We have finished five petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. This study has been blessed and I hope it has transformed your prayer life as it has mine. We begin at the feet of our Father in heaven, glorifying him and professing our desire to see his kingdom come and his will be done on this earth just as it is in heaven. When we look at today’s political crises everywhere—the thrill of Tamil Nadu politics, with its crime, comedy, and cheating; the bribery scandals with politicians; Donald Trump’s chaotic presidency, filled with pride; the corporate world, with its great organizations like Infosys and Samsung Sons being plagued with mistakes and bribery—we see that if leaders are like this, what is the condition of the people? Young people are addicted, and a dangerous and cruel generation is growing, full of wickedness. When we see all this, our knees buckle, and we yearn and sigh, “What is this world? Lord, may Your kingdom come. I am not interested in this world, Lord. My life’s motive is to see your kingdom come and your will be done.”
After seeing those glorious concepts of glorifying God, which elevated our minds, we have also descended from the mountains of glory into the valley of our daily experience. We have confessed our great dependence upon him for all the necessities of the body and the soul. For me to live a great life that glorifies God’s name, there are only three needs I plead. When I pray, “Give me this day my daily bread,” I am looking to the present. When I pray, “Forgive my debts,” I am looking back to the past. But, when I pray, “Lead me not into temptation,” I am looking to the future. My physical, mental, and spiritual needs—my past, present, and future—are covered in this small prayer.
Over the last few weeks, we studied an important petition of confession of sin: “Forgive our debts.” The infinite wisdom of this prayer is framed in such a way that we are all convicted and able to see our sins clearly. Like Adam, we are masters at blaming others. We often excuse our sin by saying, “I am like this because of my spouse” or “I did that because of my children.” “If my husband was all right, I would be very holy.” To people who refuse to see their sins and depraved hearts, this prayer shows that you need to forgive whatever they do as an important duty, and thereby it shows how great our sin is. There is no excuse for our sins. “Why did you do that?” “Because of him, because of what he has done.” But whatever your husband or wife did, you have to forgive. What a great truth! We should meditate deeply on this daily as we pray and live according to it. If we learn this, I will tell you, we will experience an ocean of peace and truly be blessed. Nothing in this world will be able to disturb our peace—no person, circumstance, or thing. Though I sometimes laugh while I preach, I realize how difficult it is to forgive. It is the most difficult grace. Maybe it is sometimes easy to die as a martyr, but continually forgiving requires great grace in our hearts, especially when people, our loved ones, react in a very ungrateful way. It hurts us so much and is so painful. That experience is very essential. It makes us realize how much it must hurt God, a God who loves me so much, when I sin. It is the greatest ingratitude and it grieves his deepest heart. The sins we do grieve God greatly, and it is not easy for him to forgive.
The Final Petition: “Lead us not into temptation”
There are three needs: our physical needs in “bread,” all needs related to mental peace in “forgiveness,” and the next need relates to the healthy growth of our spiritual life in “not allowing us to enter temptation.” Today, we will see the last petition, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” This is a main and important petition for growing spiritually. How can I explain the great importance of this petition? Where do I begin? How do I make you understand its great importance? May the Holy Spirit help me. This is a simple request that literally brims over with meaning. A few minutes spent looking into these words will make you realize their depth. If we meditate and understand the depth of this, it will be a great help in our own battle with temptation.
See, the flow of this prayer itself shows that a believer is someone who does not take God’s free forgiveness for granted and continue sinning. Having just dealt with the issue of my past sins before the Lord, a believer is careful not to repeat that again. Those who have been forgiven at the throne of grace live in fear of sinning against the Lord who so graciously forgave them. The essence of this prayer is for protection from committing sins continually and dishonoring God. This last petition is very, very important. It is the foundation. If I fall into temptations, none of the above petitions has meaning. I will not glorify God, his kingdom will not come, and his will will not be done. In other words, the reason God is not glorified in a believer’s life, his kingdom is not coming, and his will is not being done is because of continually falling into temptation. So it is foundational in a way. If this prayer doesn’t become real in our life, it is doubtful whether we can call God “Father.”
So this is an important, earnest, and solemn petition—perhaps the most solemn one of the whole prayer. To understand the importance of this great need, the mind must have deeply thought about sin and how we fall into it. One must have deeply repented and confessed sin, examining himself and his sin in its minute detail. That is what I want to do this week: make you understand the great danger of entering temptation, how horribly it can affect us, and make even a great believer do horrible things in life and spoil their spiritual life.
The Dynamics of Temptation
In our experience, whatever great truths we hear, our hearts melt hearing God’s infinite mercy and love, his forgiveness. We resolve never to sin again and are committed to the Lord. “Never will I sin,” we say. But sometimes, there is a force that drags us to sin. Sometimes, I feel it compels me to sin. I find myself helpless. How can I escape that force? Oh, what can I do? I never planned to. It happened suddenly. The name of that force is called temptation. The mother of sins is temptation. It is temptation that gives birth to sin.
So before we look at the petition, we need to understand the dynamics of temptation. We studied this during “killing sin,” and it is good to briefly repeat it now. So you all understand this. Let’s learn a few terms as an introduction today.
What is temptation? Temptation means a thing, situation, or a person that acts like a force that makes us disobey God and drags us to commit sin. It is a great and powerful force. It diverts and hinders our fellowship, our obedience to God, and our growth in grace. It can terribly weaken our spiritual life. The only reason many of your spiritual lives are not strong is because of falling into temptation.
Understanding “Entering into Temptation”
What is entering into temptation? Being tempted is not the same as entering into temptation. As long as Satan, the world, and the flesh live, we will face temptations. But being tempted is different from entering into temptation. God has not promised that he will not allow temptation, but he has promised that he will not allow us to enter into temptation. This is what this petition, “Lead us not into temptation,” is about.
