The
Lord’s Prayer
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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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