The Lord's Prayer: Deliverance

Matthew 6:13

October 20, 2002

 

The sixth petition of the Lord's Prayer is a frank admission: I am a sinner with the propensity to continue in sin; without God's gracious intervention I will fall headlong into sin. This may seem to be a harsh, even negative statement. To admit that we are sinners before coming to Christ is one thing; but to admit that even when we are called saints as Christians that we are still sinners, is yet another. Such admission owns up to the reality that we must live daily by the constant supply of God's grace.

 

Do you understand your own weakness and propensity for sin? I know that we are supposed to avoid such comments in our day for fear of damaging someone's psyche or hurting his self-esteem. But the reality is that we are sinners - and weak sinners at that - given to sin.

 

I do not have to look outside of my own life to be reminded of this - nor do you. When we hold our lives up to the plumb-line of God's revelation we realize that we are sinners that fall short of God's glory (Rom 3:23). When we think of the many times that we have stared temptation in the face only to give in to its lure, we realize how very weak we are. Such reminders for us as we consider this text are not offered to plunge us into the pit of despair but to help us see the constant abundance of God's grace that is given to us. Indeed, the Lord sustains us and preserves us for himself. He continues the good work in us that he began before we even realized it until that day that we stand complete before him (Phil 1:6).

 

Meanwhile we are faced with reminders of our weaknesses. I think back to my friends in the ministry from seminary days, and am reminded of the fact that our only hope from falling prey to evil is the grace of God. One of my favorite classes in seminary was Preaching 501. We had a lively class, led by an excellent professor. I cannot remember all the guys in that class but I do remember several of them. One that had the reputation of being the best preacher among the students fell prey to immorality several years ago. His best friend, a very articulate and bright fellow, did the same before him. Another fellow from my home state, and a delightful guy, married a young lady that was in seminary; but a few years ago he fell into an immoral relationship. Another guy that became one of my closest friends, and my study-buddy for Old Testament gave way to immorality. Those are the ones that I can remember. There may be more. All of them serve to remind me of the weakness of our flesh, and the propensity for sin that we all bear. And I do not just mean sin of that nature, but sins of every stripe and hue. We are capable as sinners of committing any sin known to man.

 

It is only when we recognize our own propensities for sin that we will have the courage to consistently pray this sixth petition. When our desire is to truly live like a kingdom citizen in fellowship with the King, we will offer regularly this sixth petition. Do you pray about deliverance from evil?

 

I. Avoiding the snare

 

So with the reality of our sinfulness before us, Jesus leads us into praying concerning our response to the pull of sin. Keep in mind that he is explaining to kingdom citizens how we are to pray. He gives us tracks in the six petitions on which we carry our requests to the heavenly Father. While the first three petitions lead to great devotion unto our God, desiring that his name, rule, and will be manifested throughout the world, the remaining three petitions lead us to great dependence upon our God. We depend upon him for our daily needs. We depend upon him to forgive us of our sins even as we, by his grace, have forgiven others. And now we depend upon him to enable us to walk through life and not be trapped in the snare of sin, but liberated so that we might enjoy fellowship with him.

 

Therefore we pray, "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." It is obvious that this petition has two pleas. The first petition is negative, asking the Lord to prevent something in our lives that is natural to us. The second petition is positive, pleading with the Lord to free us from the evil that abounds without and within. We will consider the first part of the petition under the heading, "Avoiding the snare." As we pray do we seek to avoid being ensnared by sin?

 

1. Common predicament

 

Derek Prime has rightly stated, "Our experience of forgiveness does not lessen our concern about our sin; rather it heightens our sensitivity to it, and our desire to avoid it" [The Lord's Prayer for Today, 132]. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ it seems that we see not only more of Christ in his sufficiency, but we also see more of ourselves in our weaknesses and propensities toward sin. We discover - as we grow spiritually - that we still are tempted by sin and must constantly look to the Lord. Temptation is the common predicament of every believer and unbeliever. The unbeliever views it differently though, perhaps even indifferently. He may be a moralist that is concerned about the besmirching of his reputation, so he avoids certain sins while he indulges without care in other sins. Or he may be one that callously dives into sin without thought of eternal consequence. But the believer cannot live like that. I do not hesitate to say cannot live like that. John describes the Christian's assurance by stating, "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (I John 3:9). He declares both reality and reason: the Christian cannot persist in sin because Christ dwells in him; he therefore has a different attitude and appetite toward sin due to his new life in Christ.

