Proclamation:
“Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into
them. Rather, it is what comes out of a
person that defiles them.” Mark 7:15
(NIV)
Explanation:
These words were written under the influence of The Holy
Spirit of God by Mark. This is the
gospel as he received it from the apostle Peter. He begins this chapter by relaying the
discussion which Jesus, The Christ, had with the scribes and Pharisees
regarding His disciples eating food with unwashed hands. (Mark 7:1-23) Jesus made the point to them that it was not
that which entered the mouth which defiled a person but rather it was that
which comes out of the mouth that defiles them.
For the evil which is within a person’s heart becomes his thoughts,
words, and behavior and that defiles him. (Matthew 15:11 and Mark 7:20-23)
Application:
People have claimed that eating certain foods and breaking
certain traditions is sinful.
Unfortunately, man has created a number of traditions, even religious
traditions, which have nothing to do with The Word of God. Some people get so caught up in the little
things, focusing on the details, until they miss the big picture, the overall
purpose. Not eating pork, meat, or dairy
products does not make one a better person.
One can even eat too much of the “right” foods and make one’s self
sick. While most of our diets need
improvement, we have a bigger problem with the words that we speak, and the
manner in which we speak them. Out of
the mouth come the issues of the heart. (Proverbs 4:23, Matthew 15:18, and Luke
6:45) Our evil and sinful thoughts lead
to spoken words which are hurtful, not helpful, deceptive, untruthful, and not
very nice. (Colossians 3:8) Our words
can defile us and we will have to give an account for them one day. (Matthew
12:36) We need to pray that The Lord God
will create within us a clean heart and mind, and that He will guide our
thoughts, words, and behavior.
No comments:
Post a Comment