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“Lead
Us Not Into Temptation”
“Let no man say when
he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He
any man.” James 1:13. If God does not tempt,
who does?
Satan does. “Then
was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”
Matthew 4:1. “He was there in the wilderness
forty days, tempted of Satan.” Mark 1:13.
Man tempts himself.
“Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away
of his own lust, and enticed.” James 1:14.
Satan, however, is the originator of man’s
temptations. He presents some alluring temptation
to man, and man falls into the trap.
It should be noted that
the Bible also states that God tempts. “It
came to pass after these things, that God did
tempt Abraham.” Genesis 22:1. Is this
statement a contradiction of what James says
above, that God does not tempt? That “God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He
any man”?
We think not. James
speaks of being tempted with evil. Note
also, that the statement that God tempted
Abraham, in the margin has the reading, “God
did prove Abraham.” Paul, recording
the event, said, “By faith Abraham, when he
was tried, offered up Isaac.” Hebrews 11:17.
The Hebrew word for
“tempt” in genesis 22:1 is defined,
“test, put to the test, tempt, try, and
prove.” An example of the word is found in
the record of Hezekiah’s sickness, when he
made the mistake of showing all his riches to the
ambassadors from Babylon. The record reads that
God “left him, to try him.” 2
Chronicles 32:31. The word “try” is the
same Hebrew word translated “tempt” in
Genesis 22:1.
Tests and trials are
necessary for God’s people. Adam and Eve
were tested in the Garden of Eden. They failed.
Job was also tested. He stood the test. Job said,
“He knoweth the way that I take: when He
hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
Job 23:10. Abraham also stood the test; so
did Christ.
God tests His people to
make them stronger, to develop in them powers of
resistance. Daniel observed, “Some of them
of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to
purge, and made them white.” Daniel 11:35.
“Many shall be purified, and made white, and
tried.” Daniel 12:10. This kind of
test and trial is entirely different from
Satan’s temptation that he brings on for the
purpose of enticing men to sin. Job knew that he
would come forth from the trial as gold. Daniel
said that those who stand the test would be
purified and made white. On the contrary, when
Satan tempts, he hopes to cause men to sin. God
tries men to make them strong, to resist
Satan’s temptations.
When God tests a man and
brings him into temptation, or gives the evil one
permission to do so, He closely watches Satan
that he does not go beyond the line God has set.
Satan may go just so far and no farther. Paul
puts it well when he says that God “will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way of
escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13. God knows how much we can
bear, and He will not permit Satan to go above
the limit. He will see us through, if we will but
trust Him. As Satan brings on one trial after
another, God watches carefully. And at the
precise moment He will say, “Stop.” And
Satan obeys.
As stated above, trails
are necessary for God’s people if they are
to acquire the necessary strength for complete
victory over sin. At this time in the
world’s history trials are necessary to
prepare us for the coming events that will try
men to the utmost. God’s promise is,
“Because thou hast kept the word of My
patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world,
to try them that dwell upon the earth.”
Revelation 3:10. “The devil shall cast
some of you in prison, that ye may be
tried.” Revelation 2:10. But the glorious
promise is made, “As thy days, so shall thy
strength be.” Deuteronomy 33:25. Blessed is
the man that endureth temptation: for when he is
tried, he shall receive the crown of life.”
James 1:12. It was with this in mind that James
could say, “My brethren, count it all joy
when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing
this, that the trying of your faith worketh
patience. But let patience have her perfect work,
that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing.” Verses 2-4.
What, then, is the
meaning of the prayer when we are to ask God not
to bring us into temptation? We accept
Paul’s explanation when he says that while
God will permit us to be tempted, He will not
permit Satan to tempt us above what we are able
to bear. 1 Corinthian 10:13. The prayer means
that we are to ask God for strength to bear what
He has for us, that we not sink beneath the load.
In the midst of the trial, when it seems that we
can bear no more, we are to remember that God
keeps watch over us, that He also watches Satan,
and that He will permit just so much and no more.
We may be sure that God is on our side and will
not forsake us. In the dark hours we may look to
God in faith and assure ourselves that “when
He hath tried me, I shall come forth as
gold.” Job 23:10.
When we are passing
through trials we know that we are in the hands
of God, that He is observing us ands is carefully
measuring each stroke. We know that His purpose
is to try us, to purge us, and to make us white.
Daniel 11:35. We are to pray for the necessary
strength to bear what God permits and to have
faith that He will find the way of escape, as He
has promised.
When Christ came to the
hour of His great trial, He “offered up
prayers and supplications with strong crying and
tears unto Him that was able to save Him from
death, and was heard in that He feared.”
