What Defiles A Man

What makes us unworthy to come to God? What makes us distant from God? Now, this for us is especially challenging. This is counter-cultural to the way we have been trained to think. We're trained to think the problem is out there and the solution is in here. Jesus says the exact opposite is true. Your most significant dangerous problem is in here. The solution comes from outside.

A disregard for God's authority

This morning, we're looking at Matthew 15. My original desire and plan was to preach the first nine verses and maybe a week or two later, preach the next section, but snow and other things have delayed that. We're looking at the whole text again, because I want us to remind, remember what Jesus taught regarding scripture and tradition. It's very important to make sure that distinction is clear. This morning, we're looking at how our God and Savior has diagnosed our sin problem so that we would know He alone is the solution. First, we see a disregard for God's authority. Again, we looked at this a few weeks ago in depth, and I encourage you, if you want to hear more about scripture and tradition, to go back and listen. The Pharisees just challenged Jesus.

Why do your disciples not wash their hands according to their traditions? No, this isn't a Jesus teaching don't wash your hands that that's important to recognize The issue is they believe that not washing your hands defiles you They believe that What defiles you is merely outward. Remember, Jesus already warned us that their religion is merely an outward religion. It's not a religion of the heart.

As we look at this, some of the most interesting parts of scripture is when the Pharisees are coming to Jesus. And if it's happening on the Sabbath, you really want to pay attention. It's going to get dicey. Here, they ask why his disciples do not wash their hands. And Jesus responds with a very punchy, Declaration verse three.

Why do you break the commandments of God for the sake of your tradition?

Why do you defame the name of God? Why do you reject God and what he has said in order to insist upon your own tradition?

He's making a contrast. And the problem is whenever they've insisted on their own tradition, they're insisting on their own authority over against God's authority. He puts it right back to them. You and your traditions that you're now telling my disciples they should follow, you use them to deny the very authority of God. It's important here, the Pharisees, they're not the kind of legalists who say you need to do something to add to your salvation. They're the kind of legalists who say we've got something else you need to do to properly worship God.

Jesus used the example. in verses four and five, where they would give an excuse for someone not to honor their parents by promising that they would give that money to the temple eventually so that they would not provide for them in the old age. And then he quotes Isaiah against them. Verse seven, he says, you hypocrites, you hypocrites, you who have made void the word of God of your tradition, what did Isaiah say of you?

This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Again, the concern is that they have a merely external expression of religion. They do not have a true love for God.

In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

Here we see Jesus already making a, a significant diagnosis of a bigger problem. They've rejected God and his authority, and they've insisted upon their own.

There's a summary of what we've already looked at, but I want to just take an opportunity, because it's timely, to think about traditions. And I believe traditions are good. I believe we should want to learn from the past of Christianity. We do not just come to scripture on our own today and think, how can we do this anew? We learn from our forefathers, and we Seek to contend for the faith once for all handed down.

But there is a timeliness to this passage here on tradition because this coming Wednesday is what some call Ash Wednesday. That is a tradition of man. It is not prescribed or described in scripture. It's a man-made tradition and there's a, to be as generous as possible, there's a helpfulness to it. Calling for Christians to fast to think about the cross. I highly encourage you to fast and think about the cross all the time.

But the particular practice of Ash Wednesday or Lent, we do not practice that because publicly it looks like an ordinance. And I have too much desire to honor the ordinances to present something that would also look like an ordinance. We don't want to bind your conscience to a practice as a church that the Bible doesn't prescribe or describe. Further, for those who might contemplate it or be in discussion with others, if you're going to participate, I would encourage you to look at Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6. How does it relate to Jesus saying not to show others you're fasting? Now, I do not believe Ash Wednesday or practicing Lent is in any way near what the challenge is that Jesus is presenting.

I really make this challenge to think What are you doing in the patterns of your church or in other communities? Because what we do in our traditions is leading us to recognize an authority. It's leading us to be formed and trained, hopefully, by the very word of God that is going to transform us. Again, traditions are good, but we need to make sure we're following traditions that help us trust God and his full authority.

