Christians and Politicians

I Timothy 2:1-4

Recent polls show that even most Democrats agree that Biden has not had a stellar administration. The vast majority of Democratic voters do not want him to run again in the next election. While I certainly do not agree with his administrations policies and positions because they are very unGodly, the Apostle Paul has a principle we need to consider regarding not just President Biden, but every political leader.

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“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

I Timothy 2:1-4

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When Paul was writing this letter to Timothy, Nero was the Emperor of Rome. As I was reading up on Nero, I found out that modern academics have started a PR campaign to try and redeem Nero's reputations. I find it interesting that people about 1,970 years removed from an era, think they know better what happened than those who lived during that time. Nero butchered Christians. That is not debated. To try and improve his reputation is just as ridiculous as someone trying to improve the reputation of Hitler. They were evil men.

Yet, Paul tells Timothy that he should pray for Nero. The word supplications means that Timothy should pray for the things that Nero lacked. Maybe this was wisdom. Perhaps it could have been compassion. It was certainly salvation through Jesus. Supplication is what we often think of when we pray. It is asking God for the things we need. As Christians, we should pray for wisdom and the salvation of our President. When he claims to belong the "the Christian faith", there is nothing Christian about his life. He needs our prayers.

Pray is the next word used. This is generally where we give praise and worship to God. Can you imagine Paul saying, "God you are so good to me because you allow me to live in the Roman empire"? Christians were being crucified for their faith, beheaded, fed to lions, killed by gladiators, and many other horrible ways of dying. It seems odd that we would worship God for being under the leadership of a wicked ruler. Yet, that is exactly what Paul says. We should worship and praise God because He allows us to shine the light of the gospel on the wicked policies that our politicians are endorsing today. It is not about exposing them, but rather about exposing the truth of God's Word and His righteousness. That is why we worship.

Next we see the word intercession. This is where we go to God on someone else's behalf. Christians should pray that our leaders have safe travels. We should pray that they will make good and Godly decisions on policy. We should pray for their success in global politics so that God is glorified through the actions of America. Paul told Timothy to pray for the same things for Nero. When we intercede on the behalf of someone else, we are acting like Jesus. Jesus is our intercessor before God. It is not that we are trying to do Jesus’s job. We are told to intercede on the behalf of others to God; especially our leaders.

Finally, we are to give thanks for our leaders. I must confess, this one is hard. Most of us would rather pray that leaders we do not agree with be removed from office. However, God is the one who puts leaders in their positions. We should thank Him that He is working His will in the lives of mankind. We may not understand it. We may not even enjoy it. Israel certainly did not enjoy being in Babylonian, Persian, Greek, or Roman captivity. They wanted to be free. Paul, a Jew in captivity, was telling Timothy to thank God for Nero. He is telling us that we should thank God for President Biden, and any other leader we have (even if we do not understand what God is doing through that leader).

We do this so that we can lead peaceful lives and be permitted to freely share the Gospel with those around us. We want to see people saved. So, we should pray. Our current Vice President has openly said that Christianity has no place in the public square. She said we can practice our beliefs at church, or in our homes, but not in public. We should be praying that God will change her heart. We should be praying for her salvation. She needs Jesus just like the person who walks through the doors of our churches needs Jesus. We need to pray for them!

God, I must confess that it is hard to pray for leaders that I do not like. If I am not careful, I will complain about them, but I never lift them up to You. I am asking You now to grant our leaders wisdom. The scriptures tell us that You direct their hearts. We pray that You would direct their hearts toward righteousness. We pray that you would be glorified through their decisions. We ask for safety and open doors to proclaim the Gospel in American so that people will be saved.