INTRODUCTION

1. On at least two different occasions, Jesus directed His hearers to pray for deliverance from temptation.

   1. In Matthew 6:5-15, Jesus gave instructions concerning prayer during the Sermon on the Mount.  In the model prayer, He included this petition in verse 13:

      "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

   2. In Luke 11:1-13, Jesus responded to His disciples' request for instruction in prayer.  Once again in His model prayer, Jesus included this petition in verse 4:

      "And lead us not into temptation."

2. How should we understand this instruction?  When we offer this prayer, how is it answered by God?  Let us seek to answer these questions in our present study.

    

GOD DOES NOT BRING US INTO TEMPTATION

1. This prayer does not suggest that God ever tempts us, for He is never the source of our temptations.

   1. The Lord Jesus was not implying that the Father would lead us into temptation unless we offered this prayer.  Let us not interpret His instruction in this way.

   2. Scripture declares that God never tempts anyone. Consider James 1:13-15:

      ¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.  ¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

   3. Why would we ask God not to do something that He never does? This question reflects a misunderstanding about the real meaning of this prayer.  A correct understanding makes this question invalid.  (See the next point.)

2. Instead, this prayer is a request for God to deliver us from temptation.

   1. In Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4, the word translated as "lead" (εἰσφέρω, eispherō) means "bring into," "carry into," or "bear into."  The phrase literally translates as, "Bring us not into temptation."

   2. Rather than implying that God would ever bring us into temptation, this prayer is actually a request for God to carry us away from temptation.  Although it is phrased in a negative way ("Lead us not into temptation"), it has a positive meaning ("Bring us away from temptation").

   3. This meaning is affirmed by the latter part of the request, "...deliver us from evil."

3. God has assured us that He will always make for us a way of escape from temptation.

   1. Consider 1Corinthians 10:13, which says,

      No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

   2. Notice that the assurance of this promise is the faithfulness of God.  No greater guarantee can be given than the faithfulness of God.

   3. Therefore, we know that a way of escape always exists whenever there is a temptation.  This is God's answer to our prayer for deliverance from evil.

4. It is Satan who delivers us into temptation, and it is God who delivers us from evil.

   1. Satan is designated as the tempter in Scripture (Matt. 4:3; 1Thess. 3:5).

      1. It is he who entices us with the objects of our lust (Jas. 1:14).

      2. It is also he who holds power over this world (1John 5:19).  Do not underestimate his power.

   2. We are empowered by God to overcome Satan's temptations through Christ, for "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1John 4:4).

       

FOLLOW YOUR LEADER

1. If you are a Christian, then Christ is your leader.

   1. Our prayer for the Father to lead us away from temptation and to deliver us from evil implies that we need a leader and a deliverer. Christ has been designated as that leader.

   2. Indeed, the word "Christian" means "follower of Christ."

      1. As Christians, it is our obligation to follow Jesus.  The Lord said Himself, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24).

      2. In practical terms, this means that we are to imitate His examples and His teachings (John 13:15; 1Cor. 11:1; Eph. 5:1; 1Thess. 1:6; 1Pet. 2:21).

   3. As followers of Christ, we should follow His example for escaping temptation (Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13).

      1. With each temptation, Jesus answered Satan with Scripture.  Therefore, let us learn the word of God so that we may have the answers to our own temptations.

      2. Notice that after Jesus had resisted the temptations, Satan departed from Him "until an opportune time" (Luke 4:13).  Scripture does not record all of Satan's temptations, but Jesus successfully overcame them all.

      3. Jesus is the perfect example for us to imitate, for He "has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15).

2. If Christ is your leader, then you must follow His voice.

   1. Consider Christ's words in John 10:1-5:

      ¹"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.  ²But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.  ³To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  ⁴When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.  ⁵A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."

   2. Like sheep following a shepherd, we must follow the Lord.

      1. Just as a shepherd leads his sheep to safety and sustenance, so also Christ leads us.

      2. Of course, we do not hear His voice with our ears, but rather He calls us by His word according to the gospel (2Thess. 2:14).  If we do not give heed to His words, then we cannot follow Him.

3. If you follow Christ, then you will be led away from temptation, but if you follow Satan, then you will be led into sin.

   1. Listen to the voice of Christ, your Shepherd, and be led from temptation and delivered from evil.

      1. Are you doing what Christ would have you to do?  Are you going where Christ would have you to go?

      2. When you find yourself caught in a temptation, is it because you have entered a situation where Christ did not lead you?

      3. Find the way of escape that Christ shows you by His word, flee from temptation, and be delivered from evil.

   2. The voice of Satan only calls you to sin and death.

      1. From the beginning, Satan has been a deceiver and a liar (Gen. 3:1-5; John 8:44).  He attempts to deceive us every day, for he "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1Pet. 5:8).

      2. If you follow Satan's voice down the path of temptation, then he will lead you into the spiritual death that comes by sin (Jas. 1:15).

      3. If you choose to follow Satan rather than Christ, then your prayer for deliverance from temptation and evil will not be answered, for Christ is the only answer.

          

CONCLUSION

1. Just as the Lord directed, make petitions for deliverance from temptation a regular part of your prayers, and then follow the Lord's guidance away from evil.

2. Thankfully, God not only delivers us from temptation, but He also delivers us from sin.

   1. It was for this reason that Christ came into the world, so that "He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14).

   2. His word is written that we may not sin, but if we do sin, then we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous (1John 2:1).