What defiles a man

Verse 10. They present, why do your disciples not wash their hands? Verse 10 and 11 is where Jesus gives us our second point, diagnosis of what defiles a man. Here is Jesus' simple diagnosis of what defiles a man over against the Pharisees.

And he called the people to him and said to them, hear and understand, it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth. This defiles a person.

Notice the audience change. The Pharisees come to him, challenge him, but then he comes to the people, who the Pharisees would be teaching their own tradition, and he clarifies for them. So a bit of a different scene change, as Jesus now talks to the crowd, not the Pharisees, he leaves them with a harsh rebuke, a sharp rebuke, that they would repent, hopefully, but now it's to the crowds.

All who would seek to hear him, the real diagnosis, he called the people, hear and understand. This is important. He's providing a basic framework to think about what's right and wrong, what's good and evil, what does God prescribe and describe and how to diagnose. There's a number of basic framework decisions we have to make and really understand reality.

The first is creator-creature distinction. That's very important for that first section. Whose word has final authority? God the creator's word must have final authority. We must first get that creator-creature distinction. But now he's inviting in another distinction here. One that is kind of a classic philosophical problem related to this teaching.

Is man innately good or bad? A long, complicated debate, and God's word says kind of both. God designed man good, but we chose sin. God made us good, but we corrupted ourselves in our rebellion. That's a foundational truth to really understand who we are. That's why it's a bit of a complicated issue as you look throughout the history of philosophy. Man is designed good and there's still a conscience, there's still a sense of goodness that God blesses with in common grace. But it's also fully tainted and corrupt.

Here Jesus tells us what defiles us, it's inside of us. Our most significant problem and deadly danger is within us. This particular basic framework is an ethical, spiritual one. What defiles you? What makes you ceremonial and unclean? What disqualifies you from true worship, from coming near to God? What keeps you distant from God? What contaminates you, your thoughts, your desires? What twists you up? What's toxic and dangerous? What defiles you? What makes you corrupted, sinful, unworthy?

Notice it. It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person. It's not something outside of you that comes. It's what comes out of your mouth. It's what's produced here and then goes out. This is a revolutionary change of mind. If you want to believe Jesus, it's something that you must practice to think differently, different than the way you've been trained your entire life here in our culture. Our biggest problem is what we produce. We've been trying to think all I need to do is look inside and I'll find the real solution. No, that's the source of your problem. Here in the text, the assumption, there is something wrong. That's the shared assumption.

They're following from the Old Testament. following from the God who has revealed that there's sin and he's revealed the temple and he's shown that there must be something cleansed of man to be able to come close to God. The temple was just taught to teach the distance we have from God because of our sin.

We live in an age where we have a whole different starting point. We forget that the holy God, who is awesome, has shown us love and mercy. Or maybe we think, They're really bad people. They're the people over there or out there. We too easily justify our own sin, dismiss our own sin. We fail to recognize we were made with dignity and value, but we've all been plunged into rebellion. It's what we call original sin. We are corrupt and we need help within. He's clarifying for the crowds, the Pharisees have a major categorical problem. They think you need to wash your hands. They need to think you just simply need to change the way you're consuming something.

No, it comes from inside of us. Notice what defiles a man, it comes out of the mouth. Makes it very clear, this is what defiles you. What a conundrum, because it, One of the things that comes out of your mouth that would be most significant here are our words.

Our words are expressing our heart. Our words are expressing what we think and what we desire. Looking inside in introspection and trying harder, that's not going to fix your internal problem. We're not able to come up with words to diagnose our own problem because our own problem is produced with a heart that presents itself in those words. Our words are what defile us. How can our words be what we use to actually diagnose and prescribe ourselves? He's just destroyed the entire self-help section of the bookstore.