It is a most harmful and dangerous thing to enter temptation. Entering temptation is a process. It is like gradually going into a tunnel and getting caught in a trap. After being trapped, we are compelled to sin, and most of the time, we cannot do anything and will fall. It is getting into a state where we can easily sin. Entering temptation is serious. In rare cases, by the great grace of God, we can escape from sin even after entering temptation. But most often, it is like being trapped. Imagine a person entering a dark cave. Once they enter, the only way to come out is to fall into a ditch, get hurt, break bones, and come out with harm. If we enter into temptation, we will be greatly compelled, pushed, and easily do sin. Entering into temptation makes it conducive for easily committing sin. It is a state where we will be greatly compelled to sin, and in that state, we may easily sin.
How we enter temptation: Temptation will first knock on our door. If we are alert and prayerful and we kick it away, saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” and pray against it, then it will not come near. But temptation comes, and it will come very innocently. “What is wrong with doing this?” we ask. Then we get into discussions and debates: “This is a small thing. Everyone is doing it. What harm is there in doing this? It’s not such a big problem. Will I go to hell because of this? Anyway, after sin, Jesus Christ will cleanse me.” We might say, “No, it is sin,” and then we’ll say, “What’s the big sin?” The debate and convincing process goes on. This happens in our mind. It may sometimes prolong for a week, a month, or even years. We are entering temptation. Most of the time, we may not realize that we are entering temptation.
There are many examples. It is like a python snake that slowly comes and coils its tail, and then slowly coils more and more, and then enters into its mouth. Once we enter into it, it is very difficult to get out. A terrible picture! Imagine that temptation is going into the mouth of the snake.
Vampire bats in some places, like Africa. If you are sitting under a tree, a bat will come and spread and shake its wings. Then a beautiful smell will completely anesthetize us. We will know what is happening, but we will not be able to shake or move. The bat will come and suck our blood. We will know, but we will happily sit there. Temptation is like that. We know what is happening. It is a pleasant mixture. We allow it to happen, but it is sucking our spiritual blood and strength, making us weak and spoiling our spiritual life. But just for that pleasant spell, we allow ourselves to be spellbound.
A spider’s web. When it wants to catch an insect, it first puts out one thread, then another, slowly. After some time, the whole web is there, and the more the insect tries, the more it is caught. Then the spider comes and bites and eats. Satan is like that. He puts a small thread and says, “What is a small thing? Everyone is doing it, so what?” We could escape, but we say, “Okay, what will this do to me?” We continue, and more and more threads are added. It fully puts on the thread. And then the more I try to escape, the more caught I am. I become prey. Oh, the power of entering into temptation! Satan knows when to attack us. He gradually comes, comes, comes. It is like after a limit, Satan injects the poison. We go into the mouth. Whatever we argue, we try to resist, we try to take away the poison, we pray and do that, but it controls us. We are not able to come out. That is the dynamics of temptation.
The big sins that happen to believers—adultery, robbery, and covetousness—do not happen suddenly. It is a gradual process of Satan’s web spinning. Sometimes this takes years, and sometimes it has been happening since childhood.
When I am completely caught and have entered into temptation, the Bible calls it the hour of temptation. Temptation works very gradually. It is like a seed we plant, water, and it buds, and then it grows and becomes a tree and bears fruit. In the same way, temptation plants a seed, and for years, it pours water on it, and then it grows. Then it is in its state of ugly fruit, and its face is displayed. This is called the hour of temptation.
It is very dangerous to enter temptation, and even more dangerous is the height of the hour of temptation. During that time, temptation will terribly and ferociously compel us to sin. It is also like the time when the sun rises gradually and then becomes a full sun. That is the hour of temptation. An evil act is inevitable. The situation is very conducive, sin is very attractive and compelling. No godly influences will work. Our head will be pulled and dragged, and there will be no rest for our soul until we sin. It is a torturous time.
Entering temptation is like an insulated tunnel. Once we enter, spiritual influences will not have that much effect on us. We may come and hear the greatest sermon, but we will pretend to hear and not hear and see and not see. Our hearts become numb. Because after we enter temptation, our spiritual mind gets darkened, so much truth and God’s influences do not work. It is so serious.
Let me give some examples of how temptation has spoiled the lives of believers. David, a man after God’s own heart, was terribly affected by temptation. What a curse and destruction in his life! His family was gone, a child died, and he lost his kingdom. When he saw a woman, he could have turned away, but he entered the temptation. And then he heard that she was married. He could have stopped, but he committed adultery. Then he tried to escape, and the more he tried, the more caught he became. He tried to claim the child as his own, and then lied, deceived, and committed murder. The more the insect tries to escape, the more it is caught. What happened to David? He knew so much truth and was so close to God, but his mind darkened.
We are studying the life of Samson. He was a Nazirite. He wants to marry a non-believer. He goes to a vineyard where he shouldn’t eat grapes as a Nazirite. He thinks, “What’s the big deal with these small grapes?” He goes to unnecessary places. A lion comes. He kills it and defiles himself, but he has a great deliverance. But nothing affects him. He doesn’t tell his parents. Then while he is going again, there is a beehive in the dead carcass of the lion. A Nazirite should never go near a dead body, but he eats the honey and also gives it to his parents. He doesn’t tell them where he took it from. Then, he goes to a party, a non-believer’s party. He drinks, and in his drunkenness, he blabbers. See how he is caught in the spider’s web, how he spoils his life. They trouble the girl; he leaves her and goes, then kills 30 people and gives gifts to them and leaves. Then he destroys them. Then, with Delilah, he shares his secret, his head is shaved, his eyes are plucked out, he is chained like an animal, and he grinds the floor. How shameful! They mock him. He continues to think God will help him. He did his first sin.
