James 1:12
By BunGirl
@BunGirl (2638)
United States
June 12, 2007 2:34pm CST
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him."
I've often heard people equate temptation with sin. As if just being tempted to do something wrong is a sin in and of itself. This couldn't be farther from the truth! The Bible tells us that we will all be tempted. Even Jesus was tempted, but we know that He never gave in to sin.
Please read the rest of the article on my blog:
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3 responses
@charms88 (7538)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
Hello bungirl. I have to say that not all temptation is considered a mortal sin. There are people who are tempted to try on a nice clothes and eventually buy it. Others are tempted to eat food that are not healthy for them. I'm just not so sure if these kind of temptation is even considered a sin in the eyes of God. Temptation is everywhere. Whenever we feel an impending temptation coming our way, its best to seek God immediately.
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@BunGirl (2638)
• United States
13 Jun 07
If you are tempted to do something, it's something you shouldn't be doing in the first place. We often misuse the word and say "I'm tempted" but if it's something that you should be doing, it's not really temptation. Now, if someone is tempted to go buy nice clothes and they have the money for it and they actually could use something new, that's not a sin and not really temptation. On the other hand, if the person has a closet full of nice clothes, that's materialism -- a form of idolatry where we place material things (fashion in this case) as the driving force in our lives, rather than God.
@BunGirl (2638)
• United States
12 Jun 07
A thousand apologies to all -- I just realized I hadn't actually posted the link to the rest of the article!!! Here it is: http://bun-girl.blogspot.com/2007/06/james-112.html (wish there was an edit button!)
You're right though -- it's only the acting upon temptation that we can be faulted for. Simply being tempted is NOT something we can really control.
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@gberlin (3836)
•
14 Jun 07
Again, you are right on. I know people struggle with the concept of temptation and how it is not sinning if we do not yield to the temptation. I think it is part of Satan's plan to confuse people and make them feel so unworthy that they give up when they are being tempted thinking that they are sinning.
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