Lord’s Prayer Pt. 6 – Lead Us Not Into Temptation

I love my big Airedale, Zeke, and he absolutely loves giving hugs. Unfortunately, he also loves to eat my kids’ pencils… and their homework.

My wife and I tell our kids to keep these items off the floor and out of his reach. They are just too big of a temptation for him. Sometimes they listen, and sometimes they come home to find their favorite pencils in pieces.

The last two phrases of the Lord’s Prayer deal with temptation, and like other lines in the prayer, can seem a bit strange. In Matthew 6:13, Jesus commands us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Before we discuss this beautiful sentence further, let’s see what the early Christians thought about it.

“Lead us not into temptation.” This means, do not allow us to be led into it by him who tempts. For far be the thought that the Lord should seem to tempt us. – Tertullian 198CE Volume 3, p. 684

“And allow us not to be led into temptation.” … When we ask that we may not come into temptation, we are reminded of our infirmity and weakness in that we thus ask, lest any should insolently vaunt himself, lest any should proudly and arrogantly assume anything to himself … when the Lord Himself, teaching humility, said, “Watch and pray, so that you will not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak;” …

We conclude by saying, “But deliver us from evil,” comprehending all adverse things which the enemy attempts against us in this world, from which there may be a faithful and sure protection if God deliver us, if He affords His help to us who pray for and implore it. … For what fear is there in this life, to the man whose guardian in this life is God? – Cyprian 250CE Volume 5, p. 795 [CD-ROM]

One immediate observation one can make is that the early Christians believed the wording of the Lord’s Prayer could better be written, “Do not allow us to be led into temptation.” They observed that since God does not tempt anyone, the prayer is a plea for divine help to not be dragged away from simple devotion to the Father, and thus fall into sin through the devil’s temptations.

Walter Liefeld echoes this thought in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary on Luke, “The request is clearly for the Father to keep His children from falling away in the hour of trial.” It would make sense for Jesus to call us to pray this way, since He says in the parable of the soils, “Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away (Luke 8:13).”

Also, the early Christians remind us that like Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemane, God’s Spirit is willing to help, but our flesh is weak. And if we are not actively making use of God's help by keeping watch with prayer against temptation, any of us can fall into egregious temptation.

I remember as a teenager when I brashly declared I would never get drunk. I remember when I confidently proclaimed I would never do drugs. I remember when I made a promise to wait until I was married to have sex. I also remember falling in each of those three areas.

Like Peter on Jesus' last night, I was so sure of myself. Like Peter, I trusted in myself so much I didn’t depend on God and the power of prayer. I should’ve listened to Paul’s counsel in 1 Corinthians 10:12, "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall." 

I wish I had been exposed to the early Christians much sooner in my life, for they lived with a confident humility. They possessed an immense confidence in the power of prayer. As Cyprian stated, if we are willing to earnestly and faithfully cry out to God for deliverance from evil, we can walk without fear through any situation in life, knowing our great and mighty God is with us.

We don’t have to be like Zeke and feel helpless to give into certain temptations whenever they come our way. So may we take the approach of the early Christians, and three times daily call on our God with confident humility. And may we see and testify of Him coming through over and over as our ever-present help in times of trouble.

Lord's Prayer Pt. 5 - Forgive Us As We Forgive

In the Christian culture where I was raised, we were taught to view the Bible as the inerrant, infallible word of God. I’m glad that I was given that foundation, because scripture teaches that it is completely inspired by God… breathed out by the Holy Spirit Himself. Looking back, though, I have noticed that there were several instances in the church where it was insinuated that the pastor or teacher’s interpretation was more authoritative than the simple words of Christ.

For instance, let’s explore Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness.

The Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:12 calls us to pray, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Did you notice that little word as? It means ‘in the same way’. Little word – big implications.

Do you really forgive all people of their sins in the same way you want God to forgive you of your sins? And do you believe He will answer this prayer?

