Bro Kenneth Yoder
Mark 7:14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
15 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.
16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from defile him;
19 Because it entereth not into heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
We shall study the question, What Defiles a Person? This question had been raised by the Pharisees. In the verses preceding the above text, the Pharisees had raised questions concerning both purity and defilement, (see Verses 7:1-13). The Pharisees condemned the disciples of Jesus for eating without washing their hands.
This washing of hands was a ceremonial cleansing established on the authority of a tradition of the elders. The Pharisees asked Jesus, "Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders but eat bread with unwashed hands?"(verse 7:5). This tradition was not a commandment from the Word of God. It came from written supplements to the Bible, which were Jewish commentaries upon the Scriptures. This body of writings was called the tradition of the elders. To paraphrase the question that the Pharisees were asking, "Why do not your disciples live according to the teachings of the elders?" Jesus' answer drew a distinction between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. Often I have observed, even within my circle of fellowship, occasions where the traditions of men were raised to a level of authority equal to the Scriptures. This is done almost always with good intentions. I do not personally know of anyone that intentionally meant to harm or hurt by enforcing the traditions of our elders. Nevertheless, that was the result. Jesus charged the Pharisees with disobeying the commandments of God by making them void to observe their own traditions.
In the eyes of the Pharisees, it was ceremonial uncleanness that defiled the individual, things such as eating without washing the hands. Eating without first washing your hands may not be a good health habit, but it is not a sinful neglect. It may send you to the hospital, but it is not going to send you to hell.
The distinction between what is holy and what defiles is important. Questions that involve purity and defilement are important questions because without an understanding of this matter we would not know when we were either righteous or sinful.
For these reasons, Jesus called the people together and gave them further instruction. He said unto them, "Hearken unto me everyone of you and understand." This statement indicates that Jesus had something important to say. What they needed to understand related to what defiles a man. We probably would not use Jesus' terminology. We would probably phrase the question, "What makes a person a sinner?"
Jesus' answer to this question is that the motives, actions and attitudes that come from a person's heart are the things that defile him. Jesus' teachings disclose the spiritual and moral essence of these questions. Sin resides in the purpose or intention of one's heart. This means the actual choice one makes. One's purpose of heart is also where true righteousness dwells. It is from within, out of the heart of man, that both righteousness and wickedness proceed.
What is the heart? It is the center of the human personality. It is the real you. It is not something independent or separate from you. The center of your personality is where your thoughts originate, where your innermost feelings are experienced and particularly, it is where your choices are composed. The heart is the residence of those things that cause us to be what we are and to do what we do. It is the mental or spiritual condition behind what we do and especially why we do what we do.
The heart, being the center of our human personality, determines the moral character of our actions. Strictly speaking, actions in and of themselves are neither holy nor sinful. There are things that you cannot do without an evil heart and there are other things that you cannot do without a holy heart, but outward action is not where sin resides. Sin resides in the invisible act of choice behind the observable action. It is the intention or decision that determines the moral character of our actions. Two people can engage in the same outward action while one of them could be considered righteous and the other sinful. Take preaching for an example. Suppose there are two preachers who preach the same message of truth. Suppose one is a righteous man while the other is not. The righteous man's purpose is to help people become Christians or remain true to God. The man with a bad heart can preach the same message but from a different motive. He could preach hoping that people would think that he is a great preacher or simply to build up his reputation, it is the motive behind one's preaching that makes it right or wrong.
They also could rejoice in the same thing. To follow the above example a little further, suppose during a Revival Meeting the two preachers labor together. As people are saved the good man rejoices. The bad man could be standing right beside him and join in the rejoicing. The good man is rejoicing because sinners are coming to God while the bad man rejoices thinking more members will mean more money for him. They could even pray for the same outward results. The outward action itself is neither righteous nor sinful isolated from the intent of the heart.
Take giving an offering to God's cause as another example. Jesus taught us not to be like the hypocrites in our giving. Do not give to obtain a reputation of a good giver. Do not sound a trumpet to announce your giving. When you give, do not let your left hand know what you right hand is doing. Give in secret and God will reward you openly. Please see Matthew 6:1-4.
Two people may be sitting side by side and both of them place a twenty dollar bill in the offering plate. Both perform the same action. One of them gives the twenty dollars as a love offering to God. The other gives the same amount hoping to gain a reputation as a good giver. Exactly the same action, but one would be regarded by God as holy while the other would not. The heart determines the moral character of our actions. Jesus also taught the same principle concerning one's fasting and praying.
