At any rate, what do you think. Is being tempted itself a sin?
Pardon my rambling thoughts:
One of the ways I've looked into this is in the Scriptures re: Jesus in the garden with His disciples before His arrest and execution. His struggles between flesh and spirit were at a peak there. Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22 (re: sweating blood).
Note how He goes back and forth from private prayer to His disciples 3 times. Just for them or looking in some way for some support in this intense struggle? Luke says an angel ultimately came to strengthen Him.
He obviously had a thought/desire to not have to go through this ordeal - "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me;"
But His in the same breath mindset is to do God's will: "nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will." (Mk. 14:36 NKJ)
I think this is the divider. In any test/temptation, it needs to be our will to do God's will. Jesus had the struggle between flesh and s(S)pirit. But He never crossed the dividing line into His own will against God's will. He was never at cross-purposes with God, nor in disobedience to Him.
But, Luke's writing shows His great agony:
Luke 22:42-44 saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven,
strengthening Him. 44 And
being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then
His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak).
I think this event is what Hebrews is addressing:
Hebrews 5:7-9 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications,
with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and
was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet
He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
It's obvious Jesus was struggling with obedience, because the flesh is weak, while successfully submitting to obedience, because the spirit is willing. And Hebrews says He learned obedience from this.
And, for us:
NIV Hebrews 12:1-4 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (literally "until blood").
I think James addresses the dividing line that Jesus never crossed, because His true and to-His-core desires and ultimate abilities were to always do what He saw the Father do, and say what He heard Him say. He was never "dragged away" and enticed (which means lured [into sin] / caught with bait) - by His own desires being opposed to God:
James 1:14-15 But each one
is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Paul addresses his and our battles and failures with this in Rom 7, before he breaks into the solution in Romans 8. Jesus won this battle at every test/temptation, even when He had to basically break His body/flesh to do so. And He was taught from infancy what God's will is.
I don't see temptation
as a sin. Temptation
can be sin as James explains it.
Jesus handled temptation/testing perfectly. He's training us to get better and better at handling it. We have a promise from God about it in 1 Corinthians 10:13.
When Jesus said this: NKJ Matthew 5:28 "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman
to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." - the grammar in the Greek is speaking of a purpose. The following translations are bringing this out:
CJB Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that a man who even looks at a woman
with the purpose of lusting after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
ESV Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman
with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
What's your purpose? Self-deceit is quite the thing to overcome, even in Christ by His Spirit.