Hebrews 5:7
The prayer, “Lead us
not into temptation,” may therefore be
interpreted to mean, “Lead us not into any
temptation harder that we can bear.” This
prayer is according to God’s promise, and
will therefore be heard. When we are in the midst
of some great trial, we are to remember this
promise and this prayer and are to say,
“Lord, Thou hast promised not to make the
trial harder that I can bear. I seem to be at the
breaking point, but I have faith, Lord, that Thou
knowest best. If Thou seest that I can bear a
little more, I believe Thy word and trust in Thy
strength. Lord, “Thy will be done.”
“Lead us not into
temptation,” is a prayer of trust and faith
in God. It is not “Save me from this
hour,” but “Keep me in this hour.”
“Deliver
Us From Evil”
Instead of “Deliver
us from evil,” some translate, “Deliver
us from the evil one.” Since both readings
are permissible, and since the difference in this
case does not seem vital, we accept both
readings. We wish deliverance from evil, and also
from the evil one.
This is not a petition
for forgiveness. That is covered in the prayer,
“Forgive us our debts.” Nor is it
merely a prayer for deliverance from accidents
and other evil that lurks in the heart-evil
thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds. It is a
prayer for complete sanctification, deliverance
from all evil, power to overcome and live a holy
life. It is a prayer of one who wishes to heed
the command, “Go, and sin no more.”
We are convinced that
Christians do not make the distinction between
forgiveness of sin and deliverance from sin that
should be made. Forgiveness of sin operates after
sin has been committed; deliverance operates
before or rather it so operates that the sin will
not be committed. It will kept a man from sinning
rather than wait until the sin has been done and
then forgive it. It is the power of which Jude
speaks when he says that God is “able to
keep you from falling, and to present you
faultless before the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy.” Jude 24.
An illustration may here
be to the point. Years ago I heard a dialogue
between two children. They were discussing what
should be done with the money collected in the
Sabbath school. Should they use it for erecting a
fence, or should they buy an ambulance? To me it
seemed nonsense, for they had not enough money
for either. After awhile I began to understand
what they were after. They were telling of their
playground that was on a high hill with one side
that was very steep. Some of the children had
gone too near the edge, and one had fallen down
and broken a leg. Now the question was: To
prevent injury they should get an ambulance, or
should they erect a fence? They decided they
needed both, but that they might dispense with
the ambulance after they got the fence.
This childish story
conveys a deep lesson for Christians. It is a
wonderful to be forgiven. It is still more
wonderful to be kept from sinning. It is
wonderful to have an ambulance to take the
injured to the place where help can be found. It
is more wonderful to have a fence that will keep
them from falling. Spiritually, forgiveness is
wonderful; the greater power of God to keep from
falling is still more wonderful.
Let no one suppose that
we are thinking lightly of forgiveness. It is
surpassingly glorious that God can and will
forgive, even though we sin time and again. King
David said,” “Blessed is he whose
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth
not iniquity, and in whose spirit is no
guile.” Psalm 32:1,2. It is a blessed
experience to have our sins forgiven and covered,
and to be clothed “with the garments of
salvation.” Romans 4:7; Isaiah 61:10.
God illustrates this
wonderful experience in the parable of the
prodigal son whose father, on the homecoming of
the son, commanded, “Bring forth the best
robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his
hand, and shoes on his feet.” Luke 15:22. In
a moment’s time, the rags were all covered,
and the evidence of his former condition hid. The
father’s robe covered all.
This is symbolic of what
happens at conversion. The sinner comes to God,
“wretched, and miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17. However,
God covers him with the garment of salvation,
clothes him with the robe of righteousness. His
sins are forgiven and covered. He has done
nothing to deserve this; it is all of grace. God
counts him righteous though he is still not
righteous. His sins are forgiven, but they are
still there, though covered. He has started on
the right road, and God imputes to him
“righteousness without works.” Romans
4:6. His sins are forgiven, but the work is not
finished. The sins must be eradicated, not merely
covered.
This work of eradication
of sin is the work of sanctification, and
eventuates in holiness. This is not the work of a
moment, or of a year, but of a lifetime. It
begins, or should begin, at conversion. The man
has been a drunkard. Now he stops drinking. He
has been immoral. Now he begins to live a moral
life. He has not always told the truth. Now he
becomes truthful. Each separate step is an
advance toward sanctification. He does not commit
adultery and then ask God for forgiveness. He
does not steal and then beg pardon. These former
things have passed away. He is a new creature in
Christ Jesus. He has not yet attained; he is not
already perfect. However, with Paul he follows
after. Philippians 3:12. He is “perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians
7:1. He is on the right road, and though he may
not have attained, God counts him righteous, and
he will have the crown of life though he may yet
be far from the perfect standard.
This experience is what
some call “the victorious life,” which
does not mean perfection or even a life above
sin. For sin may overtake such a one, but though
he fall he will rise again. “A just man
falleth seven times, and riseth up again.”
