Mark 7:14  And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, 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 without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
19  Because it entereth not into his 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 men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, 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.

There is more to man than what meets the eye. We only see a small portion of what man is. The Pharisees had influenced the majority of the Jews to dwell on outward issues, rather than heart issues. It is still the same today. Psychiatry and psychology deals with the outward things and the mind. It cannot deal with the heart. Many times doctors prescribe pills for certain things that are not the root cause of the problem. Many counsellors and pastors deal with the superficial issues, rather than the heart.
Jesus had already dealt with the Pharisees’ false teaching on washings. Now He would address the matter further. The dirt on a man’s hands cannot defile his soul. It can cause disease, but it cannot defile his soul. Jesus stated that nothing from without a man, that he puts into his body, can defile him. It is what comes out of man that is the problem.
We do not need to let our imagination run wild here and start to interject all kinds of foolishness into the text. Jesus would explain further what He was talking about. The spiritual aspect of man is what must be addressed.
In verse 16 Jesus warned the people to listen. Most likely every person reading these devotionals has heard something that has triggered further thoughts on the matter. You do not hear what the speaker or the writer is saying, because you have allowed your imagination to take over and you developed your own ideas and missed what was being communicated.
As a pastor I have witnessed this many times with people. They will come to me after the service and make a comment or ask a question about something that I had already stated in the message. Then I need to go over that again to help them to understand what was said. That is human nature. The Bible teaches us that it takes discipline to concentrate on the subject at hand and not wander off into imaginary territory.
In verse 17 we see that Jesus entered into a house, away from the crowds. His disciples came with Him, but the crowds were outside. The disciples had not understood what Jesus had just stated. Most likely the other people did not understand it either, but as we have noted before, the crowds were not interested in doctrinal issues. They were only interested in superficial things. Thus they would not receive the blessings they could have had if they wanted to.
The disciples wanted further understanding of what Jesus had stated.
In the following verses Jesus further explained what He had stated. He began by rebuking them for their lack of understanding. They had been influenced by the false teachings that were so prominent at that time. They had eaten much food by this time in their lives. They had heard Jesus warn of the different false doctrines that the people had been taught and were living by. They had also seen that the food they had eaten had not adversely affected them.
The things that we eat and drink, leave the body as waste. Our bodies are designed to process what we take in and extract certain parts of that and discard the waste. The body is also capable of vomiting up things that are not good for us so that they do not have such great adverse affects on the body.
Jesus pointed out that the things we take in do not go to the heart of the person. They go into the stomach and then out. The things we hear/read have an impact on our souls/hearts. Our educational system is well aware of this fact. They are working hard to shape young minds to think a certain way. The whole sodomite agenda is driven by teachers who are lost and brainwashed and who are brainwashing children to believe they are not what biology says they are. A God hating society will become increasingly vile in their thinking and their actions. We now have adults fighting to allow men into women’s dressing rooms and into activities designed for women. We have women who cannot define what a woman is and will not state that only women can have babies. That thinking comes from the heart of the person. It comes from a heart that has rejected God and has accepted the lie of evolution as its foundation.
There are many doctors and nurses who have been brainwashed into believing that the “thing” that is developing inside the womb of the woman is a “fetus” and thus it can be removed for convenience sake. Many others have also sanctioned the murder of unborn children because they believe they are not truly humans.
The Pharisees had chosen to develop and believe theological lies. They were steeped in false doctrine. They were teaching that false doctrine directly and indirectly. They were declaring what they wanted the people to believe and they were using pressure to try to force the people to believe what they wanted them to believe.
Today is the pope’s funeral. The air waves will be full of false teaching today. Who knows how many times he will be called ‘holy father’. Lies will be told of just how loving and caring this wicked man was. Thousands upon thousands of people will be negatively influenced by the events of this day. The ‘most powerful man in the world’, the president of the U.S. is attending this worthless event. He claims to be a born again Christian!
It is important to remember that what we accept and allow into our minds and hearts will shape what comes out of our mouths. There are those who have already judged me for what I have said. They have decided that I am a bad person because of what I say. No foul words have come out of my mouth. I have spoken the truth for the purpose of helping people to think about what they will accept as truth. Many people have already chosen to accept lies for truth, and they reject the truth because it does not make them feel good.
Jesus stated that what comes from the heart of man is what defiles him. The evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, etc. Those are the things that defile the man. We have mentioned several times already that the problems we are facing are the moral bankruptcy of our nations. It is not the financial concerns that many have. As we have already mentioned, thousands of dollars are being spent today on travelling to Rome for a funeral. Thousands of gallons of fuel are being burned up for this occasion. We are lied to about climate change. However, there is no concern about climate change for this occasion.
Born again Christians would not waste their time to attend such a vile event. There are many things that born again Christians would not do. They learn to live on much less than the world suggests. They also can live with a clear conscience, which the world desperately needs and tries to find through drugs and alcohol.
It is the evil thoughts and actions of many that defile them. Even born again Christians can and will have evil thoughts at times. They will be guilty of the various sins Jesus mentioned here. However, born again Christians cannot remain in those sins. They must confess them and forsake them. God will see to it that this will happen among His children. The many who profess to be saved but continue in their sins prove they are not truly saved individuals.
Man can be deceived, but not God. God is holy and He has given us His righteous laws. We can know the truth and we can enjoy His blessings. No one needs to go through life deceived. We can be forgiven and saved. We can say and do things that glorify God and bring peace to our hearts. We need to let God lead us into the truth. He has given each person a conscience. The Holy Spirit is working in the heart of every individual. He is convincing the lost of the wickedness of their heart. He is showing them the importance of knowing the truth. The lost come up with many excuses for not subjecting themselves to the truth. Pride is a big factor in staying away from the truth.
The saved are given the ability to understand the deeper things of God. They can grow in Him because they have been saved. Their hearts have been changed and they have the capacity to receive the truth.
What are you receiving into your heart today? What is your filtering mechanism by which you choose what to believe and what not to believe? You need to be sure you are following the truth, because you will be held accountable for what you believe and what you reject. Be careful! Choose wisely.
Pastor Bartel