That Which Defiles, Part 2| Mark 7:17–23
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.”
A sign in front of a small church here in Georgia made the
bold proclamation—“Alcohol is a demon.”
There’s no doubt that alcohol has been instrumental in the destruction
of many families and lives, used for demonic purposes in other words, but it’s
not an actual demon! There’s nothing
intrinsic in the fermentation process that makes it wicked or unholy, resulting
in your defilement if consumed. However,
alcohol will cause you to relax your inhibitions, meaning that if you lack
internal holiness, it helps reveal your sin to the light of day.
Jesus revokes
the Old Testament dietary laws. When
Peter has his vision of the unclean animals, he hears in Acts 10:15, “What God
has made clean, do not call common.” We
see an affirmation of Christ’s deity here as well as an explanation of when
these foods are sanctified, perhaps Peter himself remembering as Mark
wrote. This is why Peter eats with
Gentiles in Galatians 2:12 (and why it was wrong for him to stop when noticed
by fellow Jews).
The simple fact we find here is that food is
food, unable to affect a person’s holiness positively or negatively. No one should judge someone to be a Christian
walking in righteousness based solely on what he eats (Col 2:16), and no one
should command or submit to commands about food (vv. 20–23). Indeed, it can be a doctrine of demons to
create food restrictions for Christians (1 Tm 4:1–5). What is important is the conscience, eating
and drinking to the honor and glory of God (Rm 14:6; 1 Cor 10:31).
Jesus still requires
cleansing. The Pharisees thought
something may have been accomplished through the washing of hands, but only the
washing of the Holy Spirit is effective for the uncleanliness of the soul. As we read Scripture, we see ourselves—the behavioral
mildew proceeding from the death-rot of the soul (cf. Eph 2:1–3). Even though Christians still fall, the “washing
of water with the word” (5:26) will purify remaining spots.