Second, there's a call to be careful with your words. All the many proverbs and warnings of the danger of words because they're so powerful in what they do to others. But here, notice, it's what they do to you. Your sinful words do more to defile you than who you're speaking to. Your sinful words defile you more than to whomever you're using them against. It's called to recognize the power of words, what it means for us, our internal sin. Our internal defilement, the thoughts we entertain, that's what Christ calls us to recognize defiles us.

The danger of false teachers

Our next point, the danger of false teachers. Verse 12,

the disciples came and said to him, do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying? He answered, every plant that my heavenly father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone, they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.

We have our third movement here.

So first it's the Pharisees are talking to Jesus, and then he gives me very sharp rebuke. He then tells the people that the simple teaching, it's just to understand what defiles you, it's from within you and your words, not what comes from outside. Now the disciples come to him and they ask him a question. Do you know the Pharisees were offended?

Now, a simple yes would have sufficed. I'm not sure I would be able to answer the question. They say there's no such thing as a stupid question. This is getting close. They're asking the omniscient word of God, who just verbally haymaker the so-called teachers, who were trying to challenge him, do you know they're offended? We just heard from Isaiah 55 a couple weeks ago, the word of God does not return void, it accomplishes its purpose. It seems like Jesus was intentionally purposing to offend them, that word did not return void. Or Psalm 118, the stone that is either the cornerstone or it's a stumbling block.

He doesn't answer them directly, he answered,

Every plant that my Heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone.

Speak of the Pharisees. The Pharisees are the plants the Heavenly Father hasn't planted. That's significant. He's clarifying for the disciples now, as he's already clarified for the Pharisees. Your heart is far from me. You're not worshiping the true God.

He's not telling them the Father didn't plant them. Yes, they're in the position where they should be teaching the Word of God, but they're not. We come back to Jesus' parable in Matthew 13 where there's good seeds and there's weeds. God has sown the good seed that bear good fruit.

These Pharisees, they're not teaching what is good. They're not planted by God. They do not bear the fruit of God that would point to him and his authority and his glory. The implication of these Pharisees, they're not God's people. They're not planted by God. They're not called by God. They shouldn't be teaching God's people. Let them alone. They're blind guides. And the blind leading the blind, well, that leads everybody into destruction.

Here, church, be careful who we're listening to. I praise God how often I heard, especially overseas, how many people have come to Christ by finding good preaching online. There's something dangerous about online teaching as well, in that you need to ask, who are they submitting to? What teachers are they part of? If somebody who doesn't have a church or elders are actually holding them accountable, potentially a really dangerous teacher.

The whole principle here, the heart produces words that are sinful. Anyone who seeks to teach the word of God needs to be held accountable by others. So we have elders here that are praying for your elder recommendations. And I hope you're praying for more elders because there's a need for accountability because all our hearts can go astray and our words can go astray and our church could go astray.

When you're submitting yourself to someone who's teaching, ask what church or elders or authority is there that's helping them stay aligned? Who do they submit to? Who have they been taught by? These are important questions to ask as we have an abundance of good teaching.

A deeper diagnosis of what defiles us

Our last point, a deeper diagnosis of what defiles us.

Peter said to him, explain this parable to us. And he said, are you still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual morality, theft, false witness, Slander. These are what defile a person.

But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.

We've come back to the main point, the main issue. Again, verse two, the very opening, the Pharisees are challenging Jesus, why do your disciples not eat with washed hands? And notice that very last line, he makes it very clear.

To eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.

That is not the problem to worry about. But he's identified the problem to worry about, and it's your heart.

He's already asked the Pharisees, why do you break tradition? Why do you break God's word with your tradition? He's made it clear eating with unwashed hands, it does not defile a person. Now he's gonna give us even a more intense declaration, really unpacking further verses 10 and 11, because they still don't get it. Peter asked, explain the parable to us, the plant and being planted by God and uprooted. Jesus seems frustrated at this point.

Are you still without understanding?

He seems frustrated because I believe this is about round 10 of what Jesus has been teaching the disciples over and over again, just recorded in Matthew.

