If you are still trying to distinguish whether some action is a sin or not, let’s go to the text where it says, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). If some act that you commit does not demonstrate your faith in and reverence to God, then it is a sin. If it illustrates doubt and unbelief, it is a sin, and it can surely rob you of your breakthrough and victory! It may be something that lifts yourself up in place of God, and it is sin. Sin negates humility, but only leads to pride, which is what Lucifer to rebel against God and Adam and Eve to eat of the tree. Pride always comes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18). This leads to the next definition of sin founded in Proverbs 21:4 in the Geneva Bible, which says, “A haughty look, and a proud heart which is the light of the wicked, is sin”. Pride is demonstrated through one looking down their nose upon others. They may even belittle others to make themselves feel better, but they only rob themselves in the long because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).

 

This pride, along with lust, is the cause of every sin committed. 1 John 2:15-17 says, “15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” Pride and lust demonstrates one’s love for the world and condition of being an enemy of God. They served as a cause for the sin in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve moved with lust after the fruit and pride in seeking to be as God for a grasp of authority. It only brought a curse upon the world. It pays to do as Paul instructed and “crucify the flesh with the lusts thereof” in order be like Christ and reflect His love to a lost and dying world (Galatians 2:20; 5:24).

 

Pride and lust can be shown through your actions, but it is more equated with one’s inappropriate behavior and attitude (Matthew 5:27-28). We oftentimes think of sin as being a deed that is done or even a word that is spoken, but out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Sin is a heart issue. Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in action, attitude, or nature (Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith, Wayne Grudem, p. 210). Sin is the contamination of the soul. It is what becomes part of you and controls your life. Sin is more than just an act or work because every work begins with a thought. Proverbs 24:9 says, “The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.” Stinking thinking is sin! Sin begins with a thought, which is why it is important to take authority over your mind by meditating on the Word of God. Your mind was created to give it thoughts to think, but too often we allow other events that occur in our lives to dictate our mindset. Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” In order to have life and peace, one must be spiritually minded, which can only come through meditating on the Word of God.

 

You cannot think two thoughts at the same time, which is why it is important to take authority over your mind by being spiritually minded with the scriptures. The only place in the King James Bible where “success” is written is found in Joshua 1:8, concerning Moses’ successor. “Success”, according to the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, means, “to be circumspect and hence intelligent, prosper, wisdom, or guide wittingly.” God told Joshua that as long as the book of the law did not depart from his mouth, and he meditated on it day and night, observing everything that is written in it, then “he”, speaking of Joshua, would make his way prosperous and have good success. He was trained under the authority of the one of the greatest leaders that this world had ever seen, Moses. Moses, at the point of death, would lay hands on him as the one who would take the “baton” and carry it all the way to the promised land. Moses carried his baton of anointing and purpose from Egypt to the wilderness, and Joshua carried it from the wilderness to the promised land. The reason is because he obeyed God in what He spoke to him. He meditated on God’s Word, and the law never departed from his mouth. He spoke the law, regardless of the magnitude of the obstacle that stood in front of him.

 

Joshua 24:31 describes Joshua’s success, which says, “And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.” Joshua was so successful and prosperous as a leader that all of those who would under his leadership lived for the very God He served! What an incredible testimony! Even the elders that outlived Joshua continued to serve God after his death. They pursued after the God He served, which means that they saw how greatly he dug in the law of the LORD! It was the key to his success, and it is the key to every Christian’s success as well because we operate in a heavenly kingdom, not in an worldly one, which means that we must function according to God’s standards. If we try to live a Christian life and measure success by the world’s definition, we will be trying to live a double life with a double mind, resulting in only distress and confusion. If you are a Christian, delighting yourself in God’s Word and learning under a successful leader, like a Moses, is the key to becoming successful in the kingdom of God while living on this planet!

 

While thoughts of foolishness is sin, it is not a sin to be tempted. If that was the case, Jesus would have sinned, but He was without sin, neither was guile found in His mouth (1 Peter 22). In Matthew 4 and Luke 4, when Satan tempted Jesus, He responded every time with the Word because He was the Word made flesh to destroy the works of the enemy (1 John 3:8). The thoughts of foolishness is entertaining the thoughts of temptation, which is something Jesus did not do, and it is something we must not do! James 1:15 says, “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Sin is the conception of lust. It is being intimate with a lustful thought. The scripture does not say when lust is born, but when lust is conceived. The reason is because when you become intimate with lust, entertaining those thoughts of temptation, you will become impregnated with sin, and when those sinful works are completed, you will give birth to death, which will be death to your righteousness, salvation, calling, and purpose. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” This is how temptation works. The enemy will simply put a thought into your head to tempt you. You have a choice to make:  will you take control of your mind and focus on something else, or will you dwell and entertain that thought. It is when you dwell on that thought that the level of temptation begins to increase, and you begin to compromise with the sin because it is beginning to look better and better to you. It is by meditating and speaking the Word of God that you begin to make the temptation grow dimmer and dimmer instead of brighter and brighter.

 

Then, that imagination leads to sin, a sin that the enemy will most likely tempt you with over and over again until you commit it repeatedly, to the place where it becomes an addiction and a stronghold over your life. When you have a stronghold over you, you are at a place where it is no longer a temptation, but rather something that is now in control and dominion over you. Strongholds are a lot harder to break than a thought, but the same God can overcome anything that comes our way. The armor we have in God captivates our thoughts and turns it into obedience to Christ. It casts down imaginations that rise against the throne of God, and it pulls down strongholds over your life. When you are equipped in salvation and God’s Word, you have what it takes to overcome any thought, imagination or stronghold that tries to rise up against you. You cannot do it all by yourself, but when God is with you, what can stand against you?

 

James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” James said that man is blessed when he “endures” temptation. He did not say you are blessed because you “go through” or “experience” temptation, but because you “endure” it. We all go through temptation, but the reward belongs to the man that endures it rather than the one who gives into it. Giving into temptation is what classifies it as sin, but enduring it is what results in receiving a crown of life. However, there comes a time in a believer’s life where he or she reaches such a level of maturity that temptation no longer sways them, but rather persecution for living out the gospel. This must be where we get to in our walk with Christ because when we do, revival and spiritual growth will come like never before! We will be blessed beyond measure!