HOLINESS IN OUR PRAYERS

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 5, 2025 under 2024 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message, preached January 5, 2025 from 1 Timothy 2:8-10

Theme: Prayer in church to a holy God must be offered in a holy way by all His redeemed people.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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There’s a story that is one of the most sobering stories in the Old Testament. It’s found in the Book of Leviticus—in a portion of God’s word that dealt with the sacred form of worship that God had established for His people through Moses.

In this story, God had just given detailed instructions for the offerings and sacrifices that the people of Israel were to make whenever they drew near to Him. The directions for the construction of the tabernacle—that sacred tent-like structure in which God would meet with His people—had already been given and had been carefully followed. The tabernacle was erected and the priesthood of the family of Aaron had been established. The priestly garments had all been put on Aaron and his sons, and the people of Israel watched as the priests, the tabernacle, and its furnishings were sprinkled with the blood of the peace offering as God had commanded. All was now sanctified and ready.

Through this priestly ministry, the people of Israel were graciously permitted by God to draw near to Him. And after the initial offering had been made, and after Moses and Aaron went out of the tabernacle to bless the people, we’re told that the Lord Himself—as if to confirm His approval—appeared before them all. A fire came out from before Him and consumed the burnt offering that had been prepared on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. It was a truly awesome moment in human history. Almighty God was showing Himself before sinful men, and was allowing them to draw near and worship Him through the specifically prescribed offerings.

But then, something horrible occurred. Two of Aaron’s eldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, took a couple of censers, put fire in them, put incense on the fire, and brought an offering of incense before God that God Himself had not commanded. What compelled them to do this? Were they overwhelmed by the appearance of God before the people? Had they become prideful and overly confident in their priestly leadership? Had they become so awestruck that—as later portions of this story seem to suggest—they drank and became intoxicated? It’s hard to say for certain. But as they dared to draw near to God with this ‘profane fire’, a holy fire went out from the Lord—the same fire, it would seem, that had consumed the burnt offering on the altar only a moment before—and completely consumed them; leaving their dead bodies lying charred and smoking on the ground before the tabernacle.

It’d be hard for us to imagine the shock and terror that must have overcome the people at that moment. And it’d be hard for us to imagine the sudden grief that would have overcome poor Aaron and the surviving brothers of these two men. The whole congregation of the people of Israel would have had a sense of the dreadful majesty and holiness of the God they had been permitted to draw near to in worship. And in Leviticus 10:3, we’re given this commentary from the Lord Himself:

And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:

‘By those who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy;
And before all the people
I must be glorified.’ “

So Aaron held his peace (Leviticus 10:3).

What a stunning and sobering story this is! And we must not dismiss its significance to us by thinking that that’s just how God was in a different era—in a different dispensation. The God who demanded to be regarded as utterly holy by all who drew near to Him back then is the same God who invites us to draw near to Him today—not through the offerings of an animal, but through faith in the even greater sacrifice of His own Son Jesus upon the cross. The shed blood of Jesus has made us immeasurably more acceptable to God the Father than those old offerings ever could. But God Himself is still just as awesome, and just as majestic, and just as dreadful in His holiness today as He ever was in the days of Moses and Aaron. If anything, we today ought to draw near with an even greater sense of His holiness than the people of Israel had back then. We dare not draw near to Him in a reckless and thoughtless manner. We dare not make up our own ways of approaching Him and demand that He accept them. We dare not bring our sins with us when we come in worship of Him. We must come only through faith in the blood of Jesus, and with a profound sense of His majesty and holiness, and worship Him in the manner that He tells us to.

For as He Himself has declared, He must be regarded as holy by all who draw near to Him!

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; that brings us to our passage this morning in 1 Timothy. In this little letter, the apostle Paul had been writing to Pastor Timothy—the man that Paul had assigned to care for the church in the ancient city of Ephesus. Paul wrote to Timothy—under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit—to give him specific instructions on how God’s church was to conduct itself in this world.

In the section that we’ve been studying, Paul had been giving Timothy directions concerning prayer. He wanted Timothy to teach the people of God to pray so that the gospel of Jesus Christ could spread to the world around them. He told them in 1 Timothy 2:1-7;

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth (1 Timothy 2:1-7).

That’s a high and worthy thing to be praying for. And what a great privilege it is that we—as people who have been redeemed from our sins by faith in the blood of Jesus—may freely gather together before God in worship and pray for such a thing! To pray in this way is to pray for the spread of the very gospel that makes it possible for us to pray at all! But as we gather together as His people to pray, He must be regarded by us as holy. And that’s why Paul went on to write in verses 8-10—in our passage this morning;

I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works (vv. 8-10).

I love it that when we gather together as a congregation, we devote much of our Sunday morning’s time to corporate prayer; don’t you? I believe it pleases God greatly that we do so. But if we aren’t careful, we can easily ruin the effectiveness of that time of prayer by coming together before God in a careless manner. I don’t believe that, if we come before Him wrongly, He will send forth His consuming fire upon us. We live today in the dispensation of His amazing grace! But I do fear that our prayers together will not be heard by Him if we aren’t careful to come before Him in a sincerely holy manner.