If you play with temptation, your life will become like this. Our life will be spoiled. How many lives are destroyed by entering temptation? Life becomes a waste and useless. The only way to escape from temptation is the universal remedy: watch and pray this prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” Why do we cry, pray, and read God’s word? If you are not doing that, you are entering temptation. That is the only way. So next week we will deep dive into this prayer and make it our daily and hourly prayer.
The Importance of the Prayer
Do you see how earnest this prayer is? What an earnest prayer this is! A person who has known the trap of temptation, the terrible path of temptation, and its consequences will realize deeply in this life that the greatest protection I need is not from accidents, sickness, animals, or any other dangers. The greatest spiritual danger for me is temptation. “Lead me not into temptation.” It is like a boy who came away from his family in a large forest. It is a cold night and it is raining. He goes near a tree. He is sitting and suddenly turns and sees a big anaconda. “Oh God, save me from this and don’t allow me to go into its mouth,” he prays with horror and fear. The greatest protection I need is protection from temptation. All my enemies—the world, Satan, the devil, and the flesh—cannot do anything to me if I do not enter temptation.
This petition beautifully follows the previous one. The previous petition is answered, a person’s sins are forgiven, he received the Father’s forgiveness, and he is enjoying the joy and assurance of salvation. God is so close to him. God is so real. He feels God everywhere—in the air, the sky, the leaves, the sun, and the trees. He wants to live in this and die in this joy. He can lose all that joy of salvation again only by entering temptation and falling into the great guilt of sin. God will be very far and not real at all. So he prays, “Please lead me not into temptation.” It is with great fear of losing that joy. It is like a person who, with great difficulty and by God’s grace, has finally reached the shore after swimming. When he is just enjoying that safety and joy, he suddenly sees the waves and cries, “Lord! The waves are coming again to pull me back! Do not cast me into the sea again!” We see the enemy coming to sift us as wheat. We pray, “Do not allow him to put me into his sieve.” It is a prayer of watchfulness. It is needed every day and every hour.
There is so much earnestness in this prayer. This is the first negative prayer. In all the others, we are asking God to do something. “Give,” “forgive.” Here we are asking God to not do something.
A person prays this when they are alone; temptation can come to a lonely heart. He tries his best to bolt and bar the door of his heart well to keep it out. When in a group, bad friends can lead us to temptation. There is evil influence upon you unless you are on your guard. It is a natural prayer of holy horror at the very thought of falling again into sin. It is a dread of being drawn into old sins, a shrinking of the soul at the first approach of the tempter. “Lord, lead me, I pray you, where you will—ay, even through death’s dark valley—but do not lead me into temptation, lest I fall and dishonor you.” The burnt child dreads the fire.
The Origin of Temptation
What is temptation, what is entering into temptation, the hour of temptation, how is this prayed, and where does temptation come from?
Where does temptation come from? James says God never tempts anyone. God may test us for our progress, like he tested Abraham. So where does it come from? The father of all temptations, Satan, brings temptation. He is called the Tempter (Matthew 4:3). He lies in ambush to do us mischief. The devil lays a bomb of temptation to blow up the fort of our grace. Satan brings temptation in many ways:
- Directly: He directly injects evil thoughts and pours poison into our minds.
- Indirectly, through the world: He is the god of this world and uses the world. He tried to tempt Christ by showing him the glory of the world.
- Through our indwelling sin/flesh: “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust” (James 1:14).
Do you realize there is a real devil? Until we realize him and his cruel attacks on us every day and how he watches us, this prayer will not be a reality to us. This is a child who sees his enemy, who is in the spiritual world. Do we have any fear of Satan? He lives in this world and is watching us. Let me spend some time helping you see your enemy: the tempter, Satan. He is here on this earth now, and you know what his mood is? “The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath” (Revelation 12:12). He is angry at whom? You, the believer, the church (verse 17).
The Nature of Satan
- His Malice: The more we are tempted to evil, the more our souls become weak, and life in no sense glorifies God or does anything for his kingdom. We actually become members of Satan’s kingdom. If we are to escape that, we need to often pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” That we may see in what danger we are from Satan’s temptations. Why no other job? “Leave me alone.” This hellish serpent is swollen with the poison of malice. Satan envies man’s happiness. To see a clod of dust so near to God and call him Father in heaven, while he, once a glorious angel, is cast out of the heavenly paradise, makes him pursue mankind with inveterate hatred. “If there be anything this infernal spirit can delight in, it is to ruin souls and to bring them into the same condemnation with himself.” His malice is great because he will tempt even where he knows he cannot ultimately prevail. He tempted Christ. “If thou be the Son of God” (Matthew 4:3). He knew well enough Christ was God as well as man, yet he would tempt him. He tempts the elect to blasphemy; he knows he cannot prevail against them, yet such is his malice that though he cannot finally spoil their souls, he will try to do as much damage to their soul as possible. His malice is great because though he knows his tempting people to sin will increase his own torment in hell, he will not leave it off. Do we have any fear of Satan? He lives in this world and watches us. Therefore, being such a malicious, vengeful spirit, we need to pray that God will not suffer him to prevail by his temptation. “Lead us not into temptation.”
- His Diligence: He “walks about” (1 Peter 5:8). He neglects no time. He walks about—he watches where he may throw in the fireball of temptation. He is a restless spirit. Satan’s diligence in tempting is seen in the variety of temptations he uses: if lust doesn’t work, he tries pride, covetousness, anger, revenge, lies, and trying to get us to leave off praying, reading the Bible, or going to church.
- His Power: He is called “the prince of this world” (John 14:30) and the “great red dragon.” He is full of power. His power in tempting is seen in several ways:
- As a spirit, he can convey himself into our fancy and poison it with bad thoughts.
- He can excite and stir up the corruption within and work some inclination in the heart to embrace the temptation. Thus he stirred up corruption in David’s heart and provoked him to number the people (1 Chronicles 21:1). He can blow a spark of lust into a flame.
