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LEAD
US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
When I read these words, I scratch my head and wonder. They seem so out
of context, almost against the grain and sentiment of the rest of the
prayer. We have been praising God as our Father, putting our confidence
in him to meet our daily needs, and trusting in his grace and mercy to
deal with our sin. Suddenly, out of the blue we find ‘...
and by the way, don’t lead us into temptation’. These words
seem to suggest that we doubt or question God’s character. Would God lead
us into temptation? (See James 1:13.) Yet these are words that Jesus encourages
us to use. Are the words ‘lead us not into temptation’
a subtle expression of doubt or an honest expression of faith?
I think Mathew 6:13
is one of those verses people love to take out of context; it has suffered
from hermeneutic ineptness. When some people read the Lord’s prayer they
take each phrase in isolation and apply it. So they apply verse 13 to spiritual
warfare, and use it as a prayer for protection from the evil one. This may
be a legitimate application, but I believe it to be secondary. I don’t believe
Jesus was thinking in terms of spiritual warfare when he spoke these words.
If we read this verse
in its context we notice that the verse before says, ‘Forgive
us our debts as we forgive others’. The verse after it says,
‘For if you forgive men when they sin against you,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men
their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.’ So when
Jesus teaches us to pray ‘lead us not into temptation’
he is still thinking about the process that is involved in genuine forgiveness.
How are we to understand
it? There is a Christian myth that says, “Once I have forgiven someone,
the pain they have caused me will go away.” This is not true. Often a lot
of time elapses between the act of forgiving and complete healing, and sometimes
the healing will not be complete until we see Jesus. I think this is the
issue Jesus is addressing when he says ‘Lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one’.
It may be interesting
to point out that this is the only specific request for leading recorded
in the New Testament. It is a request made by people who are in the process
of forgiving others. It is a request made by hurting people, people who
are in pain, people who are trying to deal genuinely and spiritually with
an injustice they have suffered. Those who are going through the demanding
requirements of expressing authentic forgiveness are of all people the most
in need of God’s ‘leading’ in their lives.
When we pray, “Lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” we are expressing
the same heart attitude that we expressed in the previous verse. It is a
cry of dependence, a deep recognition of our need of God. We are saying,
“God, unless you lead me and carry me I will fall into the temptations that
come with a hurting heart.” In effect we are saying, “Father I have been
hurt. I feel wounded. I need you to carry me through this pain, not to shield
me from my responsibility to forgive the person who hurt me. But I need
you to help me so I can do it.” This leading can only be accomplished through
the ministry of the Holy Spirit. His gentle leading helps us to manage the
pain of injustice, not medicate it (Rom.8: 14).
Only God’s protection
and leading can keep us from the dangers of an unforgiving heart. When we
refuse to forgive others, then we are opening our lives to other sins and
to the evil one. An unforgiving heart will lead us astray.
The prayer ‘Lead
us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one’ asks
God to lead us through a healing process. To hold on to our pain, to nurse
a grudge, or to elude the exacting necessities and raw vulnerability that
healing and reconciliation require, is committing ourselves to evil.
Alan
Wilson is a member of Hamilton Road Baptist Church, Bangor.
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