In this chapter we have another
incident where the Jews, the Pharisees, and the scribes attacked
our Lord through his disciples and their behavior. So we look
at that as we go along on our way. But we're looking at the
natural heart of man today. And in Luke chapter 7, it's also
in Matthew 15, we'll make references there. We'll begin our reading
in verse 14. and read through the 23rd verse,
remembering that we're looking for the Lord's teaching on the
subject of the natural heart of man. Verse 14, And when he
had called all the people unto him, that is, after that altercation
with the scribe and the Pharisees, he said unto them, Hearken unto
me, every one of you, and understand. 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. If any man have ears to hear,
let him hear. When he had entered into the
house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he said unto them, Are ye
so without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatsoever
thing from without entering into the man cannot defile him? because it entereth not into
his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught,
purging all meats. And he said, that which cometh
out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out
of the heart, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil
eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from
within and defile the man. Now, since we intend this morning
to study the state of the heart as it is by nature, as stated
in our text, the words, out of the heart, by way of the mouth,
proceed those things that are evil and that defile a man. Now, to that, let's add a few
other texts to strengthen our case and widen our foundation. there is that famous and oft
quoted text found in the great prophecy of Jeremiah chapter
17 and verse 9 that says, the heart is deceitful above all
things and desperately wicked who can know it. Now be sure
in looking at that verse that we catch the words that are used
to describe the heart. Deceitful is the way that is
described, and that above all. Deceitful above all else that
we might imagine. And how awful a thing it is that
a deceiver lives actually in us. Notice something else. Desperately
wicked. It is sick unto death. It is
as if it were on its deathbed and incurably sick, frail and
feeble is that heart in man." Now this ought to be considered
in the context because our Lord tells them there that only the
Lord can try the heart and know it. For He said of us, it's deceitful
who can know it. We cannot know the depth of the
deceitfulness of our very own heart. Then there's Isaiah chapter
1 and verse 5, the whole head is sick and the whole heart is
faint. Remember in Genesis chapter 6
and verse 5, and God saw that the wickedness of man was great
in the earth and that every imagination, now the margin has it, the whole
imagination. and that the whole imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And in Genesis chapter 8 and
verse 21, again, the imagination of man's heart is only evil from
his youth up. Early in life is that heart desperately
wicked and the imaginations are evil. Now, these texts support
our subject and our text this morning, but we admit that they
are at variant with the view of the world and the people of
the world in our day. We are aware. We hear it all
the time that people speak of so-and-so who has a heart of
gold, a heart very, very good, that so-and-so is good-hearted,
and that they would give you the shirt off of their back. Now, we understand this from
the human standpoint and the human frame. that there are people
who do good and who help others along the way. But from a biblical
point of view, the heart is by nature sinful and full of every
imaginable evil. If you don't believe it, take
a look sometime. Look as in a mirror. The Lord, in that passage, in
Mark chapter 7 likens the heart of man, as we can see, to a cesspool. Out of it is flowing every manner
of evil and of wickedness. Now having committed to the subject
today of the heart of man being evil, we want to consider three
things about the matter. Number one, In the description
that we make of the heart, the Scripture will be our only guide. It will be the only ground upon
which we go upon today. Whatever we say, we will say
from the Scripture, saying nothing but what saith the Lord. Paul,
in Acts 17 and verse 2, reasoned with them out of the Scriptures
daily. We will bring forth nothing but
the testimony of the Scripture, saying only that which is written
in the Bible. The Lord often asks this question
on a matter. What is written? That is, what
does the Scripture say? Now, if people will not receive
the testimony of the scripture, then neither will they believe
by any other mean. We will not arrive at the truth
by human reasoning. We do not care what psychiatry
said. We do not care what psychology
said. We do not care what liberal progressives
think and teach about the matter. And we don't care what political
correctness has to say about the matter of the heart. The
scripture will speak to us and that only. Secondly, we will
of course look at the context in Mark chapter 7 and how it
came about, why the subject came up, and how the traditions of
men, as our Lord said, caused them to set aside the word of
God and the commandments of God. And thirdly, we must need to
find this faculty that is called the heart in the Bible, this
heart of man. What is it? What is the scriptural
meaning and the scriptural definition of the heart of man? And is it
friend or is it foe? It is filthy. Can it be cleansed? Can it be refined? Can it be
reformed? Now first of all, let's consider
the context in Mark 7 and in Matthew chapter 15 verses 1 through
20. He also can include this confrontation
of the Lord by some of the scribe and the Pharisees, Jews who challenged
our Lord over the behavior of his disciples. And on this occasion,
they accused them for not washing their hands before they ate food. They evidently saw the disciples
eating without washing their hands. Now these two antagonists
of the Lord, the scribes and the Pharisees, often coming seeking
something whereby they might accuse the Lord. They did that
often. Let me give you four scriptures.
