Our Heart Is the Problem
Jesus often had confrontations with the Pharisees. These men were the religious elite of his day. They were the movers and shakers in the temple. And, they were the power brokers in the community as well.
In Matthew 15:1-20, the Pharisees accuse Jesus of not keeping the traditions of man by not making His disciples ceremonially wash their hands before they eat. When they point this out to Jesus, He turns it back on them and points out how they are disobeying the very commandment of God by using a loophole in their tradition to blatantly disobey a direct commandment from God: honor your father and mother.
Jesus goes on to point out that the issue with the Pharisees is that their lips speak honor to God, but their hearts are far from God. They say the right things, but they live in direct defiance to God’s standards. While they are worried about ceremonially clean hands to not defile the food that is going into their mouth, they should be more concerned about the things that come forth from their mouths and their lives. These things show the contents of the heart.
When the disciples are alone with Jesus, Peter asks Jesus to explain what the interaction with the Pharisees meant. Jesus says this: “But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, this defiles a person. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person” (Matthew 15:18-20, CSB).
The reason that we struggle with sin so much is because our hearts are messed up and we love the sin that we do. Though Jesus lists several sins, it is the same issue for every sin we commit. It is not the outside influences that cause us to sin. It is not the impact of a corrupt society. It is because we have the desire to sin in our hearts. Liars have a lying heart. Adulterers have an adulterous heart. Murders have a murdering heart. That which is within us and in our hearts is what comes out in our words and actions.
This is why Jesus must do a work in our hearts. We spend so much time trying to clean up the outside of who we are. That is, we try so hard to change our behaviors. But, until we allow Jesus to clean up our hearts and transform us on the inside, the outside will change little, if at all. Why? Because our sin comes from our hearts.
Are you struggling with a certain sin? Let Jesus work on cleaning up your heart. Then, you will be able to change your behavior. Just trying to clean up the outside will never be enough. Our heart is the problem. And, only Jesus can fix the heart. Let Him fix your heart.
(Response? Email Jeff Perkins at jeff.perkins@mbclife.org)