The Pope and the Lord’s Prayer
Recently, the Pope aroused widespread comment by his suggestion that the first clause of the sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation” (Mt 6:13), should be altered in its English translation to something like, “Do not let us fall into temptation”. We object to this view, however, for a number of reasons. Firstly, his suggested rendering is not as faithful to the words of Scripture as the rendering we have in the Authorised Version and is therefore to be rejected. The Greek verb eisphero literally means to be “carried into” or “brought into”. Christ is using this word in a figurative manner – not in a physical way – when He teaches us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation”. The rendering, “lead us not”, is therefore a good translation and reflects the Lord’s meaning more accurately than the alternative being proposed by the Man of Sin. It is highly dangerous to attempt to alter the translation of Scripture in an inaccurate direction.
Secondly, his comments suggest that our translation is misleading theologically and morally, liable to be construed as suggesting that God actively induces or brings men into sin. This is not what the Lord Jesus Christ taught, nor do we believe it is what our translators intended. Furthermore, the Pope’s objection tends to obscure the Bible’s teaching on the relationship between God’s providence and the existence of sin in His creatures. That Christ gave us the sixth petition reflects our proneness and willingness to fall into sin and our need of divine keeping to support and deliver us from all temptation and evil.
The Holy One is not and cannot be the author of sin, and this is very clearly set forth in James 1:13-15, which includes the words, “neither tempteth He any man”. This is the fundamental fact we must always bear in mind. Nevertheless, He does permit His creatures to fall into sin without being responsible for their sinning in the least degree. He does this for His own most holy and wise purposes and, as far as His people are concerned, even these mysterious and dreadfully-solemn dealings will yet work out for their good, as part of the “all things” He is working together for them (Rom 8:28). The sin is always entirely evil and completely our responsibility, but divine wisdom, power and mercy alone can make the forgiveness and deliverance from sin a wonderful blessing to God’s children. “This also cometh forth from the Lord of Hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working” (Is 28:29).
Satan is the one who tempts to sin, but we are to pray to God the Father, for Christ’s sake, to deliver us from temptation. If we neglect this, God may justly leave us to discover more and more of the awful tendency to sin that is in our hearts. Those who have a true sense of their own sin will readily identify with the prayer of David in Psalm 17:5:
“Hold up my goings, Lord, me guide in those Thy paths divine;
So that my footsteps may not slide out of those ways of Thine”.
This subject is admittedly a very difficult area, and readers are especially referred to the chapters in the Westminster Confession of Faith on “God’s Eternal Decree” and “Providence”, with the proof-texts, for the correct, biblical position. Clearly any translation or interpretation of Scripture which is based on a distorted view of the biblical facts must be strenuously opposed.
AWM