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Scripture Reading: Mark 7:1-23
In the foregoing message we pointed out that in chapter seven the opposition of the Pharisees and scribes gave the Lord Jesus an excellent opportunity to expose man’s inward condition, the condition of man’s heart.
In 7:15 the Lord said to the crowd, “There is nothing outside of a man which entering into him can defile him, but the things coming out of a man are the things which defile a man.” When He had entered into a house, His disciples questioned Him concerning this saying. Then the Lord went on to say, “Are you also in the same manner without understanding? Do you not perceive that everything from outside entering into a man cannot defile him, because it does not enter into his heart, but into the stomach, and goes out into the drain, making all foods clean?” (vv. 18-19). In verse 19 the Lord refers to the heart. In verse 20 He continues, “That which goes out of a man, that defiles a man.” Following this, the Lord gives a list of some of the evil things that proceed out of man’s heart (vv. 21-22).
In 7:21 and 22 the Lord says, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil reasonings, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, a wicked eye, blasphemy, arrogance, foolishness.” Here the Lord designates that part of man from which evil things proceed — the heart. Man’s heart is rotten, corrupt. The heart of fallen man is corrupt to such an extent that it is incurable (Jer. 17:9). Therefore, we should not think that we are good in our heart. Perhaps you are good outwardly, but there is nothing good in your heart. For this reason, Paul could confess that nothing good dwelt within him (Rom. 7:18).
In this chapter the depth of man’s condition is exposed by the Slave-Savior. In our preaching of the gospel we also should touch the condition of man’s heart. However, much of today’s gospel preaching fails to do this.
We need to see from the Lord’s word in chapter seven of the Gospel of Mark what our inward condition really is. The actual condition of our heart is that it is a constitution of evils. Because our heart is corrupt, we should never think that it is good. To believe that our heart is good is to be deceived and to believe a lie. Anyone who thinks that he has a good heart is deceived. Our heart is corrupt, and we should not have any trust in it.
In verse 21 the Lord Jesus uses the word “proceed.” According to this verse, evil reasonings, fornications, thefts, and murders proceed out of the heart of men. The word “proceed” implies continuation. Not only do evil things come out of man’s heart; they continually proceed out from his heart, coming forth one after another.
The first item listed by the Slave-Savior as proceeding out of man’s heart is evil reasonings. Reasonings, of course, come from the mind. The New Testament tells us that the mind of fallen man is reprobate, disapproved (Rom. 1:28). Because man’s mind is reprobate, nothing that comes out of it can be accepted by God or justified by Him. Rather, the reasonings of the fallen mind of man are condemned and rejected by God. Because our fallen mind is reprobate, our reasonings are evil, no matter how good they may seem to be.
After evil reasonings, the Lord lists fornications. We need to be impressed with the fact that the Lord did not speak of these things in a careless way. On the contrary, knowing man’s inward situation, He speaks in a careful way of what proceeds out of man’s heart. First come the evil reasonings and then fornications. This indicates that the evil reasonings are related to fornication.
The third item in verse 21 is “thefts.” Some may claim that they have never stolen anything. In fact, everyone has committed theft in one way or other. Actually, fornication itself is a kind of theft, for it is a matter of obtaining something improperly. To steal is to take something illegally. In principle, fornication is in this category. Fornication is a matter of following an illegal course, a course not ordained by God. Anything that is taken illegally is a matter not only of theft but also in the principle of fornication.
Although we are saved ones, children of God, our fallen nature, including our old heart, is still with us. In particular, the two evil things — fornication and theft — are crouching behind us, waiting for an opportunity to ruin us. Throughout the centuries, many Christians, including pastors and ministers, have fallen into the snare of fornication. Even many of those who love the Lord Jesus have been caught in this way. Many have disregarded the fact that their heart is evil. As a result, they failed to keep a proper distance from the opposite sex and fell into fornication.
In a real sense, the church life is a social life. Males and females often have contact with one another. Because of the danger of fornication, we need to keep ourselves at a proper distance from the opposite sex.
I wish to emphasize the fact that even though we have been regenerated, according to the teaching of the New Testament, our old nature remains with us. We should never forget this fact. Until our body has been redeemed, transfigured, our fallen nature will be with us. No matter how holy you may be, you need to realize that you still have your fallen nature. This is the reason I advise the saints not to be in a room alone with a member of the opposite sex.
I appreciate and respect this country very much. Nevertheless, I am bothered by the fact that males and females are too free in their contact with one another. Many women are not aware of the danger of being defiled. If they had such a consciousness, they would keep themselves at a proper distance from the opposite sex.
As we have indicated, in our preaching of the gospel we need to touch the condition of man’s heart. In particular, we need to expose the fact that in principle all fallen people are fornicators and thieves. When I was preaching the gospel in China, I often used to say, “You ladies and gentlemen appear to be very nice. But suppose I could take an x-ray picture of what you are inside. If I did this, you would not have the boldness to remain here. You know that you are evil inside and unclean. Perhaps even as you are listening to this message, you are reasoning concerning evil things. You have the appearance of a lady or gentleman, but in your inward condition you are filthy.” It is a fact that evil reasonings proceed out of man’s heart, and these reasonings are related to fornication and theft.
It is very significant that in chapter seven of Mark the Slave-Savior in His gospel service touches the inward condition of man. We should remember that the Lord’s word in 7:21-23 is a word uttered not to the crowd but to His intimate followers. It seems that here the Lord is saying, “Peter, John, James — you all need to realize that out from your hearts proceed evil reasonings, fornications, and thefts.”
