The act of sin is definitely bad, but the thought of sin is where the action originates we are вЂњdefiledвЂќ by our evil thoughts. Jesus is pointing our attention to the source of the problem. Thoughts can be evil and sinful.Дў7В Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:Дў8В But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. He was tempted in his mind with the thought of adultery first - which he chose to accept - and then he committed the act of that adultery. This is exactly what had happened with King David when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, like we saw in our last study. The same with adultery, fornication, theft and so on. So, before an act of murder takes place, a thought of murder has already happened. Or in other words, actions are just the product of thoughts. Evil or sinful thoughts come before evil or sinful actions вЂ“ the origin of an evil action is found in the mind. This we know because He goes on to say вЂњthoughtsвЂќ proceed or come from the вЂњheartвЂќ. Jesus is teaching us a simple, yet profound truth: things from within have a direct correlation with things that take place on the outside. What does the Bible say?Дў1В For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,Дў2В Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:Дў3В All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Nevertheless, before we accept this as a reality, we must first see if the Bible supports this claim because it is the standard of truth which we can safely live by. Acts and words are the outward, public revealing of a decision or choice already made within.

A thought comes before an act, which must mean that sin starts in the mind even before an act is committed or a word is spoken. Sin is committed when a choice is made to accept the temptation presented to us our will, which is the power of choice is the deciding factor in whether we sin or not when tempted вЂ“ because sin is a choice (as we have seen in our earlier studies).Д«ut where does our will exist? Where are choices made? Well, they are made in our mind вЂ“ this is where our will is located. In our recent study, Is It A Sin To Be Tempted?, we found that temptation itself is not sin.

Sin starting with 5