As these words from Paul show us, prayer in church to a holy God must be offered in a holy way by all His redeemed people.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; let’s look closer at this passage. And as we do, let’s note first the way that Paul began it. He said in verse 8, “I desire therefore …” The word “therefore” indicates to us that he is still talking about the subject of prayer—specifically, prayer offered up to God for rulers and all in authority, so that we might live the kind of peaceable and godly lives that help spread the gospel in this world.

But pay careful attention to that phrase “I desire”. In the original language, Paul wasn’t using the ordinary word for “desire”; as if he was saying that it was just something that he would prefer and that he hoped would happen. Instead, he used a word that spoke of his desire for something to occur with a specifically intended and carefully planned course of action in mind. In fact, the other uses of this word in the Bible suggest that it’s expressing the official will or desire of someone in a position of authority. In other words, because Paul exhorted Timothy in verses 1-7 to teach the people to pray for the kind of cultural and civil atmosphere that helps to spread the gospel, he went on in verses 8-10 to tell him the manner in which he authoritatively wanted that prayer to be conducted.

And there’s one more thing you should know. In the original language, the word for ‘prayer’ is put in what’s called ‘the emphatic position’ in the sentence. The way it literally reads is “I desire, therefore, to pray the men … and likewise also the women …” Paul used the specific word for ‘men’—that is, not ‘people’ in general, but rather ‘males’ in particular; and puts the regular practice of ongoing prayer in the church in a place of priority by indicating that the men of the church are to take the lead in it. The believing men of the church are not to sit passively and silently, while the women of the church take the lead in prayer … simply because the men won’t do it. Both are commanded to pray in the church, and to do so regularly; and the men of the church are to take responsibility for it.

So, brothers and sisters; let’s be regularly praying together! And brothers; let’s serve our sisters, as God’s word commands us to, by taking the lead in it. That’s part of what it means to draw near to our holy heavenly Father in a truly holy way. That’s how He wants things done in His household.

And to help us do this rightly, the apostle Paul—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—gave Timothy specific instructions for both the brothers and the sisters in the church family. In verse 8, he gave instructions on how the men of the congregation are to approach God in holiness; and in verses 9-10, he gave instructions on how the women of the congregation are to approach Him in holiness.

So; let’s look first at how our holy God is to be approached in prayer …

1. BY HOLY MEN.

In verse 8, Paul wrote, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting …” And in this verse, we can see three things. First, Paul said he desired that holy men pray who initiate prayer in every place—that is, that ‘the men pray everywhere …’ There are a couple of ways that we can understand this. One way is to see Paul as saying to Timothy that he didn’t want the men to initiate prayer in just one church family in Ephesus; but rather, that he wanted it to be the regular pattern in every church family, in every city, anywhere in which the people of God gather—just as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:2;

with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours (1 Corinthians 1:2b).

Wherever God’s people gather, the men of the church family are to make sure that corporate prayer is going on. But another way that this can be understood is to see Paul telling Timothy that he wanted the men of the church to make sure that prayer was happening in every aspect of every church family—whatever the reason might be for the church to gather. The pattern that Paul gave to God’s people elsewhere is this:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

And it’s the duty of the men of the church to make sure this pattern is kept—always—everywhere—by their example.

But notice also that there’s a manner in which this pattern is to be kept—especially when it comes to the sacred gathering of God’s people. They must be men who lift up holy hands in prayer. In the Psalms, the lifting up of the hands was a way of expressing an approach to God in worship, and of blessing His name in a public way. But the hands are also the instruments by which we do our daily work; and so, Paul is using the lifting up holy hands before God as a figure of speech for making sure that we come before God with purity in our daily practice of living.

The Bible makes it very clear that God will not hear us in our prayers if we’re not careful to keep away from sin. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” In Isaiah 1:15; God Himself told the people of Israel;

When you spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of blood (Isaiah 1:15).

So believing brothers, who set the example for the church by lifting up their hands before God in prayer, had better make sure that those hands are clean in His sight!

And not only their hands, but also their hearts. They must be men who pray from uncontentious hearts. Paul said that he desired the men to pray, lifting up holy hands “without wrath and doubting …” The word that’s translated as “doubting” in the version of the Bible I’m using is a word that could be more accurately translated as “disputing” or “arguing”. The New American Standard version translates it as “without wrath and dissension”. And the idea is that men must come before God in sincere, heartfelt holiness—not only of their practical living, but also in their inward attitude. They must not come with resentment and bitterness toward one another, or with disputes and quarrels in their various relationships.

Do you remember what the Lord Jesus once taught us in the Sermon on The Mount? He said;

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:21-24).

This is because God is holy; and He will not heed the prayers of a man who comes before Him with unholy anger and bitterness and quarreling in his heart. Dear brothers; do you realize that it will even hinder our prayers before God if we are not treating our wives carefully? 1 Peter 3:7 says;

Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).

