Inner purity
Mark 7:20-23
Actions inspired from inside indicate the state of our soul.
#purity
#sin
Published February 26th, 2022
Main point summary
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Family devotional
notes
Main point summary
Jesus explained, "That which rises from inside a person defiles and turns into evil action, because from within our own soul arise bad purposes of all kinds."
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NT
Mark 7:20-23
And he said,
And He said,
He said, “What comes out of a person defiles him.
Jesus explained his parable,
l “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.
“Whatever comes from [the heart of] a man, that is what defiles and dishonors him.
"That which rises from a person causes him or her to be unholy.
For from within,
For from within,
For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
Because from our soul these things come,
out of the heart of man,
[that is] out the heart of men,
(that is, rising up from a desire inside)
ideaexplanation
come evil thoughts,
come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes,
bad thinking turning into bad purposes;
sexual immorality,
acts of sexual immorality,
twisted sexuality (against what God designed for good between husband and wife),
theft,
thefts,
stealing what is not ours,
m murder,
murders,
killing a person with intent,
adultery,
adulteries,
breaking marriage vows,
coveting,
acts of greed and covetousness,
adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.
greedy extortion to get what we want,
wickedness,
wickedness,
evil deeds opposing God's goodness,
deceit,
deceit,
tricking others for ill gain,
n sensuality,
unrestrained conduct,
unrestrained lustful debauchery,
o envy,
envy and jealousy,
eyes seeing and seeking what other people have,
p slander,
slander and profanity,
speaking with intent to hurt another person's good name,
q pride,
arrogance and self-righteousness
prideful arrogance which puts others down,
r foolishness.
and foolishness (poor judgment).
and thoughtless poor judgment.
series
locative
s All these evil things come from within,
All these evil things [schemes and desires] come from within
All these evils come from within and defile a person.”
So these wicked schemes rise from inside a person,
and they defile a person.”
and defile and dishonor the man.”
and so turn into evil actions, making that person unholy."
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Family devotional
A short devotional on Jesus' teaching of inner purity for my family, including children from age 6 to 22. Are you able to complete any action without first thinking about it? Do you become more likely to do something the longer you think about it (dwell on your desires)? CS Lewis wrote that our reactions when someone takes us off guard are the truest indication of what lies within. He compared our knee-jerk reaction to rats scurrying around when someone suddenly turns on the cellar light. Had the rats had time to hide, we would not have noticed their presence. So what is the inside of your soul like? Jesus taught in parables, and his disciples sometimes had to pull him aside to get an explanation for the deeper truth he was trying to get across. Mark 7:20-23 is Jesus explaining what he meant about the way we are defiled (made unholy or dishonored). Today we might say this is how we ruin our reputation. Things that happen TO us cannot have the power over our heart, soul, strength and mind - unless we allow them to affect us. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount explained that murder begins with angry thoughts and adultery begins with lustful thoughts. How might we ask Jesus to keep us from following a bad train of thought until it becomes a sinful action?
Comments
Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions expressed on this page are those of the author and may or may not accord with the positions of Biblearc or Bethlehem College & Seminary.