Mark 7:14-23
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.”
In this passage Jesus challenges the cultural assumptions about what "defiles" a person (where "defiles" referred to a state of sin and separation from God). The Jews thought that certain foods and other external things defiled you. Jesus corrected this belief by saying what really matters to God is what comes out of a person, not what goes into them. We may "feel defiled" because of something we've been externally exposed to, but God doesn't view us as defiled because of that; instead He is troubled by what we think and believe internally. If you haven't viewed any porn, but are thinking lustful thoughts, you are defiled in God's eyes and need forgiveness. "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (verses 21-23).
Lord, help me to keep my thoughts pure.
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.”
In this passage Jesus challenges the cultural assumptions about what "defiles" a person (where "defiles" referred to a state of sin and separation from God). The Jews thought that certain foods and other external things defiled you. Jesus corrected this belief by saying what really matters to God is what comes out of a person, not what goes into them. We may "feel defiled" because of something we've been externally exposed to, but God doesn't view us as defiled because of that; instead He is troubled by what we think and believe internally. If you haven't viewed any porn, but are thinking lustful thoughts, you are defiled in God's eyes and need forgiveness. "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (verses 21-23).
Lord, help me to keep my thoughts pure.