Matthew 12 and 10, Mark 3 and 2, 1154, John 8, and verse 6,
that they might have an occasion to accuse the Lord as a transgressor
of the word of God and of Moses. And their charge at this time
is that the disciples ate without washing their hands. Looking back at the third verse
of mark chapter 7 the jews had a tradition and here it is for
the pharisees and all the jews Except they wash their hands
off Eat not holding the tradition of the elders now look at verse
4 when they come from the market when they go shopping Except
they wash they eat not and many other things there be which they
have received to hold, as the washing of cups and pots, brazen
vessels, and of tables. So we see that
it was a tradition with them. Now this was, in verse 3 and
verse 5, the tradition of the elders. It had been enshrined
in their teaching and practice as a tradition coming down from
the elder. So here it is. Before they ate,
they washed every time. When they returned from the market,
they washed before they ate. And as we read in Mark chapter
7 and verse 3 in the King James, they washed their hands oft,
O-F-T. Now, I think this is the only
time that this particular word might be found in the New Testament. And I don't think that it means
often, as we might think of it. They wash often. But we find
that the word is from a word that has the meaning of fisted. That is, they washed diligently
and washed up even to the wrist and beyond as they came before
they would sit down and eat. Now, with them, this was not
a matter of germs or of sickness or such like, or of health, but
it was a matter of ceremonial defilement and cleansing. And the word defiled in verse
2 means unclean or impure. And Mark adds in explanation,
with unwashed hands. So they figured that it defiled
them to eat with unwashed hands. And in verse 6 through verse
13 of Mark, the Lord exposes the scribe and the Pharisees
as hypocrites and with exchanging the word of God for the traditions
of men and many other similar things they did. In verse 14,
15, and 16, the Lord's Christ, when he had called the multitude
of the people together, and he openly and publicly contradicted
the scribe and the Pharisees, saying this, hear and understand
this. No one is defiled by something
that goes in from without. It is not something going in
from without that causes the defilement, but rather it is
that which is within and comes out that is defiling. And he
closes his with this familiar exhortation, he that has ears
to hear, let him hear. Verse 17 and following, in private
with his disciples and followers, they bring up the subject again.
They often did that, saying, Lord, open to us this parable
or this say, wherein the Lord opens the matter further, but
giving them first a mild rebuke. Look at verse 17. His disciples
ask him concerning the matter of eating with unwashed hands,
and what the Pharisees had charged on him. Now Matthew 15 and 15
tells us that it was Simon Peter that put the question unto the
Lord. He often did that. And also in
Matthew verse 12, They remind the Savior that the scribes and
the Pharisees were highly, grossly offended by what the Lord had
said and what he had told them. They stumbled at the words of
the Lord, when He told them, listen, you have set aside the
Word of God for the traditions of man. How did our Lord respond
to that? Well, the Lord pronounced His
critics to be blind leaders of the blind, and illegitimate plants
to be rooted up in due time. Verse 13, 14, Mark chapter 7. And then the Lord teaches his
disciples the truth. He says again, nothing going
into the mouth, that is, no food, no food eaten, no food eaten
and digested, nothing that is good for food going into the
mouth is able to defile. It cannot defile a person who
eats it. Why? Because the food goes into
the mouth, down the esophagus, into the belly, is digested,
nourishes the body, and then is cast out as waste. Paul tells
the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 6, and 13, in dissuading them
from using or saying that the body, or rather that fornication
was a natural appetite of the body to be satisfied. He tells
them fornication is not a natural appetite of the body to be engaged
in, and he says this. Meats for the belly, and the
belly for meat. Reciprocally, they are made one
for the other. And what enters into the mouth,
such as food, does not enter into the heart, but it enters
down into the belly. And for this, it cannot, it does
not, and it will not defile the person. Now on the other hand,
what comes forth out of the heart by way of the mouth, this defiles
one. They defile the man. Matthew 15 and 18. Out of the
heart proceed evil thoughts. Matthew 15 and verse 19. So food and belly are related, made for
