Matthew 6:13 “do not lead us into temptation…”
Over the past 3 months we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount and for the past few weeks we have been in the study of one portion of that sermon…the Model Prayer…The Lord’s Prayer…I hope this ‘study’ has opened up additional meaning to these Scriptures…passages that maybe have been passed over for years…have now come alive with insight.
And this morning we have another such verse…we are at the conclusion of our study of the Lord’s prayer…and here in the closing verse [v. 13] Jesus makes a very confusing statement: “do not lead us into temptation” that seems to contradict other verses in the Bible that deal with temptation.
The reason is that the word ‘temptation’ is now almost universally used in a negative sense meaning to solicit someone to do evil…the difficulty with this passage is we’re asking God not to tempt us…this assumes that God does lead us into temptation on certain occasions…but…James contradicts this idea by saying God doesn’t tempt us.
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 [James 1:13-14].
A verse that seems to go against the very words of Jesus about God leading us into temptation…but a study of the word used here in the Greek [πειρασμός (pi-ras-mos’] translated as ‘tempted’has multiple meanings…the word we translate as tempt can be translated as tests, trials, or temptations depending on the context
The confusion arises because since the seventeenth century we have tended to use the word ‘tempt’ in a negative sense…but the word is capable of a positive meaning as well.
In the Book of James, he uses the verb form of the word we translate as temptation four times…calling it by three different names…trials…testing…and temptations depending on the context…they can be in the positive sense—tests or trials—or in the negative sense—temptations…importance in accurately interpreting the Bible.
James starts off his letter by showing that how we react to testing…tempting…and trials can be an indicator as to who is saved and who isn’t based on our response to trials…testing …and temptations.
Because in the Greek the same word is used both ways…negatively…and positively…James presents testing…tempting…and trials in three different ways:
Illustration #1: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when (3986 being tested), you encounter various trials knowing that the testing (1383 proving what is genuine) of your faith [1:2-4].
Illustration #2: Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial (3986 when being tested) [1:12].)
These two verses indicate that trials/testing are to bring out the best in us… ‘Consider it all joy’… ‘Blessed is a man who perseveres’ that trials and tests come from God…so in that sense…God does test everyone…BUT
Illustration #3: James uses the word tempted in [vs. 13-14] … 13Let no one say when he is tempted (3985 solicited to sin), “I am being tempted (3985 solicited to sin) by God”; for God is unable to be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt (3985 solicit to sin) anyone. 14But each one is tempted (3985 solicited to sin) when they are swayed by their own desires.
This verse is referring to trials in a negative sense…to tempt us and bring out the worst in us.
SO what’s the purpose in God testing or having us endure trials…in this case context determines whether the intended purpose is for good (tests, trials) or evil (temptations)…God will send ‘trials’ but they are never intended to lead us into evil…God will allow Satan to send ‘temptations’ always with the intent to lead us into evil.
God tests us that we may see…and that He may see…whether our faith and our profession of faith is genuine or not…God tested Abraham…the Angel of the Lord said to Abraham, after the trial of his faith, “Now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.”
Again…this is important…God tests us that we may see…and that He may see… whether our faith and our profession of faith is genuine or not.
If a believer is being led in the power of the Spirit…they are “trials” not “temptations” …so what turns a trial into a temptation?…when a believer doubts God’s goodness and listens to his old nature…giving in to disobeying God…that trial leads to temptation…which can lead to sin.
God allows trials into your life not to make you sin but to make you more like Jesus…who did nothing without first praying to God for direction…that’s why the Discovery Bible translates this verse “Lead us not into (negative) ‘testing’.”
The wording … “lead us not into temptation” has the connotation that God tempts us to do evil…BUT…if we were to paraphrase this verse it’s meaning would be more like… “don’t allow us to come under the sway of temptation that will over power us and cause us to sin.”
This is why Pope Francis has officially approved a change to this verse in the Bible…I don’t normally agree with most things the Catholic Church does…but in this case…I think the Pope made a good decision.
The Pope has changed the wording from…”lead us not into temptation” to “do not let us fall into temptation,” …because the original translation does imply that God induces temptation…and clearly the Bible refutes that notion…God does not lead us into temptation.
