Hi, brother Jolan. Welcome to THF! Your question is not a new one to a lot of us, simply from others who are curious or from ourselves. I think that it kind of falls in the category of politics (by the way, Dean Taylor had a Q&A a few months ago that specifically covered this subject- does someone have the link?).
The way I look at it is that yes, it is okay to pray for our leaders; even Paul encouraged the early Christians to pray for Nero, who can safely be termed one of the worst dictators in history. If they were supposed to pray for Nero, how much more should we pray for our current leaders? However, I don't think we should pray in favor of specific leaders (i.e. 'that Trump would win the presidency ').
That is really simply dragging God and ourselves into politics, something which gets more and more dangerous the farther we go. Plus, I view it as a sort of selfish way to pray to God. I mean, who knows- at the same time you're praying that Trump could get in, another person could be praying for Biden! It is simply praying that God would accomplish our selfish, biased wants of the world.
Wow, there's a lot to unpack here; I'll just address a few of your points.
Is it the responsibility of the nation or the church to bring moral change to the world?
Firstly, I think we can all agree it is the duty of the church to bring lasting moral change in the hearts and minds of men by introducing them to Christ, and bringing them into the Kingdom of God. This is the moral change that changes not only outward behavior, but also the inward attitude of the heart.
That said, God has ordained the government to restrict some of the excesses of evil men: "he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." (Romans 13:4b, NKJV) So in that sense, it is the responsibility of the the government to give moral restraint, though real heart change is impossible for them to accomplish.
However, I think a look at history would indicate that governments perform their role of moral restraint imperfectly. So no, I don't think it's "fatalistic to expect that kingdoms of this world will naturally go against God’s principles," as you said. The Roman empire permitted abortion, homosexuality, etc., but it was under this government that Paul wrote Romans 13.
It seems the obvious imperfection of Roman rule (especially under Nero) did not particularly concern Paul when he wrote about the government.
Agreed, Ryan. Good answer.
Again, does someone have the link to brother Dean Taylor's Q&A a few months ago on politics? He directly addressed most of these questions.
https://thehistoricfaith.com/engage-the-faith-qa/episode-004-david-bercot-dean-taylor-voting-politics/
Thanks, Ryan. Brother Jolan, this video should cover most of what you are addressing here.
Thanks for that input! That brings a lot of clarity to those questions.
Hi Jolan. 1Tim.2 has been a blessing to me in answering how we are to pray for our government. "That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life IN ALL GODLINESS AND HONESTY..." I like to pray thanksgiving for them because they are ordained of GOD as His ministers of wrath to protect the good and punish the evil. I also pray that they would fulfil their secular calling according to God's will and that His Holy Spirit would work in their midst to fulfil His will for His glory and our good...etc.
I also pray that His Spirit will convict those who are a part of the gov't and profess to be Christians that their hearts would be open to truly hear and yield to Him.
I believe it is the responsibility of every capable human being to bring moral change to the world. Will not GOD hold us each accountable? The question seems to me to lie more in how we perform that duty. As those who know Christ as their personal Savior we are to be ministers of GOD's love not ministers of His wrath. It is a different kingdom; a different ministry;
but it makes us no less responsible to work for Christ's Kingdom to bring moral change to the world just as Jesus Himself did, just as His disciples have been doing by following His teachings and making disciples down through the church ages.
Dean Taylor has a new video out on this subject. I watched part one on youtube the other day and appreciated it very much. Looking forward to the rest of it.
