What Defiles a Person

Sunday, February 17, 2008

" And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”" (Mark 7:14-23, ESV)

1.Nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him

2.Are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”

3.What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts.

4. Sexual immorality—Various kinds of sexual activity outside of marriage

5. Theft—Taking something that belongs to another

6.Murder—Taking the God-given life of another person

7. Adultery—A married person having sex with someone other than his or her spouse

8.Coveting (Greed)—Relentless urge to get more for oneself

9.Wickedness (Malice)—Doing evil despite the good that has been received

10.Deceit—To trick or mislead by lying

11.Sensuality (Lewdness)—Immoral behavior that is neither restrained nor concealed

12.Envy—Desire for something possessed by another

13.Slander—To destroy another’s good reputation

14.Pride (Arrogance)—Making claims of superior intelligence or importance

15.Foolishness (Folly)—Inability to discern between immorality and morality

16.All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.

17. An evil action begins with a single thought. Allowing our mind to dwell on lust, envy, hatred, or revenge will lead to sin. Don’t defile yourself by focusing on evil. Instead, do what the Bible says: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

18.While being concerned about what we put into our bodies is a good, healthy practice, very few people are as stringent about what they put into their minds through reading or watching television. Jesus was more concerned about mind-set and thought processes than about food laws. Do you worry about what foods you eat, but neglect “health practices” for your mind?

Watchfulness

The Christian soldier must avoid two evils—he must not faint or yield in the time of fight, and after a victory he must not wax insolent and secure. When he has overcome, he is so to behave himself as though he were presently again to be assaulted. For Satan's temptations, like the waves of the sea, do follow one in the neck of the other. - George Downame

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