Jesus didn't make much distinction between the heart and the action.
He said to lust after a woman caused one to commit adultery in his heart with her. I'm sure the same applies to homosexuals.
If temptation = sin (as you say), then God is not merciful.
But in fact Jesus is divine and perfect mercy.
Regarding homosexuality, there are countless numbers of former homosexuals. So they were able to not only renounce same sex sodomy acts, but also focusing on such acts in their minds, to one degree or another. It is a simple fact that when we “entertain” thoughts, they stick around. If such thoughts are like unwanted visitors, we show them the door. The mind is not always easy to tame, but we can change our thoughts to a large degree by what we focus on. And when we continually dwell on subject matter, we generally wind up acting on such thoughts.
If someone struggling with homosexual desires continues to watch or look at homosexual porn, go to homosexual bars, read books about the “gay” life and hangs out with those practicing it, he or she will have a very hard time not thinking about such things.
We can control our association, what we read, hear, watch, where we travel to or hang out at, and who we associate with. Imagine trying to diet while reading “foodie” magazines, poring over cookbooks, and loitering in the aisles of grocery stores, in front of bakeries (or whatever kind of food is the tempation) and hanging out in front of restaurants to smell the food smells; or going to “all you can eat” places with a bunch of friends and not eat a thing. The diet won’t work.
And someone truly repentent, who changes their behavior (and associations etc as described above) will find their desires changing as well. Doesn’t happen overnight, harder for some than others, but eventually such thoughts dwindle and become only past memories.
I have never had the problem with attraction to the same sex for which I am very thankful, but naturally other things have tempted me. And the above method is universally applicable.
Of course, begging God for forgiveness and strength and guidance is essential for those faithful to Him. But we have to do our part.
1. The man is free to go - we never hear anything about him.
2. Jesus wrote something on the ground that made all the self-righteous "religious" people slither away - probably all the names of those present who had been with that very same woman before.
3. He says to her, "Neither do I condemn you.", and people usually leave it there. But...
4. He says, "Go and sin no more." - something most people forget. He called sin, sin and he wanted the woman to not do it anymore. I highly doubt she went away from that experience as an unbeliever in Christ. Her life from that day forward WAS changed.
Those who want to continue in sin unaffected by any condemnation usually have to redefine Scriptural terms. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, has a long history of both clergy and lay members living completely apart from the clear teaching of Scripture concerning sexual relations. It is not a new phenomenon but goes back at least a thousand years or more. You have to ask yourself if the church that claims it alone is the one, true, infallible "thing" created by Jesus Christ from the beginning, then how is it that even they are no different in practice from any other religious institution? Sure, it's fine and good to preach something, but when even those "in charge" are found guilty of the grossest evil - such as sexual abuse of children and the covering it up of their superiors - anyone daring to expose the wrong is persecuted rather than the ones that are guilty of the sin.
It is no wonder that the "world" mocks Christianity as filled with nothing but hypocrites. That's what we are showing them, so why shouldn't they? Somehow the, "We are all sinners...blah, blah, blah.", doesn't ring true anymore but it blares of a religion without any truth behind it. True faith CHANGES people - from the inside. When even the leaders show no difference from the world, it's understandable people see it that way. Jesus said we were to come out from the world, to be in it but not OF it. True holiness comes from an inward miraculous change and faking it will not ever work - at least not for long.