All Consumption is Clean - Caleb’s Sunday Teaching

Caleb’s Sunday Teaching February 7th 2021 There is nothing outside the man which can defile him. I know you have probably heard 1,000,000 time’s that as a Christian you can’t drink beer, you can’t smoke tobacco, and ohhhh boy you better run away from that “Marry Jane”. But what if I told you that they are peddling misinformation to the entire word? You see, Jesus had the same problem with these highly religious people, preaching human doctrine instead of what is in God’s Holy word. Today we will be reading a lot from Mark 7. Jesus and his disciples were doing there thing, chilling out, eating bread, when some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came and started gathering around them, they noticed that the disciples were eating bread with dirty hands, and in those days for a Jew to be eating with dirty hands, that was considered a big no no. Let’s take a look at Mark 7:1-3: The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders. Mark 7:1-3 Notice how at the end is says “Thus observing the traditions of the elders” not of God, but of “the elders”. So they end questioning Jesus over the issue in Mark 7:5, is says they asked “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders” notice again it’s the tradition of the elders “but eat their bread with impure hands?”. So, it seem Jesus was not very fond of this question, because after it was asked boy does he set them straight. We now go to Mark 7:6-8: And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” Mark 7:6-8 Now, if this didn’t make you say “huh, maybe drinking a beer now and then isn’t that sinful” it just gets more and more clear as chapter 7 of Mark continues. So let’s move forward to verse 14. This part of the chapter is called “The heart of man”. Here we see Jesus proclaiming in his own words that nothing you consume can defile you, he explains how nothing going in defiles you but what comes out does. You might be thinking “what?” well here, let’s read it for ourselves: 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.” Mark 7:14-16 So here we have Jesus saying “there is nothing outside the man which can defile him” that’s the in, and then “but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.” And there’s the out. Still a little rough to understand? It’s ok, even the disciples had trouble understanding it. Let’s check out Mark 7:17-23. 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.” Mark 7:17-23 Wow, you can’t miss that one,Mark, the author of Mark, even went as far as to point out “(Thus He declared all foods clean.)”. And when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. What would feel more dirty to you, seeing someone drinking a beer at a restaurant? Or seeing someone at a restaurant stand up and start yelling mean, hatful, profane things at the person with him at his table? I would say the latter for sure. So it’s not about what we consume, nothing you consume can defile you. But that doesn’t mean the misuse of the things you are consuming won’t lead to sin. Let’s take alcohol for instance, the Bible does not say not to drink, not even one place. But the Bible warns many times about the dangers of drunkenness. King Solomon in Proverbs 20:1 says it well when writes: Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is led a stray by it is not wise. Proverbs 20:1 It’s what comes out of you that defiles you, I know living in drunkenness in the past has definitely caused me to say some mean, hurtful, profane and even deceitful things. Being drunk, or on many different recreational substances can also lead to things like sexual immorality. The classic story of a husband or wife who committed the heinous act of full fledged sexual adultery “It wasn’t my fault, we were drunk”. Paul in the book of 1 Corinthians warns that drunkards won’t even receive the kingdom of God: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 And in verse 12 he points out how all things are lawful put not to become addicted to anything: All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12 And lastly, when it comes to those pastors who say “Do not eat, do not drink, do not smoke.” I turn to the book of 1 Timothy: By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:2-5 So there you have it “Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” I would like to end this teaching with a story from the Bible, it’s about a vision Peter had before going to see a man named Cornelius, and remember, the Jews had many foods they were not allowed to eat: Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. Acts 10:9-16 I hope you enjoyed, and may Jesus our Lord always bless you with wisdom and understanding. -Caleb Metcalf ©2021 Caleb and Deedee’s House of Praising Jesus- All rights reserved