For the 13th Sunday after Pentecost the three readings chosen are Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9; Ephesians 6:10-20 and Mark 7:14-23. The text to be preached is Mark 7:20, “And He said, ‘What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.”

When Jesus first says this, we think of rancid food or poisons that would enter the body and certainly defile the body and make it sick. However, the word “defile” used by Jesus means to be defiled in the sight of God as a person not worthy of heaven. That is to say, the Christian is no longer defiled by eating unclean meat from a ceremonial point of view because Jesus has abrogated all ceremonial laws. What alone defiles us is not that which enters us but that which comes out of us.

Now that is interesting because one would have supposed that what defiles a man are his sinful works which he does outside the body. However, God doesn’t measure a work the way we do. That is, we need to begin to think like God and He has given us plenty of information as to how He thinks. The human being regards another person as good because of his works. However, those good works God may regard as defiling us. How so?

Two people see a woman drop her groceries. Both stop to help pick them up. However, the work of the one God considers as wonderful whereas the work of the other God regards as having defiled him. Why? Because as Jesus says, God judges not by outward signs but according to verse 19, by the heart! What does that mean? The person God appreciates for picking up the groceries is one who does it out partially out of love for Jesus Christ. The other, who is an unbeliever, only can do what appears to be a good work from a motivation of self-interest. That self-interest might be to impress those around or even that it makes him feel good about himself when he helps someone else.

What Jesus is saying is that before the deed is done, the thought is considered. That is why He points out that all manner of sin comes “from within, out of the heart of men.” (verse 21) We therefore deserve temporal and eternal punishment because of our evil heart. In fact, in every other religion in the world the evil heart moves them to attempt to placate or appease a wrathful god by their works thinking thereby that they can manipulate God. How foolish!

Now even the Christian has evil motivation because the old Adam is involved in every one of our works, thoughts and words. However, through faith in Jesus Christ, the Christian receives the dual gifts of the forgiveness of sins and the robe of righteousness. Like Paul in Romans 7, we are in a constant struggle against the Old Adam but because of what Christ has done for us on the cross (Romans God regards the believer as having fulfilled the requirements of the Law. The new transplanted heart we received by grace (Psalm 51) is what God now regards in judging whether we are defiled or not. With the sins of the old heart forgiven in the blood of Jesus and with the fruit of the Spirit taking place in the new heart, God looks upon the believer as righteous in His sight.