"For Two-and-a-Quarter Centuries,
We Are Free to Pray for
Freedom"
Sermon on 1 Timothy 2:1-6
Weekend of July 1, 2001
Saint Mark's, Watertown, WI
Pastor Karl Walther
Scripture says: Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Amen.
God's Word for our special consideration during this week before Independence Day is First Timothy, chapter two, verses one through six. Here the Apostle Paul writes, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone -- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men -- the testimony given in its proper time.
This is God's Spirit-inspired Word of Jesus Christ.
Introduction: Our Nation Celebrates Its Two Hundred Twenty-Fifth Birthday
Dear fellow citizens of the U.S.A. and of the Kingdom of God:
Next Wednesday our nation celebrates its two hundred twenty-fifth birthday. And we ought to celebrate, too! You and I are very blessed to live in the United States of America in the Year Two Thousand One....
Our nation is enjoying peace with other countries. Our nation is generally enjoying peace within itself, too. The modern-day U.S.A. is enjoying prosperity, unprecedented on this planet. Chiefly, you and I are blessed with guarantees for freedom-- freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of press: all of which we are employing at this very moment.
Theme: For Two-and-a-Quarter Centuries, We Are Free to Pray for Freedom
...So, what's the best way we can use the peace, prosperity, and liberty that are ours today in America?
Well,
in God's Word to us today, the Apostle Paul suggests to us:
FOR TWO-&-A-QUARTER CENTURIES WE ARE FREE TO PRAY FOR FREEDOM. First, we'll consider for what people, for
what results, and for what reasons Paul taught Timothy to pray. And then, we'll consider for whom, why, and
how we also ought to pray.
Exposition: Paul Taught Timothy to Pray for His Government
It was about the year sixty-four ad: some thirty-four years after Christ our Savior had given us his righteousness in exchange for our sins-- and then took visible leave of the earth. The Apostle Paul was likely between his two imprisonments-- the first one: from which he was freed, and the second one: in which he died. Paul was in Macedonia, Northern Greece, and he was writing to hundreds of miles away to Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey. Paul was writing instructions to his young fellow pastor, Timothy.
• And Paul starts by saying: I urge, then, first of all -- front and center, of utmost importance -- that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving -- every type of petition -- be made for everyone -- but then Paul gets very pointed -- for kings and all those in authority.
Already: this is very interesting. Paul is emphasizing the need to pray for governmental authorities-- literally: kings. Paul would have had in mind especially the regional governors of his day -- kings with a little k -- but also the Caesar in Rome -- the king with the bigger k. Now don't forget: these were the very men under whom Paul had just suffered so much in prison for several years! In the case of the present emperor, Nero, this was the man under whom Paul was going to die! And yet, Paul urged Timothy and others to pray for exactly these men.
And in so doing, Paul answers for us the question: "For whom should we pray?" -- Obviously, we need to pray for our governmental authorities, too.
• Now, when we pray for our governmental authorities, for what should we pray? Well, Paul answers that, too. Paul says: Pray that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
Again: this is very interesting. Paul was urging Timothy and others to pray for freedom from war without and freedom from turmoil within the empire. He was emphasizing their need to pray for the freedom to lead godly and holy lives for Christ. Back in Paul's day: these were freedoms that Christians enjoyed for only a few more years. Afterward, it took another two hundred fifty years of active persecution before Christians enjoyed these freedoms again.
At any rate, there Paul answers for us the next question. When we pray for our governmental authorities: "For what result should we pray?" -- We need to pray for peacefulness to practice the precepts of Christianity.
• The rest of God's Word to us today tells us why we pray the way we do. Why do Christians pray for governmental authorities for peacefulness to practice the precepts of Scripture? Paul explains: This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and people, the person Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people -- the testimony given in its proper time.
You see, Paul was urging Timothy and the people of his time to pray for kings for the sake of peacefulness ... so that everybody could get to know Christ. When there's war, people tend to concentrate on the war-- and not on Christ. When there's lots of crime, people tend to concentrate on the crime-- and not on Christ. When there's no freedom of speech or religion or assembly or press, it hampers a Christian's effort to proclaim Christ.
So, Paul has answered for us the question: "For what reason should we pray?" -- We need to pray for our governmental authorities to promote peace: because we want to see the good news of Jesus the Savior proclaimed to all people.
Application: God Teaches Us to Pray for Our Government
So, let's get specific about the application of all of this.... Soon we celebrate two-and-a-quarter centuries of freedom in this country. It's freedom we want to use especially to pray.
• For what people do we need to pray? Paul writes: I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone -- for kings and all those in authority. So, we're going to pray for our governmental officials.
Now, do you even know all of our governmental officials? Well, I didn't! And that's why I did some research and put together the bulletin insert you have this morning-- the one entitled: "Your Governmental Officials". I suggest that you take that slip with you, put it wherever you do your daily praying (in your prayer papers at home, in your glove compartment in your car, or between the pages of your Bible at work). And at least once a week: pray for those people. Really-- they need it!
• Next, for what result do we need to pray? Paul writes: that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. So, we need to pray for peace to practice Christianity.
We need to pray for continued freedom from war. We need to pray for a continued minimal rate of crime. We need to pray for continued freedom to say that Jesus is the world's only Savior. We need to pray to be able believe that Christ's blood covered the sins of the world. We need to pray for continued freedom to assemble in the name of the only true God: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. We need to pray to be able to publish for all people directives toward worshiping him.
We also need to pray that babies no longer be murdered in the womb-- but rather that they get to be born, to be baptized, to grow, and to get to know Christ the Savior. We also need to pray that children no longer be led into lives of perversion-- but rather that they get to know the clean feeling of purity that comes from chastity as a single person or unity in a marriage: all to the glory of God who saved them. We also need to pray that poverty disappear and prosperity abound -- also across the world -- so that the gospel may get to everybody.
• And for what reason do we need to pray that? Paul writes: This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and people, the person Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people -- the testimony given in its proper time.
° My friends: these words tell you that God became a human being for you!-- to grow in your place, to excel in your place, to help others in your place, to serve God in your place, to sympathize with you and to suffer for you. And Jesus did that for every single soul across this entire planet.
So, pray for him to reach them!
° My friends: these words tell you that Christ Jesus became a ransom for you!
Your sinful nature means you were born a citizen of hell. Your transgressions -- for example, your complaints against your government -- mean that you owed God your blood to pay. Your shortfalls -- for example, your failures to pray for your government -- mean that you owed God your death.
But Jesus supplied himself as your ransom. He paid his blood for your each and every transgression. He paid his life for your each and every shortfall. In turn, Jesus gave you his citizenship papers for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus did that for every single soul across the entire world.
So, pray for him to reach all of them!
° And now, my friends: Jesus is your mediator!-- he stands between you and God to make peace between the two of you. He stretches between heaven and earth: reaching down to earth to take us into his tender care and lifting us to glory to place us there-- sins forgiven, righteousness obtained, life eternal for us gained. And Jesus did that for every single soul across this planet.
So, use your freedom to pray for him to reach them!
Conclusion: Forever We Are Truly Free Through Christ
Next Wednesday, then -- and every day before and afterwards -- treasure your freedom as an American. More than that, treasure your freedom as a Christian: freedom from sin and death and hell, freedom for paradise and glory and God. And use your freedom to pray -- and to pay, and to speak -- for others to get to know the same freedom, too: until at last we enjoy freedom together eternally in glory. Amen.
Scripture has us praying: May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Amen.