22) LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
TEXT: Matthew 6:13
RECAP
Today, as we continue our journey into the Word of God,
Our focus remains firmly fixed on discovering...
“...those things most surely believed among us” (Luke 1:1).
In our previous lessons, we have already looked to some of the things
We believe about God, and about God’s Word,
While today, we will again look towards our firm belief in Prayer.
More specifically, it will be our continued study of “The Lord’s Prayer”
That we will seek to gain learning and inspiration from.
Remember in Luke 11:1 – we find one of Christ’s disciples coming to Him
And saying: ...Lord, teach us to Pray.
And it’s through the example of “the Lord’s Prayer”
That Jesus has begun to reveal to us – the kind of heart we should pray with,
And the kinds of things we should actively be praying for.
On that note, I want you to return with me to Matthew Chapter 6.
Lets pick up our reading now in verse number 9:
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: - Jesus says,
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
RECAP
Now it was really the topic of Forgiveness
That we all left off from a week ago in verse 12.
Here Jesus openly demonstrated to His disciples
The types of things they should be praying for,
Forgiveness – being specifically named among of them.
Remember of course, there were two distinct aspects
To the type of forgiveness Jesus is talking about.
Firstly, there is God’s forgiveness of us, - ...forgive us our debts – Jesus says,
And Secondly, there is Our forgiveness of others - ...as we forgive our debtors.
Now most of us readily understand that we are sinners
And that we have need for God’s Forgiveness in our lives.
And we covered all that in previous lessons.
But what we have more difficulty coming to terms with
Is our need before God – to forgive others.
And make no mistake - there is a clear mandate given here by God
That we will be doing this in our lives.
The inference here in The Lord’s Prayer is simple.
Jesus said: “Pray like this saying – Father, forgive us…
As we, in the same way look to, forgive others.”
Of course, as we saw in our last message
The notion of forgiving others – can be problematic for some.
And the reason for that is simple…
Our feelings and misnomers about why we should forgive get in the way.
One of the most common misconceptions people have...
And we covered this last week,
Is that there needs to be a just cause or reason to forgive.
In other words – we feel forgiveness must be earned.
We think - perhaps if someone is genuinely remorseful or apologetic,
Then our forgiveness would be justified to them.
But is this the criteria Jesus placed around the Forgiveness of others?
Let’s not forget that when Christ Himself was being crucified on the cross
He prayed: “Father forgive them – for they know not what they do”
You see, Jesus was openly willing to forgive others who wronged Him,
And it wasn’t because they showed any remorse...
Or somehow earned His forgiveness.
And do you know what – in the same way...Jesus forgave you and I.
We didn’t earn it, and we certainly didn’t deserve it...
But our sins and the eternal debt we owe the Lord has been forgiven by Christ Jesus
Remember, in Matthew 18:21 Peter came to Jesus and said:
Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Again, What kind of criteria does Jesus place around the forgiveness of others?
Do we forgive once, do we forgive twice – do we forgive seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times:
but, Until seventy times seven.
You see, there is no set conditions around when we forgive, what we forgive...
Or around how much we should be forgiving others.
Jesus simply prayed - And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Let’s not forget that this whole principle of forgiveness
Was then taught rather effectively through the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
In fact, Jesus likened the Kingdom of Heaven as being like...
A servant that owed an impossible debt to the king,
A dept so large, he would never have been able to repay it.
And we learnt of the king’s compassion - who recognising the servant’s plight
Forgave the servant and wiped the debt away completely.
This is of course exactly what Jesus has done for us,
He forgave us, He paid the ultimate price on our behalf...
And He took the eternal dept of our sins upon Himself,
So that we could be made right before God.
The problem is – that same servant in the parable, who had been forgiven so much,
Then went out and refused to forgive another.
And the king became angry – and held him to account for his actions.
And Jesus ended this parable with these words:
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Mat 18:35).
And in this one verse – do we find the whole fundamental truth
Behind why we must learn to forgive others.
We actually don’t forgive others for their sakes...We forgive them for our sakes!
We don’t forgive them because they deserve it or because they earned it,
We forgive them knowing that God has first forgiven us...
And we didn’t deserve or earn it.
You see, if we are ever going to really Follow Jesus
We need to learn to Forgive like Jesus.
