Articles
Out of the Heart - Matthew 15:19
Out of the Heart - Matthew 15:19
In the parable of the sower (ch. 13), Jesus compares the heart of man to soil. Those of good an honest hearts hear the seed (word of God) and bring forth fruit. Now, in chapter 15, He speaks to the fruit produced by evil hearts!
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders” (Matthew 15:19).
It is THESE that defile a man, that makes one unfit to live in the presence of God. While the actions are ‘done’ by the body in action, the CAUSE of such begins in the heart! The problem of the heart is that it is cultivated by what we put into it, by what we feed it. Such comes from our seeing and hearing; that is, by what we allow INTO our heart.
In speaking of the heart, it should be obvious that He was not speaking about the physical muscle. But it should also be noted that He is speaking about more than just the thinking part of the mind. It is our inner being, our thinking and feeling, our desires.
We must be careful. “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides” (Mark 4:24). “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him” (Luke 8:18).
With the coming of our ‘information age’, there has also come an onslaught of things that defile us. The news, the internet, the tv, the books, the magazines – so much of what we ‘feed upon’ is that which is unfit for heaven bound people. Consider the works of the flesh (Gal. 5), the list of ‘such were some of you’ (1Cor. 6:9-11), the things that will bar one from heaven (Rev. 21:27; 22:14-15), or even here where Jesus says THESE things defile a man. Such things fill our modern world. We can NOT put such things into our hearts and come away undefiled!
Thus Paul instructs us: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).
What are you putting into your heart today?
Hugh DeLong
