10.19.2025 Sunday Sermon by Pastor Jeungbok Lee
Scripture: Matthew 6:13, James 1:12-15
Title: The Prayer the Lord Taught Us (Fourth) - Temptation
Matthew 6:13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
James 1:12-15
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
1. Today, I will summarize last week's sermon and add some further words on forgiveness, then speak on temptation.
1.1) Last week, we discussed how forgiving those who have sinned against us is evidence that we have been forgiven by God and a assurance that we will receive forgiveness at the final judgment. As a result, the church becomes a restored and free community. Of course, it is clear that there is pain in the heart and difficulty in enduring until forgiveness is granted. That is why Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow Him.
1.2) Additional content on forgiveness concerns the scope and objects of the forgiveness we practice.
Jesus forgave all humanity. Therefore, believers have received forgiveness for the sins they committed against God. However, the objects we must forgive cannot be all of humanity like Jesus. The objects we must forgive are only those who have directly sinned against us. If I were to say I forgive Stalin or Hitler, that would not make sense. Because neither Stalin nor Hitler has directly wronged me in any way, nor have I ever met them. The scope of our forgiveness is only toward those who have sinned against us.
It is important for us to correctly understand the scope and objects of forgiveness. This is so that we do not fall for agitation that forces forgiveness on others.
Let me give a simple example. Only the family members of those who experienced the Sewol ferry disaster can be the ones to forgive those who caused their family members' deaths. A third party cannot force them to forgive. In our country, there have been cases where people with no connection to the victims pressured those who lost family members to forgive. And some people even liked and recommended such statements. This is very wrong. If any of you have fallen for such agitation and clicked "like," we must repent of this mistake.
The reason to be cautious is that pastors are especially prone to making this mistake. Pastors teach forgiveness to the congregation and provide counseling. However, they must not go beyond teaching and counseling on forgiveness to forcing it. There are cases where subtle threats are made, saying that if you do not forgive the person who sinned against you, you will not be forgiven or receive salvation. A pastor's role is only to properly educate the congregation to have faith in forgiving those who sinned against them and to pray for them. Forcing forgiveness is overstepping that boundary.
Through last week's message and this week's, I pray for a right understanding and practice of forgiveness.
Now, I will speak on temptation.
In Korean language, the word "시험" is one, but in English, it is used differently as 'trial,' 'test,' and 'temptation.' However, in Greek, the roots of trial (test) and temptation (enticement) are the same in etymology.
2. We need a correct understanding of temptation.
In many places in the Old Testament, scenes appear where God tests Israel. Yet James 1:13 says that God does not tempt anyone.
It will help understanding to explain using the words from James.
James 1:12-15
12 - Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
13 - When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14 - but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
15 - Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
2.1) The 'trial' in James 1:12 refers to all external difficulties. God will bring or permit this trial. At that time, God's people will experience a testing of their faith. As a result, those who endure the trial through faith will become mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:4).
On the other hand, the 'tempt' in James 1:13-14 does not refer to the trial (difficult circumstances) that God brings, but to Satan tempting (temptation) God's people. God does not tempt His people in this way. Satan tempts (temptation) believers in difficult situations to fall into sin, leading them to death as the wages of sin.
Therefore, we can see that the trial in verse 12 and the temptation in verses 13-14 have different meanings.
2.2) How can the same 'trial' become a faith-testing 'test' that makes one resemble God's perfect character for some, and a dangerous 'temptation' that brings ruin for others?
It is because the lust in our hearts is drawn to the temptations (trials) that Satan offers. Satan sets alluring traps before us when we are going through hard times.
Even Satan came to Jesus and tempted Him. Before beginning His public ministry, Jesus fasted for 40 days. He prayed for the ministry of saving sinful people. It was the path of suffering to save all humanity through His cross sacrifice. Yet the devil appeared to Jesus after 40 days of fasting and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, tempting Him by saying that if He bowed down, he would give them all to Him. It was an incredibly attractive path compared to the death on the cross. He also tempted the hungry Jesus by saying to turn stones into bread to prove He was the Son of God and satisfy His hunger. It seemed like a two-birds-with-one-stone solution. However, Jesus repelled the devil's temptations with the Word of God and fully accomplished God's work of salvation.
2.3) Let me explain the process of falling for the bait (temptation) that Satan brings when we are walking through difficult times.
First, when a 'trial' comes to us, we are placed in a difficult situation. Then, we want to escape this difficulty. The problem is that in this hard situation, the devil throws an easy and attractive bait in front of us to solve it. That is called 'temptation.' The enemy's purpose is one: just like a hunter catching prey. He packages it beautifully, smelling good, and satisfying to our hearts. At that moment, the lust in our hearts strongly desires it. At first, we may know that this 'temptation' is Satan's bait to catch us. But the lust in our hearts that wants to eat the bait immediately rationalizes and packages the 'temptation (bait).' So, we are dragged away by our own lust and eat the bait. Afterward, we become accustomed to eating it frequently without resistance. What we must be careful of is this: we must not say, "I'll just try Satan's temptation once and stop." Even one bite opens the door to sin in our hearts, and from then on, we will fall into temptation more frequently without hesitation. So, the beginning is important. To avoid eating Satan's 'bait (temptation),' we must pray. The essence of the prayer "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" is to ask the One who knows our weakness to open our eyes and give us wisdom to discern Satan's 'bait (temptation).'