And here’s how it works -The more we chose to forgive…
The more we are choosing to be forgiven.
And the more we learn to love others in this way,
The more we will come to understand God’s infinite love for us.
And the more we learn to forgive others of their wrong doings,
The more we place ourselves in a position to be freely forgiven by the Lord.
Unforgiveness is a sinful attitude...
And sin always stands in the way of our relationship with God.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Mat 18:35).
INTRODUCTION
Now having prayed this and effectively demonstrating...
The need for forgiveness to His disciples,
Jesus then begins to close out His prayer with a few final remarks.
Here in verse 13 - Jesus concludes by praying:
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Now as we have been learning, Christ’s Prayer life is certainly anything but shallow,
I mean there is just so much to learn from every verse.
So for this reason, It’s really just the first statement in verse 13
That I want us to focus on this morning – because here Christ says:
And lead us not into temptation,
1) LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
But what exactly is Temptation?
Generally speaking, when we think of the word “temptation”
Or of the act of being “Tempted”…
We naturally think of an enticement in our flesh to sin.
And it’s true – that in certain contexts within the Bible,
That’s exactly what the word means.
A “temptation” can be an enticement to sin.
Only that definition doesn’t actually measure up
When it comes to “The Lord’s Prayer” - does it.
Remember Jesus is the one speaking these words
And in His own prayer He outright says to the Heavenly Father:
…Lead us not into temptation.
Now at face value – and to those who are unlearned…
It appears that God can in fact lead us towards sin.
The sentence seems to imply, and by Christ’s own words no less
That God can in fact - and does in fact, sometimes “tempt us”.
But does He tempt us to sin?
Does that sound right to you?
No – that is not what Jesus was praying!
Listen to me now…
Under absolutely no circumstances - None whatsoever…
Does God entice anyone to sin. He does not tempt us in that way.
God does not lead us into that kind of “temptation”.
And you say, “Well how do you know?”
I know because the Bible tells me so! Turn with me to James Chapter 1:
Keep your finger here in Matthew 6 however – because we will come right back.
GOD DOES NOT TEMPT TO SIN
Our challenge today - is to be sure about what we believe!
What exactly is Jesus asking and really praying about here?
Well in order to discover this truth - we need to see
What the Bible really teaches about “temptation”.
You see, if we can more effectively understand what temptation is
Then we will be able to more effectively understand
The proper context within which Jesus was praying.
James Chapter 1 – I want to draw your attention here to verse 13:
13 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:
Do you see that – God does not tempt people to sin.
The Greek word for tempted used here in this text is “Pei-rázo”…
And it’s very important to make this distinction
Because this word can actually be translated to mean:
“to solicit”, “to persuade”, or to “entice into sin”.
Now the Bible is very clear in saying to us,
That if any are tempted in this way - God will never be the one doing it.
You see “Sin” is a device and tool of Satan!
The temptation to sin has absolutely nothing to do with God.
In 1 John 3:5 - the Apostle John says:
5 And ye know that He [speaking of Jesus] was manifested to take away our sins;
and in Him is no sin.
You see, God is Sinless…
Whereas Satan is altogether Sinfull.
God tries to lead us away from Sin.
Satan on the other hand tries entice people to sin more.
This is something demonstrated all the way back from the very beginning
In the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.
In fact, the Scriptures declare that Satan Beguiled Eve in the form of a serpent.
Which means to “lead by deception”, or to be “duped by false appearances”
And speaks of being diverted from one’s course by “cunning deceit”. (See Gen 3:13)
Tempting people into Sin is Satan’s game…
The simple truth is God never test people with sin…
Nor does He try to Tempt people into sin.
That’s what Satan does – and He’s being doing it from the very beginning.
Furthermore, not only does God not tempt in that way
But we are told that He Himself cannot be tempted to sin either,
…for God cannot be tempted with evil
Of course, we know that Satan certainly tried – don’t we.
In Fact, we studied this out a few lessons back - didn’t we
Where in Matthew Chapter 4 we find a blow by blow breakdown
Of how Jesus was “tempted” by the devil for a period of no less than forty days.
And in this context the very Same Greek word…pei-ráso is used
Which means “to entice”, “to solicit” and “to provoke into sin”.
Guys this is what the Devil was all about.
However, every time Satan tempted…
Jesus thwarted this attack through the Word of God.
