3082.—Lead Us Not into Temptation
By Editor
Please explain the expression in the Lord’s prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” It isn’t the meaning of the text, “Leave us not into temptation,” as some would wish to read it. The Greek word eisphero rendered “lead into” means to carry inward, and is rendered “bring,” “lead into.” See Luke 5:18, 19, where it is rendered “bring;” and in Acts 17:20, “bringest.” All the versions so far as we know render, “Bring us not into temptation,” or “Lead us not into temptation.” God is said to do sometimes what He permits to be done. There are those who court temptation. God can not keep such. The true spirit is, “Do not suffer me to be tempted, for I am weak.” The prayer is an expression of the disposition we ought to cherish. It is the right expression of the human soul. It shows distrust in human strength. Great dangers lie before the man who courts temptation and feels anxious to meet it. Sooner or later his strength will be found weakness, his wisdom folly, and his self-sufficiency a broken reed. The Lord’s prayer inculcates humility.