We all know that Jesus was tempted three times by the king of liars, Satan himself, and because He did not yield to the temptation, the scripture tells us He was without sin all the years of His life here on earth!
We also read in Matthew 6:13 (KJV) where Jesus, when teaching us how we ought to pray reminded to ask God to, "...lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil!"
Still, with this being a scriptural fact, we hear people, pastors and well intentioned leaders within the church tell us that we need to avoid being tempted, and to confess our temptations.
So what is your take on temptation, and when temptation could be classified as a sin?
:type:
I believe yes and no. It depends on how the temptation came. James says this;
1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
In this case (James 1:14,15) we are tempted to do something because of our own internal lusts (desires). Those desires are sinful and they bring the temptation which would be sinful and if we act on them we carry out the sin.
That being said not all temptation is sin. For example if we are tempted from outside our desires and did not act on that temptation there would be no sin. For example. If someone came to me with a needle to do drugs they have offered me a temptation to sin, but since I have absolutely no inward lust (desire) for shooting up there is no sin involved. There are those temptations that come my way that I have to fight off, but shooting up drugs is not one of them. The same with everyone each in their own area as we are not all carrying the same lusts. Keep in mind that even those temptations that come to us other than our own lusts can become sin if we tarry over them and they conceive.
So it depends on if we inwardly entertain the temptation we are facing whether or not it is sin. In the case of Christ He never entertained anything other than the will of God even though temptations were presented to Him.
So it depends on how the word is used. If are we tempted from desire or are we being tempted by someone when we have no desire for that offering. One is internal and one is external. One is of sin and one is not.
No. It's never a sin to be tempted, no matter the circumstance. Our reaction to it is what determines sin. If we entertain the temptation, then it is sin.
A good example is a beautiful woman walking into a room in immodest apparel. As a man, I would be instantly tempted to have improper thoughts. If I entertained those thoughts, then I am sinning. The temptation was not a sin. The thoughts were.
NOT a sin to be tempted, as even Jesus experienced that in His life, but becomes sin to us when we decide to actual do something, to follow up and to take actions to have them fulfilled, and could be mental sinning as in lusting, or else actual deed of sin!
Here is your words;
" good example is a beautiful woman walking into a room in immodest apparel. As a man, I would be instantly tempted to have improper thoughts."
To be tempted to have to have improper thoughts one would have to think them. Not everyone would have those thoughts. Those who do are sinning. Those who do not are not. Intertaining them only means the sin is progressing. If a person is tempted to the point of thinking the thought of sin their temptation is sin.
Wow, yeah, that's not at all right. At this point given your viewpoint and your screen name, I'm going to assume you're a woman.
I don't care how close to God a man is. A woman walks in wearing the right thing, and that man will be tempted. At the very least he will be tempted to fulfill the lust of the eyes. If he isn't, he's gay. And Jesus wasn't gay.
Correct, it is the way we are wired.
IMO, the line between temptation and sin is this, using this crude example in this thread.
If I am driving down the road and see a woman in short shorts, obviously an unholy thought will enter my mind.
At that point, it is NOT NOT
a sin.
It becomes a sin when I drive around the block for a second look.
In other words, when I chose not to dismiss the thought and go on, but play with it in my mind, and every male on this earth knows exactly what I am talking about.
jesus would have no doubt notice a really pretty woman approaching him, commenting on how attractive she was, but as a real compliment towards her, NO further thoughts like coming unto her, having lustful images, holding thosethoughts etc...
The first look is not where Men get in trouble, its the prologued second one!