Now read with me again James 1 verse 13:
Let no man say when he is tempted [or enticed to sin - pei-ráso], I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man [in that way]:
Verse 14:
14 But every man is tempted [turned towards sin], when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Let’s just be clear about what is actually going here.
Sin does not serve a spiritual purpose – it serves a fleshly purpose.
Sin is not of God – it is of the Devil
And God never ever tempts us in this way.
Brethren this is what we believe – Chapter and verse!
TEMPTATION DEFINED
Ok so that much is clear.
But what is Jesus praying for then back in Matthew 6:13
Turn back there with me - and let’s now take a closer look.
Jesus request to our Father is: …lead us not into temptation
And now clearly we have an understanding that Christ is not talking about sin.
So what kind of “temptation” are we talking about here?
Well the key is in the word itself and in the way Jesus is using it.
Previously we were talking about the Greek word Pei-rázo
Only here, and in this context, that is not the word Jesus is using.
Here the word for “temptation” is Pei-ras-mós
And not only is it a completely different Greek word
But it has a completely different meaning.
Pei-ras-mós means: “to be tried” or “put to the test”…
And interestingly, as far as I can tell,
It’s only really used and spoken of with regards to people.
So this word is not about the testing of inanimate objects to determine their quality.
There are other Greek words used to denote that kind of “testing”.
Pei-ras-mós is only ever used when people are put to the test.
We are talking about tough circumstances…
And problematic situations in life - which fundamentally stretch us.
We are talking about trials of character,
Whereby your very faith and resolve is put to the test.
You see a “temptation” – or pei-ras-mos, the way Jesus uses it,
Is all about a trial, or a tribulation in life - that fundamentally tests us.
DOES GOD TEST US?
So I guess the next question we need to ask then…
Is does God test us?
Does He sometimes test our faith?
Well as we look towards the Scriptures - let’s see if we can find the answer.
The simple truth is most of the time Satan is to blame for such tests,
Although God has been known to test those He loves also – in order to bless them.
I want us to briefly consider two men of God in the Scriptures...
Each having their faith tested in this way.
One man was named Job and the other Abraham.
JOBS LIFE AND TEST OF FAITH
Let’s consider first – Job
Remember Job had a great many things befall His life that tested His faith.
Satan said to God: “The only reason Job is serving you
Is because you have placed a hedge of protection around His life
And caused everything in His hand to prosper.”
“But - If you took away all of His substance – He would: curse you to the face”
That’s what Satan said – now look what God said:
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. (Job 1:12)
So God essentially said: “Why don’t you test him Satan.”
“You can do anything you like – but you can’t take His life.”
Now what’s interesting here,
Is that God is not really the one testing Job’s faith – Satan is,
But God allows it to happen.
You see, it was Satan who was bound and determined to get Job’s faith to fail.
The Lord on the other hand was completely assured of Job’s faithfulness.
So this wasn’t a test by God to see if Job’s faith would stand up.
It was more a test from Satan to see of Job’s faithfulness would fail.
However, the Lord clearly allows these trials to take place.
And I think this is important for us to understand,
Because sometimes when we are most faithful to the Lord
And seeking to follow His will in our lives…
That’s precisely when the trials and tribulations come.
And we can sit there and say: “Why is this happing – God why are you testing me?”
When in fact, God might not be doing the testing at all.
You see, Satan just loves to use His influence over this world
To throw trouble our way,
And he will use people…
He will use circumstances…
And he will use any problematic situation He can - to test us.
Such tests are not from the Lord – but He allows them to happen.
Which Is precisely the case in Job’s life. The question is why?
Why Does God Allow Tests Of Our Faith?
Why does God allow trials and tribulations of our faith to befall us?
Good question – right.
Well let’s consider this logically -we know that God’s motivation is always to bless us,
While Satan’s motivations are the complete opposite – he wants to hurt us.
Satan tests our faith to see if it will fail…
God allows our faith to be tested so that it will grow.
Satan throws trials at us to get us to quit on God…
God allows such trials to occur so that we will learn to rely on Him more.
Satan tries us to rob us of our hope…
Where as God permits such trials so that we will hope in Him more.
James 1:2-3 simply declares this:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
That term patience means “perseverance”.
ABRAHAMS LIFE AND TEST OF FAITH
The example of Job’s life teaches us...