 

But having made that point, the Christian is still a sinner though called a saint. He is set apart unto the Lord, therefore his whole life and passion belongs to the Lord. Yet he still sins. The power of sin is broken in his life so that he can discipline himself for the purpose of godliness; yet he must guard himself lest he fall into temptation.

 

The first part of this prayer is the believer's cry concerning temptation: "And do not lead us into temptation." It is both recognition of temptation and an assertion of dependence upon the Sovereign Lord in the face of temptation.

 

Temptation is an everyday part of life - we all realize this. The word that is used for temptation actually has an ambiguous meaning. It is often translated as "test" or "trial." For instance, James 1:2 says, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials." That is the same word. Later in the same chapter, 1:13, it is clearly translated as "tempt" rather than trials: "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." So which does it mean? Various commentators have made cases for both positions, but I think we must assume that the ambiguity is intended. Ray Pritchard has summarized this very clearly:

What God gives to us as a trial or a test is almost always used by Satan as a temptation [e.g., Joseph in Egypt or Abraham waiting for fulfillment of God's promise]. The same event may be both a trial and test to you and also a temptation from Satan. Or if you will, God uses it to accomplish one thing in your life, and Satan at the same time is working through that event to try to accomplish something diametrically opposite. Often God allows a trial to come for a positive purpose, but Satan tries to co-opt it for his own evil reasons [And When You Pray, 173].


But what is our attitude toward temptation? Let me pose a few questions for us to consider in light of the common predicament of temptation:

 

Since it is a daily occurrence, do we presume that it is okay to give into temptation?


Do we accept temptation and the sin that follows when we succumb to it by excusing it as the inevitability of our human weakness?


Do we enjoy temptation? Do we find ourselves numbed to resisting it because we have dallied far too much in temptation and sin?


Are we gripped by how often we give into temptation so that we pray regularly for deliverance?


Are we so numbed to temptation that we scarcely notice it unless it involves a "major" sin?


Do we earnestly - zealously - desire holiness and fellowship with Christ above all else so that we pray that our propensity for falling into sin might be short-circuited at the source?


Such a prayer, "and lead us not into temptation," recognizes both the strength of temptation and the weakness of the flesh. The Bible abounds with examples of strong temptation and weak flesh. We look at Lot and see how he got too comfortable in Sodom, and paid dearly for his spiritual dullness. We look at Abraham's failure to trust God's promise and timing, and recognize the Ishmael that was produced. We look at Gehazi that had witnessed so much of God's goodness and power as he served Elisha, yet when the temptation for "things" confronted him he yielded to his own hurt. We look at David becoming too comfortable in his position and power so that he thought he could sin with impunity. We look at Peter trying to impress Jewish zealots so that he wounded the fellowship of Christians in Antioch. But we have this promise as we pray, "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation" [or "trial"] (II Pet 2:9).

 

2. Consciousness of providence

 

But how are we to avoid the snare of temptation? Is this where we roll up our sleeves and give it the old college try? Certainly in the face of temptation we are to use every means that God has given us to resist. We are told to "stand firm," and to "resist in the evil day" (Eph 6:11, 13). We are told to "flee from youthful lusts" (II Tim 2:22) and to "abstain from every form of evil" (I Thes 5:22). So this prayer is not a call for passivity in the face of temptation. Rather it is recognition that even with our best and most disciplined efforts in the face of temptation, we are still weak and in need of God's gracious hand.

 

"And lead us not into temptation" implies that the believer is highly conscious of the working of God's providence in his life. God does not tempt us to evil, as James points out (Jas 1:13) but he does order all things in our lives. As the Abstract of Principles puts it:

God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not in any wise to be the author or approver of sin nor to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.


God is at work in ordering the fine details of his creation. "Nothing happens by chance or outside the sphere of God's providence" [The 1689 Confession, chap. 5, article 2]. Even though secondary causes are at work in our lives - whether men or devils - God has ordered them for our good and for his glory. God is not the "approver of sin" or the originator of sin, yet even the temptation to sin must operate within the sphere of his providence. He is the one that can cause even the worst of situations to work together with the orderings of his providence for our good (Rom 8:28).