Proverbs 24:16. Here some well-meaning persons
may make a mistake. They have been taught
that a Christian does not sin, and that is
a good doctrine. However, they have also been
taught that if they do sin, they are no longer
Christians. This is not true. John the beloved
said, “My little children, these things I
write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man
sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2: 1,2.
John warns us not to sin. However, he did not say
that if we sin we are lost and are no more
Christians. He said that we still have an
advocate.
The road to
sanctification is a long road, but one of
continual progress. Little by little, the sinner
gains the victory over sin. As far as he has
come, so far he is sanctified. He does not sin
and carouse. He walks softly before God. He has
come a long way, but he has not as yet perfected
holiness. With Paul he confesses: “not as
though I had already attained, either were
already perfect…. Brethren, I count not
myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I
do, forgetting those things which are behind, I
press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore,
as many as be perfect, be thus minded.”
Philippians 3:12-15.
We have come to the time
when God is ready to make a demonstration of what
He can do in human flesh. He proposes to present
to t he world a people without spot or blemish or
any such thing, a people that can stand in the
sight of a holy God without an intercessor. Such
a demonstration is long overdue. Long enough has
Satan challenged God to produce such a people,
and has sneeringly asked, “Where are they
that keep the commandments of God and the faith
of Jesus?” God will then produce them and
say, “Here they are.”
In the 144,000, God will
show that by His grace men can meet the standard
He has set. Satan will claim the demonstration is
possible only because God shields them and that
if he were given permission to test them they
would fall. During the Great Tribulation, God
will give permission to Satan, to test His first
fruits of the kingdom. The saints will be tried
to the utmost. It will seem at times that they
can endure no longer; but they will not fail.
With Job they will say, “Though He slay me,
yet will I trust in Him.” Job 13:15. God
will stand justified in His saints. In them, He
demonstrates that men can keep the commandments
of God under the most trying circumstances, that
the weakest of the weak can do it, even with
death staring them in the face. They demonstrate
that if this can be done with Satan bringing all
his power to bear on them to yield, there is no
excuse for any to have failed. They justify God
in His sayings.
To be delivered from evil
means deliverance from sin, full and complete
deliverance; it means sanctification perfected.
For this demonstration “the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now.” Romans 8:22. “The earnest
expectation of the creature [margin,
creation”] waiteth for the manifestation of
the sons of God,” waits for the coming of
that group that will reflect the image of Jesus
fully. Verse 19. They will stand at last
upon the sea of glass, “having His
Father’s name written in their
foreheads.” Revelation 14:1. “I saw as
it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and
them that had gotten the victory over the beast,
and over his image, and over his mark, and over
the number of his name, stand on the sea of
glass, having the harps of God. And they sang the
song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of
the Lamb, saying, Great and Marvelous are Thy
ways, Thou King of saints.” Revelation
15:2,3.
These have prayed the
Lord’s Prayer. They have asked to be
delivered from evil and the evil one. Moreover,
deliverance has come. They stand victorious on
the sea of glass.
On this high note of
holiness and sanctification ends the last
petition in the Lord’s Prayer. Deliverance
from evil, victory over every besetment-perfected
holiness is the goal of God for man. And now it
is reached. God has made His demonstration; Satan
has been given his last chance to destroy
God’s people. He retires defeated from this
last conflict. God has conquered.
“Thine
Is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the
Glory”
Luke omitted this entire
doxology, and the American Revised Version omits
it also in Matthew. As it is not found in the
older manuscripts, it may be a later addition.
However, as there is an introduction to the
prayer, it seems fitting that there should also
be a close. Without such a close, the prayer ends
abruptly. As it is a beautiful and dignified
ascription to God, and as Christendom in general
has adopted it, we do the same.
In the Scriptures God
gives to Christ all the glory; and likewise
Christ gives to the Father all honor. There
appears to be a most beautiful courtesy in the
Godhead. In the closing sentences of the
Lord’s Prayer, Christ gives all power and
glory to the Father, while in the first chapter
of Hebrews God gives all glory to the Son. As we
have noted in our remarks of the prayer, Christ
informs us that He does nothing of Himself. The
Father tells Him what to do and say, and the Son
does it. In the first chapter of Hebrews, God,
the Father, calls His Son both Lord and God and
commands the angels to worship Him. And so
throughout the Bible.
In this closing section
of the Lord’s Prayer, Christ gives the
Father all the glory and power, and says that to
Him belongs the kingdom. We join Him in giving
God the glory. Amen.
Memory Verse:
Hebrews 8: 8,9.
“But about the Son he says, “Your
throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and
righteousness will be the scepter of your
kingdom. You have loved
righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore
God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
Questions
- Can
you see from the Lord’s Prayer the
seven different petitions that Jesus
directed to His Father and how important
it is to forgive others fully and
completely? Explain.
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