That sometimes Satan seeks to test us - and God permits such tests
So that we can grow in faith and learn to rely on Him more.
But does God test us?
Well let’s now consider Abraham.
God asked Abraham to sacrifice His only son.
And unlike the story of Job – Satan is not even in the picture here.
This is clearly something God asked Abraham to do.
In fact, we can even see this instruction given by God in Genesis 22:2 which says:
Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest…and offer him for a burnt offering.
Furthermore, Hebrews 11:17 says this:
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:
That word tried means “to be tested”.
And we are told that it was only because of His faith in God…
That Abraham was willing to do this.
Brethren make no mistake - this was a test of faith
And it came directly from the Lord Himself.
Now again, God didn’t have to test Abraham’s faith in this way
To see if it would remain true - because He already knew it would.
God is God and He knows everything…
So Why then does He sometimes put our faith to the test?
It’s not because He doesn’t know what the outcome will be – because He does.
It’s because the Lord wants to enhance our relationship together.
He wants our relationship to strengthen and Grow together.
He loves us too much to have us simply stay the same
And so He tests us, He stretches us - so that we can grow closer together.
I can tell you through personal experience
That often its during times where my faith is being tested
That I am closest to the Lord.
It’s after having passed through some trial and adversity with the Lord
That my relationship with Him is enriched and enhanced as a result.
So Does God test our faith? – well in Abraham’s case He did,
But it was only to bless Him.
The Bible reveals to us that sometimes God allows our faith to be tested by Satan
And that in other times - He appears to test our faith Himself.
However, the key comes in understanding – that in either case,
God allows our faith to stretched and to be tested – so that we can draw nearer Him.
So that we can learn to more fully rely on Him – no matter what.
Of course, knowing this – Doesn’t make it any easier for us to go through - does it.
Especially when Satan is involved!
And remember Jesus in fact Prayed…
Lord - lead us not into temptation
In other words, “Father if it be possible – lead us down a path where our faith doesn’t Have to be tested in this way – especially by Satan’s devices…
But…Deliver us from evil
CHRIST’S FAITH WAS TESTED
Did you know that not even Jesus was spared from temptation of this kind.
No – His faith was actively put to the test throughout His earthly ministry.
In fact, in Luke 22:28 we find Jesus speaking to His disciples saying:
28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
Jesus openly declared – “I have been put to the test and tempted…”
Not with sin, or with sinful living mind you,
But with people and circumstances that opposed Him - and God’s will for His life.
Jesus said: “My faithfulness to the Father has been tried…
And my very character and resolve for Him has been put to the test.”
And these kinds of temptations didn’t stop with Jesus either.
In fact, Paul while recollecting some of his personal experiences
To the Elders at the Church of Ephesus said this: …“I came into Asia…
19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: (Acts 20:19)
Paul says look my ministry has not been all smooth sailing
In fact, there have been tears and there have been trials of my faith.
Again Paul speaking in 2 Corinthians 1:8 says this:
For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
That term trouble used there can be directly translated to mean:
“Tribulation” or “affliction”.
Now that’s the word Paul uses to describe the “temptations”
Or the many trials and tests he faced – it was a period of tribulation in his life.
Interestingly, Jesus also uses this term
To tell the disciples that they were going to face the same.
In John 16:33 He said: In the world ye shall have tribulation:
Same Greek word meaning “trouble” or “affliction”.
Jesus told His disciples – if you follow me…
This is going to happen to you.
This world is going to test you.
In fact, this word Tribulation points towards the type of affliction and distress…
We will likely suffer out in the world because of our faith in Christ.
Look Satan’s not just going to sit back and watch
Us all connect with God in a more meaningful way.
He’s not going to be content to just let us serve and draw closer to the Lord.
No – He’s going to throw everything He’s got at us
And He’s going to use His evil influences over this world to test us.
And of course, the second part to The Lord’s Prayer in verse 13 is:
…Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
You see, Jesus recognised exactly how Satan works
But the point I am trying to make here - is simply this,
The more we follow God…
The more we will be tested.
The more we hold to His plan for our lives…
The more trials will invariably come our way.
In fact, the more God wants to use you to accomplish His will on earth
The more tribulation is likely to befall you.
This was certainly the case for the Apostle Paul.