This is why Jesus wanted the people to understand this subject. It is not merely what you do that matters. This is the curse of religion all over the world. Religious people believe that by doing certain things and by not doing certain other things they are righteous, but it goes much deeper than that. What defiles a man or what makes him a sinner are the things that come from within, out of his heart.
Jesus listed several defiling things. I want to review his list. The Bible contains several lists of vices. None of them is a complete list. There is not a complete list of sins in any one place in the Bible. These lists give us an idea of what the Bible means by sin. The present list, in the above text, is a good one not only because it came from our Lord but because of its breadth. Let us briefly study each item in the list.
Mark 7:21-23 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.
We begin with evil thoughts. Evil thoughts is a good place to start because behind every sinful action stands evil thoughts. Every sin that is committed was incubated in the mind by an evil thought. Sin starts simply as a thought. Maybe it began as a passing thought and then developed into a lingering thought that took up residence in the mind. Sometimes it is an instantaneous overwhelming thought. All of a sudden, the thought blooms into an evil action. Thoughts precede desire. Why do you feel a desire for a certain thing? It is because your desires are according to your thoughts. Every desire that you experience comes from a thought. Thoughts precede the desire and in turn the desire precede the choice to commit an action. Some have meditated on evil thoughts for months before they actually engaged in sin. For months, while they were all alone with their thoughts, they meditated on something sinful until the evil thoughts became a purpose. When do evil thoughts become sinful? Evil thoughts become sinful when they develop into a wicked purpose or intention.
None of us are entirely free from thoughts of evil. I am drawing a distinction between thoughts of evil and evil thoughts. It is essential to distinguish between things that are different. A difference exists between thoughts of evil (which are our tempters) and evil thoughts (which are desires of our heart). None of us are exempt from thoughts of evil, which try to lure us into sin.
I do not understand how, but Satan does have access to the human mind. I know this is true from experience. There are times when thoughts of evil spring up in our mind. Sometimes it is a sight of something. Other times, a sound or even a smell that will start a chain of thoughts that become our tempter.
Thoughts of evil are not evil thoughts. They become sin and defile us when they become a purpose. If you continue to think on them until you decide that you would like to do it, if you could, you become defiled. You begin to gratify it either internally or externally. The purpose of your heart is to gratify yourself in a way forbidden by God.
Evil thoughts proceed from an evil heart. The Scriptures describe those who lived before the flood as those whose innermost thoughts were continually on evil. Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
A society becomes very perverted when its internal thought pattern is only on evil continually. Such a people are greatly defiled. Evil thoughts are not the innocent things that people consider them to be. This is one reason that pornography is wicked. Pornography inspires and feeds evil thoughts through pictures of nudity and stories of lust. Evil thoughts defile you through a wicked imagination. An evil imagination is great wickedness in the sight of God.
The Bible instructs us on what to direct our thoughts. We do not have absolute control over every thought. If we had absolute control of every thought, then we would never be tempted. We do have an indirect control through which we can direct the attention of our mind. We are accountable for what we intentionally watch or read, what we deliberately think about and what we voluntarily meditate on. We can direct our thoughts to those subjects that build us up morally and spiritually.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there by any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Paul gave us a criterion by which we can judge our thoughts. This is also a guide to what to think upon. If it was not possible to direct our
thoughts, this passage would be meaningless. Some Christians, by viewing the wrong things or reading the wrong things, cannot maintain a victory over sin. I have been called a censor by some but I am telling you the truth. A Christian defiles himself when he does not keep his mind clean. If you want to be holy, you must mediate upon holy and pure thoughts. You cannot live a holy life and fill your mind with impurity. You cannot live a holy life and allow your mind to be filled with evil thoughts.
Proverbs 23:7a For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
This is a reason that it is so important to provide our families with reading materials that are wholesome and character building. It is so much better to spend your money in this way than to buy all the latest trinkets and electronic gadgets for your children. To invest several hundred dollars in good books over the years will reap eternal reward for your children.
Keep your mind clean and filled with thoughts that meet Paul's criteria. An empty mind is like a vacuum that sucks in anything. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." The Bible teaches that we ought to fill our mind with the Word of God. Psalms 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
The evil thoughts become sinful when we form an evil purpose in our heart based on them. I have witnessed some who have fallen from righteousness. Their falling away often appears as something sudden and unexpected. The truth is that they had thought about committing sin for months before actually doing so. God has laid it on my heart to warn those who are drifting from God. Often after witnessing an occasion of falling I have reviewed the messages I have preached during the preceding weeks or months. I can say that God was faithful to everyone as they were earnestly warned while they were forming their decision. In spite of all my earnest warnings, they formed their evil purpose.