Remember, the Sermon on the Mount He told them that their righteousness needed to exceed that of the Pharisees. Well, the Pharisees were the most scrupulous in their external expression of worship. When he says your righteousness must exceed the Pharisees, his main point is it can't be merely external, it needs to be internal. Remember, it's not just the act of adultery, it's your sinful lust. It's not just the act of murder, it's your anger.

He's been teaching over and over again. He's about a different kind of religion than what the Pharisees are doing. And here it comes to light again. They worship me with their lips but not their hearts. I believe the frustration is that the disciples still haven't really gotten it. This is a true religion that changes everything. He gets very specific and clear in verse 17.

Are you still without understanding?

Do you not see? that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and it's expelled.

Fairly straightforward description of the digestive system. Food goes in, your body uses it for whatever it's going to use for energy and then it's expelled.

That doesn't defile you. Washing your hands or not washing your hands as you eat does not change your spiritual status. Seems very similar to what we read earlier in Paul. This kind of practice is man-made. It doesn't actually help you with the sin of the flesh, the sinful desires that are within. It doesn't produce godliness or Christ-likeness. Verse 18, but it's not what goes into your mouth. It's not something outside that comes into you that defiles you.

But what comes out of your mouth proceeds, it proceeds from the heart. The seed of your will, your volition, your desires, your mind, what you think about, what you delight in, what you desire.

But what comes out of your mouth proceeds from the heart.

And this is more than just words because he mentions evil thoughts. What kind of evil thoughts? Well, thoughts of murder, adultery, sexual morality, thoughts of theft, coveting, false witness, slander.

We produce these. That's terrifying to think about. What comes out of you, that was in you. When we're caught off guard, having a bad day, somebody does something unexpected, what comes out of us, that was in there. That's terrifying. If we were just to take an inventory of words used this week, that came from in here. It was expressed.

In Jesus' giving, a divine diagnosis, that's what defiles you. It's not just murder in the outward action. It's not just anger. Those are the sins we act out, but it's. It goes so much deeper. It's terrifying. It's hard to think we, we produce evil. We see the weight of all this, all the more in just a few chapters, Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart. You were designed to love the Lord your God with all your heart that now produces all this evil. That's why it's so powerfully wrong. That's why it's such an important and devastating diagnosis.

We need purity from God within us to love him. We need his help. We cannot do this on our own. We can't even diagnose our own problem on our own. This is challenging. Our heart that really defines who we are in so many ways, the core of our being, that's what is producing what's wrong with us and defiles us. James says it a different way.

When we're tempted, it's not merely outside, it's our own sinful desires that lure us away from God. If we really get this, we can only say, oh, wretched man that I am, what shall I do? You call out for help from outside. You call out for help from above.

You cannot cleanse your heart Without God, you can't even see how bad the heart is. The root of my being, the root of my problem, it's me. I need Christ to declare his forgiveness. I need his Holy Spirit to wash and renew and to help me with what defiles me. It's our own hearts that keep us from God.

Nobody can make you angry

Let's just think about a way that we're sometimes sloppy with our language. This is why we should not say somebody makes me angry. First, you should never give anybody that kind of authority or power over you. But nobody can really make you angry. They can be annoying and difficult. But anger comes from here. We produce anger in response to what somebody else does. Nobody can make you angry. They can provoke anger. But again, the anger, It's already there, it's just ready to come out.

Our culture is one that's rightly described as one that promotes victimization. The problem is out there, my problem is somebody else, my problem is that person or those people, something distant that the more abstract it is, the more easy it is to blame them and victimize ourselves. It's a dangerous pattern because the more you claim victimhood, the more susceptible you are to feeling like a victim and believing you're a victim. That kind of mentality, it destroys your identity and your posture and relationships. Psychologists, they've trained us to blame our parents for whatever we think is wrong with us. The whole idea now is to figure out how many different people have oppressed you to make that your identity.

