Talking Points with Pastor Lucas: "Lead us not into temptation"
“Lead us not into temptation.”
We pray this every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. There is something very earnest and important about praying this petition. Let’s look at the truth that stands behind these five words that Jesus gave us to pray.
Temptation seeks to destroy you spiritually.
“Lead us not into temptation.” These words encompass the life of every believer. Day in and day out, people of faith battle against temptation. The season of Lent impresses this upon us all the more. You and I are engaged in spiritual warfare. True it can be difficult to see it sometimes. The spiritual world is not readily available to the naked eye. But that is why we must walk by faith and not by sight.
You see, at its core, temptation seeks to destroy us spiritually. It may confront us in a physical, mental, or emotional form. The angry urge to degrade someone, the envy that afflicts our attitude, and the lust that overwhelms us all seek to corrupt our beings and condemn our souls.
Behind even the smallest enticement, there lurks a darkness we dare not take lightly. The Small Catechism summarizes what the Bible teaches on this:
“Lead us not into temptation.”
What does this mean? God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.
This describes the life of every believer. It reminds us what we’re up against: the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. It’s a deadly combination. They don’t stand passively by. They attack, harass, and oppress.
The devil has been on the offense since the start. In the garden, he launch his attack on Eve:
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”’” (Genesis 3:1, ESV)
We know what happened next.
Relentless. Ruthless. Ready.
The devil reveals his real goal in every temptation: to play upon our fallen human condition and cast doubt upon God’s Word.
The devil is relentless. If you are tired and worn, the temptation to lose your temper is around the corner. If your marriage is struggling, the temptation to give up is coming. If you’re sick, get a disease, or experience hardship, the temptation to think God has abandoned you will be thrust in your face.
The devil is ruthless. He did not hesitate to tempt even the Son of God (Matthew 4:1-11). When Jesus was hungry, Satan tempted Him to turn stones into bread. Then he tempted Jesus to prove hat He was the Son of God by casting Himself down from he temple wall. Finally, he tempted Jesus with power and prestige, if only Jesus would worship him.
The devil is ready. Hunger, pride, desire—Satan had an array of temptations ready to play upon Jesus’ human condition.
But each time, Jesus battled the devil—and his corresponding temptation—with the Word of God. And each time, the Word of God won. That tells us two things:
To battle the devil, we must not rely upon ourselves.
Only the Word of God can defeat the devil.
Thus, we do well to saturate our lives by daily meditating upon the Word, that we might be able to use it upon a moment’s notice.
Jesus—hope and victory incarnate
We have the Word made flesh to lead us forward. In fact, hope cannot be destroyed when Jesus is the very living and breathing hope in us. Baptized into His name, we have been united with Jesus. The Word made flesh has taken up residence in our flesh, and He has told the devil to go to hell. He gives strength to the tired and fortitude to the tempted.
He is the source of all hope. Hanging on the cross for the sins of the world, bloodied and beaten, Jesus speaks hope:
It is finished! (John 19:30)
The power of Satan was vanquished by our Savior’s bitter anguish—by His wounds, by His death, and by His mighty resurrection.
For you and me, temptations are sure to come. And giving into those temptations will surely follow. But He who overcame all temptations brings relief from oppression, forgiveness for trespasses, and boldness to fight against the most enticing temptations.
With Jesus, hope is never lost. When we despair, Jesus walks right through death to bring us life. He brings it still today—tangibly even—with His body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. Yes, crucified, dead, and buried, Jesus was raised back to life and brings us living hope.
Every day, we battle against the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. That’s why we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” even as we trust that the victory has been won. In Christ, there is always hope.
In Christ, we always win the victory.
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Lucas
Rev. Dr. Lucas V. Woodford
President
Minnesota South District, LCMS
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