Perhaps the most detailed and shocking story told by Jesus on the importance of forgiveness is found in Matthew 18:21-35. A servant is mercifully forgiven an unimaginable debt by his master, yet afterwards refuses to forgive a fellow servant of a minor debt in comparison. When the master hears of the injustice, he hands him over to the torturers until his debt can be paid off (he owed more than 150,000 years worth of salary). Jesus concludes this parable by saying, “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart. (vs. 35)”

Do you really believe that God will have His servants tortured if they don’t forgive other Christians from their heart?

Though my church culture growing up believed it was imperative to forgive, they didn't really teach that a Christian refusing to forgive others could affect that Christian's eternal experience. The early Christians took the matter of forgiveness with the utmost seriousness and believed it did affect our eternal standing with God. Look at these two examples:

If then we ask the Lord to forgive us, we ought to also forgive; for we are before the eyes of our Lord and God, and “we must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ, and must every one give an account of himself.” Let us then serve Him in fear, and with all reverence, even as He Himself has commanded us, and as the apostles who preached the Gospel unto us. – Polycarp 135CE, Volume 1, p. 60 [CD-ROM]

He has clearly … bound us by a certain condition and engagement, that we should ask that our debts be forgiven us in such a manner as we ourselves forgive our debtors, knowing that that which we seek for our sins cannot be obtained unless we ourselves have acted in a similar way in respect of our debtors. … There remains no ground of excuse in the day of judgment, when you will be judged according to your own sentence; and whatever you have done, that you will also suffer. For God commands us to be peacemakers. – Cyprian 250CE, Volume 5, p. 793-794 [CD-ROM]

Being a parent will just about force you to learn how to be forgiving if you struggle with that issue. I’ve never had to offer forgiveness more often in a two year period than I have since Steph and I adopted siblings in 2014. It was a difficult adjustment for me during that first year, primarily because I was being pulled out of deep levels of selfishness I didn't know existed.

There was one point early in year one when I was getting repeatedly lied to and hurt every day, and began to harbor a significant amount of bitterness. It was affecting my mood, concentration, patience, relationships, driving and sleep. One day I felt God calling me to get down on my knees at my bed to confess this bitterness and forgive my kids.

As I began to confess the bitterness, an oppressive force seemed to manifest. I know this sounds weird, but something began to choke me. I tried to rebuke whatever it was in Jesus’ name, but I couldn’t breathe or speak. Finally, after about 20 seconds of crying out to God in my heart and mind, I managed to eek out, “Spirit of bitterness, I rebuke you in Jesus’ name.” And just like that, everything went back to normal. I quickly forgave my kids.

I’ve never experienced anything like that before, and, praise God, never anything like that since.

Bringing this to a head, there are many phrases in the Lord’s Prayer that the human heart just doesn’t want to take seriously. Yet, of all the things Jesus could say in response to the vital issues we are commanded to pray for, He immediately follows the prayer with, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions (Matt. 6:14-15).”

So I ask, do you really believe Jesus that if you don’t forgive other people their sins, God will not forgive you of your sins?

Who do you need to make amends with today?

Lord's Prayer Pt. 4 - Give Us Our Daily Bread

In my blog posts, I try to be very honest with you, the reader. I try to be honest about failures and successes, no matter how weird they may make me appear. Today’s post is no exception.

I have never really been comfortable with the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.” It has just never really made much sense to me, an American Christian.

Even when I was a teenager and it was just my mother and I basically living paycheck to paycheck, our refrigerator was full of food. I’ve never felt like I actually needed to ask God for my daily bread. 

As I became older and got an undergrad theology and seminary degree, I heard spiritualized interpretations of this prayer, as if it was simply reminding us that God meets our needs for today and tomorrow. However, as with this subject and countless others, I was never taught what the early Christians believed about this line of the Lord’s prayer.

