Who's In Charge Here?
Posted 11-06-2013 at 09:02 AM by snowduck
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV) - I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. When the apostle Paul wrote 1 Timothy, historical tradition has it that Nero was the emperor of Rome. Yes, the Nero said to have played the fiddle while Rome burned (but the violin wouldn't be invented for about 1500 years.) As emperor Nero's behavior was reportedly often questionable. He is said to have burned Christians alive to make light in his garden at night, murdered his stepbrother, executed his mother and may have executed Paul himself, and that's just some of the stuff we know about. Most of us would agree that Emperor Nero could be an unsavory character at times. But Paul urged his readers to be thankful and pray for those in authority because it is pleasing to God, and he knew that in his day that would include Emperor Nero. Surprisingly Paul never preached revolt and in some of the new testament, he even tells us to obey government in all it's forms (some examples are Romans 13:1 - Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. And Titus 3:1 - Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,) As hard as they often make it (I know I sometimes wonder if they're taking stupid pills, from local government and up), we need to remember that those in authority are there because God has put them there, and we should obey them. God uses all kinds of people to do things and some of them don't even know it. He puts people in power and when he decides to he takes them out of it. In the Bible Jesus Christ says he now has authority in all things (Matthew 28:18 - Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.) By believing and obeying him we can be forgiven all our sins and live with him in his heavenly kingdom one day. What About Jesus?
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