Defiled

From The Heart

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

And Jesus said, “Are ye also yet without understanding?  Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:  these are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”
Matthew 15:16-20

Where does evil come from?  There is only one correct answer to that question, and that answer is from the hearts of mankind.  It started with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, but the one who led them into evil was the serpent which yielded itself to the fallen angel known as Lucifer;  he had rebelled against God.  He hated and still does, the people of this world.

We are all born spiritually dead, in sin, and separated from our God; who is our Creator.  Notice that Jesus that it was not what enters the mouth that defiles a man (and He means man or woman), but what comes from the heart. Jesus gives us a list of things that come from the heart – evil thoughts, murders, adultery, fornication (all kinds of sexual sin), thefts, false witness, and blasphemies.  Many, and maybe all these sins are approved of by a majority of people.  God through His Son tells us they come from an evil heart.

Since we are all born into the wickedness of this world we would all stand before God guilty of sin, condemned (damned) to eternal  torment.  But Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God came into the world to save all who believe in Him.  Believing in Him He gives you a changed; a new heart; and new mind with different thinking.

We are nearing the day in the year that remember the coming of the Savior of the world.  The Baby Jesus.  Every body loves a baby and the story of the baby in a manger.  Let us not forget though why this Baby came.  He came to die and pay their/our sin debt, by becoming sin for us.  He died on that old rugged cross in a shameful way – stripped naked, after being beaten with a mean and horrendous whip with glass, and metal pieces in the ends  of the whip, which tore His flesh away from His body.  He was dead on that cross, they took Him down, and laid Him in a borrowed tomb, and three days later He walked out alive forever more.

Christian we do not believe in a dead Savior, but in the living Lord Jesus Christ.  Yes we believe He died for us, but  He did not stay dead.  He arose showing us that He is the Victor over sin and evil.

Will you come to Him today?

Out Of The Heart

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And when He had called all the people unto Him, He said unto them,
“Hearken unto Me every one of you, and understand: there is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.  If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.”
And when He was entered into the house from the people, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  And He saith unto them,
“Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?”
And He said,
“That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,  thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:  all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
Mark 7:14-23

Everyone born into this world comes into this world a sinner, except for One.  He is the one speaking above about what defiles us; and that it is not anything outside us.

All the evil that we do comes from an evil heart.  The prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart of man is deceitful, above all things, and desperately wicked.  Who can know it?”  (Jeremiah 17:9).  Only God knows what is  in our hearts.  If you have hatred in your heart for a neighbor, a former spouse, your boss at work, even the one who spit in your face and called you a female dog, then that comes from an evil heart.

There is only one answer for out deliverance from evil in our hearts.  The answer is a new heart.  Know that we are not speaking about this blood pump that keeps us going, but we are talking about a changed way of life.  It happens through the work of Jesus Christ and His life; His death on the cross for our sins, His burial, and resurrection.  When Jesus becomes your Lord and Savior your desires will change.  You no longer want live in sinful behavior.  Jesus mentions many of those transgressions in the above text.  You will desire to do what is right, good, and holy to live a life that glorifies the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Would you like to have a change of heart?  Would you like to have an eternity that you can look forward to?  Then  call on the One who gives it to all who will come to Him, His name is Jesus.

The Law Is Good

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…But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
1 Timothy 1:8-11

That Which Defiles

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“And He called the multitude, and said unto them,
‘Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ ” Matthew 15:10-11

When Jesus said this He was addressing the hypocrisy of the religious leaders who had no heart to do His will, but their own. They knew the law but used it for their own ends and means.

Jesus was really revealing their hearts. Their hearts were vile, and evil, and with their mouths they defiled themselves. Further on in chapter 10 and in verses 16 – 20 Jesus explains His words above. All that is evil comes from the heart and is greatly expressed and exposed by the mouth.

Let us be swift to hear the word of the Lord, and in hearing it apply it to our lives beginning with the gospel of Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection; and receiving the change of heart that comes only through the new birth.

With the new birth of the Spirit we receive a new view of life and living, and an ever increasing faith in Him. With the new birth we also receive a new mouth or new vocabulary; if you will.

