Deliver Us From Evil

Matthew 6:13

“And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13)

We come this week to the last of the six petitions that Jesus teaches His disciples to pray in the Lord’s Prayer. It sounds like two petitions, but it’s really one petition expressed in two ways. It is probably a form of parallelism, a literary device that the Jews would know well because the Hebrew scriptures use it extensively in their poetry. It is a major form of writing in both the Psalms and Proverbs. We see parallelism when two or more lines of a Hebrew poem correspond closely with one another in order to make a point.[1] The prayer has us asking God for the same thing in two different ways, namely, that He would keep us from the full assault of the evil one. What we are asking for in this part of the prayer is protection.

On one level, this petition is very simple. We are asking God to keep us from sin, to protect us from the temptations of the evil one. But, on another level, this petition raises some very serious questions. What does “And do not lead us into temptation” mean? Does this imply that God can lead His children into temptation? If so, what kind of temptation are we talking about?

Because we know the holy character of God, we instinctively recoil against the thought that God would lead us into temptation to sin. And because we are realistic about the prevalence of evil, we understand God does not lead us into a life that is free from temptations.

One key to understanding what this phrase means is to understand that the word “temptation” has two basic meanings. It can mean to tempt with the goal of causing one to sin or it can mean a test or trial to prove the validity of one’s faith. It can mean a difficult trial, or it can mean a solicitation to do evil. And sometimes these two ideas are connected.

Let me show you. For instance, James 1:2 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” The Greek word for “trials” is the same word used in Matthew 6:13 for “temptation.” Why should a Christian rejoice when facing trials? James 1:3 tells us, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” The trial is a test where God proves our faith and develops Christlike character in us. Peter also writes about rejoicing in the trials that test our faith,

⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (1 Pet. 1:6-7)

Testing from God is for our good, that God would produce patience in us through faith, perfecting us and maturing us in our faith. James goes on in James 1:12 to say, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12). Again, the word “temptation” is the same as the “trials” in James 1:2 and the purpose of it is to test us in order to show us approved by God.

Now, look at the very next verse, James 1:13, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” Here, the very same word in the verb form is translated “tempt” and “tempted”. The same word that was used in a positive sense in James 1:2 is used in a negative sense in James 1:13. The same biblical writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses one Greek word with two different meanings in the same passage without any contradiction at all.

James is clear: God never tempts anyone to evil, but He does test us for our good. God does not solicit his children to do evil. He will never lead you to a place where you are forced to do evil. Said another way, God never sets us up to fail. To do that would contradict both His holiness and His love.[2]

So, if God promises not to tempt us to sin and it is also good and necessary that He leads into trials for testing, how are we to understand this prayer “lead us not into temptation”? This still leaves us with questions, doesn’t it? If it means solicitation to do evil and if we know that God does not solicit us to do evil, when we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” are we not asking God not to do that which He said He would never do? On the other hand, If we know that trials and testing are good for us and necessary for our spiritual growth, and we should rejoice in them, and they build us up in the faith, then when we pray, “Lead us not into trials and testing,” are we not asking God to exempt us from that which is necessary for our own spiritual maturity? How can we ask God to lead us away from that which is ultimately for our good?

Do you see the problem? We know God isn’t going to lead us into sin, but we do know He’s going to put us through trials and testing. And Jesus teaches us to pray, “And do not lead us into temptation.”

Here is how the two ideas are connected and why James could use the same word in the same passage to mean two different things, one positive and one negative. Trials have a way of putting us on the edge of temptation. What God gives to us as a trial or test is almost always used by Satan as a temptation.

The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness offers a clear example of this principle. Matthew 4:1 tells us that “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Who did the leading? The Holy Spirit. Who did the tempting? The devil. Did God know what was going to happen when He sent His Son into the wilderness? Yes, God intended from the beginning to demonstrate that his Son would not yield to Satan’s temptations. Was God tempting His own Son to disobey His commands? No. Was God putting Jesus in a place where He could be tempted by the Devil? Yes. God designs it as a test. The devil uses it as a temptation.[3]

So, what are we praying when we ask, “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one”? We are praying to:

1. Apprehend the reality of Spiritual Warfare.

The Bible is clear that we live in a world that is overrun with evil and under the influence of the evil one. We are in a constant spiritual battle. The way to resist temptation is to lean heavily upon God’s grace to strengthen and enable us to stand against the wiles of the Devil. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, Paul tells us,

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.