I think there may be a nefarious reason for these omissions. For instance, read Cyprian’s explanation of the line in question:

“Give us this day our daily bread.” … We who have renounced the world, and have cast away its riches … should only ask for ourselves food and support, since the Lord instructs us and says, “Whosoever does not forsake all that he has, cannot be My disciple.” … And the Lord moreover promises and says, “Take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or where withal shall we be clothed?’ For after all these things do the nations seek. And your Father knows that you need of all these things. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Cyprian 250CE, Volume 5, p. 791-792 [CD-ROM]

As you can see, the early Christians took Jesus’ words simply and seriously. They viewed the prayer for daily bread as a call to radical simplicity and generosity. And here’s where I get even more honest with you.

The more I read the earliest Christian writings, the more I feel like I understand why many modern leaders in Christian places of learning seem to keep their writings away from Christian learners. The writings of the early Christians are threatening because the early Christians actually lived out Jesus’ words simply, and Jesus’ words are threatening. Jesus' words, taken simply and seriously, threaten my money, my security, my safety, and my right to say, “My” in the first place.

Here are some examples of what I mean:

“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. … Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.” – Luke 6:24-25, 29-30

“Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Luke 12:33-34

“When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” – Luke 14:12-14

“None of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” – Luke 14:33

This kind of generosity seems radical to us, yet it was normal to the early Christians. One reason it was normal to them is because they had already surrendered all of their possessions to the Lord to use as He saw fit. 

Soon after Cyprian gave His life to Jesus, he literally sold all he had and gave the money to the poor. I think that seems radical to me because, when I’m being honest, I trust more in earth than I do in heaven. 

All of these passages I've quoted where Jesus calls His followers to deep levels of generosity come in the context of Him speaking about heaven. I don’t think very much about heaven, but I sure do spend a lot of time thinking about things of this earth. Maybe that’s why I’m so threatened by so many of the things Jesus says.

Interestingly, Jesus says He is the bread of heaven, and He, not this world, is the true food we need (John 6:51, 55). Lord, I believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!

Lord's Prayer Pt. 2 - Hallowed Be Your Name

Teaching the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer is a fun and challenging exercise whether you’re discussing the matter with adults or your 7-year-old daughter. This is especially true when you get to words like ‘hallowed’. Hallowed is just not a word that one hears in 2016. 

To help break down the concept of what it means to hallow God’s name, let me tell you a brief story. In 2004, I went to Africa for the first time. Our group from Houston Baptist University was doing AIDS education in various high schools in Swaziland. At that point, Swaziland had the highest AIDS prevalence rate in the world. It was heartbreaking.

One day, we had finished our daily presentations and were outside talking with the students. I remember one girl telling me how desperately she wanted to go to America. I asked her why, and what she said amazed me.

The picture of America she described seemed like it had been taken right out of a Britney Spears video. (I realize that is a dated reference, but this story occurred in 2004.) If you want America to have a good name with outsiders, and they have any semblance of a moral compass, you probably should keep them away from Britney Spears videos.

Anyway, I tried to tell her that America as a whole wasn’t like that, but she wouldn’t believe me. Even though America’s name was soiled in toxic waste in her mind, the depravity was appealing to her. Heartbreak upon heartbreak.

It made me think of Paul’s word to the Corinthians that Christians, “are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20).”

Before our team from HBU came to her school, those music videos were the only representation of America that girl had ever seen. It was as if America was making its appeal through Britney. However, far more than being representatives of the country of America, our team from HBU was there as ambassadors for the kingdom and family of God.

A kingdom whose laws and values are far richer than those of America. A kingdom whose King is infinitely better than any ruler who has sat in the White house. A kingdom whose citizens don’t seek first financial security and physical safety, but rather the King’s glory in every aspect of their lives. A kingdom that keeps growing because the name/character of the King is mirrored by His children.

What does it mean for us to hallow God’s name? Cyprian says it well. 