We encourage and teach tools to help people get better at this. They offer degrees in this at this university next door. Blaming others comes naturally. That's what Adam and Eve did right out of the garden, as God graciously confronts them. God is calling us to see the problem is here. It's me. When we sin, it's not an accident. It's not a coincidence. It's us behaving according to our own hearts. This is the diagnosis. It's the right diagnosis.

At one level, to try to be encouraging, Good news is, you're only responsible for what you do. God will only hold you responsible for what you do. You will not be held responsible for the things you do not have control of outside of you. On another level, you will be responsible for what you do and say and think, and if you've really worked hard towards your sanctification, you realize you have very little control over that heart on your own. You have very little power over that sinful heart on your own. Our heart needs help because it produces what's wrong. Again, what am I to do? What a wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this sin-producing heart?

He is the solution

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. there is now no condemnation for those who are in him.

He who died once and for all to take away our sins, he is paid in full our debt. He has washed us and purified us. He who calls us to love him because he first loved us. Jesus rightly diagnosed the problem and he is the solution. Believing in him who died for you, who rose again and calls you to himself. Now as I've wrestled with this passage, I don't think anybody has, I don't know of anyone in our congregation that thinks I need to wash my hands in order to not be defiled spiritually.

So what kind of problems out there might we be confused by? First, all that nasty news cycle that presses in in all kinds of ways, burdening you and confusing you. What is true, what's a lie? constantly pressing in to demand your attention, to be anxious. You're responsible for your anger, your anxiety, and your worry. That's pressing in from outside, but it's your anger and worry that defile you. I encourage you to turn it off so that you stop encouraging that kind of anger and anxiety.

The entertainment industry out there, they're pressing in all kinds of ways in which they want you to worship other gods, to entertain your simple desires. The ideas, the lyrics, the images that defile you. You do need to worry about what you consume with your eyes and your ears, but it's your own desires that are enticed that you act out on that defile you.

Church, the nation, state, government, they might seem like they're pressing in and taking away your rights. Fear of what our government might do. You can worry about that. It's that worry that will defile you. They can take away our right to worship. They can make it less convenient. But it's our worry or our denial of God that would defile us. Do not worry about Him who can destroy your body. Worry about Him who purifies your soul.

Again, there's real dangers, there's real worries, there's real problems. Putting them in perspective of what really defiles you means we're going to look at our hearts as the most significant issue. The more we're worried about the problems out there, the less we're actually worried about and focusing on the problem that's real, that we actually can do something about in here. The friend, the neighbor, the family member who provokes you gets under your skin.

They have the power to persuade you to sin, but not make you sin. Again, it's our own hearts that produce anger. And really drop this drown, what a communication principle for marriage. What your spouse says that hurts you, offends you, that was offensive, that does not defile you, it's your words in response to it that defile you. We defile ourselves when we blurt out hateful things that hurt others. We defile ourselves when we blurt out hateful things that hurt others. Our sin does more than just damage others in our relationships. The right diagnosis to see that our problem is internal to where we cannot fix. Praise be to God. We can look up. Our problem is inside of us and the solution is outside of us.

It's not just our neighbor next to us, it's God Almighty who has come down from His abode to walk among us, to die for us, to rise again, and then sends His Holy Spirit to indwell that sinful heart, to purify it, to wash it, to heal us and to make us whole so that our words would be a blessing to God and not defile us. Will you pray with me?

Father, we thank you that you have made us to know you, to worship you. Forgive us for the ways that we have entertained sinful thoughts and ideas and put into practice sinful words and actions. Help us all to see that we destroy ourselves when we entertain and pursue sin. Help us to see all the more how you, being the gracious God that where our sin abounds, your grace is abounded. That you give more grace to heal us and restore us.

Lord, may we know how to call out upon the name of Christ. The name that we can be thankful for, to know in him there is no condemnation and there's no separation from your love. In him there's great forgiveness and healing. May we learn how to love you because of his great work of salvation with all of our hearts, having them transformed. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.