Lust, for example, is sin even though it may never be acted upon (Matthew 5:28). It becomes sin when we allow the temptation to become action, even in our minds. He shared his own struggle of flesh against spirit when he wrote in Romans 7:22-23, 'For in my inner being I delight in God’s law but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.'

No one is above it, even someone like the apostle Paul. James 1:13-14 says, 'When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.'Įven though we may desire to do good, we are all tempted. We need no prompting from Satan to entertain sinful ideas. However, our own selfish nature is an ally of Satan’s. Ultimately, since Satan is the 'god of this world' (2 Corinthians 4:4) and the father of lies (John 8:44), all evil originates with him. The betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot is also attributed to Satan’s influence (Luke 22:3 John 13:2). Ananias and his wife both gave in to that temptation (verses 7-10).

In this instance, Peter knew that the temptation to lie had come from Satan. Peter confronted them: “How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”(verse 3). Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, wanting to appear more spiritual than they really were, lied to the apostles and pretended they were giving as an offering the full price of some property they had sold. Acts 5 gives an example of someone tempted by Satan.

There are two avenues by which we are tempted: Satan and our own sinful flesh. Jesus was tempted (Mark 1:13 Luke 4:1-13), but He never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). However, the temptation itself is not the sin. God’s moral law is written in the heart of every human being (Romans 1:20), and when a sinful temptation is introduced, our consciences immediately sense danger. Temptation, by its very nature, feels wrong.

Temptation to Sin by Ju Ephraime