ways imaginable.

These hated Followers of the Way were exposed to wild beasts in Nero’s Circus, they were crucified and they were smeared with pitch before being set ablaze to illuminate the night.

The executions were so grisly that even the populace became sympathetic to the victims of Nero’s madness.

Ultimately, Nero’s vicious assault failed to induce the populace’s adulation.

[2]

Judaism was a /religio licita/.

Jews were numerous, and persecution of them because of their religion would have caused problems for the government.

Christianity was considered a sect of Judaism.

Because the Jewish religious leaders persecuted the Christians, under Roman law, Christianity became, as least tacitly, /religio illicita/.

Hence, throughout the Empire, persecution of Christians was tolerated because the Followers of the Way were unpopular.

Armed with this information, consider how radical Paul’s instruction appears: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions.”

The instructions are radical precisely because Jesus’ disciples are called to adhere to His instruction.

At least twice, the Master spoke to this issue.

“I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?

Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?

Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” [MATTHEW 5:44-48].

On another occasion, the Master is recorded as teaching His disciples, “I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.

Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you?

For even sinners love those who love them.

And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you?

For even sinners do the same.

And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you?

Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” [LUKE 6:27-36].

It is obvious that praying for people who oppose you because of your faith do not merit your prayers.

However, your prayers reflect the transformed character that results from the presence of the Spirit of God who lives in you.

This is the reason Peter could speak with such confidence to believers who were suffering unremitting persecution because of who they were.

“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing” [1 PETER 3:9].

It explains Stephen’s response as he was being martyred.

“Falling to his knees [Stephen] cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’

And when he had said this, he fell asleep” [ACTS 7:60].

It explains how the Apostle could be magnanimous even when deserted.

“At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me.

May it not be charged against them” [2 TIMOTHY 4:16]!

I have spoken to this point of prayer for those who stand opposed to us, both as individuals and because we are associated with Christ the Master.

To be certain, we are charged to pray for such individuals.

However, the broader context in which Paul’s instruction is given reveals his concern that Christians evangelise!

In other words, the focus of our prayers is not solely to seek relief for ourselves—the focus of our prayers seeks God’s glory.

Weigh the import of the latter portion of the text: “[Prayer for all people] is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” [1 TIMOTHY 2:3-6].

Prayer beyond our immediate personal needs is commended because it glorifies the Master through seeking the salvation of lost people.

On the basis of the text, I challenge each of us to weigh our prayers in light of the Word.

Sometimes our prayers reveal our fear because we are facing a terrifying unknown.

There is nothing wrong with praying for courage, asking God to encourage us through His presence.

Other times we will ask fellow Christians to join us in praying for friends, acquaintances and loved ones who may be injured or ill, who have suffered some devastating loss or who are facing serious challenges.

Undoubtedly, our request for others to join in these prayers primarily arises because we are a compassionate people.

Surely such compassion reflects the compassion of the Master who is touched by the infirmities of broken humanity.

However, if the compassion we possess fails to move us toward seeking the salvation of the lost, our heart is not beating in synchrony with the Master’s heart.

When we pray, we must seek the Master’s glory in the salvation of those who are lost.

Let each child of God determine to keep the focus of our supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings on the glory of Christ our Saviour.

Let me speak a moment longer in order to address the text in tangential fashion.

Our prayers tend to be small because we do not see our God as great.

The manner in which the Apostle frames his injunction encourages Christians to pray big prayers.

What is a big prayer?

We are inclined to think of “big” prayers as those that result in some great benefit to ourselves.

Perhaps we ask for some gift to ease our life, or we ask for health for some friend or family member that will permit us to enjoy their presence for a longer time, or perhaps we ask for some special ability or protection so we can avoid unpleasantness—all these can be good things.

However, there is a saying that was once current among the saints—“Good is enemy of the best.”

What would happen were we to ask for specifically for that which glorifies the Lord God?

When we pray, we should ask what great thing will honour the True and Living God? Perhaps we could ask for the salvation of some individual known to be opposed to the advance of the Kingdom of God.

Perhaps we could ask God to send revival to our community, asking especially that He would make us amenable to doing whatever was necessary to ensure that such a revival could happen.

Perhaps we could request that He would empower the believers in dead churches to seek His face.

Perhaps we could ask that He would energise pastors to speak with power as evidenced by transformed lives.

This is the thrust of Paul’s instruction.

As an example of great prayers, Paul urges Timothy to pray for all people—even for kings and all who are in high positions.

Here, then, is the question we must face.

Have you given thanks for the Premier of your province, asking that God would graciously speak to her or his heart that she or he might be saved?

When did you last ask God to be gracious to the Prime Minister, pleading that God would be glorified through him?

Have you ever prayed with thanksgiving for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada?

Do you regularly pray that God would move the heart of the President of the United States to seek Christ as Master of life?

The call Paul issues is a universal call—Christians are to pray for all people.