Heart Problems

If you have a Bible, go ahead and grab it. Tonight we will be looking at Mark 7:14-23 and this is such a fantastic series of verses that we are going to look at because it very succinctly and directly tells us what’s wrong with the human race and what needs to be done about it. We sort of talked about this last week but tonight we are going to see that when Jesus talks to the Pharisees and the scribes and the crowds about the cleanliness laws and being clean or unclean, He’s really talking about salvation issues and we will get to that later on. The big thing that I want us to be able to address tonight is what is the single greatest problem of mankind? What is the single greatest problem from the time of the fall until the time that Christ returns. I’m sure most of you are already thinking sin and that is right but let’s narrow down more of what sin is or where it comes from. Over the centuries, man has recognized that there appears to be a problem with the way that the world works. They know that their is a glitch in the software that keeps causing things to crash but they never seem to be able to put their finger on the issue that needs to be fixed. Look back to like the 60’s and 70’s, the hippy generation, where so many in the world thought that if we could all just love one another and bring peace to the world that all the problems in the world would be solved. Think of the generation following World War 2 where man thought that if we could just work together on these nuclear bombs or get rid of them totally, we would be fine. Or look at some people that have said that if we could just end the world of poverty, all the problems in life would be gone. I know that people often think, “If X can be dealt with, all will be fine and go back to normal.” But is that our greatest problem? If we could just stop certain actions from happening, would everything be fine? Would every issue in our lives be addressed? No, because as we say so often in this series, a band-aid over your skull being split open will ultimately not do you any good if the major problem is never dealt with. What’s the issue then? To steal from Daniel Akin, “The Basic problem of fallen humanity is not what we do but who we are.” If the problem is not what we do but who we are, how is it fixed? Let’s have Jesus answer it for us in Mark 7:14-23

Mark 7:14–23 NASB95

After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 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. “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

Inside Problem

As we look at these verses, it’s important for us to remember what we were talking about last week. Last week we saw the issue that the pharisees had with Jesus’ disciples and how they weren’t washing their hands before they ate. The pharisees had an issue with this because it went against their tradition and they associated the breaking of tradition as being just as bad as breaking the law of God. What they failed to realize was that their insistence on observing tradition actually had them break God’s Law rather than honor it. As we get into verse 14, Jesus calls a crowd to Him because this is not just an issue that is for a select few. This is an issue that must be heard all the world over. Jesus says in verse 15 that “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.” The problem is an inside problem but the problem is that not everyone understands this and we see this by how the disciples respond after the crowd leaves. They still don’t seem to understand what is going on and what’s really at stake here so they question Jesus about it. In verse 18 He says, “Are you so lacking in understanding?” Some translations are even more direct and have Jesus saying, “Are you so dull? Are you so foolish?” And the answer to that question for all of mankind is yes! How do we know this? Because every single person in the world feels like there is something wrong with the world! That’s why even non-Christians work so hard to fix the problems of the world. Deep down, all of mankind understands the importance of cleanliness and all of mankind will in some way recognizes that if something is dirty or a mess that it should be cleaned up. I’m sure you guys have heard the saying before, “Cleanliness is next to godliness” but what many fail to realize is that cleanliness is not a replacement for godliness. God’s greatest concern for your life is not whether or not you wash your hands before your eat or whether or not you are simply loving your neighbor, His greatest concern is whether or not you are holy. You may have heard me say this before as well but the worst question that you can ask yourself when about to do something is, “Is this a sin?” The question we need to be asking is, “Is this holy? Will God be glorified in this?” What Jesus wants all of us to understand is that the problem of sin is not something that is just floating out in the universe and we accidentally run into it and that’s where our problem comes from. No, Jesus wants all of us to know that sin is not something that exists outside of us, it is something that is a part of us. Sin does not act independently of the person. This is why Jesus says in Mark 7:20-23

