"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:"
This is perhaps the most difficult of all the Lord’s words in this "Model Prayer." The difficulty arises from what seems to be a contradiction of other Scriptures. For example, James 1:13 says, "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:" Yet Genesis 22:1 says, "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham..." And in Matthew 4:1 we read, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."
What at first may seem to be a contradiction in the Scriptures is made clear with the proper understanding of the word "temptation." In the Greek, the original language of the New Testament, there was one word used for "temptation". That word was peirasmos (pi-ras-mos’). The word peirasmos has two meanings. It could either mean "to entice to sin" or "to prove or test." The meaning of the word is always determined by the context in which it is used.
In James 1:13 the context clearly shows the meaning to be "to entice to sin." However, just a few verses prior to verse 13, James used the word peirasmos to mean "to prove or test" when he said, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience" (James 1:2-3). In both Genesis 22 and Matthew 4 the meaning is clearly "to prove or test."
It appears that Jesus’ use of the word peirasmos in this "Model Prayer" is in the sense of proving or testing. While God would never entice us to sin and therefore there would be no reason to ask Him not to lead us into temptation in that sense, He does allow us to experience times of severe testing. If in times of testing we are tempted to sin, we can rest assured that the temptation is not from God. It is that temptation to sin, to do evil in the midst of testing, that we are praying to be delivered from.
This brings up an interesting question, "Is it ever wrong to ask God to keep us from trials?" Consider Matthew 26:39. There seems to be no shame in asking for an occasional "sunny day" amid the ever "stormy days" of life, but should that not be in accordance with God’s will, our prayer is then to be for deliverance from the evil that we’re often tempted with during times of tribulation.
I. THE REALITY OF TEMPTATION
Does God actually lead His people into testing? We know the answer to be "yes" from:
A. Biblical Example
1. Abraham - Genesis 22:1; Hebrews 11:17
2. Job - Job 1-2
3. Jesus - Matthew 4:1
B. Personal Experience
1. It doesn’t take long for a child of God to discover the fact that God does in deed lead His children into times of testing.
2. These times of testing however are not without benefit.
3. James 1:3
II. THE REASONS FOR TEMPTATION
The reasons why God allows times of testing are as varied as the testings themselves. Temptations, in the form of testings, can be a means of:
A. Displaying Purity of Character
1. 2 Chronicles 32:31
2. Job 23:10
3. Psalm 17:3
4. 1 Peter 1:7
5. Many times God allow’s life’s road to take us into situations where the content of our heart and mind is revealed.
B. Deepening our Personal Commitment
1. Untested faith is no faith at all. It’s easy to say that we trust God, until the trials come.
2. Trials have a way of stripping us of all self-confidence, causing us to trust in Christ completely and to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.
III. THE RESCUE FROM TEMPTATION
Hebrews 2:18; 2 Peter 2:9; 1 Corinthians 10:13
A. The Fairness of God "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man"
1. There is nothing that we will ever face that someone else has not already been through. 2. Many have caved in as a result of severe testing, but by the same token, many have withstood the test and came through strong in the end.
B. The Kindness of God "who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able...that ye may be able to bear it"
1. There is no testing that comes into the life of the child of God without God’s permission.
2. Because the trials and testings only come as God permits, that means that He is in control of them. We can rest assured that the kind God we serve will not permit us to face something that we cannot handle.
3. God will either match the temptation to our strength or our strength to the temptation.
C. The Resourcefulness of God "but will with the temptation also make a way of escape"
1. The resources of God are limitless. His ways of escaping trials and tribulations are as numerous as the trials and tribulations themselves.
2. For the children of Israel it was a way through the sea. For Paul and Silas, He opened the prison doors. For us it may be just as great a miracle or it may even be the rapture.
D. The Faithfulness of God "but God is faithful"
1. "But God is faithful" is the phrase that ties this entire verse together. If it weren’t for the faithfulness of God, His fairness, kindness, and resourcefulness would mean little.
2. Not being able to see life from God’s perspective makes it difficult at times to trust in His faithfulness. Because we can’t always sort out the larger plans and purposes that He has for us, we are tempted to doubt His ability and to resist Him, "but God is faithful."
3. Having the assurance in our heart that "God is faithful" will keep us from doubt and bitterness and resentment.