After all, No one would argue how much the Lord worked through Paul’s life
To orchestrate His will and to accomplish His work.
But it came at a cost - didn’t it.
Because Paul’s faith was tested again and again and again.
In fact, you might even recall How the Lord spoke to Ananias in a dream
And told him to first go to Paul (who was still known as Saul at the time),
So that He could recover His sight.
Well Saul’s reputation clearly proceeded him
And Ananias was naturally a little reluctant to go at first…Acts 9:15-16
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
So God said - I am going to use this man greatly…
He is going to accomplish my will…
He is going to do my work…
And He is going to declare my name – before Jews, gentiles and Kings alike.
That’s quite some ministry – isn’t it.
Only notice what God says next:
16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
This man was going to be a great vessel and a great tool….
He was going to become a great servant and accomplish great things…
But he was also going to be greatly tested also.
Not because He was going to make poor decisions,
Not because He was going fall into sin either…
But simply because He was going to hold to God’s calling for His life.
It was all going to be for Jesus names sake.
See 2 Corinthians 1:8 / 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
By Paul’s own words, he said I” was tested to breaking point”.
It wasn’t because of who He was - It was because of who Christ was.
It wasn’t because His name was anything special,
It was because the name of Jesus was special.
Paul wasn’t tested by Satan because He put himself first
He was tested because He put Jesus first.
You see as Children of God…
This is why so many of our greatest tests of our faith arise,
They come because we choose to place God’s plan for our lives first,
And Satan just doesn’t want to allow that.
Jesus Himself declared that He was tested…
But not because He was the carpenter’s son,
But because He was God’s only Son…
And because He set about doing His Father’s Business.
And Jesus even prayed on the Eve of His own crucifixion:
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
“I don’t want to drink from this cup”
“I don’t want to taste the bitterness of what comes next”
“I don’t want to be tested in this way – Lord”
…Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:39)
You see, even Jesus recognised that His ministry was not about what He wanted,
But actually all about holding to God’s will and plan for His life…
Even if it meant enduring a brief period of tribulation.
Peter talked about the necessity of sometimes
Persevering through testing periods in our lives so that God could get the glory.
In fact, 1 Peter 1:6 declares:
6 Wherein [or because of these facts] ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
Peter says look – we rejoice knowing the wonderful things that lay ahead,
Even though right now – for a season – for a limited time
There may be a need to endure heaviness, and experience grief or sorrow,
Caused by manifold temptations.
The term manifold means: “many”, “different”, “diverse”, or “varied”.
Now there are two things that stand out to me about this verse
Firstly, Following Jesus is not always going to be a trial of affliction.
In fact, Peter uses the term – …if need be
That means “only if it’s necessary” or “inevitable given the way of things.”
So our faith will not always be tested – but sometimes it will.
Sometimes – if need be – we will need to endure such things.
The second thing that is noteworthy here is that
These tests are not always going to come in the same form.
There will be manifold temptations
Meaning they will be different and diverse one from another
And likely to come in a variety of ways.
They come in all colours, shapes, and sizes – so to speak.
And test us to differing degrees.
In saying this, my trials are not likely to be the same as yours,
And yours are likely to be completely different to mine.
But this one thing we all have in common - we’ve all got them.
James adds to this idea saying:
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (James 1:2)
CONCLUSION
Now taking all of these learnings together
Lets go back to the Lords prayer in Matthew 6
And more specifically to just the first part of verse number 13.
Because here Jesus says we ought to pray like this…
Pray that God’s will and that His plan for our lives
Will not involve our faith being greatly tested
Or that we out of necessity, face the many trials and tribulations of Satan.
“Lord lead us not into temptation”.
Spare us from these intense trials and tribulations of the faith.
Jesus certainly faced them…
Men like Paul and Job certainly faced them
And for no other reason that because they faithfully following Gods will in their lives.
But as Peter alluded to there is not always an expectation or requirement
That our faith be tested in this way as we follow Jesus.
This is the lesson we actually learn from Jesus:
Its that we understand firstly that as Children of God our faith will be tested
And secondly, Pray that as we follow God’s plan and will for our lives
We will not have our faith severely tested.
That we would be spared from life’s trials and tribulations
Because of our faith in Christ.
“Lord lead us not into temptation – but deliver us from evil”.
