Proclaim & Protect- Priority 1, 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Stand to read…

1 Timothy 2:1–7 (ESV)

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Because of the power of the gospel, and the hope we have in Christ, the church must establish and commit itself to priorities that enable it to proclaim and protect the gospel from one generation to the next.

Paul’s salvation is a display of God’s power and patience.

1 Timothy 1:12–17 (ESV)

12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

The hope of the gospel is present in the most discouraging of situations.

1 Timothy 1:18–20 (ESV)

18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Before we jump into the passage for today, let’s make sure we are on the same page with the overall direction of the sermon series, and the overall direction of the series is pulled from the reason that Paul wrote the letter in the first place…

Remember that Paul wrote this letter so that the church would know how to behave.

1 Timothy 3:14–15 (ESV)

14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

Behave =’s ______

The church is a pillar and a buttress, it is called to proclaim and protect the gospel…

Back to our passage for today’s message-

1 Timothy 2:1–7 (ESV)

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Proclaim & Protect Priority #1: Pray for every kind of person.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

First of all… this is Paul setting up what you could consider- a matter of first importance for the church.

4 Reasons why we should prioritize praying for all people:

God desires for all kinds of people to be saved

3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God’s desires versus His will. In His will God has established that salvation is through faith, by grace, in Jesus Christ. The desire of God is accomplished by the plan of God… and the plan of God involves some people not being saved… but their condemnation is not the desire of God, it is the result of their desires and sinful rebellion against God.

God’s desire that all kinds of people will be saved is seen in Paul’s salvation… he is the worst of sinners… and if he can be saved, anyone can be saved.

Praying cultivates your heart and depends on the power of God to save others.

Praying for others softens our hearts for them because it puts them above us.

Praying for those who are outside the church, even those who are persecuting the church… causes us to see them as a soul to save rather than an enemy.

Prayer compels us to proclaim the gospel

Why pray for them? Because of what we are to pray for them… we are to pray for their good, and their ultimate good is their salvation, and those we pray for will become those whom we share the gospel with.

We proclaim to those we pray for.

By praying for others we bring them into view, and when in view we take the gospel to them.

There is no hope or salvation apart from Christ.

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

We pray for them because without Christ they have no hope. This isn’t just true for those in the time of Paul, it isn’t just true for those in a middle eastern country… this is true of all people who do not have faith in Christ.

The gospel goes out to all, without any hesitation or preference. But, the gospel is particular in that it is narrow and focused solely on Christ.

No other religion, no absence of religion, and no amount of good works will rid your soul of the dark blot of sin!

One God

One mediator between God and man- Christ Jesus.

Sin came into the world through one man… and through one man salvation has come to the world. Jesus mediates because your sin deserves the wrath of a Holy God.

Hell is not a place where Satan torments bad people. Hell is wrath of God poured out on sinners for all eternity… and without a mediator, someone to atone for, or make up for your sin it’s your destiny.

As Paul says, “Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all”… so that all who call upon his name will be saved.

Jesus died and his death serve as a ransom payment to free all who believe from death. The payment isn’t to appease an angry petty God.

God is holy, and the ransom is to make you righteous and just before God. What you could not do, Christ has done… and it’s the imputed righteousness of Christ that saves you… not some appeasement money… the word ransom is right, and its the right descriptor, but modern usages of the word have made it difficult. to discern the content of the word in the gospel.

So, with the good news of Christ as the mediator and the priority of prayer… let’s consider a way of application for our passage today.

Application:

Align your life with what God wants for your life.

Trust in the truth of Christ and the power of the gospel for your salvation.

Pray for what God desires

The book of James tells us that the prayers of a righteous person’s are effective… and it’s two-fold… one there is a significance to your personal holiness when it comes to your ongoing intimacy and relationship with the Lord. But, on the other hand there is also the truth that a righteous person is going to pray in line with what God has said he wants and will do.

Pray for who God desires

God has declared that he desires all men to be saved… so it’s more than that God wants to save people… it’s that he desires to save all kinds of people… and we should be praying for all kinds of people- not just the ones that are easy to pray for.

Proclaim the good news of God’s desires

When you proclaim the gospel you can say confidently that God wants people to be saved. Anyone who truly believes the Word must take this to heart… and if God has promised to save, then we can trust that some will be saved. Paul said that he would become all things to all people so that by all means he might save some.

Salvation is not up to the one who is sharing- it is up to the response of the one who receives the message.