- Being a spirit, he can convey his temptations into our minds so that we cannot easily discern whether they come from him or from ourselves.
- Though Satan cannot compel the will, he can present pleasing objects to the senses, which have great force in them. That we hardly know whether they are his or ours, we are in great danger and have need to pray not to be led into temptation.
- His Experience: Satan’s power in tempting appears by the long experience he has acquired in the art; he has been a tempter for nearly as long as he has been an angel. Who are better for action than people with experience? We give any work based on experience; they do it perfectly. Satan has gained much experience by being so long versed in the trade of tempting. Having such experience, he knows what are the temptations that have foiled others and are most likely to prevail. Satan having such power in tempting increases our danger, and we had need pray, “Lead us not into temptation.”
- His Subtlety: The Greek word for “to tempt” signifies “to deceive.” Satan, in tempting, uses many subtle policies to deceive. We read of the depths of Satan (Revelation 2:24), of his devices and strategies (2 Corinthians 2:11), and of his snares and darts. He is called a lion for his cruelty and an old serpent for his subtlety. He has several sorts of subtlety in tempting:
- He chooses the exact target. He observes a person’s natural temperament and constitution. As a farmer knows what seed is proper to sow in a certain soil, so Satan, finding out the temperament, knows what temptations are proper to sow in such a heart.
- He chooses the fittest season to tempt in. As a cunning angler casts his angle in when the fish will bite best, so the devil can hit the very moment when temptation is most likely to prevail. There are several seasons he tempts in.
- The devil tempts when he finds us unemployed. Satan observes us sitting still, and he shoots his fiery darts of temptation at us. When David was walking on the rooftop unemployed, the devil set a tempting object before him, and it prevailed (2 Samuel 11:2-3).
- When a person is reduced to outward wants and lacks, the devil tempts them. When Christ had fasted forty days and was hungry, the devil came and tempted him with the glory of the world (Matthew 4:8). When provisions grow short, Satan comes in with a temptation: “What, will you starve rather than steal? Reach forth your hand and pluck the forbidden fruit.” How often does this temptation prevail? How many do we see who, instead of living by faith, fall into sins, and will steal the venison, though they lose the blessing?
- Satan tempts after an ordinance. When we have been hearing the word, or at prayer, or at the sacrament, Satan casts in the lure of temptation. When Christ had been fasting and praying, then came the tempter (Matthew 4:2-3). Why does Satan choose a time after an ordinance to tempt? We should think it to be the most disadvantageous time, when the soul is raised to a heavenly frame!
- Malice puts Satan upon it. The ordinances, which cause fervor in a saint, cause fury in Satan. He knows that in every duty we have a design against him; in every prayer, we put up a request in heaven against him; in the Lord’s Supper, we take an oath to fight under Christ’s banner against him; therefore he is more enraged and lays his snares and shoots his darts against us.
- Satan tempts after an ordinance because he thinks he will find us more secure. After we have been at the solemn worship of God, we are apt to grow careless and stop our former strictness, like a soldier who, after the war and rest, takes off his armor. Satan watches his time. When we grow careless after an ordinance and indulge ourselves too much in carnal delights, Satan falls upon us by temptation and often foils us.
- Satan tempts after some discoveries of God’s love. Like a pirate who sets on a ship that is richly laden, when a soul has been laden with spiritual comforts, the devil shoots at him to rob him of all. He envies a soul that has been feasted with spiritual joy.
- Satan tempts when he sees us at our weakest. On two occasions, Satan comes upon us in our weakness: (1) When we are alone. As he came to Eve when her husband was away. He has the policy to give his poison privately when no one is around to discover the treachery. Like a cunning suitor who woos the daughter when the parents are away from home, when we are alone and no one is near, the devil comes wooing with a temptation and hopes to have the match settled. (2) When we are sick and weak and can hardly help ourselves. So, when a saint is weak, the devil pecks at him with a temptation.
- Satan tempts to sin gradually. The old serpent winds himself in by degrees; he tempts first to lesser sins, so that he may bring on greater ones. Satan first tempted David to an impure glance of the eye to look upon Bathsheba, and that unclean look occasioned adultery and murder. It is a great subtlety of Satan to tempt to lesser sins first, for these harden the heart and make people ready for committing more horrid and tremendous sins.
- Satan’s policy is to hand over temptations to us by those whom we least suspect.
- By close friends. He tempts us by those who are close in blood. He tempted Job by a proxy; he handed over a temptation to him by his wife. “Do you still retain your integrity?” (Job 2:9). As if he had said, “Job, you see how, for all your religion, God deals with you. His hand is gone out against you. What, and still pray and weep! Cast off all religion, turn atheist! Curse God, and die!” Thus Satan made use of Job’s wife to do his work. The devil often stands behind the curtain—he will not be seen in the business but puts others to do his work.
- He tempts sometimes by religious Christian friends. He keeps out of sight so that his cloven foot may not be seen. Who would have thought to have found the devil in Peter? When he would have dissuaded Christ from suffering, saying, “Master, spare yourself,” Christ spied Satan in the temptation. “Get thee behind me, Satan.” When our religious friends would dissuade us from doing our duty, Satan is a lying spirit in their mouths and would by them entice us to evil.
The Subtleties of Satan’s Temptations
Satan tempts some people more than others. Some are like wet tinder, not as quick to catch the fire of temptation as others who are spiritually dry. Satan tempts most where he believes his strategies will most easily prevail. Some people, like a sponge, soak in Satan’s temptations. There are five types of people that Satan focuses on with his temptations:
- Ignorant persons. The devil can lead these people into any trap. You can lead a blind man anywhere. An ignorant person cannot see the devil’s snares. Satan tells them such a thing is not a sin, or only a small one, and that they will be fine.
