1 Timothy 2 Part 2: Pray for Nero

First of All:
Why of all people? Kings, Monarchs, dictators, authorities?
We need to talk about and understand the matter of authority in The Bible, because not only is it not well understood in our day, but in our day it is nothing less than controversial. So too will be everything else we will cover in this chapter so long as we remain true to it. George Whitfield once said: "in our days, to be a true Christian is really to become a scandal." Well, we are soon seeing in our own day the arrival of the same opposition. To say "I believe", is treated as a comedy and publicly derided. To live as one who believes, is treated as dangerous, and more and more often, legally punished. Let us welcome this offense by a faithful commitment to the scriptures as written, as the precious ones of Jesus Christ did before us, and let us begin by having our own lenses adjusted from the world's prescription to that of the Bible's so that we may better see things like superiority, rank, leadership, governors, masters, bosses, and kings more for what they are. Let the Scriptures be brought in nearer to our eyes, that through them we may see the world, as only God's own peculiar people do. We may then see this subject of authority with the transparent clarity and certainty of God's own mind as to His designed purposes for them, and no longer confused by man's mere opinion of them. So let us talk frankly and bluntly about the matter of kinship, regardless of the man in the office. Let's forget about the authorities themselves for now and just focus on the point and nature of authority itself…