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ULead us not into temptation"?
by
Clayton Steep
Does God lead humans into temptation?
If
not, why pray that God won' t?
This question has perplexed many, including theologians.
I
N JAMES
1:13 we read:
"Let no man say when he
is tempted, 1 am tempted
of God: for God cannot
be tempted with evil, nel–
ther temptet h he any
man. "
But in Genesis 22:1 we also
read , "And
i
t carne to
pass ... that God did tempt
Abraham... ." Here is cer–
tainly an apparent contradic–
tion! Does God ever tempt one
to do evil ? If not , why pray,
"Lead us not ínto tempta–
tion" ?
And what about the verse that
says, " ... count it all joy when ye
fall into divers temptations"?
(James 1:2).
How are these apparently con–
tradictory scriptures to be under–
stood?
Sore Trial
The word
temptation
is a most
unfortunate translation in mos t
English versions of the Bible. In
modero usage, it has the meaning
of enticement to do evil. But that
is not the primary intent of either
the Hebrew or Greek words. In
most instances a better transla–
tion of this word is "hard test" or
" sore trial."
We see this, for example, in
Revelation 3:1O, where the same
word appears. Speaking of the
coming period of worldwide dis–
tress, Jesus makes a promise to
those who obey him: "I also will
keep thee from the hour of
temp–
tation
which shall come upon all
the world, to try them tbat dwell
upon the earth." Here the word
temptation
is better translated
" sore trial' ' or "tribulation."
Likewise, the request, " Lead
us not into temptation" should be
rendered, "Lead [or bring] us not
into sore trial. "
But what did Christ mean by
that?
Jesus himself, the night befare
his crucífixion, gave us an exam–
ple of what he meant by "lead us
not into sore trial." He was aware
of the intense suffering he was
about to undergo. He could see it
coming. He realized that if he
failed during the trials of the next
twelve hours or so, God's whole
plan for the redemptíon of man–
kínd would fail also.
Jesus was deeply troubled. He
prayed:
"O
my Father, if it be
possible, let tbis cup [of suffer–
ing) pass from me [in other
words, 'Lead me not into sore
trial!']: nevertheless," he added,
" not as 1 will , but as thou wilt"
(Matthew 26:39). This agrees
with what Jesus said in Matthew
6:1 O, "Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven."
Maybe there was sorne otber
way of working out God's plan of
redemption. He asked, if so, to be
spared being brought into the
grievously sore test just ahead–
but only
if
it was God's will.
It was not.
It is not always God's will to keep
us out of sore trial either. Sorne–
times we become lax in doing our
part to develop righteous character
and we need a hard test to bring us
to our senses. God may allow us to
experience trials to get us back "on
the track."
Our Part
A Christian is one who asks to be
Ied by God each day, for the
Eterna! says, "I am the Lord thy
God wbich ... 1eadeth thee by
the way that thou shouldest go"
(lsaiah 48:17). When we see a
trial looming on the borizon ,
rather than being overcome with
anxiety about it, we can ask God,
if
it
is his will,
to lead us past it,
around it, over it , any other direc–
tion but
into
it!
If
we are alert
and close to God, we may be
delivered from the trial befare we
become completely involved in it.
"Watch [be alert!] and pray,"
Jesus urged his disciples, "that ye