The model prayer is broken into two parts; that which is God-ward, and that which is Us-ward.
- The God-ward portion is focused on God’s holiness, His kingdom, and His will.
- The Us-ward portion can be further subdivided: Daily Bread - Forgiveness - Deliverance
We have noted that these deal with past (forgiveness), present (bread), future (deliverance).
Thesis: Today we will examine the petition for our protection against the flesh, the world and the devil.
Exegesis: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
+ I do not believe this is two petitions, but one petition in two parts.
It has the qualities of a Hebrew parallelism, which is seen often in the Proverbs (Jesus is Jewish).
A parallelism is a linguistic tool that is meant to reinforce ideas.
There are various types of parallelisms, two being:
Synonymous Parallelism - Says the same thing in two different ways
Prov 19:5 “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.”
Prov 18:6 “A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.”
Antithetical Parallelism - Says two things which oppose one another
Prov 10:1 “A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.”
Prov 12:5 “The thoughts of the righteous are just, but the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.”
The antithetical is often denoted by the adversative “but”
The phrase “lead us not - BUT - deliver us from” is connecting this petition as one idea.
So this is not two petitions, but one (bringing the petitions to six: 3 God-ward, 3 Us-ward)
+ Lead us not into temptation
Lead us means to bring us (most often translated “bring”)
The same idea here is used of Jesus when He was led into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1).
The negative “not” is the petition that we not be brought into this thing.
Temptation - This word requires a bit of understanding
The Greek word peirasmo/n is a “neutral” word
It can be positive or negative depending upon the context.
It can mean “temptation” or “test” or “trial” depending on how it is used.
A test can be a positive thing
Genesis 22:1 God tested Abraham (KJV renders it “tempt”; Gr. Sept. is same word)
A test will often be accompanied by temptation, if nothing else the temptation to give up
MacArthur is convinced the word means trial.
This is the way it is used in James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
A trial offers us an opportunity for great blessing AND great failure.
So the idea is “God, lead me not into places wherein I will experience great failure.”
NOTE: We must understand is that God does not tempt us to sin.
James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”
But God does test us; and this is a prayer of protection from failure.
QUOTE: Brian Schwertely said this petition is asking ”God to not bring us into a trial that our level of Christian maturity would be unable to handle”
We are saying, Lord, I need you to keep me from these things….
Lead me not with Joseph to the room of Potipher’s adulterous wife.
Lead me not with David to the rooftop view of the bathing Bathsheba,
Lead me not with Peter to a persecuting courtyard demanding I deny Christ.
Lead me not anywhere I will have an an occasion for moral failure!
+ Deliver us from evil
Deliver us means to rescue us
We have asked to be kept from temptation, but now we are asking for rescue
This assumes there will be times when we will be face with temptation and need to escape
Evil is somewhat of an interesting word (Gr. touv ponhrouv Lit. “the evil”)
Because of the article, some translate this as the personalization of evil (i.e. the evil one)
The word “one” is included by some translators, but is not there (lit. would be “the evil”).
Some would argue that Satan is the source of evil, so this could be referencing him.
This is where I believe the parallelism comes into play.
“The Evil” is being compared to “Temptation” in this parallel.
We are asking to be not be brought into temptation and to be rescued from evil.
Question: Is the devil in view at all here? YES; as he is the instigator of our evil.
But I do not think the devil is the ONLY thing in view here.
There are three great enemies of the soul: Flesh, World, Devil.
I think “the evil” which is in view here encompasses all three.
NOTE: Some people see the devil behind every failure in their life.
I have attended churches where the devil is given more power than God.
Some people love to point to the devil and make him the source of all badness.
But we have evil desires in our flesh.
We can't take Flip Wilson's famous line and say "the devil made me do it”.
The devil does not have the power to make us do anything.
I feel convinced that the "evil" which is referenced is all encompassing.
It could be argued that the devil is the driving force behind all evil.
In that I would agree with the phrase "the evil one” could refer to him.
But I think the danger is people ascribe all evil to the devil and take no responsibility for their own accord with it.
Taken together, these two statements are a petition for protection against falling into sin.
