The Heart of the Matter

by Jeff Curtis

According to Jesus, the heart of the matter of living righteously is the heart of the matter. He said that what really counts is not what goes into a person in terms of the food he eats; rather, it is what comes out of a person in terms of thoughts, words, and actions generated by his heart.

Jesus had been speaking to the scribes and Pharisees. Then He called a crowd together and spoke to them, saying, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand” (Mark 7:14). What He would tell about serving God and living a decent, righteous life was of great significance. He put His thoughts into one sentence: “There is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man” (Mark 7:15).

Later, when Jesus entered what was likely Peter’s house, His disciples questioned Him about what He had said. They wanted to know what He meant by this “parable,” as it is called in 7:17. Jesus was pointed in His reply to them:

     Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever    

    goes into a man from outside cannot defile him because it does not go into his

    heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated? (Mark 7:18-19).

His conversation had been on a spiritual plane, but the disciples had missed the spiritual nature of it.

At first, Jesus had been questioned about His disciples not keeping Jewish rituals that had nothing to do with physical or spiritual cleanness. The rituals under consideration didn’t cleanse the body or the heart. They were manmade traditions, possessing no spiritual value.

Apparently, at this point in the discussion, Jesus made His primary point: “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man” (7:20). Jesus told them that sin arising in the heart is the real defiling factor.

Each disciple of Christ must weigh carefully the fact that the heart is the chief concern of living. What did Jesus mean when He announced that the matter of the heart is the most important consideration?

1. In our hearts, we originate and organize our thoughts. When God created us in His image, He made us into thinking beings. He also gave us ownership of our hearts, allowing us the freedom to think the way we believe we should think. However, He warned that we must guard our thoughts (Proverbs 3:7-8).
2. In hearts, we formulate and finalize our decisions. The heart is a place of decision-making. With the heart, we make commitments. For this reason, Joshua could say to the nation of Israel, “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve:… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
3. In our hearts, we conceive and carry on our conversations. Whatever is down in the well of the heart will come up in the bucket of speech and be poured out through the tongue and lips.

Jesus on one occasion, told the Pharisees, “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For out the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matt.12:34).

4. In our hearts, we choose and control our behavior. We reach out with our hands. We speak with out tongues. We see with our eyes. Our hearts control our actions, telling our hands, tongues and eyes what to do.

The only way we can be righteous in our actions is by first becoming and being righteous in our thinking. When a person is true and honorable, seeking what is right, meditating upon what is good repute, looking for that which is excellent, and seeking that which is worthy of praise, his actions will follow his thoughts and will reflect the good character of his thinking.

A Holy Nation

By Jeff Curtis

The book of Leviticus was written with the intention of helping the nation of Israel learn how to be a holy nation. To that end, it informed the people of God that they had been cleansed by the blood and were to remove uncleanness from their midst. In addition, they were also to worship regularly, offer sacrifices, and act lovingly toward others. These requirements can be summarized in two words: “Obey God!” If the people obeyed His laws, they would, in fact, be doing everything that the Lord required of them to be a holy nation. Obedience to God was the foundation for acquiring and maintaining their status as a holy nation. It was the key to having God’s approval. It is also the key to having God’s approval today.

What encouragement did the Israelites have to obey God? One answer to that question is found in Leviticus 26, near the end of the book. In that text, God, through Moses, gave a twofold reason for obeying Him. (1) If God’s people would obey Him, He would bless the nation. He promised to bless his obedient children with abundant rain, good crops, plenty of food, relief from predatory animals, victory over their enemies, large families, and His presence (26:1-13). (2) Conversely, od would curse the people if they didn’t obey Him. He would send upon them “a sudden terror, consumption and fever” (26:16).  They would be defeated by their enemies (26:17). He would send drought upon the land (26:19-20). He would plague them with predatory animals (26:22). He would cause them to be so hungry that would even eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters (26:26-29). If they refused to be obedient, God would make their land desolate, destroy their cities, and scatter their people among the nations (26:31-33).

Why should we obey God today? For similar reasons; If we do, we will be blessed; and if we don’t, we will be cursed. This doesn’t mean that we will be blessed and cursed in the same ways that Israel was. God has not promised us physical blessings and protection for doing His will in this Christian age, and He has not threatened us with physical pain or economic harm if we fail to His will. His covenant blessings today are spiritual, not physical. Even so, it should be enough to know that, if we obey, we will be blessed abundantly with “every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3).