Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil
When I was in middle school, I found a bumper sticker at a novelty store. It was white with red letters which boldly stated: I can resist anything but temptation. Isn’t that true? If it weren’t for temptation, we’d probably be doing pretty well in our quest to live sin-free lives. But sadly, we don’t always do such a good job resisting.
Jesus knew the human condition. That’s why he instructs us to pray; Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
At first glance, this seems really straightforward. We all need help in overcoming temptation. If I asked you: “how many of you have been tempted already this morning?” the only ones who wouldn’t raise their hands would be the ones who were tempted to lie.
Let’s first look at temptation itself. In biblical thought, to tempt meant to test something or someone in order to determine or demonstrate worth or faithfulness. Temptation also refers to an attempt, often by Satan, to incite a person to sin.
Jesus knows all about temptation. Hebrews 4:15 identifies him as our high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he “has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” Immediately as he began his ministry on earth, following his baptism in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit led him into the desert to be tempted. For forty days and nights, he fasted. Then the devil came, tempting him. These temptations and Jesus’ response to them, stand in direct contrast to the Israelites’ experience in the desert. After God’s mighty acts in Egypt, they crossed the Red Sea miraculously. God provided food for them, yet they grumbled. God protected them, even to the point that their sandals didn’t wear out (Deut 29:5). Yet they questioned God’s care, wondering if he led them out into the desert to die of thirst. God had Moses strike the rock with his staff and water gushed out, enough for all of them and their flocks. They called the place Massah and Meribah, which means testing and quarreling, because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
They refused to recognize God and remember his obvious power (Numbers 14:22-23: not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but disobeyed me and tested me ten times – not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers.).
In contrast, Jesus trusted God. To test God is the opposite of trusting him. We face all sorts of temptations, many of which are at root temptations to distrust God. In fact, most bad things are really, at heart, perversion of something good. We were made for perfect relationship with God, and often we look for our relationship with other people to take the place of ours with God. We were created on an earth that longs for pure justice, God’s justice, and when we don’t see justice happening, we take matters into our own hands. We were made to worship: to worship God only, but we worship the created instead of the creator… Often the temptations that assail us are simply counterfeits of God’s perfect plan for us.
This brings me to a troubling aspect of this request: we ask God: lead us not into temptation. Does this mean that God does the tempting?
The book of James is clear. James 1:13-14: When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
However, the Bible maintains that God tests and disciplines those whom he loves. In John 6, Jesus was teaching a hungry crowd. He asked Philip “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” Verse 6 tells us that He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
This kind of testing is even beneficial to Christians. This is how we learn and grow. James 1 tells us to consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
This testing is the same kind of testing that gold undergoes. It is heated to its melting point, and through this heating, impurities are removed. This is horribly difficult: I don’t mean to sugarcoat anything. God allows tempting by the devil, and this is Satan’s specialty.
But remember that these trials are beneficial to us, as God gives us wisdom if we ask, and James calls us blessed if we persevere under trial, because when we have stood the test, we will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:2: trials are beneficial to Christians – wisdom from God attained and received during the course of succeeding against trial and temptation. Overcoming temptations: receive the crown of life.
We have a choice when we are faced with temptation. Remember that temptation itself is not sin. Sin is when we allow our own uncontrolled evil desires to transition from temptation to action. We are often caught in a struggle, knowing what is right but not acting on it. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no; the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Does this sound familiar?
So what are we supposed to do about temptation and tests?
The Bible assures us that temptations will come, but that there is hope. You are not alone in your temptation. We are tempted in all kinds of ways. One of the lies Satan tells is that you’re alone: nobody else has ever been tempted in this particular area. Then he uses guilt and shame to keep you in bondage to him. Please know that you are not alone.1 Cor 10:13: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Jesus himself is the way out of temptation. When we make this request of God, to “lead us not into temptation,” we are, in part, asking for Jesus. Hebrews 2:18 tells us because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted
Therefore, when we are tempted, our main weapon to fight evil is prayer. In Matthew 26:41, even while Jesus is being betrayed, he tells his friends in the garden to Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.