each other, and the mouth and the heart are connected one under
the other in the matter of evil. For listen, for from within,
out of the heart, Matthew 7 and verse 21. Proverbs 4 and verse
23, keep the heart with all diligence. Why? Out of it are the issues
of life. Get that. Keep the heart with
all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. The Lord
said, In Matthew chapter 6 in verse 21, where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also. Another good verse. Matthew 12, 35. And Luke chapter
6 and verse 45, the Lord said this, a good man out of the good
treasure of his heart brings forth good things. An evil man
out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. And why? Matthew 12, 34, out of the abundance
of the heart the mouth speaks. Whatever is in the heart, the
mouth speaks. Studying this, I was reminded
of an old country saying. We used to hear this all the
time. What's in the well comes up in the bucket. We had a well
and had a bucket on a rope, and I pulled in, we let it down,
and pulled it up full of water. And we had a saying, what's in
the well comes up in the bucket. Sometime it'd be a frog in that
bucket. Sometime it'd be a tadpole. A lot of time it'd be trash.
Even so, what's in the heart comes out through the mouth.
It is an expression of what is in the heart. And people often
say to us, oh, you can't know my heart. We can hear them talk
a while. We can have a pretty good idea. But now comes the time that we
might identify this faculty called the heart mentioned so often
in the Bible, and that in the biblical sense. What is the heart
exactly in scriptural terminology? Well, it certainly is not one
and the same with that organ that is in us that pumps our
blood about the body. So then we ask, well, the heart.
Is it the soul? Is it the spirit? Is it the conscience? Is it the mind? Is it the will? Or is the heart a distinct faculty
recognized in the scripture? Or is it one and the same with
some of the other, such as the soul or the spirit? Now, I was
kind of surprised I hadn't caught this, to notice that in the scripture
we read, same word, the heart of the earth. Noah, or rather Jonah. Was three days and three nights
in the Christ was three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth same word that we have here Matthew 12 and 40 they
will even read of God's heart he's a man after my own heart
in Samuel first Samuel 13 and verse 14 and And there are 300
mentions in this Bible about the heart, Old Testament and
New Testament. 300 mentions of the heart at
least. Now in both the Old and the New
Testament, there are frequent mentions of it. Not as the organ,
but as the faculty that makes up man. And the words used in
both places, in the general sense, the word heart means in the midst. or it means the innermost or
the hidden part. I think we could describe it
as the middle or the center of the being, as in 1 Peter 3 and
4 speaks of the hidden man of the heart, the unseen inward
being, but yet is so influential in the life of people. And then
the New Testament word is that word kardia, the middle, which
some say is associated with thoughts and with feelings and such like. Another road, the heart, is the
spring of motive, the seed of passion, the center of the thought
process." Unquote. Proverbs 23 and 7. As a man thinks
in his heart, so is he. Think about that. As a man thinks
in his heart, so is he. This is the spring of the life
and the manifestation of it that is in him. Owen and Shedd, two
writers that I respect, held that, as Owen put it, the heart
in scripture is the practical principle of operation. And both of them thought that
it included the will or the volition of the individual. So how true
the words in Proverbs 4 and verse 23, out of the heart are the
issues of life. Now issue is the exit or the
outgoing. whatever comes out of the heart. Charles Bridges wrote on Proverbs
4 and 23, the heart is the great vital spring of the soul, the
fountain of action, the center and the seat of the principle,
both of sin and of holiness. We'll look at that a little bit
later. It might surprise us to see how very often the heart
is mentioned by Solomon in the Proverbs as its bias, here's
how he mentions it in the evil sin, as to its bias toward evil. Perverseness, chapter 6 and verse
14. Wicked imagination, chapter 6
and verse 18. Lust, chapter 6 and verse 25. Subtlety, chapter 7 and verse
10. Deceit, chapter 12 and verse 20. Pride, chapter 16 and verse
5. Haughtiness, verse chapter 18
and verse 12, and Envy, chapter 23 and verse 17. So that's how often Solomon mentions
the evil bent of the heart. Now, the heart is involved in