Because of this, we are confronted by three realities:
I. Avoidance of sin is as important as forgiveness of sin.
+ We just asked for forgiveness of our sin debt, now we are asking for strength to not do it again.
Both of these should be equally important to us.
QUOTE: John MacArthur “A true Christian will be just as concerned about future sins being avoided as past sins being forgiven”
If you sin with an attitude of "Gods just gonna have to forgive me this one" then I would question your fidelity to Him.
+ Illustration: “Rearview Mirror and Windshield” Your Rearview mirror or way smaller than your windshield because where you're going is infinitely more important than where you've been.
So too with sin; we know we need forgiveness but even more than that we need avoidance.
We can't change the past; all we can do is repent and ask forgiveness; once we do it is done.
But now we look to the future and our concern should be to avoid the temptations that are coming.
+ Many people revel in God’s forgiveness of sin, but rebel when it comes to any sense of avoidance.
Many people justify a particular sin simply because it is their favorite.
QUOTE: Ed Welch ”Sin is guerrilla warfare that is deadly. Just when you think you are in control, it seeks to devour you.”
Sin is like gunpowder, and Temptations are the spark.
It is a dangerous thing and not to be trifled with.
It should be avoided at all costs (Set boundaries on the drink, the web, the gossip, the anger).
II. All submission to temptation is ultimately avoidable for the believer.
+ Now, I am not saying perfection is possible.
What I am saying is that every sinful act is a willful act.
Not only has God given us a prayer to petition Him with, but He has also provided us a promise.
1 Cor 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Illustration: “God Won’t Give Me That Because I Can’t Handle It” I once heard a horrible interpretation of this passage. The man said he never worried about anything happening to his kids, because he said that he couldn't handle that. So God would never make him go through that.
This is not saying we won’t go through horrible trials; and its not saying God won’t give you more than you can handle (as some falsely claim).
This is promising that every temptation you face has a way of escape.
The problem is that we choose not to escape.
+ Here is the really bad part: When we sin as believers, we are presuming on God’s grace.
Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
QUOTE: Brian Schwertely "God's forgiveness does not lead to antinomianism and an excuse for sinning"
“By no means” - that should be our attitude when we think about sinning.
The problem with the modern Christian is that he doesn’t take sin seriously.
Yet, God takes it so seriously that he damns men’s souls for eternity because of it.
QUESTION: How serious do you take your own sin? Do you even try to avoid it?
III. God is our protector from all evil, even that evil which comes from within us.
+ If you trust yourself, you will fail.
This is a confession of our inadequacy in dealing with evil and sin
QUOTE: John MacArthur “This is a prayer of self-distrust”
This is saying, “God I know my own propensity for failure; You have to rescue me!”
+ We are in a spiritual war everyday
We battle daily with the desire to fail which is influenced by the flesh, the world and the devil.
This prayer is a petition for protection for our flesh, that we will not fall to the system of the world and the schemes of the devil.
CONCLUSION: When Martin Luther was at the height of the Reformation, there were many trials which he endured. There was certainly the temptation to simply give up and give in. There were many opportunities for great moral and spiritual failure which were presented to him. At the Diet of Worms, he was told to renounce his teachings or face condemnation. He could have given into evil then, but he did not. — During his embattled life, Luther not only wrote volumes in theology, but he also composed hymns for the church to sing in worship. He is credited with having written 37 of them, the most famous one is my favorite hymn.
QUOTE: Great Hymn Stories “It was written in 1529 at time when Luther and his followers were going through a particularly rough patch of opposition; with the Emperor, Charles V, seemingly determined to suppress the new movement. During those days of struggle Luther turned often to Psalm forty six and was greatly encouraged by the words of verse one, 'God's our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.’ Soon a song was inspired, and Luther began in fine style with the bold declaration - 'Ein feste burg ist unswer Gott' - 'A sure stronghold our God is He.' It was Frederick Hedge, in his translation of 1852 who changed this to the more familiar "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”.
Luther knew that he needed protection; not just from the evil men who sought his harm, but from his own weakness. He knew that the strength he needed came only from one place: His Almighty God.
Sing from Hymnal: “A mighty Fortress is our God”
