Did the Fruit Defile Adam and Eve or Was It Their Disobedience?

# 438 - Today's Living Word comes from Mr 7:17,18 “When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him,

Parable? I thought a parable was an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Not always. Sometimes the broader sense of the word can mean an adage or a saying.

The saying of Jesus that the disciples couldn't grasp was found in verse 15, "There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.” They really had a tough time with this saying because the traditions of the religious leaders were so ingrained that they had replaced the Word of God.

If someone tells you long enough that your dirty hands make you unclean or eating pork makes you unclean, and you don't square it up with the Word of God, pretty soon you start to blame the dirt and the pork for your uncleanness. The disciples had come to believe that it was the dirt and the pork's fault. It never is, and it never was. The core issue is always disobedience to God's commands.

Did the fruit defile Adam and Eve or was it their disobedience?

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word.

True Defilement

# 437 - Today's Living Word comes from Mr 7:14-16 “When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand: "There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"

The Pharisees charge against the disciples of eating food with unwashed hands has been answered by Jesus. The Pharisees having left, Jesus once more turns His attention to the crowd and He uses the incident a s a teachable moment for the crowd. He really wants the people (and us) to understand what He is about to say “Hear Me! Understand Me.” denotes special emphasis.

It's not the dirt on your hands that touches the food that enters your mouth that defiles you. It's the rebellion that starts in your heart and manifests itself in thoughts, words and deeds that defile. Jesus wasn't giving the green light here for everyone to go out for baby back ribs. The Old Covenant was still in place and that would be rebellion against God's commands concerning unclean food. These food restrictions of the Old Testament would be lifted soon enough.

But He was telling the people that the man-made safe-guarding traditions of the Pharisees concerning cleanliness, could in no way protect a man's heart from defilement or sin. Germs cannot contaminate your soul, but sin can. Guard it against any and all things that lead to sin.

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word.

Shirking Christian Duty

# 436 - Today 's Living Word comes from Mr 7:10-13 "For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban"-' (that is, a gift to God), "then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, "making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do."

Jesus now presents a very grave charge against the Pharisees. They were allowing the God commanded care of parents to be shirked for the sake of lining the church treasury.

By the tradition of the Jewish elders, parental care could be abandoned if the resources set aside for their care were dedicated to God. “hey mom, I picked up some more dog food for you to eat today and on my way to the store I gave a thousand dollars to the church in your name!” Sound ridiculous? That's what they were in effect doing.

This set-up sounds like a sweet deal for the religious leaders, the children, and even God,....except God doesn't want your money at the expense and loving care of others, especially members of your own family.

1Ti 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Don't get me wrong here. We are to support our church family too in much the same way. It should be the primary use of our weekly offering. We need to provide for our own spiritual leaders, our own widows, and our own poor within the walls of our congregation, within the Body of Christ, and even beyond.

Sadly, in most congregations such provision is usually relegated to the leftovers.

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word.

Lying In the Reject Pile At Menards

# 435 - Today's Living Word comes from Mr 7:8,9 "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.”

Have you gone to a lumber yard to pick out wood for a project? Typically you haul out several pieces, eying them up for defects. You may even lay them side by side for comparison. Eventually you keep the ones you want and put the rest back in the pile. That's what's going on here.

The Pharisees have taken the two by fours of God's Word and the two by fours of their traditions, eyed them up and opted for the warped quality of their traditions, casting aside the Word of God. Jesus said they do this “all too well,” and because they instill their traditions in the people so well, they “reject” or the Greek word here means they “frustrate” the Word of God.

The byproduct of frustration is discouragement, and these nit picking rules of the Pharisees discourage people from following God Word and benefiting from its intended impact. It's not that God's Word is impotent, it's the sad truth that in treasuring traditions over God's Word, God's Word is never opened, it's cast aside, lying in the reject pile of Menards.

But I wonder how often we do the same thing. Not so much with traditions, but certainly we often lay the world's way next to God's way and settle for that which is inferior.

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word

The True Hypocrite

# 434 - Today's Living Word comes from Mr 7:5-7, “Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'”

Hypocrite. An easy term to throw around as we look at the lives of those who profess to be Christians. It's usually thrown around when according to our opinion someone's walk doesn't match up with their talk. But we need to be careful with that definition, because it makes every believer a hypocrite at times, for who can walk perfectly before the Lord?

Isaiah defines hypocrisy as a matter of the heart and only God can see the heart, and that's why Jesus is able to call these Pharisees hypocrites. We would all do well to tend to our own heart in this matter of hypocrisy and the key to tending our heart is to keep it near to Jesus.

The heart that is near to Jesus treasures Him and His Word. The heart that is near to Jesus sees it's sin sickened condition, confesses it's sinful state and actions, and pleads for the Lord's mercy. Unless we come to this point of humility, and remain at this point, we are hypocrites and our worship of the true God is in vain.

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word

A Path To Spiritual Blindness

# 433 - Today's Living Word comes from Mr 7:5-7, “Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?" He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'”

Isn't Jesus amazing? He never needs a Concordance to find an applicable Scripture to a situation! The scribes and Pharisees were upset because they could see that Jesus' disciples didn't buy into their traditions which were in reality the commandments of men.

Since Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13, let's go back to that part of Isaiah and see what else is being said about these hypocrites.

In Isaiah 29:16 we read, “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay? (In other words, should we mold God into our image, our ideals, our behaviors? Should we really try to improve on God's standards?)

The point is, in essential spiritual matters, man does not have the right to invent “Thou shalts, and thou shalt nots.” And when we do, look what happens according to Is 29:14! ”the wisdom of their wise shall perish and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

Discernment disappears, spiritual vision becomes clouded and you wind up with what Jesus called the blind leading the blind. “And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. (Mt 15:14)

Spiritual discernment comes from the Holy Spirit, and it's only fitting that He should withhold it from those legalists who who think the commandments of men are on even par with God's Word.

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word.

Baptizing A Couch?

# 432 - Today's Living Word comes from Mr 7:4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.

What word sticks out like a sore thumb in this passage? The answer is couches. Cups, pitcher, copper vessels, are all things you could wash in the kitchen sink, but then we find the word, “couches.” Try putting your sofa in the kitchen sink next time you're doing the dishes! Why would couches have to be washed?

A quick example would be if the woman whom Jesus had healed of a bloody issue had sat on a couch while she suffered from her malady, it would've made the couch unclean.

Now, there is also something very instructive here connected with the manner of baptism. The word “washing” here in the Greek is the same word used for baptism. While cups, pitchers, and copper vessels can be immersed in order to be baptized, it's highly unlikely that a couch would be baptized or washed by immersion.

While baptism by immersion is a beautiful picture of the drowning of the old Adam and the raising of the new, the strict use of the word does not have to mean immersion. Baptism can be accomplished through sprinkling as well. It's the water and the Word not the methodology that makes baptism effective.

I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word.