- Proud persons. Satan has more power over these individuals. No one is in greater danger of falling to temptation than a person who has a high opinion of themselves. When David’s heart was lifted up in pride, the devil stirred him up to number the people (2 Samuel 24:2). Lofty towers have a heavier fall, and lightning strikes the tops of mountains.
- Melancholy (spiritually depressed) persons. There are three things in melancholy that give the devil a great advantage:
- It makes a person unfit for duty. When the spirit is sad and melancholy, a Christian is out of tune for spiritual actions.
- Melancholy often sides with Satan against God. The devil tells such a person that God does not love them, and that there is no mercy for them. The melancholy soul is apt to think so too and agrees with the devil’s lies.
- Melancholy breeds discontent, and discontent is the cause of many sins, such as unthankfulness, impatience, and often it ends in self-harm.
- Idle persons. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. The devil will find work for the idle to do. If you have leisure, it is fine to spend it studying God’s word. Jerome gave his friend this advice: to be always well-employed so that when the tempter comes, he might find him working in the vineyard. If the hands are not working for good, the head will be plotting evil (Micah 2:1).
The Art of Deception
7th subtlety: Satan gives some a little break and seems to stop tempting for a while, so he can return with more advantage. Just as Israel pretended to be beaten and fled before the men of Ai, it was a strategy to draw them out of their fortified city and trap them in an ambush (Joshua 8:15). The devil sometimes raises the siege and fakes a retreat so he can better achieve victory. He goes away for a time so he can return when he sees a better season. “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house, whence I came out'” (Luke 11:24).
Satan, by faking a retreat and stopping temptation for a while, causes people to become secure. They think they are safe and have won, when suddenly, Satan attacks and wounds them. Like someone who is about to leap and runs back a little to get a greater jump, Satan seems to retreat and run back a little so he can return with a temptation more furiously and successfully. We, therefore, need to always watch and have our spiritual armor on.
8th subtlety: The old serpent’s main job among Christians is to hinder them from using the means of grace or to make them do it formally.
- He works to take men away from duty, from praying and hearing, in order to discourage them. To do that, he has two tricks:
- He discourages them from duty by suggesting their unworthiness; that they are not worthy to approach God or have any signs of His love and favor. They are sinful and God is holy, so how dare they presume to bring their impure offering to God? It is good to see ourselves as unworthy, as it shows humility, but to think we should not approach God because of unworthiness is a conclusion made by the devil. God says, “Come, though unworthy.”
- Satan tries to discourage people from duty by bringing up a lack of success. When people have waited on God in the use of ordinances and do not find the comfort they desire, Satan disheartens them and makes them resolve to abandon all religion. They begin to say, like a wicked king, “What should I wait for the Lord any longer?” (2 Kings 6:33). When Saul saw that God did not answer him by dreams and visions, Satan tempted him to leave God’s worship and seek the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:6). “No answer to prayer comes; therefore,” says Satan, “leave off praying; who will sow a field where no crop grows?” So, people watch TV and go on the internet. Thus, the devil, by his subtle logic, would argue a poor soul out of its duty. But if he sees he cannot win in this way and keep people from using these means, he tries another tactic.
The Allure of Lawful Things
10th subtlety: He works to trap us with lawful things. More people are hurt by lawful things than by unlawful ones, just as more people are killed by wine than by poison. Gross sins are frightening, but how many people overindulge and die from using lawful things inordinately? Recreation, eating, and drinking are lawful, but many offend by excess, and their table becomes a trap. Relationships are lawful, but how often does Satan tempt us to overlove? How often are a wife and child placed in God’s place? Excess makes lawful things sinful.
11th subtlety: He makes the duties of our general and particular calling hinder and jostle one another out of the way. Our general calling is serving God, and our particular calling is our worldly employment. It is wise to be regular in both, when the particular calling does not eat up time for God’s service, nor does the service of God hinder diligence in a calling. The devil’s art is to make Christians defective in one of these two. Some spend all their time hearing and reading, and under the pretense of living by faith, do not work in a calling. Others are taken away from religious duties by Satan under the pretense that they must provide for their families; he makes them so careful for their bodies that they completely neglect their souls. The subtlety of the old serpent is to make men negligent in the duties of either the first table or the second.
12th subtlety: He misrepresents true holiness so he can make others dislike it. He paints the face of religion full of scars and blemishes so he can create prejudice against it in people’s minds. He represents religion as the most melancholy thing and suggests that whoever embraces it must banish all joy, even though the apostle speaks of “joy in believing” (Romans 15:13).
Satan suggests that religion exposes men to danger: he shows them the cross but hides the crown from them. He works to put all the disgrace he can on holiness so he can tempt people to renounce it. He abuses the good Christian and gives him a wrong name. The truly zealous man he calls hot-headed and factious; the patient man who bears injuries without revenge he represents as a coward; the humble man as low-spirited; the heavenly man he calls a fool. He lets things that are seen go for things that are not seen, and thus misrepresents religion to the world. Just as that holy man, John Huss, was painted with red devils, so Satan paints holiness with as deformed and misshapen a face as he can, so he may, by this temptation, draw men away from solid piety and make them scorn it rather than embrace it. The hand of Joab is in this. Satan is tempting people to atheism, to cast off all religion.
14th subtlety: Satan bewitches and traps men by setting pleasing baits before them, such as the riches, pleasures, and honors of the world. “‘All these things will I give thee'” (Matthew 4:9). How many does he tempt with this golden apple? Pride, idleness, and luxury are the three worms bred by plenty. “They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare” (1 Timothy 6:9). Satan kills with these silver darts. How many people overindulge in luscious delights! The pleasures of the world are the great tool by which Satan batters down men’s souls. His strategy is to tickle them to death, to damn them with delights. The flesh wants to be pleased, and Satan wins with this temptation; he drowns them in the sweet waters of pleasure. Those who have an abundance of the world walk in the midst of golden snares. We need to watch our hearts in prosperity and pray not to be led into temptation. We have as much need to be careful that we are not endangered by prosperity as a man has to be careful at a feast where there are some poisoned dishes of meat.
