It is a sin to have that thought? Even though I didn’t act upon it?<\/p>\n\t
A thought is not a sin. Otherwise, there would be no temptation — only sin. Satan has to get us to think about sin to lure us into it. What should happen is that we immediately follow the thought with “no way,” but what sometimes happens is that we think about it over and over. We dwell on it and think “well, maybe; but only if I can do it without being caught.” When we cross the line of rejecting an idea to accepting an idea that is sinful, then our thoughts can become sin. That is because all sins first start with thoughts of finding excuses for sinful behavior. “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man<\/i>” (Mark 7:20-23).<\/p>\n
This is why Jesus said, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart<\/em>” (Matthew 5:28). The only difference between seriously thinking about committing a sin and actually doing it is the opportunity. So when does the sin actually begin? Jesus said it starts when you seriously give thought to breaking God’s law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: It is a sin to have that thought? Even though I didn’t act upon it? Answer: A thought is not a sin. Otherwise, there would be no temptation — only sin. Satan has to get us to think about sin to lure us into it. What should happen is that we immediately follow the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[156,179,185],"class_list":["post-8347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-lust","tag-sin","tag-temptation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13470,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-overcome-my-evil-thoughts-even-though-i-am-christian-already\/","url_meta":{"origin":8347,"position":0},"title":"How can I overcome my evil thoughts even though I am Christian already?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can I overcome my evil thoughts even though I am Christian already? Answer: I've always been amazed at how many people think that Satan gives up and goes away just because a person has become a Christian. Satan isn't going to stop tempting you with sin (evil thoughts),\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40285,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-question-everything-i-do-even-though-there-arent-commands-against-it-because-it-might-not-be-from-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":8347,"position":1},"title":"I question everything I do, even though there aren’t commands against it because it might not be from faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello again. For a while now I have been struggling with making sure I am doing things in faith as mentioned in Romans 14:23 while not trying to stress myself out and worry about it so much. What is talked about in Ecclesiastes 7:16 seems to be what I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38807,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-sinning-if-im-cursing-in-my-thoughts\/","url_meta":{"origin":8347,"position":2},"title":"Am I sinning if I’m cursing in my thoughts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My boyfriend was just baptized and he's been struggling. He has a little bit of anxiety. He's been trying to work on his cursing. he's doing great. But he asked me a difficult question. He asked, \"Am I still sinning if I keep the cuss words in my brain?\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12717,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-colossians-32-teach-that-it-is-a-sin-to-think-about-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":8347,"position":3},"title":"Does Colossians 3:2 teach that it is a sin to think about sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin to think about sin? I read your article about this subject but what about Colossians 3:2? Does it say that it's a sin to think about sin? Answer: \"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20038,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-obsessing-over-my-sinful-thoughts-what-can-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":8347,"position":4},"title":"I’m obsessing over my sinful thoughts. What can I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. I am a member of the church of Christ and have been for a while now. However I have been plagued by many tormenting, fearful, and bad thoughts on a daily basis. I have talked to many doctors, psychiatrists and church counselors who chalk it up to anxiety\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10949,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-satan-put-bad-thoughts-into-your-head\/","url_meta":{"origin":8347,"position":5},"title":"Can Satan put bad thoughts into your head?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering why certain thoughts are coming to my mind. Is it possible that Satan could put thoughts into a person's mind to try to get them to sin, doubt, or think bad thoughts about God and the Holy Spirit? 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