Temptation (Testing) and Evil

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”-Matthew 6:12a (KJV).

The sixth and final petition in the Lord’s Prayer asks that we not go into temptation and that we be delivered from evil.  Some of the translations render ‘temptation’ as ‘testing.’  Does God tempt us?  James 1:13-15 states, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one.  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire, when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”  God tests his people in order that their character might be strengthened but He never tempts.  God is altogether good and He cannot be tempted with evil.  He would never entice us to sin or to seek that which would weaken our faith.  But God allows trials and testing to strengthen our faith.  Many examples exist in the Bible:  Abraham was tested by being asked to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice.  The test completed, God provided the sacrifice.  The Israelites were tested by their years of wandering in the wilderness.  After His baptism, Jesus Himself was led into the wilderness to be tested.  Concerning the account of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness, most of our translations read:“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness  to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1).  The Greek word translated “tempted” here is “peirazo” which can also mean tested.  Jesus had to make choices about falling short of God’s plan for Him.  He was victorious and did not yield to the evil one.  The devil intended to thwart God’s plan and purpose.  If Jesus had yielded (and He definitely did not!), He would have fallen into disobedience to God and would have been disqualified as the sinless Savior.  The areas in which He was tested were (1) to satisfy his physical hunger; (2) to use spectacular power to rescue himself from danger and a short-cut to recognition; and (3) to use a short cut to rule the kingdoms of the world.  Each time, Jesus quoted an appropriate scripture to counteract the devil’s very real power to entice and tempt.  In His temptations, Jesus was an example for us to follow. Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin”(Hebrews 4:15b). In this world we will be tempted, we will have trials and tribulations.  Pray that God will give us the strength to overcome, to say “no” to the temptations that beset.

The second part of this petition is “deliver us from evil.”  Evil is on every hand and we are sorely tempted by what we see, hear, feel and experience to go astray from God’s teachings and principles. One of our noted Amercian Christian leaders was asked what , from his lifetime of observation and experience, would he advise Christians to earnestly do.  His unhesitating reply was “Pray every day:  ‘Deliver us from evil. Do not compromise your Christian witness or forfeit your influence by letting Satan have the victory” (Dr. Robert Wetzel).  With all the forces of evil that surround us , we ought to have this prayer on the tip of our tongues many times during the day:  “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”