15th subtlety: Satan, when tempting, pleads necessity. He knows that necessity may in some cases seem to excuse a sin. It may seem to make a lesser evil good to avoid a greater, as Lot offered to expose his daughters to the Sodomites, and was willing that they should be defiled, so he could preserve the angel strangers who had come into his house (Genesis 19:8). Doubtless, Satan had a hand in this temptation and made Lot believe that the necessity of the action would excuse the sin. The tradesman pleads the necessity of unlawful gain, or he cannot live. Another pleads a necessity of revenge, or his credit would be damaged. Thus, Satan tempts men to sin by the plea of necessity. He will quote Scripture to prove that in some extraordinary cases there may be a necessity of doing that which is not at other times justifiable. Did not David, in case of necessity, “eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him, but only for the priests”? (Matthew 12:4). We do not read that he was blamed. Then, says Satan, why may not you, in extraordinary cases, trespass a little and take the forbidden fruit? Oh, beware of this temptation! Satan’s cloven foot is in it. Nothing can warrant a thing that is inherently sinful; necessity will not justify impiety.
17th subtlety: Satan carries on his designs against us under the highest pretense of friendship. He puts silver on his bait and dips his poisoned pills in sugar, just like some courtiers who make the greatest pretense of love where they have the most deadly hatred. Satan takes off his lion’s skin and comes in sheep’s clothing; he pretends kindness and friendship and wants to consult what might be for our good. Thus, he came to Christ, “‘Command that these stones be made bread'” (Matthew 4:3). It was as if he had said, “I see you are hungry, and there is no table spread for you in the wilderness; I, therefore, pitying your condition, want you to get something to eat; turn stones to bread so your hunger may be satisfied.” But Christ saw the temptation, and with the sword of the Spirit, wounded the old serpent. Thus, Satan came to Eve and tempted her under the guise of a friend: “Eat,” he said, “of the forbidden fruit; for the Lord knows, ‘that in the day you eat thereof, you shall be as gods'” (Genesis 3:5). As if he had said, “I only persuade you to do that which will put you in a better condition than you are in now; eat of this tree, and it will make you omniscient. ‘You shall be as gods.'” What a kind devil this was! But it was a subtle temptation. She greedily swallowed the bait and ruined herself and all her descendants. Let us fear his deceptive flatteries. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes (I distrust the Greeks even when they bring gifts).
18th subtlety: Satan tempts men to sin by persuading them to keep his counsel. They are like those who have some terrible disease and would rather die than tell the physician. It would be wise, in the case of a strong temptation, to open one’s mind to some experienced Christian, whose counsel might be an antidote against it. There is danger in concealing it, just as in concealing a disease that could be fatal. How we need to renew the petition, “Lead us not into temptation!”
Satan’s Battle Against Holy Duties
21st subtlety: Satan encourages doctrines that please the flesh. He knows the flesh loves to be gratified, that it cries out for ease and liberty, and that it will not endure any yoke unless it is lined and made soft. He will be sure, therefore, to lay his bait of temptation so as to please and humor the flesh. The word says, “Strive as in an agony” to enter into glory; crucify the flesh; take the kingdom of heaven by holy violence. Satan, to undermine and weaken these Scriptures, flatters the flesh; tells man there is no need for such strictness, nor so much zeal and violence; a softer pace will serve; surely there is an easier way to heaven; there is no need for a broken heart over sin. He suggests that confessing to a priest, or counting a few beads, or saying some Ave Marias will procure a pardon and give you admission into paradise. Or he goes another way: if he sees men are startled by Popery, he stirs up flattering Antinomianism, and says, “What needs all this cost? What needs repenting tears? These are legal; what need to be so strict in your obedience? Christ has done all for you. You should make use of your Christian liberty.” This temptation draws many away; it takes them off from a strict life. He who sells cheapest shall have the most customers, and the devil knows that it is a cheap and easy doctrine that pleases the flesh, and he has no doubt that he will have enough customers.
22nd subtlety: Satan has his temptations related to holy duties. His policy is to either hinder people from duty, discourage them in duty, or push them too far in duty.
- To hinder from duty: As in 1 Thessalonians 2:18, “We would have come once and again, but Satan hindered us.” So many religious duties would have been performed, but Satan hindered them. The hand of Joab is in this. There are three duties that the devil is an enemy to and tries to keep us from:
- Meditation: He will let men profess, or pray and hear in a formal manner, which does him no harm and them no good, but he opposes meditation, as it is a means to compose the heart and make it serious. He can stand against your small shot if you do not add this bullet. He does not care how much you hear or how little you meditate. Meditation is chewing the cud; it makes the word digest and turn to nourishment; it is the bellows of the affections. The devil is an enemy to this. When Christ is alone in the wilderness, giving Himself to divine contemplations, the devil comes and tempts Him to hinder Him. He will thrust in worldly business, or something else to keep men from holy meditation.
- Mortification: This is as necessary as heaven. “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; uncleanness, inordinate affection” (Colossians 3:5). Satan will let men be angry with sin, exchange sin, or restrain sin, which keeps it a prisoner that cannot break out. But when it comes to taking away the life of sin, he works to stop the warrant and hinder the execution. When sin is being mortified, Satan is being crucified.
- Self-examination: “Examine yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5), a metaphor from metal that is pierced through to see if there is gold inside. Self-examination is a spiritual inquisition set up in the soul. Man must search his heart for sin, just as one would search a house for a traitor, or as Israel sought for leaven to burn it. Satan, if it is possible, will, by his temptations, keep men from this duty. He tells them their state is good and what need they put themselves to the trouble of examination? Though men will not take their money on trust, but will examine it by the touchstone, yet Satan persuades them to take their grace on trust. He persuaded the foolish virgins that they had oil in their lamps. He has another policy, which is to show men the faults of others to keep them from searching their own. He will give them spectacles to see what is wrong in others, but not a looking-glass to see what is wrong in themselves.
