Exodus 11-15; Psalm 31-36; Mark 7-9
Growing up in a church or attending a church for a long time has its benefits and drawbacks. A definite benefit is the opportunity to hear the Gospel on a regular basis. I love to hear good preaching and being around a church community. Sometimes it’s difficult being a part of a church family, but what family is perfect. A negative that I’ve experienced in Christian culture is words that have such rich meaning become trivialized and lose their depth. Words like: salvation, gospel, resurrection, regeneration, sanctification…etc. Sometimes these are nothing more than “christianese” terms that have no real use in casual conversation. I can partially understand why many would feel that way. Unless a person can explain the meaning of those words in layman’s terms they are of little significance to most people. A phrase came to mind while reading through Mark was given a fresh perspective, the concept of being “born again”. Now that is definitely a phrase that gets tossed around in Christian circles with little regard to the meaning. After reading the following passage, in order to change the diagnosis given by Jesus, being “born again” is mandatory.
“ 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
Jesus is correcting a crowd about their idea that if something “unclean” is ingested it causes the person to become “unclean”. That was a jagged pill to swallow because the law required the avoidance of unclean foods. But Jesus was not encouraging people to break the Mosaic Law but he was challenging the tradition that one’s hands had to be ceremonially clean before a meal in order to eat clean food.
It is not much different from Christians today who are afraid that things from outside will make them unclean. And I’m not talking about dirt. Whether it’s working in a secular environment, entering a restaurant that serves alcohol, or even going to Disney World all are activities that can “defile” a Christian.
In contrast to that, Jesus goes straight to the “heart” of the matter. He declares that the battle isn’t outside of a man but begins inside. Out of my heart come all types of evil! There is no place I can go where my heart won’t be with me.
Culturally, we talk about the heart in a positive light. We say things like, “Follow your hearts desires”; “I put my heart and soul into…”; “I’m willing to give you my heart.” From the pop culture perspective, the heart is the place of purity. A man’s heart is the place of deepest love. The heart is essentially all good.
Biblically, I am to beware of my heart. Man’s heart is evil (Gen.8:21). Numbers 15 says, not to seek after the heart. My heart can be deceiving. It is in the heart that sin finds its start. I was born with a corrupt heart that hates God. This is why it is so important that I’m “born again”. I have to become a brand new creature. I cannot do that by an act of will power. It’s difficult for me to tie my shoelaces everyday so I wear flip flops. It would be impossible for me then to change the deepest part of my being by an act of will. It is only through faith in Jesus and in his death and resurrection from the dead that I can be born again. Jesus recreates from the inside out. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”-Ezekiel 36:26
It is only after I have been re-born that I may follow my hearts desires. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

One Response to “Day 13 of 90 days through the Bible”

1. Online Ouija Board says:

   September 14, 2010 at 3:56 am

   quite great post, i definitely will be bookmarking your site