14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus called those around him and explained that a person is not defiled or made unclean by anything he eats. Eating with hands that were not ceremonially washed wasn’t going to do anything either. Whatever goes into your mouth doesn’t go into your heart but into your stomach and then out the other end. In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.
It is what comes out of a person’s mouth that shows if he is defiled or not. Because when your heart is unclean, then what comes out from it are evil thoughts, evil actions, and evil words.
So what is coming from your heart? Are your thoughts, actions, and words proof of a clean or an unclean heart? The route to changing your heart is through changing your mind. You need a mind renewed from the way of the world, changed to God’s way of thinking (Rom 12:2).