- To discourage in duty: When someone has been performing holy duties, he tells them they have played the hypocrite; they have served God for money and have had selfish motives. Their duties have been full of distraction and tainted with pride; they have offered the blind and the lame, and how can they expect a reward from God? He tells a Christian they have increased their sin by prayer and tries to make them dislike their duties, so they do not know whether they should pray or not.
- To put a Christian on too far in duty: If this plan does not work, he works to push a Christian too far in it. Humiliation, or mourning for sin, is a duty, but Satan will push it too far; he will say, “You are not humbled enough,” and indeed, he never thinks a man is humbled enough until he despairs. He would make a Christian wade so far in the waters of repentance that he gets beyond his depth and is drowned in the gulf of despair. He comes to the soul and says, “Your sins have been great, and your sorrows should be proportionate to your sins. But is it so? Can you say you have been as great a mourner as you have been a sinner? You drove no other trade but sin for many years—and is a drop of sorrow enough for a sea of sin? No; your soul must be more humbled and lie steeping longer in the salty waters of repentance.” He would have a Christian weep themselves blind and in a desperate mood throw away the anchor of hope. Now, lest anyone be troubled by this temptation, let me say that this is a mere trick of Satan; for sorrow proportional to sin is not attainable in this life, nor does God expect it. It is sufficient for you, Christian, if you have a gospel-sorrow; if you grieve so far as to see sin as hateful and Christ as precious; if you grieve so as to break off iniquity; if your remorse ends in a divorce from sin. This is to be humbled enough. The gold has been in the fire long enough when the dross is purged out; so a Christian has been in humiliation long enough when the love of sin is purged out. This is to be humbled enough for divine acceptance. God, for Christ’s sake, will accept of this sorrow for sin; therefore, do not let Satan’s temptations drive you to despair. You see how subtle an enemy he is, to hinder from duty, or discourage in duty, or push men too far in duty, so he can run them upon the rock of despair. Do we not need, then, with such a subtle enemy, to pray, “Lord, lead us not into temptation”? As the serpent deceived Eve, let us not be deceived by this hellish Machiavelli.
23rd subtlety: Satan tempts to sin with the hope of returning out of it by speedy repentance. It is easy for the bird to fly into the snare, but it is not so easy to get out of it. Is repentance so easy? Are there no pangs in the new birth? Is it easy to leap out of Delilah’s lap into Abraham’s bosom? How many has Satan flattered into hell with the policy that if they sin, they may recover themselves by repentance! Alas! Is repentance in our power? A spring lock can shut by itself, but it cannot open without a key. In the same way, we can shut ourselves out from God, but we cannot open to Him by repentance until He who has the key of David in His hand opens our heart.
24th subtlety: Satan puts us on doing that which is good at the wrong time. To mourn for sin is a duty; the sacrifices of God are a broken heart (Psalm 51:17). But there is a time when it may not be so appropriate. After some eminent deliverance that calls for rejoicing, to have the spirit dyed of a sad color and to sit weeping is not appropriate. There was a special time at the Feast of Tabernacles when God called his people to cheerfulness. “Seven days shall you keep a solemn feast to the Lord your God, you shall surely rejoice” (Deuteronomy 16:15). Now, if at this time the Israelites had hung their harps upon the willows and been disconsolate, it would have been very inappropriate, like mourning at a wedding. When God, by His providence, calls us to thanksgiving, and we sit drooping and, with Rachel, refuse to be comforted, it is very evil and shows ingratitude. It is Satan’s temptation; the hand of Joab is in this.
To rejoice is a duty. “Praise is becoming for the upright” (Psalm 33:1). But when God, by His judgments, calls us to weeping, joy and merriment are inappropriate. “In that day did the Lord call to weeping, and behold joy and gladness” (Isaiah 22:12-13). Oecolampadius, and other learned writers, think it was in the time of King Ahaz, when the signs of God’s anger, like a blazing star, appeared. To be given to merriment at that time was very inappropriate.
To read the word is a duty, but Satan sometimes puts people on it when it is inappropriate. To read it at home when God’s word is being preached or the sacrament is being administered is inappropriate, even sinful, as Hushai said, “The counsel is not good at this time” (2 Samuel 17:7). There was a set time for the Passover when the Jews were to bring their offering to the Lord (Numbers 9:2). Had the people been reading the law at home at the time of the Passover, it would not have been in season, and God would have punished it for contempt. It is the devil’s subtle temptation either to keep us from duty or to put us on it when it is least in season. Duties of religion, when not well-timed and done in season, are dangerous. Snow and hail are good for the ground when they come in their season; but in the harvest, when the corn is ripe, a storm of hail would do harm.
26th subtlety: Satan, in tempting, assaults and weakens the saints’ peace. If he cannot destroy their grace, he will disturb their peace. He envies the Christian’s good day, and if he cannot keep them from a heaven hereafter, he will keep them from a heaven on earth. There is nothing, next to holiness, a Christian prizes more than peace and tranquility of mind. It is the cream of life, a bunch of grapes by the way. Now, Satan’s great policy is to shake a Christian’s peace, so that if they will go to heaven, they shall go there through frights and many tears. He throws in his fireballs of temptation to set the saints’ peace on fire. Spiritual peace is of such great concern that it is no wonder if Satan rages so much against the saints’ peace and would tear this comfortable robe from them. Spiritual peace is a token of God’s favor. Just as Joseph had a special testimony of his father’s kindness in the multicolored coat, so the saints have a special token of God’s good will to them when He gives them the multicolored coat of inward peace. No wonder then, if Satan rages so much against the saints’ peace and would tear off this comfortable robe from them. The devil troubles the waters of the saints’ peace because he hopes to have more advantage over them.
