Dec 23
24
Baptist Catechism 113 & 114
Q. 113. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
A. In the sixth petition, which is, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted. (Matt. 6:13; 26:41; Ps. 19:13; 1 Cor. 10:13; John 17:15)
Q. 114. What doth the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
A. The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, which is, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen,” teacheth us to take our encouragement in prayer from God only, and in our prayers to praise Him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to Him; and in testimony of our desire, and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen. (Matt. 6:13; Dan. 9:18,19; 1 Chron. 29:11-13; 1 Cor. 14:16; Phil. 4:6; Rev. 22:20)
Scripture Reading: John 17
“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17, ESV)
*****
Introduction
This is the second to last Sunday of 2023 and you will notice that we have come now to the end of our catechism. Our custom has been to progress through the Baptist catechism together as a church once every two years. We have done this many times now. In this way, the essentials of the Christian faith are taught to our members and our children with some regularity. We will conclude another journey through the Baptist Catechism today, and we will begin again on the first Sunday of 2024, Lord willing. I will likely take the opportunity to present on the history and structure of our catechism next Sunday given that we have an extra week.
Questions 113 and 114 of our catechism deal with the last petition and the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer. By the way, don’t you appreciate the way that our catechism concludes with this emphasis on prayer? Sound biblical doctrine is laid down for us in the first third of the catechism, but the last two-thirds is especially practical (yes, I agree that all doctrine is practical, but you know what I mean). It is question 44 that asks, “What is the duty which God requireth of man? A: “The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to His revealed will.” And this question does eventually give way to long consideration of the Ten Commandments. After that, we find material on the ordinary means of grace, the last of these being prayer. We’ve been considering the topic of prayer ever since question 105 which asks, what is Prayer? The answer is, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires to God, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, believing, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies.” What I’m trying to point out is this: our catechism is not only rich in doctrine, it is also practical. It tells us what we ought to believe, and it also tells us how we should live, according to the scriptures. I love it. I think it is a very useful teaching tool for the people of God.
*****
What Do We Pray For In The Sixth Petition
So we have now to the sixth and final petition of the prayer that Christ taught his disciples to pray, which is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer.
The first petition is “Hallowed be your name.”
The second is “your kingdom come.”
The third is “your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.”
The fourth: “give us this day our daily bread.”
The fifth: “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,”
And now the sixth: “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
When we pray this prayer we are asking “that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted.”
The world is filled with temptation, brothers and sisters. One of the benefits of praying this prayer daily is that we are reminded of this reality. When we pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, we are reminded of the fact that there is a right way and a wrong way to live – there is a narrow path that leads to life, and a broad path that leads to destruction. Not only this, we are reminded that we will often be tempted to stray from the right way.
The world – that is to say, this sinful world and its ways – will tempt us.
The Evil One will seek to lead us away. This is why Peter says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV)
And our own flesh will often work against us. Yes, those in Christ have been renewed by the Spirit, but we do also confess that corruptions remain within us.
So these are the three ways of temptation: the world, the flesh, and the Devil. When we pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, we are reminded of the reality of temptation, and we are able to prepare ourselves to walk in a sober, clear-minded, and alert manner.
But you will notice that this is no mere reminder. No, in the sixth petition, we make an appeal to God and we ask him to lead us, not in the wrong way, but in the right way. “
In the sixth petition, we are requesting that God would “keep us from being tempted to sin… or that he would “support and deliver us when we are tempted.”
Why the “or”? Well, sometimes the Lord’s will is that we be tempted and that we be strengthened through the ordeal.
Can you think of an example in the scriptures where God permitted a man to be tempted? Think of Christ in the wilderness. God did not keep Christ from temptation, but he did keep him through it!
And we know that God does permit temptation to strengthen, test, and prove those who are his. James speaks to this saying, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (James 1:12–14, ESV). Did you hear it? “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life…” In this context, the trials are temptations.
So our prayer is that God would either keep us from temptation or keep us through temptation.
You will notice that this is what Christ himself prayed for in that prayer of John 17 which I read earlier – that his disciples would be kept. He prayed to the Father, saying, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world… I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours… While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth…” etc. (John 17, ESV)
Jesus himself prayed for us that we would be kept, and when he taught us to pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, he was teaching us to pray that the Father would keep us.
*****
What Does The Conclusion Of The Lord’s Prayer Teach Us?
Please allow me to say just a couple of things about the conclusion to the Lord’s Prayer, which is “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.”
One, this conclusion is based upon 1 Chronicles 29:11–13: “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name” (1 Chronicles 29:11–13, ESV).
Two, this ending teaches us to “take our encouragement in prayer from God only, and in our prayers to praise Him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to Him; and in testimony of our desire, and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen.” Amen means, truly, indeed, or let it be so.
*****
Conclusion
Q. 113. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
A. In the sixth petition, which is, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted. (Matt. 6:13; 26:41; Ps. 19:13; 1 Cor. 10:13; John 17:15)
Q. 114. What doth the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
A. The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, which is, “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen,” teacheth us to take our encouragement in prayer from God only, and in our prayers to praise Him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to Him; and in testimony of our desire, and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen. (Matt. 6:13; Dan. 9:18,19; 1 Chron. 29:11-13; 1 Cor. 14:16; Phil. 4:6; Rev. 22:20)