Mark 7:20–23 NASB95

And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

The fruit does not start independently from the seed. An apple does not exist unless the seed is first planted. In the same exact way, sin does not exist unless it happens within the heart of the individual first. J.C. Ryle says, “The wickedness of men is often attributed to bad examples, bad company, peculiar temptations, or the snares of the devil. It seems forgotten that every man carries within him a fountain of wickedness. We need no bad company to teach us, and no devil to tempt us, in order to run into sin. We have within us the beginning of every sin under heaven.” Man’s problem cannot be solved by living in isolation. Evil is not an issue for the quote on quote worst people in the world. Evil is an issue that is in the heart of every man, woman, and child. It is our sinful attitude which leads to sinful acts. Even the Buddhist monk that forsakes the world to go live on the side of a mountain cannot free himself from sin. One thing that we need to emphasize is that the reason that the cleanliness laws existed was for the health of the people but even more importantly, it showed them a greater problem. It reminded them of the need for purity and cleanliness at the deepest level possible. Unless God cleanses the heart, the whole man will continue to be dirty. In these verses, we really see the difference between every religion in the world and Christianity. I think that deep down we all recognize, regardless of religion, that we have an issue. That’s why we see so many self-help books, talk shows, religions, and programs because we all recognize that something in our lives is not right and needs to be addressed. What makes the other religions of the world so different from Christianity? Well every other religion in the world will tell you that if you want God, if you want Heaven, clean yourself up first and maybe then you will get it. There is a recognition that cleanliness in some form needs to happen. Everyone feels that guilt-ridden conscience that they are dirty before something or someone and needs to be cleaned up but regardless of how much we scrub, regardless of how much we do, we cannot rid the dark spot that we are trying to get rid of. What does every other religion say? It says, “Your dirty so clean yourself up.” Christianity says, “Your dirty and you can’t clean yourself up. At least not to the level that you have to be and rather than you strive with all your might to be clean, I myself will give my cleanliness to you and everything that you do will be in light of what I have already done.” The problem with the Pharisees, the problem with the world, the problem with man throughout the centuries is that they have been more concerned with the appearance of the outside in the hopes that they will be rewarded instead of addressing the dirtiness of the inside which can only be addressed by Jesus Christ. Until the heart is addressed, the problems will never go away. Solomon says in Proverbs 4:23 “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” What a difference it would have been for the Pharisees and the crowd if they watched over their hearts instead of first watching over their hands. Matthew Henry said, “As a corrupt fountain sends forth corrupt streams, so does a corrupt heart send forth corrupt reasonings, corrupt appetites and passions, and all the wicked words and actions that come from them.” So, what is going on in your heart? Have you addressed the internal issues that need to be addressed? Because it needs to be addressed now. The solution is not, “I’ll try harder to do better next time.” The solution is to pray what David prays in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” If you are a car that is constantly broken down, will it make any difference to the functionality of the car if all you do is just put a new layer of paint over it or change out the seating? No! You need to have the engine fixed first before any of the other improvements will matter. The problem with the world, the problem with the Pharisees, the problem with you and I is that rather than having the main problem addressed, we feel that all we need to do is add on a new layer of paint but that will not work.

Salvation Issue

How then is what Jesus said in these verses and what Jesus said last week to the Pharisees a salvation issue? How do you see all of this relating to salvation? Because while we all know that we need to be cleansed from something, we are not sure where to start. Look if I tell you that all you need to do to get to Heaven is do the next right thing, all I’m doing is leading you to hell. If all I do is preach a moral improvement plan, I fail to preach the Gospel. The Pharisees were putting a weight on the people that no one had ever been able to carry and it was a weight that would only drag the person to hell. They may look OK on the outside but they will still be dragged into an eternity away from God. Really in these verses we see that our salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It is by faith alone in that no amount of moral improvement can save us and it is by grace alone because it is only through Christ alone that we are able to be cleansed. You may have noticed this but nothing ever really cleans itself. If your hands are dirty, you need water, you need soap. If your car is broken down, it needs gas or some outside force to fix it. If you are left alone to your sins you need something else to cleanse them. But if all you do is apply more dirt to the mud, nothing will ever get cleaned. What has to happen? Jesus has to happen. Jesus has to bring the cleansing that only can come from His perfect life and His perfect righteousness because until that happens, all you will be doing is applying more dirt to the grime. What’s beautiful about our salvation is that those whom Jesus cleanses, will be clean forever. Those whom Jesus has saved from sin shall be eternally saved from sin. Those that Jesus declares clean will be clean. Mark notes in verse 19 that Jesus in saying these things declared all foods cleaned and how is He able to do that? Because Him that has ultimate authority can declare clean what He wishes and this is in itself a picture of what Jesus does for those that He has come to save. Jesus says in John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Free from what? Free from that which has held us in bondage our entire life. Free from anxiety, free from worry, free from doubt, free from sin. It’s not, will be free possibly or will be free for a moment. No, free indeed! What’s different from the way Jesus saves and the way that other religions claim to save? Jesus’ actually works. The only answer to our dirty and unrighteous hearts is the heart of Christ. Tim Keller said that only an imperishable hope can satisfy the human heart. Our hearts are restless, our hearts are messy, and only rest in Christ, our imperishable hope, can satisfy the longings of our heart. When you come to grips with this reality, everything changes. Christianity changes the world because while it addresses the problems of what people do, it is more focused on who people are. For the past 2,000 years, Christians have worked to address the main issue of mankind and they do that first and foremost through the Gospel. The Gospel really changes everything. Once our heart issue is dealt with, we look at the world and the issues in the world differently. No longer do we look at the world as if the problems are existing outside of the human condition. Instead we see that if we address the heart and address the sin, that is the most direct way to address the problem. There are a lot of problems in this world but if the greatest problem is not addressed first, we are only putting a band aid over a bullet wound. If you want to make the world a better place, you absolutely have to start at the heart. So, what is the remedy for the sinful heart conditions that Jesus lists for us? We can either do or things can be done. The answer is not to just try harder. That’s called moralism and it tells us that if we could just try a bit harder to be a little bit better that God would accept us. That’s not the Gospel that people need to hear. The Gospel that people need to hear is that everything that we need to get to God has already been done by Christ and everything that we do should be done in response to what Christ did for us. We are not saved by our works we are saved for works. Has Jesus addressed the greatest issue in your life? Or are you just trying to wash yourself clean so that you can look acceptable in God’s sight? Until the inside of the cup is clean, the outside doesn’t matter. Until your heart is made clean, it does not matter what you do on the outside. If you cannot answer yes to whether or not Christ has declared you clean, make sure you talk to me after worship. Let’s go to the Lord in prayer and then we will respond.