The change brings it closer to the original intent of the prayer…IMPORTANT… God is not the one who pushes us into temptation…nor does the devil make me do it…it is Satan who leads us into temptation…BUT…we are the ones who give in to it…ultimately it comes down to us…we make the decision…we’re not forced.
In life there are countless ways to be tempted…there are countless ways in which God tests us…testing or trials come in various ways…becoming a Christian often requires us to move out of our comfort zone of assumptions that we have become so accustomed to living in regarding how God works in our life.
If you’re a Christian, you will be tested…it’s a reality…BUT…God’s testing is not without purpose…testing builds our faith…the testing of our faith leads to a deeper, more mature faith…testing ultimately leads to being “complete” in our relationship with God… “that you may be perfect and complete” [James 1:4].
The problem we have about God’s testing us is that it runs counter to the promise of living the abundant life that the preachers on Day Star and The Word network want you to believe about God’s plans for you.
That God’s desire in life for you is nothing but the best for you…lavish homes… expensive cars…worldwide cruises…and more money than you know what to do with…because that’s the abundant life…and the Bible clearly says…Jesus wants you to have the abundant life.
A suffering-allowing God is hard for us to imagine…that’s not part of the abundant life preaching that’s being preached in America today by these gurus of spirituality.
I wonder how that abundant life theology worked out for Kayla Mueller…the girl who was captured by Isis leader al-Baghdadi…who raped her…tortured her… physically abused her…and eventually killed her…orAmerican pastor Andrew Brunson, who was accused of associating with plotters of a 2016 coup attempt. (Allie Caren/The Washington Post) the American pastor that’s been held in Turkey for the past two years.
These abundant life preachers don’t want to tell you about them…or have you believe that sometimes in life things go bad…destroys their entire ministry of lies.
There are two parts to explain why God allows/sends testing in our lives…and I’m speaking specifically to Christians…
first of all…God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development…life’s a test…you are always being tested…words like trials…temptations…refining…and testing occur more than 200 times in the Bible…as a Christian your character is both developed and revealed by tests.
Secondly…God is not overly concerned with the physical circumstances of our lives…despite the abundant life teaching today…physical blessings may or may not be part of a God-centered life…neither is wealth nor poverty…they are not an indication of our standing with God.
Solomon had all the material blessings available to a man yet found it all to be meaningless (Eccl. 5:10-15). Paul, on the other hand, was content in whatever physical circumstances he found himself in.(Phil.4:11-12) and he had nothing.
On an individual level…there are times in life when it seems you’re not meant to win…that everything seems to be against you…causing you to be tempted to believe that God is against you…Paul may have felt that way:
8We do not want you to be uninformed…about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, that we despaired of life itself—do you sense the total dejection– 9Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God… (2 Corinthians 1:8–9)
“That we might not rely on ourselves but on God” …this is an important statement. The time in which Paul is referring to, he was in great danger…he was certain of death…he could put no reliance on himself…he was sure he was going to die.
All he could do was to cast himself on the protection of God…the effect of near certain death led him do two things:
…1) put an increased confidence in God…that only God could save him.
…2) to not trust in his own plans…or be confident in his own strength…that he was entirely in the hands of God.
In his own strength he was unable to save himself…his own abilities were useless in delivering him from possible death.
Do we suffer those extremes…not normally…but…when tempted to trust in our own abilities…to become self-reliant is the temptation of Satan.
To say, “I can do all things through me who strengthens me” is a worship disorder of the worst kind…it’s not God’s intention to let us do things our way, according to our agenda…the Christian walk is by faith…God is aware of everything that is occurring in our life.
7 Characteristics of Trials as laid out in 1 Peter 1:6
In this you rejoice, now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, in all this you greatly rejoice…(but for) for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith…tested by fire…Though you have not seen him, you love him…the outcome of your faith (being) the salvation of your souls. — I want us to unpack this verse line by line regarding testing.
Trials are temporary (“now for a little while”). We need to view earthly trials as “light afflictions, which is but for a moment”…need to heed Peter’s advice:
[1 Peter 4:12] – his reaction to suffering… “do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you [v. 13] “but rejoice.”
