- Lead Us Not into Temptation.
- What is temptation? 1 John 2:16
- What is the source of temptation? James 1:13
- Our human nature
- Satan
- How does temptation become sin? (The battle is in the mind) James 1:14-15
- Deliver Us from the Evil One.
- Who is Satan?
- Satan is a powerful evil angel.
- Satan is God’s enemy.
- Satan is our enemy.
- What are some of Satan’s tactics?
- temptation.
- pride.
- lust.
- How can we withstand Satan’s attacks?
- Submit to God and resist the devil. James 4:7
- Put on the armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18
- Know the word and have a good testimony. Revelation 12:11
- Who is Satan?
If you have ever seen any of the Star Wars movies created by George Lucas, then you know about Darth Vader. Darth Vader is a powerful but evil person. But Vader wasn’t always evil. He started out as the Jedi Anakin Skywalker, an outstanding hero for good. But Anakin’s superior Jedi abilities caused him to become proud. Anakin disliked Jedi rules, and because he was so powerful, Anakin began to doubt the wisdom and abilities of the other Jedi. Anakin’s arrogant and reckless spirit began to lead him away from good into the dreaded Dark Side. The Dark Side was an evil force which gave power to the enemies of the Jedi.
Anakin struggled against emotions of pride, stubbornness, rebellion, and anger, and these weaknesses led him further and further into the Dark Side until finally he surrendered to the evil forces of the Dark Side and joined with the enemies of the Jedi. His final act of rebellion was when he bowed before Lord Darth Sidious and vowed loyalty to the dark master.
Star Wars is just a fictional story. Lord Sidious is just a make-believe character from the imagination of George Lucas. Or is it all just make-believe?
The Bible tells us of a real Star Wars—a universal war between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. The forces of light are led by Jesus and the prophets and apostles of God. The forces of darkness are led by Satan and his host of demons.
Because our forefather Adam succumbed to the temptations of the Dark Side, we are all born into slavery to the Dark Side. We are all born sinners and rebels against God. But Jesus and the prophets and apostles of God are on a rescue mission to deliver us from the Dark Side. Jesus has written a spiritual declaration of independence. And he calls all of us to arms to fight against the tyranny of Satan. One by one, God rescues us from the Dark Side and brings us into the kingdom of God. We are turned from darkness to light and are freed from our slavery to Satan because now we have surrendered to Jesus and have become children of God.
The change that happens in the life of the believer is dramatic. We are freed from the penalty and power of sin. We are freed from the penalty of sin in that God has forgiven our sin. And we are freed from the power of sin because we have been born-again as children of God, and the fear of judgment has been removed.
On this Fourth of July weekend, we are free from the fear of judgment. We are free from the fear of death. We are free from the power of Satan because we have been enlightened. We now know the truth, and the truth has set us free.
We are free from the penalty of sin, and we are free from the power of sin, but we are not free from the presence of sin. Sin still has a residual influence in our lives. The residual influence of sin is called the flesh or the sin nature. I refer to the residual influence of sin as the human nature. When we turn to God by faith in Jesus, we are freed from much of the power of our sinful human nature, but we are never completely free as long as we live in this body.
We are in a lifelong struggle of sin, and we must always be vigilant in our battle with the Dark Side. Jesus understood this struggle, and so he taught his disciples the prayer: “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
To be able to understand this simple prayer for protection against sin, we need to answer several questions: What is temptation? What is the source of temptation? How does temptation become sin? Who is the evil one? What tactics does the evil one use to entice us to sin? And finally, how can we protect ourselves from the attacks of the evil one?
This prayer has two parts: Lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from the evil one.
Let’s look at the first part of the prayer: Lead us not into temptation.
First, what is temptation? Temptation is being enticed to sin. James 1:14 says, “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”
Temptation is beingenticed to sin by our own lust. 1 John 2:16 says, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
The prayer says: “Lead us not into temptation.” The Greek word “lead” means to carry or bring. This prayer is a prayer to God asking him not to bring us or carry us into temptation.
Think of your life as on a raft floating down a river. God is the one who controls the raft. He is the driver. God is the one who controls our raft as it floats down the river of life. Along this river there are dangerous rapids and waterfalls. If we are carried into the dangerous rapids and waterfalls, we can be seriously hurt or killed. The prayer is a request to God to help us avoid these dangerous places along the river and keep us safe from danger.
“God, as you orchestrate the events of our life, do not allow us to enter a time of testing.”
We’ve defined temptation, but what is the source of temptation? One source of temptation is our human nature. James 1:13-15 says,
Let 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, but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
Another source of temptation is Satan. Satan is called “the Tempter”. When Jesus was in the wilderness, the Bible says that the Tempter came to tempt Jesus. Satan wanted to defeat Jesus, so he tempted him to do things that God didn’t want him to do. That’s how Satan tries to destroy us. First, he tempts us. Then, when we have fallen into sin, he wants to enslave us to sin. The Bible tells Christians leaders how to deal with people who are enslaved to sin. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 says,
The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
These verses help us to answer the question about the source of temptation, but how does temptation become sin? Remember James 1:14-15, “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
The battle is in the mind. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ .
The first part of the prayer for protection against sin is: “Lead us not into temptation.” The second part of the prayer says: “Deliver us from the evil one.”
Who is the evil one? And how does the evil one tempt us to sin? And is there a way to protect ourselves from attacks by the evil one?
First, who is the evil one? Satan is a powerful evil angel. In Revelation 12:9, we read: “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.“
Satan is God’s enemy. He rebelled against God in heaven and was thrown down to the earth. Now he does everything he can to hurt God by hurting God’s people.
Satan is God’s enemy, and he is our enemy. He deceived Adam and Eve, and he wants to destroy us.
What are Satan’s tactics?
Satan’s first tactic is temptation. 1 Timothy 6:9 says, “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
Another tactic of Satan is to get us to become proud. Pride is one of Satan’s most important weapons against us.
Another tactic of Satan is lust.
Knowing his tactics can greatly help us know how to defend ourselves against him.
But simply knowing the enemy is only the first step. We must also be able to defend ourselves against Satan’s attacks.
One of the first ways to withstand Satan’s attacks is to submit to God and resist the devil. James 4:7 says, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Another way to overcome temptation is to realize that we don’t have to give in to temptation. We don’t have to allow ourselves to fall into sin. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13
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.
Another important way to defend ourselves from Satan is to put on the armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strong in the lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the full armor of god, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of god, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of god. With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.
These verses tell us to be strong in the Lord. We need to have confidence not in our own ability to fight Satan but in the Lord’s ability to fight Satan. 1 John 4:3-4
Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
God is able to protect us. We must stay close to him. Peter writes in 2 Peter 2:9: “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.”
Finally, we must know Jesus as Savior and have a good testimony.
Revelation 12:11: “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
Remember the words of Jesus: “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.