When we call God Father, we ought to act as God’s children; so that in the measure in which we find pleasure in considering God as a Father, He might also be able to find pleasure in us. Let us converse as temples of God, that it may be plain that God dwells in us. … “You are not your own; for you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear about God in your body.” After this we say, “Hallowed be Thy name;” not that we wish for God that He may be hallowed by our prayers, but that we beseech of Him that His name may be hallowed in us. … Because He says, “Be holy, even as I am holy,” we ask and entreat, that we who were sanctified in baptism may continue in that which we have begun to be. And this we daily pray for; for we have need of daily sanctification. – Cyprian 250CE, Volume 5, p. 787-788 [CD-ROM] 

If we are God's children, we should seek to reflect our Father more and more purely so the world will love Him more than itself.

Lord's Prayer Pt. 1 - Our Father in Heaven

Every night, Stephanie and I do devotionals with our kids. Usually I take my 12-year-old son, but about once a week I get to do the devotional with my 7-year-old daughter, Z. When it’s my turn, we read from the Jesus Storybook Bible, which is pretty great, by the way.

A few nights ago she asked if we could read the passage about the Lord’s Prayer. Evidently, that is a section she loves to read. However, before we began I asked her if she knew the actual version of the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6. She said no. So I began to talk with her about the first phrase.

Our Father in heaven…

I began by asking Z why the prayer doesn’t begin with “My Father”. She said that God is not just her Father, but our Father. So I asked her who ‘our’ referred to. Who is God the Father of? She said ‘us’. Everybody.

Is that the case? Is God the Father of everyone?

Many in the hyper-grace movement believe so. One author writes, apparently about everyone:

We are not solitary pilgrims looking to the heavens and calling out to God, but adopted sons and daughters looking out at the world, each other, and ourselves through God. “For ‘In Him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:28, italics mine). We are already “in” Christ. We need not ascend but fall deeper into an awareness of that experience.

I can understand the heart behind such statements. As Christians, we should earnestly want everyone to be with Jesus forever. But does scripture actually teach that all people are already in Christ? Is everyone physically born into the kingdom of God, born into God’s family, and only in need of becoming aware of this truth to find salvation?

John’s Gospel was the last to be written, and was penned after all of Paul’s letters. In the first chapter John narrates that Jesus came to His own people, but they didn’t receive Him. However, to everyone who will receive Him, to those who will believe in His name, He has given the right to become children of God. Children not born by their natural parents, but born by God.

John appears to be clearly saying that no one can be naturally born into God’s family (See John 3:1-7 for further clarification). Scripture, though, can be interpreted in various ways. So what was the early Church’s orthodox position on this subject and passage?

The new man, born again and restored to his God by His grace, says “Father,” in the first place because he has now begun to be a son. “He came,” He says, “to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name.” … Beloved brethren … observe and understand that we should call Him … our Father, that is, the Father of those who believe—of those who, being sanctified by Him and restored by the nativity of spiritual grace, have begun to be sons of God. – Cyprian 250CE, Vol. 5, p. 786-787

The early church took John 1 seriously and literally (Two other examples include Irenaeus and Justin Martyr). They believed that only those who choose to receive Jesus become born again into God’s family, and that birth brings supernatural transformation. They also believed that there is an intrinsic relationship between baptism and becoming born again as God’s sons and daughters.

I told Z that we could pray “our Father” because she, her mom and I had given our lives to Jesus because of what Jesus had done for us. And in doing so, we were now adopted sons and daughters of God. We were born again into God's family as brothers and sisters.

However, that also means that even though she and her physical brother have the same biological parents, he still needs to give his life to Jesus to be able to say “our Father” in an authentic way. Therefore, we needed to pray for Him to really understand God’s love for him, and trust in God the Father with all of his heart.

We prayed that her brother would trust that God is a heavenly Father. God is perfectly good in everything He does, and not like anyone else he had ever met. We prayed that he would see that God the Father is just like Jesus, who reflects our heavenly Father. We prayed that one day soon, our whole family would pray “our Father” all together as adopted brothers and sisters of the King.

I’d love it if you would pray about that for us too!