He will not hear our prayers if we’re rude or insensitive or quarrelsome toward our wives. He’ll simply send us right back to her; telling us first to learn to love our bride as the Lord Jesus loves His bride the church before we come to Him with our prayers!

* * * * * * * * * * *

Now; it seems that Paul’s words in verse 8 to the brothers in the church were particularly suited to the kind of temptations to which men tend to fall pray. He wanted the men of the church to make sure that they come before the heavenly Father in prayer with careful holiness in the areas of life that they might, otherwise, easily fall into unholiness.

And it seems that his words to the sisters in verses 9-10 are also particularly suited to the kinds of temptations that they may fall prey to. So; let’s next consider how a holy God is to be approached …

2. BY HOLY WOMEN

Paul wrote, “in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.” And it’s important to notice that he began by saying, “in like manner”. This means two important things. First, it is just as much the privilege—and the duty—of believing women in the corporate gathering of the church family to minister in prayer as it is to believing men. The men of the church are called upon to take the lead in the prayer ministry of the church; but the women of the church are to freely and equally participate with them in that calling. And second, it means that many of the things that godly men are to be concerned about are also to be concerns for godly women—that is, they too must be careful to pray in every place, and to lift up holy hands, and to avoid wrath and dissension in their approach to a holy God.

But Paul had some specific instructions for Timothy to give to the sisters in the Lord. He said, for one thing, that they must approach God with respectability of behavior. Paul wrote, “that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel …” That may sound as if Paul was talking about what to wear; but the word that Paul used meant more than merely outward clothing. The word that Paul used in the original language of this passage speaks of the “setting of things in order” for the whole person. It’s the same word that’s used in 1 Timothy 3:2; where we’re told that an elder of the church must be a man characterized by “good behavior”. A good way to understand what Paul was saying would be to look at his instructions to Pastor Titus in Titus 2:3-5. He taught about the duties of the older women in the church family; and said,

that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed (Titus 2:3-5).

Obviously, those words all touch on matters that are far greater than just what a godly woman wears. It has to do with the whole inward state of her being before God—the kind of inward condition of the heart that shows itself in true respectability of behavior.

But what goes on inwardly will show itself through what goes on outwardly. And so, the women of the church must also draw near to a holy God with the modesty of adornment. Paul went on to say that the sisters in the church should adorn themselves “with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing …”

Paul’s words shouldn’t be taken to mean that he condemned the wearing of fine garments, or the use of jewelry, or of being careful to beautify one’s appearance. Rather, it would be important to see Paul’s words in the context of the city in which Timothy was ministering. Ephesus was a very wealthy, prosperous port city in which a great deal of merchandise was bought and sold. In any city like that—even in a city like ours—it was highly valued to have lots of ‘nice things’. But what’s more, it was also a very immoral city in which seductiveness was a way of life. And so, it was important for the women of the church—in their approach to God—to beware of emphasizing or imitating the ungodly aspects of their culture. They must not do anything, or wear anything, or present themselves in any way, that would be contrary to either the purity of their hearts or the purity of the hearts of others.

I think that the translators very wisely—and very rightly—included the word “merely” in 1 Peter 3:3-4; where the apostle Peter told the women of the church;

Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God (1 Peter 3:3-4; emp. added).

And that leads us to one more piece of instruction that Paul gave to Timothy—that the women of the church should draw near to a holy God with good works of godliness. They should humbly seek before God to adorn themselves with that “which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.”

The Bible gives us some excellent examples of this. Just think about some of the most exquisitely adorned women in the New Testament. Think of Dorcas in Acts 9. We’re told, “This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did” (v. 36). She was a very beloved woman of God who made tunics and garments for the widows of the church family in Joppa. Or think of Lydia in Acts 16. She was a wealthy business woman who made her living by dealing in beautiful garments made of purple. When Paul and Silas came to Philippi as missionaries, she heard the gospel and was baptized by them; and then told them in verse 15, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord come to my house and stay …” Her home—no doubt a very nice home!—was opened up to the missionaries to become their base of operations in Philippi. Or think of Phoebe in Romans 16. She was a woman of significance—perhaps a businesswoman—who was also a deaconess of the church in Cenchrea near Corinth. She was called “a servant of the church”. Paul said in verse 2 that “she has been a helper of many and of myself also”; such a helper, in fact, that it appears that she was the one who personally delivered Paul’s Epistle to The Romans to the believers in that city. We all owe a great debt to her service of faithfulness.

It’s good works such as these that a godly woman should ‘wear’ as her chief ‘adornment’. Those are the kind of garments she should have on when she prays before a holy God.

* * * * * * * * * * *

So, dear brothers and sisters; let’s remember that God our Father is a most holy God. He has graciously welcomed us to draw near to Him through faith in His Son Jesus; and He allows us to offer our prayers to Him—especially our prayers for the spread of His gospel in this world. But we must be careful to remember that prayer in church to this mighty, awesome, holy God must be offered by all His redeemed people in a holy way.

Let’s make sure then that we come before Him in true holiness; so that Paul’s words in Romans 15:5-6 may prove true of us:

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:5-6).

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