"After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."
Matthew 6:9-13
Part 6
Yesterday: We Learned to Pray and Confess our Sin to God, and We learned to Forgive Our Debtors.
“And forgive us our debts.”
“As we forgive our debtors.”
We Christians need to forgive others the same way the Lord forgives us. If we do not forgive others, we insult God!
Today: We Learn to Pray for God’s Help in Temptation
(Matthew 6:13a)
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
“Believers recognize their spiritual weakness as they pray for deliverance from temptation to evil…”[1] (BKC).
We, believers, understand that just because we are born again by the blood of the Lamb, it does not mean that we are now perfect or that sin no longer is a problem for us. It is a huge problem! We desire to live right for God, but we still sin. We retain our sinful nature and the inclination to sin (Romans 7:12-25). At best, we are weak and in need of God’s daily help both physically and spiritually.
We need to understand what we are praying when we say, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
“‘Lead us not into temptation’ does not mean that God tempts His children (James 1:13–17). In this petition, we are asking God to guide us so that we will not get out of His will and get involved in a situation of temptation (1 John 5:18) …”[2] (Wiersbe).
James is correct when he wrote,
“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: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:13-17).
God only gives us good, not evil. My sinful choices are mine alone, not God’s!
“As James makes clear, God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). Moreover, God certainly permits his people to undergo temptation. The idea is “do not let us fall to temptation” or “do not abandon us to temptation.” According to Paul, though believers experience temptation, they do not have to yield to it. For God provides “a way out” (1 Corinthians 10:13)” (Stein).[3]
“Temptation literally means a test, not always a solicitation to do evil. God has promised to keep us from any testing that is greater than what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13)”[4] (Guzik).
Here’s why we ought to ask God to help us stand firm against temptation to evil. He will do His part, but the choice about whether we give in to sin is not God’s choice. It is ours! Believers, we need to grow a spine and make the appropriate choice to live right, for His glory!
Tomorrow we will learn to ask for God’s glory in His Kingdom. See you then!
Quote: “God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this overwhelming victory, God has also empowered you to overcome any temptation to sin and has provided sufficient resources for you to respond biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God’s power and being obedient to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any situation”[5] (John C. Broger).
[1] Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 32). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible Exposition Commentary (Vol. 1, p. 26). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Stein, R. H. (2017). Differences in the Gospels. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (pp. 1509–1510). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers. The emphasis is mine.
[4] Guzik’s quote is from Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. Matthew 5:7-15. The emphasis is his.
[5] Broger’s quote Downloaded: Friday, June 4, 2021. From: https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-topic/quotes-about-temptation/.