Trials are necessary for our growth (“if necessary”). God in His infinite wisdom knows exactly what kinds of trials must be designed to stimulate the growth necessary for our own spiritual health…in Paul’s case it was a “thorn in the flesh” …and though he did not enjoy it…God assured him it was the necessary treatment to stunt the growth of his cancerous pride…lest he become useless to God.
Trials are mentally distressing (“you have been grieved”). There is no pretending here…. Peter knew his readers were “grieved.” …this word does not refer to the suffering itself…but to emotional pain of suffering which many times is worse than bodily suffering.
Trials are diverse (“various trials”). Trials come in all shapes and sizes… sometimes they afflict our bodies…other times our minds…trials may come from Satan…as permitted by God…trials may come from the world…trials may even come from our own disobedience. “For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and disciplines every son whom He receives”
BUT…all trials occur under the umbrella of God’s sovereignty…Job said: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and not accept adversity?” (2:10).
Trials refine us (“though it is tested by fire”). God’s purpose in suffering is to display the genuineness of our faith…God does not ordain trials to set us up for failure but to prove the reality of our faith…such as in Abraham’s testing.
Trials are faith-building (“whom having not seen you love”). Christians can rejoice in the midst of trials because even though we do not see God we believe in Him…this faith produces joy even in the face of pain.
Trials are beneficial (“receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls”). Suffering proves the genuineness of faith…trials not only prepare us for eternity but they make us ache for it. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us…even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Rom 8:18-23).
FAITH MUST BE TESTED—FAITH CAN ONLY BE PROVEN THRU CONFLICT.
BUT…this verse goes deeper than that…here’s another level of meaning to this verse.
Another concept of trials– If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all…this is where we lose the sense of God designing all circumstances in our life…God will allow circumstances to happen in your life that are not designed for you at all but you’re going to go through them.
They are designed to make you useful in His hands…to enable you to understand and be of help in the lives of others.
[2 Cor. 1:4] – “Who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Again, the temptation is to say ‘woe is me’ why am I experiencing this dilemma… ‘what have I done to deserve this’…when in reality God is blessing you by allowing you to be part of His plan in someone else’s life…but instead we sit down at the door of God’s purpose for our life and enter into a life of self-pity.
What a shame to throw that opportunity away by stubbornly refusing to submit to God’s plan for your life…and the accompanying blessing.
Then Jesus closes out the prayer by saying: ‘deliver us from evil’ …first, the more accurate translation according to the Greek…is deliver us from “the evil one,” because he is behind every temptation.
There is another prayer that Jesus prays concerning this very thing…where He expands on the idea of the ‘evil one’…comparing John 17:15 to the Lord’s prayer there is a similar phrase: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”
How does God deliver us from the evil one and from temptation? Three ways:
Number one: [Hebrews 3:13] “Exhort one another every day…that none of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” How are we delivered? We are delivered by the church. “Exhort one another every day, lest you be deceived.”
Number two: [Ephesians 4:22] “Put off your former manner of life which is corrupt through deceitful desires.” desires lie to you…we conquer the old self with its deceitful desires by filling our minds with the truth…the Christ-exalting truth of Scripture.
And the last one…number three” [1 Peter 1:14] “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” More accurately translated ‘willful blindness’ …where did your passions come from? …you were stupid…didn’t realize coming to church this morning included having the preacher call you stupid.
Here’s why at one time we were all stupid…and why everyone who doesn’t see Jesus as Savior is stupid…or as some translate it ‘ignorant’ …because you didn’t have the spiritual eyes to see that God is the ultimate source of all power and authority…and His Son as the only means of eternal life.
As Christians we often remain ignorant about how God works in our life… because when things go against us too often there’s the temptation to blame God.
Hopefully this sermon series has revealed that the only way to kill ignorance as Christians is with one thing: knowledge and truth…Jesus says His word is truth [John 17].
This text brings us to the end of the series on the Lord’s Prayer…passages that contained much more truth than maybe we thought they did…passages that teach us not only about prayer but about Christian living.
These passages make it clear that praying and living a Christian life are two sides of the same coin…Jesus is giving fundamental teaching about prayer…but…He is also giving us fundamental teaching on how God works in the life of a Christian …why God allows testing…trials…and temptations in our lives.
I’ve said all that so I can say this again…why does God test us…allow trials and temptations in our lives?
God’s ultimate goal for your life is not comfort, but character development