Out of the Heart

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“And He called the multitude, and said unto them, ‘Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ Then came His disciples, and said unto Him, ‘Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?’ But He answered and said, ‘Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’ Then answered Peter and said unto Him, ‘Declare unto us this parable.’ And Jesus said, ‘Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.’” Matthew 15:10-20  (KJB)

Some thoughts from F. B. Meyer…

“It is good to study our Lord’s list of the sources of soul-pollution. Evil thoughts come first. We cannot prevent an evil suggestion being presented to our minds, but we can refuse to dwell on it. To resist the inclination to dwell on it strengthens us in the opposite direction; to yield to it is to commit the sin in our heart, which, in God’s sight, is equivalent to the outward act. Notice that railing, that is, unkind and uncharitable speech, is in this black-list.
The heart, rather than the body, is the source of sin. Out of the heart! The body is the dial-plate on which the soul registers its improvement or deterioration. Do not find fault with your members: look to your heart and keep it beyond keeping, for out of it are the issues of life. Ask God to create in you a clean heart. See that you distinguish between the first Adam and the second. Deny what you inherit of human weakness and sin, and affirm all that is of Christ’s imparting. The cross of Calvary and the uprising of the living Christ are facts of perpetual experience.” F. B. Meyer Through the Bible Day by Day on Mat. 15:10-20

Profaned

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“O God, the heathen are come into Thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.” Psalm 79:1 (KJV)

This Psalm is another of Asaph’s a patriotic poet of the day.  One who had a heart for God, and God’s people.  One who was grieved at seeing the land of Israel defiled; profaned; by unholy feet and hands.

This Psalm seems to have been written concerning the invasion of Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar’s leadership.  Of course we know this as the judgment of God on Israel for previously becoming unholy in their practices.  The prophet Jeremiah addressed this matter in his prophecy.

For those who have a heart for God and His holiness, knowing that it is God’s judgment on His own people does not ease the pain of seeing the unclean heathen nation coming in a taking it over; even removing the holy articles from the temple.

One thing we Christians can learn from this is that when a nation has been blessed by God, and turns its back on God, His word, His law, and His Spirit; then God will send invaders in judgment.

The Church has been profaned today by crossless, bloodless, Christless, unholy preaching.  Preaching that magnifies men rather than God.  It ought to grieve the hearts of men and women of God everywhere.  We ought to cry out with Asaph,

“O God, the heathen are come into Thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.” Psalm 79:1 (KJV)

Day 56 – Diminish Not a Word

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The prophecy of Jeremiah the prophet to Judah and Israel was a hard word to preach.  It was especially so for a man who loved his people, and his nation; however, it was the word of the LORD, and Jeremiah was going to proclaim it, and it would be better for the people to have listened.  It is still so in the 21st century among God’s people; good to listen to the Word of the LORD.

Just as the LORD told Jeremiah,

“Thus saith the LORD; ‘Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word: if so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent Me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.”  Jeremiah 26:2-3 (KJV)

He was also to never cut short or lessen the words of promise given by the LORD.  This prophecy is full of promises from God as well as warnings.  There are so many who lessen the promises of God to Israel.  Make them only good for them as long as the nation believes like they think they ought to believe; lives as they think they ought to live.

Let us look at some of those promises.  My reading this morning took me from chapter 25 – 38.

The nation had forsaken the LORD and His Word refusing to hear the words of the prophets, including the warnings of Jeremiah; and they would suffer for it by going into Babylonian captivity, Jerusalem being burned to the ground, the temple being destroyed, and defiled.  It happened just as Jeremiah, by the Word of the LORD, said it would.

“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, ‘that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.  And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.'” 31:27-28

Despite the fact that God was going to judge them, He wanted to assure them, that just as surely as He was going to tear down, He would also bring them back,and build them up again.  He goes on and says in verse 34, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Just how good, how strong, how enduring is the covenant of God with Israel/Judah?

“Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: if those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the LORD, ‘then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever.’  Thus saith the LORD; ‘If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,’ saith the LORD.” 31:35-37

And the prophet by the Word of the LORD says again,

“And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,  ‘Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break My covenant of the day, and My covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; then may also My covenant be broken with David My servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, My ministers.  As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David My servant, and the Levites that minister unto Me.” 33:19-22

Just as the Word of the LORD for punishment, chastisement cannot be diminished so too is it true of His promises.  Hear again,

“Thus saith the LORD; ‘If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.'” 33:25-26

The Word of the LORD is sure, it is true, it is eternal; and not one word shall be diminished.  The LORD will accomplish every word of it.  He will be glorified, and all the world shall know that He is GOD.

-Tim A. Blankenship