I repeat, it may appear as a sudden falling away but remember that person thought about it for weeks or months before. Evil thoughts are a leading cause of backsliding. That is why it is so important to keep your mind clean.
The second thing that Jesus said proceeds from the heart is adultery. Adultery is something that is not considered as terrible as it once was. Our society is so sexually perverted that sexual sins are not seen for what wicked sins they are. Adultery is a horrible sin. It is a breach of the marriage covenant by either a husband against his wife or a wife against her husband. In our society sexual lust is an unsatisfied desire for pleasure that drives people to break their vows to one another. It is a terrible sin with devastating consequences.
Jesus' next item, fornication, is related to adultery. Fornication is a broader term than adultery. It is broad enough to include any act of sexual immorality. Fornication includes what we call premarital sex. This type of sexual immorality is not very severely condemned by our society. Premarital sex, sexual relations before marriage, is considered almost a given in our society. Many have decided that young people are going to engage in it as a matter of course. The focus of our society is on the health aspect and not on the moral issue. The health issue is the basic argument for having sex clinics in our public schools and the passing out of free condoms. Our governmental agencies justify these activities by claiming they are doing it to prevent diseases and unwanted pregnancy.
The underlying assumption is that young people are going to engage in sexual immorality. It is this underlying assumption that is misguided. It is wrong to assume that fornication is something that must be accepted. Some consider me belonging to the dinosaur age for saying this, but premarital sex definitely is immoral and wicked. Fornication defiles you and makes you a sinner before God.
I Thessalonians 4:3-3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have a/ready told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. NIV
There is a brand of popular Christianity that expects everyone to sin more or less each day. Some teach that if you fall into sexual immorality, and it is assumed almost everyone will, just ask God to forgive you. I heard a Christian radio talk-show host tell a teenager that was involved in sexual immorality that she was still a Christian but only out of fellowship with God. This talk-show host regularly warns his listeners against the "legalist Pharisees", like myself, who demand a holy life of Christians. These popular ideas are undermining the moral foundation of both the church and society. It is a sin to engage in sex before marriage.
Next on Jesus' list is murder. Murder is the taking of a human life. Murder is increasing in our society. There is a growing disregard for human life. In the Scriptures, you will find the highest possible regard for human life. Human life is something sacred. It is sacred because man was created in the image of God. The underlying principle of the law condemning murder is that man was created in the image of God. Genesis 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. To murder a human being is to kill God in effigy.
To kill an animal is something entirely different from killing a man. To slaughter a steer is not the same as killing a man. The animal-rights crowd is trying to elevate the rights of animal life to the level of human life. They completely miss the point of the above verse. Man is unique in the fact he was created in image of God.
I repeat, our nation is experiencing a growing disregard for human life. Abortion and assisted suicides are two legal forms of murder in America today. The ongoing conditioning of the public mind to accept murder is something that God hates and will punish. It is almost unbelievable the number of murders that are taking place in our society. It is the second cause of death for young adults under twenty-six years of age in our cities. Whether the victim is an unborn child, a young person or an elderly person, the killing of another human being is a terrible sin.
in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus enlarged upon the law of murder and condemned anger and hatred as well. Matthew 5:21 22 YE have heard it said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:
Also I John 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. I realize that most do not view hatred in that light but that is how God sees it. Hatred is murder in one's heart. It is a defiling thing in the sight of God. Hate includes all of the related attitudes of anger, bitterness and revenge. These things defile a person.
The next defiling thing is thefts. I do not know now to say this, but we live in a society where dishonesty and stealing are prevalent. Fraud and double-dealing are everywhere. Throughout our government, our loaning institutions and our businesses is a volume of fraud that is frightening. From the top of the economic scale to the bottom, our land is seemingly filled with thieves and crooks. Recently, I had to make an announcement at our church to make sure that everyone locked their car. A thief broke into a vehicle parked in our church lot and stole the radio and speakers. We had to barricade all the lower windows with concrete blocks to protect our church's sound system from thieves.
What is theft? Theft is taking property that belongs to another without paying for if or without giving a just return. A special kind of theft is committed by those who never return what they have borrowed. Some have never returned the tools, clothes or money that they have borrowed. Their borrowing amounts to a theft. Maybe you need to return some things you have borrowed?