In Ephesians 6:10-18 he writes,

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. (NKJV)

The apostle John writes that the world that is against us is made up of three things.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 2:15-16).

There is the “lust of the flesh” – which means the desires of the flesh
There is the “lust of the eyes” – desiring the things that are not ours
There is the “pride of life” – involves putting self on the throne of our lives.

The devil always tempts us to sin in these three areas. The first place in the Bible where we see temptation is Genesis 3. God instructed Adam not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). It was a test. But in Genesis 3, the serpent took the test and turned it into a temptation.

¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” ⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Gen. 3:1-7)

Looking at this account we see the clear elements of temptation and how it may lead to sin:

Deceit – The first step in temptation is the least obvious. Satan gives false impressions that whatever wrong we are contemplating really is not that serious. He does this by deceit. He said to Eve, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” By questioning the word of God, he gets her to doubt the word of God. “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”” The serpent implies that God is withholding something desirable from them. He implies that God is not good. Of course, he is lying. He is deceiving. Jesus says the devil is a murderer and a liar and that there is no truth in him (John 8:44). Satan will always try to get us to doubt God’s word and doubt God’s goodness.
Delight – Satan makes us see something, or someone, or some situation that he is sure will appeal to us. He did this with Eve. Genesis 3:6 is key here, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” The fruit was pleasant to the eyes, it was good for food. She “saw” the tree not only with her eyes but she pictured it in her mind.
Desire – Again Genesis 3:6 says she saw it was “ … a tree desirable to make one wise …” It is natural to desire what you delight in. So, in this stage, a desire is actively aroused. We want the benefit or pleasure that we think will come. James points out that this is how temptation leads to sin: “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:14). Desires may or may not be sinful. We all have longings, cravings, and natural desires. When it becomes sinful is when we seek to fill this desire with something that God has forbidden. It was not sinful for Eve and Adam to desire to be wise or even to be like God. In fact, God had created them in His image. But they sought to fill this desire by breaking God’s commandment. In doing so their desire was the bait that lured them to Satan’s trap.
Deliberation –Notice how Eve thought about taking the fruit in Gen. 3:6. She deliberated on it. Measured the pros and cons. Turned it over in her mind. That is a dangerous place to go when we begin to toy with the idea of breaking God’s commandments. We fantasize about it. It is at this point we have already begun to fall for Satan’s deception.
Defeat – Eve “… took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. …” If we are going to give in to the temptation at some point we decide to cross the line. We proceed to act on that what was presented to us. But the moment we give in we are dismayed and disgusted by our own defeat. Genesis 3:7, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked…” That leads to:
Despair – We try to hide our sin. Again Genesis 3:7, “…and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” We attempt to excuse or conceal this matter from God and others. It breaks our fellowship with God (Gen. 3:8), “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Adam and Eve went through all six of these stages when they were tempted in the garden. Deceit happened when they believed Satan’s lie about the consequences of disobeying God. They were delighted with the fruit. They desired it. They deliberated, thought about it, though not long. And they were defeated when they took the fruit and ate it. Their despair was obvious when they hid from God after their sin.

And we know that the same could happen to us. That’s why we pray, “Lead us not into temptation.”

The spiritual battle is real. When we pray this prayer we are recognizing that.

Also when we pray this prayer we are praying to:

2. Admit our deficiency in dealing with temptation.

We need to remember, everyone is vulnerable to temptation—no one is above falling. No matter how old we are or how mature in our faith we are. Although the strength of certain temptations may diminish somewhat with age, we are never free from temptation as long as we live in this world. Paul explains, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man…” (1 Cor. 10:13a). In the verse right before that, Paul writes, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Cor 10:12).

