When Does Temptation Become Sin?

Inside out, not outside in!

The question is very apt following the substance of the Podcast, and the listener who raised it is right to ask his or her question. No doubt many others have thought about it, but have not yet managed to ask the question. In my mind I have a very concise answer, but I will not throw out a ‘one liner’.

I always try to answer queries (from myself and others) in a way unfamiliar to many Christians. That is, I speak from the inside out, not from the outside in. Let me explain… the usual thing is to take all kinds of facts or opinions from the world, or even from other Christians, and then apply them to scripture to see if scripture complies with the world. This is one reason why the world is in a mess. But, when we look at everything from the inside out, we start to see truth… we begin with God’s word, what HE says, and then see if the world complies with it. Usually it does not. So, with that in mind, let us survey His holy word to see what it says on the matter.

As I have said before, I am nobody, so I need our Heavenly Master to guide me, and everyone else. No, I am not being superficially humble. I really am nobody, and it is God Who must lead, not me. If I get it right, it is by God’s Grace. If I get it wrong, well, it just shows how I am vulnerable to error, just like everyone else. My task is not to be clever, but to pass-on what God says… especially on vital topics.

Do not mistake what I am saying… If I guess what to say or merely give my own opinion (which is what most do), then I have no authority to speak. But, as I have mentioned before, if I speak what GOD says, I cannot be in error (so long as my interpretation is correct). What I will now write is from His word, not mine. If I have to give my own ideas, I will identify them as such. There is nothing wrong with what we genuinely think, if what we think arises from scripture, even if not quite ‘spot-on’. The importance is in being willing to learn and apply what God says to all of life. That over with, let us get to the query.

The Basic Text

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:6)

In the Podcast I asked if Temptation comes from the Old Man (prodded by Satan), even though our old self was crucified with Christ. But, the Podcast begged a question – can temptation become actual sin? The first answer must come from the text, which tells us that the old man is dead, and so our body of sin is destroyed. Thus, we no longer are compelled to obey our sinfulness, but we MUST put into action the holiness given to us by the Holy Spirit. As the podcast says, though the old man is spiritually dead, it still comes knocking at our door to ask if we want to go out to play! Thus, oil wants to mix with water! The answer is very simple – “No! Go away!” But, as we all know from experience, it rarely happens that way, and temptation to sin again comes via the front door and then sneaks to the back door.

Therefore, several things are true – firstly, are we in a fit spiritual state to deny the old man entry to our new house? If we are already committing sin, even in our mind, then we are very likely targets for Satan’s envoys, who will tailor the temptation to suit our sinful thoughts. And, if we need to ask when, or if, temptation becomes sin, we should already be in a state of obedience to God and His word to realise what is happening. If we are not walking and talking with the Lord every moment, then any void will be filled with temptation to sin. As we are told in the New Testament, temptation usually hits us at the weakest part of the chain… our inward thoughts (James 1:14). God does not make a demand to be holy if He has not already given us the ability to be holy! Our human consciences are not fully up to the task, but our new-born spirit is… because our living spirit is in direct contact with the Holy Spirit. We will KNOW when we allow temptation to show us a way to sin.

Oh how easy it is to harbour sin in our thoughts. The actual subject of our desires is not relevant, because ALL sinful desires are the same to God. If we answer the knock on the door and hesitate to answer the old man, it shows that our spirit is not as fighting fit as it should be. Like a drug addict who delays opposing his old habit, we are then susceptible to further probes, because Satan knows how to find chinks in our spiritual armour! All he needs is a chink. He will work on it until the chink becomes a big opening, and then we submit to the temptation. Recognise the process?

Matthew 6:13

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

This prayer, a direct sample prayer given by Jesus Christ, is bound to be true. We are delivered from evil by God not leading us into temptation. The statement means God does not use temptation to trip us up. Rather, He makes sure we have a way out from the sin suggested by the temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

(The word “not” indicates the opposite of ‘lead us’). By rejecting temptation we show our allegiance to the Lord and take the guidance of the Holy Spirit… because THINE is the kingdom, with power and glory forever. Amen – so be it.