Another kind of thief is one who returns something they borrowed, without revealing it was damaged or broken while borrowed. A farmer friend once told me about a neighbor who borrowed his hay wagon. The neighbor returned it to the machine shed and parked it neatly. At first, my farmer friend thought that his neighbor was being considerate by putting the wagon back where he got it. It was not until my friend was ready to use it himself that he understood why the neighbor had parked the wagon. He had broken the axle and parked it without ever saying anything about it. The neighbor even denied breaking it. He was a thief.
Whether you steal things little or big it does not matter, you are a thief in God's sight. Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If you cannot trust someone by leaving ten cents laying on a table, you cannot trust them at all. A lot of petty thievery is going on today. Many take little advantages in their dealing with others. They will cheat, defraud and lie to get a cheaper price if they are buying or a higher price if they are selling.
Jesus listed covetousness as the next defiling characteristic. Covetousness is related to thievery. In fact, covetousness is related to both stealing and adultery. Covetousness is a desire to have what belongs to another. Stealing begins as a desire to have that which belongs to another. Desiring to have that which belongs to another is not wrong if it is lawful for you to have it and you are willing to pay for it, providing they are willing to sell if.
A form of covetousness which is a sin is desiring to have something that is unlawful for you to have. You should never covet your neighbor's wife because it is unlawful for you to have her. Covetousness is also related to jealously. You envy others for what they have. One of the characteristics of holiness is being content with what you have. You should be content with the lot in life that the providence of God has dealt you.
The seventh item on Jesus' list is wickedness. Wickedness is a general and broad term. The word from which it is translated in this text means an act of deliberate malice against another. Malice is the desire to hurt or injure someone. Malice is related to both hatred and murder. Malice is an attitude that defiles one's spirit.
The eighth point is deceit. Deceit includes all kinds of fraud, cheating and lying. It of course is related to thievery. Many practice deceit to save a few dollars. Years ago while preaching in a revival meeting, I preached on the subject, Doubtful Actions are Sinful. I demonstrated why this is true. A person who doubts whether an action is right or wrong and is not willing to take the time necessary to clear away the doubt, commits sin. The Bible states, he that doubleth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin, (see Romans 14:22,23).
That night several people came to the altar and I went to pray with some of them. One of them was a young woman whose husband was a lay preacher. She told me that she had been wrestling with a doubtful situation for a while and could not find peace because of it. She related the situation. She owned a music instrument that needed cleaning and some repairs. She took it to a music store to have the work done. I forget the exact figures but for this illustration let us say she was charged twenty-fiye dollars. She protested and said that her girlfriend had brought in a similar instrument and was only charged fifteen dollars. She pressed her point until the owner consented. She was trying to save ten dollars but in reality she was not being totally honest. She revealed to me that she knew her girlfriend's instrument was not in as bad of condition as hers.
Thank God for a conscience. Her conscience condemned her. She asked her husband what he thought about it. He told her not to let it bother her. But her conscience would not let her forget it because she knew she had not been totally honest. Deceit, fraud, cheating and lying are defiling. These things will break your fellowship with God because they make you a sinner.
She was not satisfied with her husband's answer so she went to inquire of her pastor and he gave her similar advice. Often, people are advised not to let little things bother them. Many times they are told, "You are being over conscientious." The Holy Spirit will condemn you for not being totally honest in your business dealings. I do not care who tells you it is all right, if God does not, you will never feel right about it.
She had spent several weeks without being in conscious fellowship with God. While in private prayer, she mentally wrestled to find assurance of acceptance but could not. I asked her if the several weeks of being unsure of her relationship with God was worth ten dollars. She answered that it was not worth a thousand dollars.
I told her that she had sinned by practicing deceit. I said, you need to ask God to forgive you and go back tomorrow and pay that man the ten dollars you owe him. Also, tell him exactly what you have done. Tell him that you were not totally honest. Tell him you knew your girlfriend's instrument needed less work than yours. Tell him you were trying to save ten dollars and that you are sorry and want to make restitution. Did it make any difference? You ought to have seen her. She came to revival the next night lit up like a light bulb.
By the way, I want to say something right here. Many think that I am a hard counselor but I usually do not require anything beyond what a person reveals to me. When I deal with souls, I question them by probing their conscience. Sometimes, I will ask a searching question three or four times. Our Lord probed Peter's conscience by asking him repeatedly if Peter really loved him. Jesus asked Peter the same question three times. Was it for Jesus' information? No, Jesus was probing Peter's soul.
