Lead Us Not Into Temptation
When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."
Luke 11:2-4 TNIV
NOTICE THAT JESUS' instruction on prayer does not end with "lead us not into sin" but instead "lead us not into temptation." You may wonder, what's the difference? Many times we like to approach sin as an imaginary line. As long as we stay on the right side of the line we're OK. But, as soon as we cross to the wrong side of the line we're sinning.
The result of this mentality is that we often attempt to get as close to this imaginary line as possible without crossing or sinning. Most of us eventually learn that if we keep walking up to the edge of this line, we'll eventually cross it.
The motivation of this prayer is not merely trying not to cross an imaginary line or avoiding sin, but avoiding anything that would draw us away from pursuing God. In other words the motivation in avoiding temptation is to have one's heart, mind and entire life fully focused on living for God. As the Apostle Paul challenged the young man Timothy, whom he was mentoring: "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22).
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My response:
This is not the meaning of the phrase, "Lead us not into temptation." This is actually a very bad translation of the prayer because the Scriptures clearly say that God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). In the original Greek Jesus' model prayer actually means, "Do not let us be tempted beyond our ability.". So rather than warning me about my behavior (after the Covenant of Works) the prayer is a recognition of God's grace and his ability to preserve and guide our sanctification. We must not fall prey to this notion that although our righteousness is imputed, our sanctification is still dependent on my works (good behavior, good intentions, etc). Our sanctification is a life-long process, unlike justification, but it is learning to rely more and more on God's grace as sufficient for every need and circumstance.
What do you think? Use the comments and share with the Gathering.