- By perplexing their spirits, he takes off their chariot wheels; it makes them unfit for God’s service and puts body and mind out of tune, like an instrument out of tune. When sadness of spirit prevails, a Christian can think of nothing but his troubles; his mind is full of doubts, fears, and suspicions, so he is like a person distracted and is scarcely himself. He either neglects religious duties, or his mind is taken off from them while he is doing them. There is one duty that melancholy and sadness of spirit make a person unfit for, and that is thankfulness. Thankfulness is a tribute or payment due to God. “Let the saints be joyful, let the high praises of God be in their mouth” (Psalm 149:5-6). But when Satan has disturbed a Christian’s spirit and filled his mind with dark and almost despairing thoughts, how can he be thankful? It makes Satan happy to see how his plan is working. By making God’s children uneasy, he makes them unthankful.
- By troubling the saints’ peace, Satan puts a stumbling block in the way of others. By this, he gets an opportunity to make the ways of God seem unlovely to those who are looking toward heaven. He sets before new believers the perplexing thoughts, the tears, and the groans of those who are wounded in spirit, to scare them from all seriousness in religion. He will tell new believers: “Do you not see how these sad souls torture themselves with melancholy thoughts, and will you trade the comforts and pleasures of this life to always sit in the house of mourning? Will you marry yourself to a religion that makes you a terror to yourselves and a burden to others? Can you fall in love with a religion that is ready to scare you out of your wits?” Thus, the devil, by troubling the saints’ peace, would discourage others who are looking toward heaven; he would beat them away from prayer and hearing all soul-awakening sermons, for fear that they should fall into this black humor of melancholy and end their days in despair.
- By this subtle policy of Satan, in disturbing the saints’ peace and making them believe God does not love them, he sometimes prevails so far as to make them begin to have hard thoughts of God. Through the dark spectacles of melancholy, God’s dealings look sad and ghostly. Satan tempts the godly to have strange thoughts of God, to think He has cast off all pity and has forgotten to be gracious, and to make sad conclusions. “I reckoned, that as a lion, so will he break all my bones; from day even to night, You will make an end of me” (Isaiah 38:13). The devil, by melancholy, causes a sad eclipse in the soul, so that it begins to think God has shut up the springs of mercy and there is no hope. Hereupon, Satan gets further advantage of a troubled spirit. Sometimes he makes it have sinful wishes and curses against itself, as Job, who, in his mental distress, cursed his birthday (Job 3:3). Although he did not curse his God, he cursed his birthday. Thus, you see what advantages the devil gets by raising storms and troubling the saints’ peace. If the devil is capable of any delight, it is to see the saints’ disquiets: their groans are his music. It is a sport to him to see them torture themselves on the rack of melancholy and almost drown themselves in tears. When the godly have unjust suspicions of God, question His love, deny the work of grace, and start wishing they had never been born, Satan is ready to clap his hands and shout for a victory.
27th subtlety: Satan, by plausible arguments, tempts men to commit suicide. This temptation not only goes against the current of Scripture, but it is also against nature to be one’s own executioner. Yet such are the cunning tricks of Satan that he persuades many to lay violent hands on themselves, as the bills of mortality prove. He tempts some to do this out of terror of conscience, telling them that all the hell they will have is in their conscience and that death will give them immediate ease. He tempts others to kill themselves so they can no longer sin against God. Others he tempts to kill themselves so they can immediately reach happiness. He tells them that the best of the saints desire heaven and the sooner they are there the better.
Augustine speaks of Cleombrotus, who, after hearing Plato lecture on the immortality of the soul and the joys of the other world, “se in praecipitium dejecit,” threw himself down a steep cliff or rock and killed himself. This is Satan’s plan, but we must not break out of prison by laying violent hands on ourselves, but wait until God sends and opens the door. Let us pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” Still bear in mind that Scripture, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). The voice of blood cries to heaven. If we may not kill another, much less ourselves. And beware of discontent, which often opens the door to suicide.
Thus I have shown you twenty-seven subtleties of Satan in tempting, so you may know them better and avoid them. There is a story of a Jew who would have poisoned Luther, but a friend sent Luther a picture of the Jew, warning him to beware of such a man when he saw him. By this means, he knew the murderer and escaped his hands. I have told you the subtle devices of Satan in tempting; I have shown you a picture of him who would murder you. Being forewarned, I beseech you to beware of the murderer.
From the subtlety of Satan in tempting, let me draw three conclusions.
- It may cause us to wonder how anyone is saved. How amazing that Satan, this Abaddon, or angel of the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:11), this Apollyon, this soul-devourer, does not win all mankind! What a wonder that some are preserved, that neither Satan’s hidden snares nor his fiery darts prevail; that neither the head of the serpent nor the paw of the lion destroys them! Surely it will be a matter of admiration to the saints when they come to heaven to think how strangely they got there; that despite all the force and fraud, the power and policy of hell, they should arrive safely at the heavenly port! This is due to the safe conduct of Christ, the Captain of our salvation. Michael is too much for the dragon.
- If Satan is subtle, see what need we have to pray to God for wisdom to discern the snares of Satan and strength to resist them. We cannot by ourselves stand against temptation; if we could, the prayer would be needless, “Lead us not,” etc. Let us not think we can be too cunning for the devil or escape his tricks and darts. If David and Peter, who were pillars in God’s temple, fell to temptation, how soon would weak reeds like us be blown down if God were to leave us! Take Christ’s advice, “Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation” (Matthew 26:41).
- See how the purpose of all Satan’s subtleties in tempting is that he may be an accuser. He lays the plot, entices men to sin, and then brings in the indictment, as if someone were to make another drunk and then complain of him to the magistrate for being drunk. The devil is first a tempter, and then an informer: first a liar, and then a murderer.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 