Remember Simon Peter? Jesus warned him (Luke 22:31), “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.” Jesus did allow Peter to be tested. He told Peter (Luke 22:32), “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Jesus did not remove Peter from the test, but He prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. Satan came after Peter. Peter was not ready for the test, and it became a temptation, it turned into a terrible sin of denial just as Jesus predicted. Peter was so sure of himself. He told Jesus (Matt. 26:33), “… Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Peter failed to take the warning of Jesus seriously when He told him (Matt. 26:41), “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus implies that our prayers play a role in keeping us from giving into temptation. His advice is “watch and pray” because “the flesh is weak.”

We are all weak in the flesh. We are only strong in the Lord (Eph. 6:10).

In praying, “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one,” we admit that we cannot face temptations successfully on our own. We need the Lord. That is why we pray this prayer.

Finally we when we pray this prayer we are praying to:

3. Ask for deliverance

Jesus says to pray, “… But deliver us from the evil one.” Certainly, Jesus has provided the way to be delivered from the evil one by His death on the cross. As Jesus thought about His coming death, He said in John 12:31, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” Satan has been judged (John 16:11) at the cross. Satan will not have the ultimate victory even if we sometimes lose the battle with sin. As we pray, we know that we have victory over sin through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 7:25) as we walk according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:1).

We need to pray for spiritual protection for ourselves and one another. God can deliver us. Like Peter, He may not keep us from the test, but He can keep us from giving in to the temptation to sin. As Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “… but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

As we ask for deliverance, we are not passive, expecting God to rescue us from temptation while we do nothing. The Bible gives us things we are to do to put feet to our prayers:

Fight – James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” In the battle, first we “submit” to our commanding officer, obeying His commands. Second we “Resist the devil.” Have a battle plan. Put up your defenses. “Watch and pray!” You don’t just let Satan walk over to you and take you captive. Resist!
Follow – Jesus defeated temptations and Peter tells us to follow his example, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:” (1 Peter 2:21). If we are more focused on following Jesus than we are on the things of this world, then we will be much stronger to face temptations.
Flee – Sometimes it’s wise to just run away. After Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will make a way of escape, 1 Cor. 10:14 says “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” 2 Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee . . . youthful lusts.” So there are at least two things in the Bible we are told to run way from: idolatry and immorality. We should not try to face those temptations in the flesh, we should run from them like the plague. We know that humanity doesn’t have a good track record of defeating idolatry and immorality. Just look at Israel in the OT. These are two sins that they continually had problems with. When Jesus wrote to the churches in Revelation we find that even the church had problems with those two temptations. Sometimes the best equipment for overcoming temptation is a good pair of running shoes!
Feed – When Jesus was tempted in the desert by the devil, He fought the devil with the Word of God. Every time Jesus answered with God’s written word saying, “It is written …” (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10). Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

So Jesus teaches us to pray this prayer of protection. And He will answer that prayer. Jude 1:24 says, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” God is able to keep us and present us without fault; however, much of this grace is only given when we faithfully cry out, “Lord, do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Prayer is key to spiritual protection and spiritual victory. It’s a recognition of our weakness and God’s strength. As we pray this, may the Lord aggressively snatch us out of the clutches of habitual sin, the draw of the world, and the traps of the devil. May we faithfully pray this for our own good and that of others.

Maybe you are not yet a believer, but you are feeling the pull of a strong temptation in your life, and you are beginning to think, ‘I need help; I need deliverance; I need a Savior.’ Well, Jesus is the Savior you need. God answers your need by grace. You don’t have to earn salvation and you can do nothing to deserve it. You can only receive it freely from God with the open hand of faith. So I want to invite you, right now, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ: Ask Him to save you. Ask Him to make you His own. Then you will be able to say with all of God’s people,

Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.
Through many dangers toils and snares I have already come
Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

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[1] Parallelism, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/parallelism

[2] Ray Pritchard, https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/does-god-lead-his-children-into-temptation/

[3] Pritchard, ibid.