by Mako Kato
We are going to spend some time on the topic of God’s deliverance in preparation for Pastor Glen’s sermon this coming Sunday.
Part of the Lord’s Prayer asks God to “deliver us from evil.” We’ve heard it many times, but what does it mean? The word translated as “deliver” in this passage is the Greek word ruomai, which can also be translated as “rescue.” In other words, we’re asking God to rescue or save us from evil. The word “evil” in this verse could also be translated “evil one” a.k.a. Satan.
In the beginning of Matthew 6:13 we pray that God will not lead us into temptation. From James we learn that God cannot tempt us, but he does allow us to undergo trials (James 1:2-4).
James writes:
“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” James 1:14-15 ESV
Temptations and sin come from human’s desire to do wrong things. The idea of God delivering us from evil is an important idea. As Christians we still have sinful desires so that, like Paul talked about, we do things we did not want to do. But as Christians we are no longer under the rule of our sinful desires. God deliverers us from having to follow wrong desires, and gives us the opportunity to glorify him in our actions.
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13 ESV
We are a new creation. We don’t have to give in to temptation. God has delivered us from evil, He will continue to deliver us from evil, and I hope we will continue to ask Him to do this when we pray.
God is our Deliverer. I’m linking this to Chris Tomlin’s song “My Deliverer” on YouTube. Enjoy, ponder and praise the God who delivers us from evil.