What Can Defile A Man Mk 7:14-23 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
What can defile man? Nothing from without, entering into a man, can defile him. It’s the things which come out of him that defile man.
There is much attention these days on selecting only organic foods, eating gluten-free foods, maintaining the balance of fat, carbs and protein in your diet, avoiding sugar, getting plenty of exercise, and so forth. Many Christians have started eating healthier and some have even gotten into essential oils and other health products like that.
What can happen if you aren’t carful is that you can concentrate so much attention on taking care of your body that you neglect your spirit. You can lead yourself to believe that if your body is “clean” then you are clean. I am all for nourishing your body properly [Eph 5:29] but I don’t believe that you can keep your spirit from being defiled by watching what you eat, or by exercising [1 Tim 4:8], or by using certain oils and health products.
Jesus said, “that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him,” [Mk 7:19]. To defile means to make unclean, to pollute. The reason things from without cannot defile man is that they don’t enter into his heart, but rather into his belly [Mk 7:19]. It’s the things that are within that come out of his heart that defile man [Mk 7:20-23].
You are defiled by:
Evil thoughts – Mk 7:21 – God is the only one who can see your evil thoughts [Heb 4:12-13] until they manifest themselves in who you become [Prov 23:7] – the best way to nip sin in the bud is to deal with it before it lodges in your mind [2 Cor 10:3-5].
Adulteries – Mk 7:21 – you don’t have to commit this sin physically to commit this sin – you commit this sin in your heart when look on a woman to lust after her [Matt 5:28].
Fornications – Mk 7:21 – you commit this sin physically but it starts with the thought, then develops with the lust and finally manifests itself in the act – the young man in Prov 7:7-10 found what he had been thinking about and lusting for when he “went the way to her house.”
Murders – Mk 7:21 – this is another sin that is committed in the heart [Matt 5:21-22; 1 Jn 3:15] – therefore, you have to deal with it in your heart before it comes out [Eph 4:31-32] in you actions.
Thefts – Mk 7:22 – a man doesn’t become a thief by stealing, he steals because he is a thief at heart – such was the case with Judas Iscariot [Jn 12:4-6] – do you know why some men tell you that you are not supposed to tithe in the New Testament – it’s not because they have a better doctrinal understanding of the Bible – it’s because they are thieves [Mal 3:8] – I realize this passage was written to Israel, but I also know the definition of the tithe, “the tithe… is the Lord’s,” [Lev 26:30-32].
Covetousness – Mk 7:22 – covetousness is idolatry [Col 3:5] and the problem with idolatry starts in the heart [Ezek 14:3] – covetousness stems from a lack of contentment [Heb 13:5; 1 Tim 6:6-10].
Wickedness – Mk 7:22 – these next two sins are best described together in Jer 17:9-10 – God destroyed the world in Noah’s day because of this sin [Gen 6:5].
Deceit – Mk 7:22 – in this evil time in which we live, men are easily deceived because of the deceit that in already in their heart [2 Tim 3:13].
Lasciviousness – Mk 7:22 – this is the manifest sin of our times – lascivious means feeling and often revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire – this sin destroyed Sodom and nearly destroyed the tribe of Benjamin – this sin is slowly but surely destroying our country.
An evil eye – Mk 7:22 – an evil eye is the opposite of a single eye [Matt 6:22-23] – a single eye sees only what God wants you to see, the way God wants you to see it – an evil eye looks at what God doesn’t want you to see, or looks at what God wants you to see, but not the way God wants you to see it.
Blasphemy – Mk 7:22 – this has to do with taking the name of the Lord in vain against the third commandment [Ex 20:7] – your mouth speaks blasphemy because, in your heart, you have a vain imagination of God [Matt 12:34-37].
Pride – Mk 7:22 – pride, like all of these other sins, is rooted in your heart [Prov 21:4] – and pride in the heart is an abomination to the Lord [Prov 16:5] – the way to deal with it is to humble yourself before the Lord [Jas 4:6-7a].
Foolishness – Mk 7:22 – foolishness is a heart problem [Prov 22:15] – if you listen when men speak, you can hear the foolishness that is in them [Prov 12:23] – even though they may profess to be wise, they are fools [Rom 1:22] – if what they say doesn’t line up with the word of God, they are not wise [Prov 9:10].
Conclusion: while it would not be wise to neglect your physical health, it is essential that you understand that good health and a wicked heart are not nearly as beneficial to you as a clean heart, even with poor health strengthened by the grace of God [2 Cor 12:7-10] – so concentrate your effort with the Lord, predominantly, on dealing with what’s down in your heart so that those things which defile man don’t defile you.