Recognize that it is only through Jesus himself that we are able to withstand temptation. This is not about simple behavior modification; it’s about loving Jesus. However, there are things you can do to help you avoid sin. First: call sin a sin. It’s not just a bad habit. It’s not just “the way you are.” Then name your sin. Confess it: to God… and to others. James 5 tells us that the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Then stop the sinful behavior: make a public pledge to turn from the sin. Alcoholics anonymous has it right in that they recognize for someone to have gotten there, they have recognized that they need help in stopping. It’s insanely hard to quit something by yourself; you’ll need help. You can join a self-help group: there is an awesome celebrate recovery group at Reynoldsburg UMC on Friday evenings.
You need to put in safeguards to keep you accountable. This isn’t like the alcoholic who prays: God, if there’s no spot in front of the liquor store, I won’t buy alcohol. …but after 10 trips around the block, there was a spot right in front of the store. For that guy, it might mean a different route home. For someone else, it might mean keeping your computer in a common area of the house, and having someone else check your internet history. Or being brutally honest with someone, and then asking them to ask that “how are you doing?” question – expecting a real, honest answer.
Even as we ask for perseverance to withstand temptation, we pray for God to deliver us from evil. In this request, we pray that the testing we undergo will not be so great as to derail our faith. Some testing is inevitable, and we ask for preservation in it. Satan desires to use any severe testing of the Christian to his advantage.
Before I go any farther, let me be clear on this point: not only do I believe in a literal Satan, the father of lies, one who would usurp God’s place, one who would masquerade as an angel of light, I also believe that each one of us is capable of horrendous evil. I believe this without a shadow of a doubt.
We are tested all the time in little ways, and each test is an opportunity to defeat evil, to give God his rightful place in our lives. There is a reason why Alcoholics Anonymous’ first step in overcoming alcoholism is admitting powerlessness over alcohol. When we admit the same thing: on our own we are powerless over our sin, we have taken the first step to healing and wholeness.
Though we are powerless on our own, our God is powerful. In fact, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, sin and temptation are ultimately crushed. The difficulty here is that we live in the in-between days. Though God’s Kingdom is among us already, we wait for its fulfillment. For this reason, our request to God, to lead us not into temptation and to deliver us from evil expresses a hope for the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God, when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
We look forward to Heaven, when the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and he will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Rev. 21:3-4.
But the only way to get from where we are here to there is through Jesus. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God reconciles himself to us. And through the Holy Spirit, we are given the gift of God within us, setting us apart for his use, helping us grow in Him. By giving of Himself, God gives us freedom! Freedom from sin, guilt, and death. And this is the deliverance we pray for when we pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Jesus knew the human condition. That’s why he instructs us to pray; Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
At first glance, this seems really straightforward. We all need help in overcoming temptation. If I asked you: “how many of you have been tempted already this morning?” the only ones who wouldn’t raise their hands would be the ones who were tempted to lie.
Let’s first look at temptation itself. In biblical thought, to tempt meant to test something or someone in order to determine or demonstrate worth or faithfulness. Temptation also refers to an attempt, often by Satan, to incite a person to sin.
Jesus knows all about temptation. Hebrews 4:15 identifies him as our high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he “has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” Immediately as he began his ministry on earth, following his baptism in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit led him into the desert to be tempted. For forty days and nights, he fasted. Then the devil came, tempting him. These temptations and Jesus’ response to them, stand in direct contrast to the Israelites’ experience in the desert. After God’s mighty acts in Egypt, they crossed the Red Sea miraculously. God provided food for them, yet they grumbled. God protected them, even to the point that their sandals didn’t wear out (Deut 29:5). Yet they questioned God’s care, wondering if he led them out into the desert to die of thirst. God had Moses strike the rock with his staff and water gushed out, enough for all of them and their flocks. They called the place Massah and Meribah, which means testing and quarreling, because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
They refused to recognize God and remember his obvious power (Numbers 14:22-23: not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but disobeyed me and tested me ten times – not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers.).
In contrast, Jesus trusted God. To test God is the opposite of trusting him. We face all sorts of temptations, many of which are at root temptations to distrust God. In fact, most bad things are really, at heart, perversion of something good. We were made for perfect relationship with God, and often we look for our relationship with other people to take the place of ours with God. We were created on an earth that longs for pure justice, God’s justice, and when we don’t see justice happening, we take matters into our own hands. We were made to worship: to worship God only, but we worship the created instead of the creator… Often the temptations that assail us are simply counterfeits of God’s perfect plan for us.
This brings me to a troubling aspect of this request: we ask God: lead us not into temptation. Does this mean that God does the tempting?