Further, in Matthew 26:41, we see the defence against moving from temptation to sin – “Watch and pray”. Like other watchmen I know that I must be perpetually awake so that I can see the enemy coming (Satan, demons, and their human followers). Normally, we see them from way off, so are able to shout a warning. In other words, our fellow brethren are given warnings, which they either ignore or accept. They are not overcome by enemies ‘cold’, but have been warned!

As we have discussed in detail in our Sunday meetings, we should be walking with Jesus Christ in the garden, just as pre-fall Adam did. When we are doing this daily, we are close to Him and know what He requires of us. We talk about it together and He makes sure we are protected. But, when we walk away from His side, we stray onto foreign ground and are likely to be hit-upon by enemies, in thought, speech, or deed. Therefore, the biggest defence against temptation is to watch and pray, to walk with the Lord daily. These, together, form a barrier, a defence. The Christian who is not  fastidious WILL fall at some time, because he has ‘taken his eye off the ball’ and so is vulnerable to temptation... which usually aims at secret thoughts we do not get rid of.

So, the first fact becomes obvious – most sins follow after being tempted by what is already in our hearts and minds! This means we KNOW what temptation is aiming at. If we do NOT know, it means our spiritual state is in danger because we have not identified or eradicated inner thoughts of sin. Yet, Satan is very adaptive! He can send us brand new temptations to sin in areas we have not previously thought of. By using this tactic, Satan throws a stick between our wheels and we wobble on our bike!

All this means is that we have worked to a formula, instead of having a free spirit in direct contact with the Holy Spirit. We have looked at the obvious and so missed the sneaky attack from a different angle… we have not been as watchful as we should have been. A person should not beat himself up about this – unless he enjoys submitting to the new temptation. Just throw Satan out the door and start again! We have temporarily failed because though we sincerely want to do what is holy, our bodies and minds can sometimes be weak (Matthew 26:41). God knows this, and He is gracious in His mercy, accepting our repentance, as we get back on our bike to pedal on His path.

What Temptation Is

“For THINE is the kingdom…”   (Matthew 6:13)

If we are wearing the spiritual armour given to us by the Lord, we will be safe. If we leave some of it off, we can expect to be injured. The kingdom of God is our new abode, and it is safe from enemies. This implies that when we are tempted, Satan is externally probing our spiritual stand… will we relent and give in, or will we make sure our armour protects us, inside the walls of our Heavenly Father? If we start to walk on the dangerous frontier edge, Satan will watch and wait to make his move. If we are well away from the edge, nothing can be done to us. We are, then, EITHER in God’s kingdom, or walking close to the edge showing interest in Satan’s territory, inviting Satan’s snipers to take a pot-shot. And if we deliberately walk over the boundary set by God, we are showing that we can be manipulated by evil.

‘Temptation’, peirasmos, is an attempt, a trial (whether sudden or protracted), often used by Satan to prove whether or not we are as solidly holy as we claim to be. None of us is free from his attempts to make us trip up. Remember what Paul said – he often did what he should not have done, and did not do things he should have done. Like us, he could fail at times. The important thing is that when we fall we immediately repent and change. It is when we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge our sin that we enter more fully into Satan’s domain.

Temptation, then, is a trial used by Satan to see if we are weak or if we will bring back former sins. Like a thief he will rattle the door to our soul until he finds the weakest link. He can also tempt us away with brand new sins. Either way, if we at any time follow the enticement, we WILL sin. God KNOWS we will fail at times, hence repentance as a remedy. So, even if we fail to see it coming, or even if we deliberately obey temptation, the remedy is to repent. If we are not alert, or we are dealing with something else that distracts us, we can sometimes be lured into sin… but the remedy remains the same – repent and change (and resume our walk with God). The Holy Spirit always prompts us with a warning when we are tempted.

