Lead us not into Temptation

Have you heard the story of the mother, who, having told her boy not to go swimming, noticed that when he returned home his hair and bathing trunks were wet? Well, you can guess how she responded. “Johnnie,” she shouted, “I told you not to go swimming!” “I couldn’t help it, Mom,” he defended himself. “The water looked soo good!” “But why did you take your trunks with you?” his mother asked. “Just in case I was tempted,” the boy replied.

Or perhaps, you might have heard of a three-year-old’s explanation after being caught in the kitchen, standing on a chair, eating cookies. She said: “I just climbed up to smell them, and my tooth got caught.”

The point of both stories is that no one can be delivered from temptation unless that person has firmly determined to do the best he/she can to keep out of it.

The final petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” is a plea that recognizes our weakness in the face of Satan’s enticing power, and which therefore expresses reliance on God’s greater power for deliverance. But why should we have to ask God not to lead us into temptation? After all, we know that God never tempts anyone. The Bible tells us so in James 1:13: “When tempted,” it says, “no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” In light of this, it would seem a lot more reasonable, therefore, if our text was a petition asking God to keep us away from temptation, instead of asking him to not to lead us into it. Doesn’t it? So what do we really mean when we pray “lead us not into temptation”?

Actually, Jesus is using a figure of speech here, in which he expresses something positive by denying its opposite. If I say, for example, “This is no small matter,” what I really mean is that it is a big matter; again, if I say, "The food isn’t bad," what I really mean is that "The food is good."  And so, when we pray “lead us not into temptation,” what we are really asking is, “If the opportunity to sin presents itself, grant that we will not have the desire, and if the desire springs up within us, grant that we will not have the opportunity.”

Thus, perhaps a better translation of the petition, “lead us not into temptation,” would therefore be, “Leave us not in temptation.” It does not mean to keep us out of temptation, but when we are in it, it is a plea for God not to leave us there.

But let’s face it. We seldom want to be delivered from temptation. If we were revolted by it, it would not be temptation at all. Instead, it promises so much fulfilment and satisfaction. There was a young woman who was once seen in a shopping mall wearing a T-shirt that said, “Lead me not into temptation – I can find it myself.”

Yes, sin presents itself to us in attractive forms and through subtle means. It seduces and remoulds us through the choices we make; choices which at first may not seem at all threatening. Sin enslaves us in ways that leave us unaware that we have become slaves; ways that prove so attractive that we actually want the slavery it creates to confine us. Sin makes us so comfortable with evil that we are confused into thinking that what it offers is wholesome.

In this regard, Charles G. Finney, a man described as “the greatest evangelist and theologian since the days of the apostles,” makes a statement that we would do well to consider. He says that we “may strongly wish or desire to be rid of all (our) sins, and may pray for it, even with agony. (We) may think (we) are willing to be perfect,” he continues, “but (we) deceive (our)selves. (We) may feel willing to renounce (our) sins as a whole, or as an abstract idea, but taken in detail, one by one, there are many sins (we) are unwilling to give up. (We) wrestle against sin in general, but cling to it in the detail.”[i]

Temptation excites us; it stirs the blood and fires the imagination. It brings flowers and perfume, offers life and cheer, and promises good times and satisfaction. Temptation bribes us with wealth and popularity and entices us with promises of prosperity and unbounded freedom. So we flirt with it, play with it, and invite it into our lives. In our ambitions and in our successes we are tempted to honour our own names, and to build our own kingdoms.

There is an old Indian legend which tells of the custom in which young Indian men would go away in solitude to prepare for manhood. One such youth hiked into a beautiful valley, green with trees, bright with flowers. There he fasted. But on the third day, as he looked up at the surrounding mountains, he noticed one tall rugged peak, capped with dazzling snow. “I will test myself against that mountain,” he thought. He put on his buffalo-hide shirt, threw his blanket over his shoulders and set off to climb the peak. When he reached the top he stood on the rim of the world. He could see forever, and his heart swelled with pride. Then he heard a rustle at his feet, and looking down, he saw a snake. Before he could move, the snake spoke.

"I am about to die," said the snake. "It is too cold for me up here and I am freezing. There is no food and I am starving. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley."

"No," said the youth. "I am forewarned. I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite, and your bite will kill me."

"Not so," said the snake. "I will treat you differently. If you do this for me, you will be special. I will not harm you."

The youth resisted awhile, but this was a very persuasive snake with beautiful markings. At last the youth tucked it under his shirt and carried it down to the valley. There he laid it gently on the grass, when suddenly the snake coiled, rattled, and leapt, biting him on the leg.

"But you promised..." cried the youth. As the snake slithered away he turned and said, "You knew what I was when you picked me up." Indeed: Sin, like a bee, into the hive may bring

A little honey, but expect the sting.

Only God can keep us from sin’s deceptive charms and from its destructive power. I rather like the response of the little girl who, when asked about how she deals with temptation, simply said that “When Satan comes knocking at the door of my heart, I send Jesus to answer the door. When Satan sees Jesus, he says, ‘Oops, I’m sorry, I must have the wrong house.’”

That’s it! That’s the correct approach to the problem of temptation – it is to recognize our powerlessness in the face of evil and to turn to God in Christ. Martin Luther expresses this idea beautifully in his hymn, “A Mighty Fortress”:

A mighty fortress is our God,

A bulwark never failing;

Our helper He amid the flood

Of mortal ills prevailing;

For still our ancient foe

Doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and pow’r are great,

And armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not His equal

Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing;

Were not the right Man on our side,

The Man of God’s own choosing;

Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth, His name,

From age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

And tho’ this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph thro’ us;

The prince of Darkness grim,

We tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure,

For lo, his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.^[ii]

These words echo those of the psalmist in Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Notice that in this psalm God is described as “refuge,” “strength,” and “help,” making the point that the God to whom we pray in our times of trial and temptation is a God who will protect us; a God whose power is more that just a neutral power, but a power that is always exercised for us; and a God who therefore comes to our rescue when we face trouble.

God is therefore worthy of our trust. And this God, we are again reminded in1John 4:4, is greater than any temptation you or I will ever face: “You, dear children, are from God,” the verse begins, “and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” From this verse we clearly see that the forces of good and evil are not locked into some kind of cosmic stalemate, for God's triumph is already assured!

And so, when we pray “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” we are not only recognizing Satan’s power, but we are also affirming our weakness, and we are pleading for the greater power of God. Unless we have within us that which is above us, we shall soon yield to that which is around us. Amen.