2.4) We must keep this in mind. The greatest enemy of our faith is not the surrounding difficult situations. Not even very evil politicians. Not material hardships. Not illnesses. The greatest enemy that leads us into temptation to sin and brings us to death is the lust in our own sin-stained hearts. It is my lust that makes me fall into 'temptation.' Even if the devil comes directly to tempt us, if we repel that bait with God's help, there is no problem.
2.5) Let us examine what excuses those who fall into Satan's 'temptation' make. If you find yourself making such excuses, realize that you have fallen into temptation, repent, and return.
When someone preaches to a person that all people are sinners, he says that people became sinners because God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He claims that if God had not planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, humans would not have sinned.
However, we must clearly understand this: God did not plant the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and tell them not to eat its fruit to tempt Adam and Eve to fall into sin. On the contrary, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a symbol of God's grace. Every time they saw that tree, it was God's grace to remind them that they are the most precious beings in the world, created by the Creator God. It was given for the purpose of enabling them to worship God rightly and enjoy the blessings of the Garden of Eden.
This is a story about a friend of mine.
He wanted to earn a lot of money to support missionaries. So, he quit his job and started multi-level marketing. Not even a normal MLM company, but one that promised to make money in a very short time. In the end, he lost all his existing money. The problem is that he blamed his loss not on his own lust, but on others, the government, or his surrounding friends. People who fall into sin through their heart's lust being enticed into temptation all have a tendency to blame others. As a result, they cannot repent and turn from the wrong path.
We must remember: Falling into Satan's 'temptation' is not because of God who allows trials to refine our faith through difficult circumstances. It is because we were deceived by our own lust and ate the bait that Satan packaged.
3. Therefore, God's people, the saints, must plead with God to avoid falling into 'temptation,' set up guards in their hearts in preparation for when temptation comes, and recognize the symptoms of falling into it.
3.1) We must examine what lust is always present in our hearts. Or what is it that we always feel we lack?
Satan targets our weaknesses and throws bait. A person experiencing material difficulties has an attachment to material things. He will throw bait saying you can always make money. Then, the lust for material things meets Satan's bait and falls into that temptation.
Even some pastors have lust for honor. So, they want to become the general assembly president of their denomination. But they create plausible reasons for why they must become the general assembly president. In reality, it is because of their lust for honor. So, during general assembly elections, they spend 1 billion Won of church offerings to become president for the sake of that 'temptation' of honor driven by their lust.
Therefore, you must definitely identify what lust and weaknesses are in your hearts. If you cannot identify them well, pray to God to reveal them. Once you know your weaknesses, plead with God not to fall into temptation because of them. Then, God will keep you from falling into temptation despite your weaknesses.
Do you know why I don't live extravagantly? It's not because of a heart of moderation, but because I have no money. If I suddenly had a lot of money, would I really live with moderation? I cannot guarantee it. Perhaps the reason I have no money now is that the Lord's Prayer I offer has been answered. It is so that I do not fall into the 'temptation' of waste and dissipation with much money and commit evil.
3.2) There are symptoms that appear when falling into temptation. It is packaging the temptation that leads to sin.
One packages earning money in an unjust way because of their own lust. "I need to make money to support missionaries." Or "For the church's finances" or "To become someone who helps the poor," and so on. "If I become the general assembly president, I can do more missions and fight against heresies like Shincheonji. So, I must become president even if it means spending money," they package it.
4. Let us conclude on temptation.
We must remember that trials or persecutions are natural for those who love God and seek to live according to His will.
The 'trial' God gives is to refine us so that we come out like pure gold. Satan's 'temptation' is to make us stumble. It is evil, intending to lead us to death by distancing us from our relationship with God.
God gives us trials to refine us and grow us into His pure people, while conversely, Satan tempts us to sin and make us fall. Therefore, as God's people, you will always have either good or bad tests and temptations.
What is even more confusing is that these two often overlap. So, it is very hard for us to distinguish. Whether it is a faith test from God for my sake or Satan's temptation to make me fall—it is hard to tell. That is why we need God's help even more.
So, pray like this:
In the trials You give to refine me, grant me wisdom and strength to persevere and overcome; in the 'temptations' Satan brings to make me fall, grant me discernment not to fall into them.
May you become saints who overcome temptation and receive the crown of life as a reward. I bless you in the name of the Lord.
Let us pray. (End)