It is practicing good Bible psychology to search a person's soul. You would be surprised at how many professing Christians live with a condemning conscience. They cannot pray with any assurance of acceptance because they are excusing doubtful things. They refuse to give God the benefit of the doubt Deceit defiles because it comes from a wicked heart.
Let us move on to Lasciviousness. Lasciviousness refers to very strong perverted sexual desires. Lasciviousness is more than mere sexual immorality. Lasciviousness is very
strong perverted sexual desires that leads to open immorality. It could refer to an extremely wicked society that comes "out of the closet" into the open with their sexual immorality.
The expression evil eye is interesting. If you do not know the idea behind this expression, then you cannot understand what it means. The expression, evil eye, was a Jewish expression for stinginess. The evil eye referred to grudging jealously. It pertains to one who looks upon the possessions of another with an envious eye. The looking upon the possessions of others with grudging jealously is very closely related to covetousness. We have in English a similar expression, green-eyed jealously. To look upon what another has and begrudge them of having it or wish that you had it is having an evil eye.
We now come to blasphemy. In its technical sense, blasphemy means to speak evil against God. In its broad sense, it means speaking evil against anyone. Blasphemy includes railing, slander and gossip. Sins of the tongue are such defiling things among us.
Pride is number twelve. Pride embodies the idea of arrogance. A proud person is not one looked up to but rather a person who looks down on others. Pride is having too high of an estimate of ourselves. It is placing too high of a value on our own importance. Pride often reveals itself in how one dresses. This is a reason the Bible teaches us how to dress. It is not so much a matter of clothes in and of themselves but a matter of pride that manifests itself in how one dresses. Old Testament prophets denounced those who were proud and showed it. The New Testament writers denounced those who demonstrated pride in their dress by wearing expensive clothing and jewelry. Pride defiles. Pride also may be shown in other possessions. One's home and car can demonstrate pride. Pride is defiling because it comes from an evil heart.
Number thirteen in this list is foolishness. What is foolishness? Foolishness is not normal joking but refers to moral and spiritual folly. The Bible in several passages speaks of fools. Jesus spoke of a rich fool who laid up material wealth but neglected to prepare for eternity. God called him to account one night and referred to him as a fool. A spiritual or moral fool is someone who is morally senseless. It is the treating of matters that are extremely important as if they were not important at all.
It is also the denying of spiritual reality. A fool says in his heart there is no God. A fool in God's sight is one who does not know God and who does not want to know God. Moral foolishness is to live in sin and rebellion against God. It is foolish to deny the greatest fact of one's existence which is one's moral obligation to God.
Jesus concluded this list by saying, All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. One's own wicked heart is the true source of defilement. What makes a person a sinner? The answer is these heart attitudes and similar ones. They defile you in God's sight and make you a sinner. Listen to me, the tragedy of man's having to sin is man s wanting to sin. That is what defiles him. It is this wanting to sin, (the evil heart, his wicked purposes, his own choices) that defiles him.
God offers to cleanse the heart from all moral defilement. The Bible teaches that God will give you a new, pure and holy heart. God cleanses from moral defilement so you can be pure in his sight. The Scriptures teach that without a pure heart no one will see God. Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. The wicked heart brings defilement. By means of salvation through Jesus Christ, one may be cleansed.
There are two spiritual needs that every one of us as sinners have. First, we need to be forgiven. We need God's mercy. We need God to forgive us of every sin that we have committed. God supplied that need by giving his Son as an atonement for our sins. He provided for our complete forgiveness.
Second, we need to be cleansed from all defilement of sin. Without cleansing, forgiveness is meaningless. To forgive a sinner without cleansing him from the defilement of sin will do him little good because he will need forgiveness again and again. Cleansing is provided for us. God creates a new heart in us. God gave the gift of his Holy Spirit so we could live a holy life.
A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Salvation is never genuine if it does not include both forgiveness and cleansing. The great fallacy of the "gospel" that is being offered today is that it does not meet a sinner's needs, It only extends forgiveness to a sinner but does not offer him cleansing from all sin, instead it offers him continual forgiveness because it is assumed that he cannot be cleansed from all sin and unrighteousness.
A man who teaches that a Christian can live a holy life is considered a false teacher by the nominal Christian world. The teaching of the possibility of a holy life is considered a denial of salvation by grace. I repeat, salvation is never genuine unless it includes both forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness. Cleansing from the defilement of sin is promised and provided. *END*