Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 4
Tertullian and Theophilus describe Christians under persecuting emperors as loyal subjects who honor the king and pray for him; what early-Christian assumptions about discipleship made that possible, and what would have to change in our churches for prayer “for pagan governments” to feel normal rather than forced?
Another way to ask: Early Christians prayed for emperors who persecuted them and still honored them. What beliefs about following Jesus made that normal, and what would need to change in our churches for praying for non-Christian governments to feel natural?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript suggests early Christians could honor and pray for persecuting rulers because they believed rulers were “the ordinance of God,” refused treason or violence, and accepted suffering as part of discipleship. For prayer to feel normal today, churches would need to recover that scriptural perspective, practice it regularly, and resist the disrespectful political spirit common in democracies.
- Tertullian is quoted: “We respect in the emperors the ordinance of God… God has set them over the nations,” even while Rome was “horribly persecuting Christians.”
- The speaker notes the irony: Christians were “the most loyal subjects… you’re never going to have treason coming from Christians.”
- Theophilus is quoted: “Honor the king, be subject to him, and pray for him… If you do this, you will do the will of God.”
- The speaker admits the command is often neglected: “We forgot today… we are commanded to be praying for our government.”
- He connects prayer to freedom: if they prayed under persecution, “when we’re given so much freedom, we should certainly remember to do that ourselves.”