Pentecost 18 1 Timothy 2:1-8
September 18, 2016
Fellow members of Christ’s family,
In the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us to pray for our earthly needs when we say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Martin Luther explains all that those words entail:
“Daily bread includes everything that we need for our bodily welfare, such as food and drink, clothing and shoes, house and home, land and cattle, money and goods, a godly spouse, godly children, godly workers, godly and faithful leaders, good government, good weather, peace and order, health, a good name, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.”
As we approach the election of a new president in our country in November, to words that may jump out in his explanation are good government. This morning Paul’s letter to Timothy reminds that this is one of the most important things we can do as citizens of our country. He urges us to PRAY FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT
1. So that we may live in peace
I don’t know about you, but there are many days when I take my government for granted. I get up, go about my work, buy the things I need, drive where I need to go, eat my meals, and go to bed without giving it much thought. I don’t think about the meetings that are going on in Washington, DC or around the world. I don’t always stop to think about our troops who are stationed around the world, or our policemen who patrol our streets and highways. And I don’t always remember my government in prayer. And I think I’d be pretty safe in saying some of you – maybe most of us – will admit the same thing.
That’s one reason why it’s so important for us to read God’s Word every day, because God reminds us of important things we otherwise forget or take for granted. We have one right in front of us today. Paul wrote this letter to his friend and young pastor, Timothy, and in this chapter gave him some instructions for worship. Next to preaching and teaching God’s Word, Paul said the most important part of their worship was prayer for everyone; and right at the top of the list of people to pray for was “kings and for all those in authority.” In other words, Paul wanted God’s church to pray for good government.
What do we mean by “good government?” Not everyone will agree. Some people would say that a good government is one that stays out of your personal life. The government shouldn’t be able to tell you where to live, what to own, or how to protect yourself. Some carry that to the point of insisting that if you want to abuse drugs or alcohol, abort unwanted babies or marry someone of the same sex, that’s no one’s business but your own. Others would say that a good government makes the economy a top priority so everyone has a good paying job, has access to good housing, medical care, education and provides a way for people to live in retirement. Still others say that good government is one that makes national security a top priority so that our freedoms and our way of life are not compromised.
Most Americans can find something good in all of those things, but Paul tells us what God wants us to pray for: “that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” God wants us to pray for law and order, both inside and outside our borders, so that we may live out our Christian lives. And he adds, “this is good and pleases God.”
But can’t people live godly lives in times of unrest? You bet. In some of the worst times in history Christians have shined like lights in the darkness and have given amazing testimonies of their faith in Jesus. But those are dangerous times for faith, too. Many believers in God’s church are weak in faith and many are young. History has shown over and over that in times of disorder, when things are wild and out of control or when Christians are persecuted, thousands have drifted away from Jesus and their Christian life, lost their faith and given up their salvation. God is not a God of disorder, but of order. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost, but “he wants all men to be saved.” This is why he wants us to pray for good government, even if that government is less that ideal. In Paul’s day, the kings and authorities included ungodly men like Nero, who had no love for Christ and or his church.
Our prayers aren’t just for our own government. When the people of Israel were taken captive by the godless Babylonians, God told them: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Most prime ministers, presidents, kings and rulers around the world have no special love for Christ or his church, yet it pleases God that we pray for them so that Christians in those countries may also live out their Christian lives. “Everyone” includes the unstable leader of North Korea; the anti-American leader of Iran; the Christian-hating leaders in Sudan. Who else but God’s people could pray for them? And if any leaders and authorities are enemies of God, they especially need our prayers.
Pray for good government – peace, law, and order – not only so we have comfortable lives, good paying jobs and adequate benefits, but so that we and all God’s people can live out God’s priorities – that they continue to grow in faith and godly living on the way to eternal life. That’s a fantastic blessing for each of us, but God has much more in mind. In times of peace, those who do not know Jesus have time to notice how Christians live. As we grow in faith through worship, Bible study, devotions with our family and as we put our faith to action in godly living, we are the light of the world. This is especially why God wants us to pray for good government: it is under good government that God’s people can best share the Truth.
2. So we may share his peace
Look back at history. It was under a stable government that “in the fullness of time God sent his son”. Through God’s blessing on Roman rule, the early church was able to spread God’s Word quickly, safely, and efficiently. In Luther’s day, the leader of his province protected him and the Roman Emperor kept busy guarding the borders from invading Turks. Luther and his colleagues could freely teach God’s Word, write and publish thousands of tracts and articles and hold public debates so that the message of the gospel spread throughout Europe. In our day the United States has enjoyed peace and order and enjoyed freedoms unknown in any other age. We’ve had more money, more natural resources, published more books, built more churches and sent more missionaries than almost any other nation in history.
Why has God provided this? Because he is “God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” There are no other options, no other gods to rescue sinners from punishment in hell: no Buddhist god, no Hindu god, no native American god, no Muslim god, no philosophy professor, no branch of science or medical research or technology. “There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.”
God’s only plan to save mankind – the only way it could work – is if God himself came down to earth as a man and serve as a mediator between God and man. When God said, “I want all men to be saved,” Jesus obeyed the Father will. He offered his life as a ransom for all
men. He lived as man should have lived with his perfect life and paid the price for man’s sins with his innocent death. And he is now preparing a place in heaven for everyone who believes in him.
Jesus is it. “There’s no other name under heaven, given to men, by which we must be saved.”
God’s Word is it. It’s the only way anyone can hear about Jesus and come to faith in him. “Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.”
And God’s people are it. Christians are the only ones who will share the Truth with them.
We are it.
The coming elections are about the economy, heath care, job security, the war on terror, and a host of issues. Your vote and my vote count.
But even more, the elections are about good government so that “we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” – or, as one man put it, we are practicing for heaven. “This pleases God, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
Your vote counts. Your prayers count even more. Pray for good government! Amen