 

In light of this, we pray, "And lead us not into temptation." It is not that we avoid temptation altogether; for to do so would mean that we would have to leave this world. "I do not ask that You take them out of the world," Jesus prayed, "but to keep them from the evil one" (John 17:15). This is a prayer to avoid being snared by the net of temptation. God's children are in the world but not part of it - in the world but not under the power and sway of the evil one. And so our prayer is a plea that the Lord will not allow you to fall into such temptation that you cannot resist it, and thus find your fellowship with him broken.

 

But why does the Lord even allow us to be tempted in the first place? Thomas Brooks gives four succinct reasons that bear consideration. As he puts it, "He does it for many wise and holy ends."

(1) He lets them be tempted to try them.... Temptation is a touchstone to try what is in the heart....

 

(2) God suffers [allows] his children to be tempted, that they may be kept from pride [both Peter and Paul are fine examples].... Better is the temptation that humbles me than the duty that makes me proud....

 

(3) God lets his people be tempted that they may be fitter to comfort others who are in the same distress, and speak a word in due season to such as are weary.... A man that has ridden over a place where there are quicksands, is the fittest to guide others through that dangerous way....

 

(4) God lets his children be tempted to make them long more for heaven, where they shall be out of gunshot, and freed from the hissing of the old serpent [The Lord's Prayer, 282-284].


II. The road to deliverance

 

The second half of the petition is positive, "But deliver us from evil." Again, there is an ambiguity in the Greek. The word "evil" (neuter) can also be translated "evil one" (masculine). You probably have one of these translations in your Bible and the other in the marginal renderings. Calvin surmises that it really does not make any difference either way. "Chrysostom refers it to the devil, who is the architect of all evil, and inasmuch as he is the bitter enemy of our salvation continually wars against us." Then he contrasts, "But it could just as conveniently be explained as referring to sin. There is no need to make a controversy over the matter, for the sense stays practically the same, that we are exposed to the devil and to sin, but God protects us and snatches us away" [Calvin's New Testament Commentaries, vol. 1, 213]. The emphasis is not so much on the noun - evil - as it is upon the verb - deliver. The stress is laid upon the Lord as our Deliverer whether from the devil or the evil that is in the world or in our own bosom.

 

1. Chief desire

 

Why are we to pray such a prayer? We acknowledge that it is often prayed in great hypocrisy since many have no interest in deliverance from evil. Some pray this prayer daily but also vigorously pursue sin as if they cannot get enough of it! The whole rationale for "but deliver us from evil" is found in the kingdom citizen's chief desire. What do we long for more than anything else? Is it for man's applause? Then this prayer will not be very interesting to you. Is it for things? Then again you will not find this prayer appealing. But if your chief desire is to know Christ and fellowship with him above all else, then you will find yourself praying such a prayer.

 

We read the passage last week in our time of worship but it bears mentioning again. John described the fellowship that belonged to him and other believers with the Father and His Son. True fellowship with the Lord, John explains, is not found by wallowing in sin, excusing sin, or hiding sin: "God is Light, and in Him there is not darkness at all." Then John declares, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [that is sin], we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (I John 1:5-7). He exhorts us to no longer cover up our sin but to confess it, and to put it away from our lives (1:8-2:1). And why all the fuss over sin? It is because sin hinders our fellowship with the Lord. More than anything for the kingdom citizen, he desires fellowship with his King. And so we pray, "But deliver us from evil."

 

2. Three foes

            We really have three clear-cut foes as Christians - and I believe this is the ultimate intention of the term "evil" in this prayer: the world, the flesh, and the devil. You've seen this triumvirate of evil teamed together throughout your life. The world bombards you with images, allurements, distractions, applause, and ample opportunities to sin against God. The world is bent in opposition to God so much so that John declared that to love the world means that the love of the Father is not in you (I John 2:15).

 

The flesh is another story because it is not outside you but within. The flesh speaks of the "old man," "indwelling sin," and "your former manner of life" that "is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit" (Eph 4:22). It is you without Christ. It is your human nature bent on rebellion against God. But now as a Christian you have a new life and a new man within. But you still have a mind that has been affected by sin so that you must "be renewed in the spirit of your mind" and you must also "put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth" (Eph 4:23-24). Meanwhile, the flesh wars within you so that like Paul you can say, "I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good" (Rom 7:21). It is the battle of the "gates" as Bunyan expressed it in Holy War. The "Ear-gate, Eye-ate, Mouth-gate, Nose-gate, and Feel-gate" must be dealt with or they will let evil of all sorts plague your life [pointed out by D. Prime, 146].