Even Jesus was tempted, in His case to rule the world. But, He had no sin within, and already ruled the world anyway! He did not fall to Satan’s moronic attempt to trip Him up! Satan was the brightest and best of all angels, yet even he was ignorant of the real Path Jesus was on. And, of course, God will take us through trials to test our resolve and character. When we obey despite many trials, He rewards us with truth and answers that elude us for a while. God’s trials are for our benefit, whereas Satan’s are there to bring us down. So, if our temptations ‘become sin’ (see later section), it is only because we deliberately give in to what we know is not beneficial for us; and the fact that we are questioning shows we know the answer. Remember – when we watch and pray, we are safe.

Commonplace!

Some Christians like to think they are unique – only they suffer certain temptations! Sorry, but they are wrong. No temptation comes along “but such as is common to man” (1 Corinthians 10:13). That is another reason I know I am a nobody and not special! But, note in that same verse, that God only allows us to be taken to our own human border with temptation. This is an important fact – when we are tempted we will NOT be tempted beyond our ability to cope and stop the danger! Indeed, God says that “with the temptation (He) also make(s) a way to escape” so we can bear the attack. This means that each person who is tempted KNOWS he is being tempted (hence questions) and IS GIVEN the way to get away from it. And when he escapes the clutches of Satan by rejecting the temptation, the Christian will be given the “crown of life”. This is Jesus’ promise for those who love Him (and so do not fall to temptation; James 1:12). And, at the end of time, those who do not fall to temptation will be kept pure, even though others end up in sin (Revelation 3:10).

Conclusion

Temptation comes to us all and we all fall at some time or other. Scripture strongly says that we recognise temptation and can cast it aside or fall to its lure (by choice). God will mercifully allow us to repent, even when we fall deliberately. But, it is our task to then put our armour back on and fight the devil (and our own desires), AND to lock front and back doors, for God rewards those who stand firm and resist evil.

So, the scriptures we have looked at imply that we KNOW when temptation seems to ‘become’ sin.  He does not let His children become defenceless! Nor does He leave us without a remedy to sin following temptation – He gave us repentance. Do we, then, recognise when we sin following temptation? Scripture tells us ‘yes’. What matters is not so much falling into sin (though it is not acceptable), but about what we do afterwards – we repent and start back on His Path. Conscience and the sharp prod from the Holy Spirit confirms this.

When does temptation ‘become’ sin? The one-liner is - Never. Scripture tells us temptation is not sin, but a prompt to sin. Thus, temptation is only temptation. Sin is sin – it is not an extension of, or a continuation of, temptation.

The Mechanism

Just to be sure, let me show the mechanism by which temptation works:

1. Temptation is only an invitation, no matter how vividly it portrays itself.
2. It usually (but not always) makes a ‘probe’ into our minds, to find something that we are especially prone to (a hidden desire).
3. Thus, temptation is an invitation to do wrong.
4. Sin is separate from temptation, because temptation is only an invitation.
5. A man might offer me a deal at a certain price. But, if I do not take him up on his offer, there is no deal. Temptation is an offer for us to commit sin. It cannot force us to submit, so, if we do not take up the offer, we do not sin.
6. Therefore, temptation is not sin itself, but sin is the consequence of accepting the offer/invitation. Once we accept the deal, we commit sin.
7. This means that temptation cannot ever ‘turn into sin’. Temptation is only the invitation to sin. When we are lured by temptation, but do not accept, we are submitting to God and not Satan. All the while we are aware.
8. Satan will always try to trip us up. But, as saved people, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and we are dead to sin (as a cause). This means temptation is external to our spirit. Unless we accept the invite and allow the old man back into our life, temptation is just a dead invitation and can do no harm
9. Temptation, then, cannot change into sin. We belong to Christ. Yet, because of our old man, we can fall temporarily to the latent desires inside ourselves.
10. So, temptation is not sin, but it can lead us to sin… if you like, temptation gives us a lift to our destination and drops us off!!

© April 2025

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