The book of James is clear. James 1:13-14: When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
However, the Bible maintains that God tests and disciplines those whom he loves. In John 6, Jesus was teaching a hungry crowd. He asked Philip “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” Verse 6 tells us that He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
This kind of testing is even beneficial to Christians. This is how we learn and grow. James 1 tells us to consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
This testing is the same kind of testing that gold undergoes. It is heated to its melting point, and through this heating, impurities are removed. This is horribly difficult: I don’t mean to sugarcoat anything. God allows tempting by the devil, and this is Satan’s specialty.
But remember that these trials are beneficial to us, as God gives us wisdom if we ask, and James calls us blessed if we persevere under trial, because when we have stood the test, we will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:2: trials are beneficial to Christians – wisdom from God attained and received during the course of succeeding against trial and temptation. Overcoming temptations: receive the crown of life.
We have a choice when we are faced with temptation. Remember that temptation itself is not sin. Sin is when we allow our own uncontrolled evil desires to transition from temptation to action. We are often caught in a struggle, knowing what is right but not acting on it. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no; the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Does this sound familiar?
So what are we supposed to do about temptation and tests?
The Bible assures us that temptations will come, but that there is hope. You are not alone in your temptation. We are tempted in all kinds of ways. One of the lies Satan tells is that you’re alone: nobody else has ever been tempted in this particular area. Then he uses guilt and shame to keep you in bondage to him. Please know that you are not alone.1 Cor 10:13: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Jesus himself is the way out of temptation. When we make this request of God, to “lead us not into temptation,” we are, in part, asking for Jesus. Hebrews 2:18 tells us because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted
Therefore, when we are tempted, our main weapon to fight evil is prayer. In Matthew 26:41, even while Jesus is being betrayed, he tells his friends in the garden to Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.
Recognize that it is only through Jesus himself that we are able to withstand temptation. This is not about simple behavior modification; it’s about loving Jesus. However, there are things you can do to help you avoid sin. First: call sin a sin. It’s not just a bad habit. It’s not just “the way you are.” Then name your sin. Confess it: to God… and to others. James 5 tells us that the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Then stop the sinful behavior: make a public pledge to turn from the sin. Alcoholics anonymous has it right in that they recognize for someone to have gotten there, they have recognized that they need help in stopping. It’s insanely hard to quit something by yourself; you’ll need help. You can join a self-help group: there is an awesome celebrate recovery group at Reynoldsburg UMC on Friday evenings.
You need to put in safeguards to keep you accountable. This isn’t like the alcoholic who prays: God, if there’s no spot in front of the liquor store, I won’t buy alcohol. …but after 10 trips around the block, there was a spot right in front of the store. For that guy, it might mean a different route home. For someone else, it might mean keeping your computer in a common area of the house, and having someone else check your internet history. Or being brutally honest with someone, and then asking them to ask that “how are you doing?” question – expecting a real, honest answer.
Even as we ask for perseverance to withstand temptation, we pray for God to deliver us from evil. In this request, we pray that the testing we undergo will not be so great as to derail our faith. Some testing is inevitable, and we ask for preservation in it. Satan desires to use any severe testing of the Christian to his advantage.
Before I go any farther, let me be clear on this point: not only do I believe in a literal Satan, the father of lies, one who would usurp God’s place, one who would masquerade as an angel of light, I also believe that each one of us is capable of horrendous evil. I believe this without a shadow of a doubt.
We are tested all the time in little ways, and each test is an opportunity to defeat evil, to give God his rightful place in our lives. There is a reason why Alcoholics Anonymous’ first step in overcoming alcoholism is admitting powerlessness over alcohol. When we admit the same thing: on our own we are powerless over our sin, we have taken the first step to healing and wholeness.
Though we are powerless on our own, our God is powerful. In fact, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, sin and temptation are ultimately crushed. The difficulty here is that we live in the in-between days. Though God’s Kingdom is among us already, we wait for its fulfillment. For this reason, our request to God, to lead us not into temptation and to deliver us from evil expresses a hope for the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God, when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
We look forward to Heaven, when the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and he will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Rev. 21:3-4.
But the only way to get from where we are here to there is through Jesus. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God reconciles himself to us. And through the Holy Spirit, we are given the gift of God within us, setting us apart for his use, helping us grow in Him. By giving of Himself, God gives us freedom! Freedom from sin, guilt, and death. And this is the deliverance we pray for when we pray the Lord’s Prayer.
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