 

Then there is the devil whose very name means "slanderer" or "adversary." Peter pictures him as prowling about like a hungry lion, looking for someone to devour, waiting for some opening to ply his wickedness (I Pet 5:8-9). He is the thief that seeks to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10). He is the one who hinders us from the pursuit of good and right intentions (I Thes 2:18). He tempts us, even as he did our Lord in the wilderness and in the Garden. We must understand that the devil never has any thought of good for us. He never pities us in trials and difficulties. That is why even in the face of trials and tests he delivers some of his severest temptations to sin. When he sees you down he tries to pound you down yet further. When he recognizes a "chink in the armor" he will fling a fiery arrow at the spot.

 

With such a triumvirate of evil that is why we must realize that life is war (as Piper has put it so clearly in Let the Nations Be Glad!). There is never a day that is battle-free. There are no truces with the world, flesh, and devil. No round table summits are called to discuss peaceful resolutions to war. If you are a kingdom citizen then you are called to stand faithfully as a soldier of the cross day after day, but you are not to stand in your own power and strength. You have been given the equipment for the fight (Eph 6:10-20) and the weapon of prayer by which you call upon your King to rescue you.

 

3. Rescue mission

 

The Christian prays, "But deliver us from evil." We can daily, even moment-by-moment, call unto the Lord for deliverance and he gladly hears and answers our prayer. He does not "shoo" us away because he has heard from us too much. If anything he tells us to constantly call upon him - to live in dependence upon his gracious work in our lives.

 

As we pray for deliverance it seems that the Lord ultimately brings us back to the cross and the faithful work of Christ. At the cross, Jesus triumphed openly over all the evil foes that taunt and assault us (Col 2:15; I John 2:8). At the cross, the power of sin was broken and freedom granted to those that believe (I John 2:5; Heb 2:14-15). At the cross, we are reminded that the Lord knows the strength of temptation, and he therefore gives aid to those that are tempted (Heb 2:18). At the cross we are reminded of all that belongs to us as kingdom citizens. Our courage is renewed. Our strength is re-forged. Our desire for fellowship with out King is intensified. Our sight of freedom from sin's grip is sharpened. We are reminded again of the joy of forgiveness of our sins at the cross.

 

"Satan would lead us into temptation; God would lead us out of it," writes Derek Prime. But how does he do this? Prime has given a helpful outline that I will follow. First, he reminds us of our weakness so that we might lean upon his strength. When we know the deceitfulness of our own hearts "we are compelled to pray more - which can only be to our spiritual good - as we realize how vulnerable we are, and how dependent therefore upon our Saviour's delivering grace."

 

"Second, he leads us out of temptation by incentives to holiness. We discover and prove that to resist temptation out of love for God brings us into deeper fellowship with him. The greater our fellowship with him, the more sensitive we become to the first approaches of temptation."

 

"Third, he leads us out of temptation by providing ways of escape so that we may be able to bear and over come it." Paul tells us that with each temptation is also a way of escape. "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" (I Cor 10:13). That way of escape may be thoughts upon the gospel or the Holy Spirit bringing God's promises to mind or the intervention of a friend or a moment of crisis that steers us away. Escape routes may come in myriad ways. But we are assured that when temptation comes, escape is also at hand.

 

"Fourth, he leads us out of temptation by calling off Satan.... Satan's power is limited. God alone knows how much we can take."

 

"Fifth, he leads us out of temptation by giving us strength to overcome, and to put Satan to flight." This is where we find the armor of God engaged in the conflict so that we might hold our ground in obedience and holiness. God supplies to us the same resources that were given to our Lord in the wilderness and in Gethsemane [Prime, 152-153].

 

Conclusion

 

As we continue to reflect on the Lord's Prayer, I trust that we will have a different, more intensive view about sin's effects in our lives. Let us seek to turn away from sin. Let us be sin-haters. Call upon the Lord. Ask him for mercy and grace in the day of temptation. See the resources that he has given to you in answer to your prayers, and resist temptation's pull. Let nothing hinder your fellowship with the King. 

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be explicitly approved by South Woods Baptist Church.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy:

Copyright South Woods Baptist Church. Website: www.southwoodsbc.org. Used by permission as granted on web site. Questions, comments, and suggestions about our site can be sent here.