all things and in all ways of our life. But in this study,
we emphasize, first of all, the heart by nature unrenewed, what
the scripture calls the stony heart in Ezekiel 11, 19. The
heart without or prior to the grace of God. The heart not right
with God as we read in Acts 8.21 of Simeon. And his first estate
wherein we were born and lived there until the grace of God
came. Now, let's focus on the words
of our Lord, out of the heart, Matthew 15, 19, from within,
Mark 7, and verse 23. Now, the Lord, again, likened
the heart unto a cesspool of sin, ever flowing, bringing forth
a steady stream from a poisonous fountain of every kind of evil
imaginable. These things, not food and not
drink, is what makes a person defile. Many today still think
that what goes in is that that defiles one spiritually or sinfully
in the sight of God. And so they set up rules. Rules
regarding what Paul condemned, taste not, touch not, handle
not. There are some who still practice
that today. But we remember Proverbs 14 and
17. The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink. Make that Romans 14 and 17. Let no man judge you in meat
and in drink, Paul said. Not that which goes in defiled,
since it goes not into the heart, but into the belly. But that
which comes out is the defilement. Now we read, out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts. Evil thoughts, as it is here
in the King James, these are very expressive words. The words
evil thought are always in the New Testament to declare it in
an evil sense. The word thoughts referred to
well-considered thoughts and reasonings that are within the
heart. And they are evil, they're bait,
they're bad, they're morally wrong. Here's a good description
of what the Lord is saying about that which comes forth out of
the heart. That the first shape the first
forming of the embryo of evil that forms in the heart when
it initially begins to stir, quote, is that of consideration
or reasoning on certain suggesting actions, unquote. And those are
working in the heart and being formed in the heart. In Proverbs
6 and 14, one of the marks or the traits of a wicked man is
frowardness in his heart. He devises mischief continually. One of the six things that God
is said to hate in Proverbs 6 and 18, and heart that devises wicked
imagination. And then the Lord, in our text,
names some things that are an expression of the wickedness
and the defilement within the heart. Now, as you read Matthew's
account, of this same thing, you will find that Matthew lists
six evil manifestations of the heart. Mark doubles it to 12. There are 12 that are listed
in Mark. And none of these actions are
accidental. None of them accidentally happen. They are the issue, the outflow,
the editing of the heart first being framed in considered reasonings
in the heart. For Psalm 36 and 4, Micah chapter
2 and verse 1, they devise evil upon their bed. They delay sleep
until they have devised tomorrow's wickedness and evil. And then
that devising of their heart erupts out in acts and deeds
of evil that they commit. They are conceived in the heart,
they are spoken by the mouth, and put forth by the members
of the body. Paul likens the mouth and the
throat and the tongue to an open grave in Romans chapter 3, 13
and 14, and then Christ lists 12 sorts of sins
that are birthed out of the heart. Now pardon that digression here
if we might, but I think it might be profitable. It is common also
with Paul to catalog sins as well, to lump them together for
emphasis of the extent of evil. You have that in Romans 1, 29
through 31. He prefaces it this way, being
filled with all unrighteousness, speaking of the heathen, Romans
1.29. Speaking of the heathen of the
nation, full of also in verse 29, full of these things. He, Paul there, names 22 forms
of wickedness or sin in Romans 1.29-31. This is the state of man by nature,
shows the extent of their apostasy from God, as well as the effect
of their inward spiritual condition. Unrighteousness, being filled
with unrighteousness, Murray calls this quote, a picture of
the utmost degeneracy, unquote. Again, you have a list from Paul,
though it's shorter, In 1 Corinthians 6, 9, and 10, he lists some things
and some people who shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Another is in Galatians 5, 19-21. And this one Paul prefaces by
saying, the works of the flesh are these. And I counted 17 that
he names in that place. In 1 Timothy 1, 9 and 10, the
law is not made for a righteous man, but for the wicked. And
I counted some 10 manifestations of it in that particular passage
of the scripture. But back to Mark 7. 21 in Matthew 15 and 19 out of
the heart that is out of the myth from within Someone did
