Many things go on in the human mind, and this includes random thoughts.
Have you ever got some weird suggestions as a form of thought in your mind?
And you are wondering why that kind of thoughts would even come to your mind as a Christian
Questions like, “when does thought become a sin?” Or “are bad thoughts sinful?” and more, will be duly discussed in this blog post.
Where Do Thoughts Come From?
We need to understand the possibility of the sources of both good and bad thoughts.
This will help us understand the answers to the questions we have in mind.
Here are where thought come from:
1. Holy Spirit through our Spirit
The Holy Spirit can communicate to us through our Spirit via our mind using thoughts.
This means that some thoughts you have are not just from you, but divine.
Also, to balance this, it does not mean all the thoughts you have are from God.
It will take discernment, understanding of God’s Word, and the virtue of use over time to know when it is from God.
One of the issues with receiving from God via our thoughts is the fact we have filled our mind with so much junk with no essential benefit to our Spirit man.
Let’s check Romans chapter 12 verse 2.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Renew your mind by filling, pondering and meditating on God’s word, and by praying. Then you will learn to discern the will of God.
2. Our minds
Our minds have a voice of their own, and we can think about random things using our mind.
Many of us even hold conversation with ourselves within our mind. That’s how beautiful the mind can be
So, some random thoughts might just be a product of your mind.
It’s God’s gift to us to be able to think about things through, and plan things.
3. The state of our heart
If you have been feeding on things that can fuel lust within you by watching or reading things you should not watch, lustful thoughts will spring up from that.
This is because of what you are feeding the heart. This is why you should guard your heart well. Just like the Bible said, that issues of life flow out of our hearts.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23
4. Demons
“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” Acts 5:1-3
The original Greek word translated to heart can actually also means “thoughts” or “soul”
So we can say the devil filled the souls or thoughts of Ananias and Sapphira to keep away some money and lie about doing that.
This happened even though Ananias and Sapphira were Christians.
This is to say, the devil can also try to influence our thoughts.
The good thing is that we have power over it. Read the verse below.
“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;” 2 Corinthians 10:5- KJV
This means we are the gatekeepers or guard of every thought that comes to our mind. We can send them out!
5. Our fleshly desire
Yes, our flesh is known to desire pleasure always! Let’s see this Bible verse.
“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.” James 1:14 NLT
A typical example is when you are dating someone else as a Christian.
Even though you desire your partner, you know you can’t have them yet in that way because you are not married to them.
But sometimes, there’s the possibility of random thoughts stemming from desires for you to pursue the desires when you should not.
Once again, I want you to know you are the gatekeeper and the guard of your mind. Guard it diligently.
Is Thinking About Sinning a Sin?
Having thoughts about sinning isn’t a sin yet, until you the gatekeeper of your thoughts and mind allow it to linger on your mind, and influence your will and decision.
So, it is not necessarily a sin for sinful thoughts to come. They are a form of temptation.
It becomes a sin when you decide and yield to those sinful thoughts.
You must not allow those kinds of thoughts to linger in your mind so you won’t yield to them.
When Does Thoughts Become a Sin?
Thoughts become a sin when you, as the gatekeeper who can decide which thoughts stay or not, decide to allow the sinful or bad thoughts to take your will and influence your decision.
Also, there’s a form of intentionality that comes with thought. You should not harbor against the person of Christ and the ways of God.
Will God Punish Me for My Thoughts?
You are a Christian, bought by the precious blood of the Lamb.
Imagine you decide to buy a dog worth 1 million dollars because you love the dog so much.
Do you think you will bring harm to the dog because of its misdeed?
Instead you find means to rebuke and correct the dog, and train it to not do that which it did that was wrong.
That is how it is for us believers (Joint-heirs with Christ), we are bought by the blood of the Lamb.
God is not readily set to punish for every misdeed we do.
His desire is for us to continually become like him outwardly.
So, God won’t punish you for your thoughts. If you have read the beginning of this blog post, you will understand the nature of thoughts among humans.
If you have not read the beginning part of the blog post, go do that.
God won’t punish you for those thoughts but God does not want you to yield those bad thoughts.
So, ensure to gatekeeper every thought that comes to your mind. You have the ability to control them.
How to Fight Negative Thoughts as a Christian
The mind is indeed a battlefield, and you as a Christian are equipped to fight from a point of victory.
Here are ways you can fight negative thoughts as a Christian:
1. Know that you are not powerless when it comes to thoughts
Many of us think we are powerless when it comes to our thoughts, but no we are not.
We are the gatekeepers of our mind. Even if the thoughts seem intrusive, we have total control over them.
2. Use the authority you have over the word
Whenever it feels like you are powerless to your thoughts, the word of God will never fail you.
Confess the word of God out loud! This might be a scripture or Bible verse you know at heart.
Or you confess things consistent with the word of God. An example is, “I rebuke this in the name of Jesus. The will of God is that I prosper financially, and that I do so without any crooked means. I reject every thought not of God!”
This is a good example for someone who had a thought to dabble into dubious or illegal means of earning money.
Subject your thoughts to the word of God. The more you make a practice of this, it gets easier to do so anytime ungodly thoughts come to your mind.
3. Feed and meditate on the Word of God
Feed your mind with the word of God and stay your mind on it.
When you feed your mind on the word of God and stay it, the less you have to battle with bad thoughts.
This does not necessarily eliminate the possibility of you having bad or sinful suggestions through thoughts.
But it also equips you better on how to handle those kind of thoughts
Final Thoughts on When Does Thoughts Become a Sin
You must learn to control your thoughts and bring it under subjection to the word of God.
Thoughts can soon become a stronghold in one’s life if care is not taken. I hope this blessed you.