some research and did some counting and here are his finding from
Paul's use of the word heart in his New Testament writing
the cardia the cardia cardiac as we might know it now here
are some facts and 15 times it refers to the inner
life. 13 times to the emotional consciousness
of the individual, 11 times to the intellectual activity of
the individual, and 13 times to the volition or the will. So it bears repeating. As is
the heart, so is the person. As they think in their heart,
so are they. Out of it are the issues of life. Out of it come forth either good
or evil. You know, people always say you
can't know my heart, you can't know my heart. I think of that
verse from Solomon in Proverbs. As in water, Face answereth to
face, so the heart of man to man. In other words, you look
in the water like a mirror, there's a reflection of your face. You
look at your heart, there's a reflection of another heart, so the heart
of man to man. Remembering what Moses wrote,
Genesis 8 and verse 20, the imagination of man's heart is evil from his
youth. Early, the inward sinful inclination
and volition begins to assert itself in acts of sin and rebellion,
in resentment against the things of God and the ways of God. And we must realize that the
heart and the will are involved in all that a person does, whether
good or evil, the heart is involved. William Cheechee's head once
wrote this. It involves all the moral activity
of the soul, which is active, manifested in loving, hating,
inclining, desiring, purposing, seeking, repenting, turning,
delighting, trusting, hoping, and believing. All of those things
are involved in the heart. Owen wrote this, the heart in
scripture is the practical principle of operation, unquote. We might well add it includes
the will and it is true in both the saved and the lost that the
heart is the main thing. Now, you know that much is made
of the will of man today. and most often from the standpoint
of free will. This is the idol of the religious
world and even of the secular world, that man's will is free. Psalm defined this free will
as it being free, independent, and sovereign. And by free will,
they usually mean that any person whatsoever is able, by an act
of their choice and an act of their will, to do good as well
as evil, and to use that will as easily to come to Christ as
not. But the will acts under causative
influence. There is some consideration that
the will acts upon. It is influenced in its unregeneracy
by the corrupt nature that dwells in us and the evil heart of unbelief. In the regenerate, the saved,
the converted, the called, it is the Holy Spirit and the influence
of grace that works upon the heart principally. Now, the heart
by nature is evil, wicked, deceitful, cannot make itself good. Oh,
it may reform to a certain extent, it may turn over a new leaf,
it may change for a while after some trouble or tragedy or sorrow,
but it doesn't last, and it cannot renew itself after the original. No, it remains under the power
of sin. A person cannot give themselves
a new heart. Woe is us then! What shall we
do? No man or woman cannot give themselves
a new heart, but God can. Ezekiel 11, verse 19, I will
put a new heart within you, I'll take the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. You see it again in
Ezekiel 36 and 26. The Lord opened the heart of
Lydia down by the riverside where prayer was made. Acts chapter
16. The Lord opened her heart and
she heard what Paul said and believed it in faith. She assented
unto what she heard after the Lord opened her heart. With the
heart, man believeth unto righteousness. Romans chapter 10. For his faith
is saved, not good works, not obedience unto the law. With the heart, man believeth
unto righteousness. Purified heart, we read of in
Acts 15. God purified the Gentile's heart
by faith. And the Lord pronounced blessed
those that are pure in heart. Blessed are the pure in heart. It is grace. It is the Holy Spirit
that prepares the heart for Christ. It's not you. And it's not psychology. And it's not argument. It is
the Lord, the Spirit of grace, that prepares the heart for the
reception of Christ and the hearing of the gospel. Yes, we do not
correct our own heart. It is a work of God, and that
work is laid in regeneration. When God regenerates a wicked
heart, makes it new, gives it life, springs it into life, and
then purifies it and prepares it for the reception of Christ
by the word of the gospel. Thank God for that work. If not
for that work, we would all remain under the power and the depravity
of the wicked heart. Yes, that's his state by nature,
but God can purify and cleanse it, and he does by the work of
grace and the Spirit of God.