The next item mentioned by the Lord as proceeding out of man’s heart is murder. Many murders are committed for the sake of fornication or theft. Fornication and theft often issue in murder.
Next, the Lord goes on to speak of adulteries. There is a difference between adultery and fornication. If a married person commits sin with another married person, that is adultery. But if an unmarried person commits sin with another unmarried one, that is fornication. Here the Lord speaks concerning both fornication and adultery.
The Lord goes on to speak of covetousness. Paul tells us that he could overcome other things, but he could not overcome covetousness (Rom. 7:7-8). He could keep all of the Ten Commandments except the commandment concerning covetousness. “For I had not known coveting except the law had said, You shall not covet. But sin, taking occasion through the commandment, wrought in me coveting of every kind” (Rom. 7:7-8). The reason Paul could not fulfill the commandment about covetousness is that this commandment is related to man’s inward condition, whereas the other commandments are concerned with outward conduct. Covetousness, like the other evil things mentioned by the Lord, proceeds out of the corruption of man’s heart.
In 7:22 the Lord goes on to speak of wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, a wicked eye, blasphemy, arrogance, and foolishness. The Greek word rendered “deceit” may also be translated “guile.”
Fornication, adultery, and licentiousness are of one category. We have pointed out the difference between adultery and fornication. Those who indulge either in fornication or in adultery are licentious persons. The Lord certainly knows man’s actual situation. This is the reason He uses these particular words.
We may wonder what a wicked eye has to do with our heart. It may seem that the eye cannot be in the heart. However, if we consider this matter, we shall see that sometimes in our heart we may have a wicked eye. According to the Lord’s word, a wicked eye is something that proceeds out from our heart.
In verse 22, a wicked eye is followed by blasphemy. A wicked eye is toward other persons, but blasphemy is mainly directed toward God.
The last two items mentioned by the Lord are arrogance and foolishness. Arrogance is even stronger than pride. Foolishness here denotes nonsense. Much of what proceeds out of our heart is foolishness, nonsense.
In 7:21 and 22 the Lord lists thirteen items. Paul gives a much longer list in his description of fallen mankind in chapter one of Romans. But the thirteen items listed by the Lord are sufficient to describe the actual condition and situation of the heart of fallen man. We need to realize that all these things are still in our old, corrupted heart. The condition of our heart is that described by the Lord in Mark 7.
When I was young, I loved the Gospel of John because it is a book on life. According to John 10:10, the Lord Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly. In the Gospel of Mark we may not find the word “life,” but in this book we have life in actuality, if not in terminology. For example, the seed in Mark 4 implies life. The Lord came to sow the seed of the kingdom. For Him to sow the seed means that He imparts life. The sowing of the seed is the imparting of life. What we have in Mark, therefore, is a record concerning life written in a practical way.
In chapter seven Mark does not simply tell us that man’s heart is evil. To talk like that would be to speak in a doctrinal way. What Mark does is record the word of the Lord Jesus concerning what comes out of our heart. This is to deal with the heart in a practical way. From this we see that Mark is not a book on doctrine; instead, Mark is a book on practicality, on actuality.
In chapter seven of the Gospel of Mark the Lord purposely lists the evil things that come out of our heart. None of us is an exception. Chapter seven is outstanding in that it touches man’s inward condition.
In His gospel service the Slave-Savior took the opportunity afforded Him by the opposers to expose, analyze, and diagnose man’s inward condition. In 7:21 and 22 we have the diagnosis of the condition of our heart. Every human being has a heart problem, and the Lord’s diagnosis of the condition of man’s heart applies to each one of us.
Concluding His diagnosis of man’s heart, in 7:23 the Lord says, “All these wicked things proceed from within, and they defile a man.” The wicked things that proceed from within are the evil issues of man’s fallen and sinful nature (Rom. 7:18). Not only are wicked things in our heart; these things proceed out from within us. This means that there is a procession of wicked things out from the heart of man, a procession that is defiling.
When worldly people come back to work after the weekend, they often speak about the evil things they have been indulging in. Their conversation is a procession of evil things from within their heart. They may be educated and well-mannered, but from within their heart and out of their mouth comes a procession of evil, defiling things.
The Lord’s gospel is able to deal with the condition of man’s heart. In chapter seven, however, we have only the diagnosis; we do not yet have the dealing with the heart in a positive way. In this chapter the Lord opens our heart, exposes it, and then seems to leave us on the “operating table.” But chapter seven is not the end of the book. In the remaining chapters of the Gospel of Mark we shall see how the Lord is the “heart expert” who knows man’s heart and how He takes care of the condition of man’s heart.
The picture portrayed in chapter seven is very different from the pictures in the preceding chapters. Before chapter seven, we have pictures of society, of the world. But in chapter seven we have a picture of our inward condition, a picture of the inward situation of our heart.
If we study 7:1-23 carefully, we shall see that the Lord’s word here actually covers all of the Ten Commandments. The Lord even uses the word “commandment” in verse 8: “Leaving the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men.” Then in verse 9 He goes on to say, “You nicely set aside the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.” In verse 13 the Lord speaks of the word of God, pointing out that the religious ones were invalidating the word of God by their tradition. In this portion of the Gospel of Mark the commandments are the word of God.
As we study this portion of Mark, we see that here the Lord’s word is concerned with the worship of God. The first four of the Ten Commandments are related to the worship of God. The fifth commandment is about honoring our parents. In verse 10 the Lord specifically refers to the commandment to honor our father and mother. The remainder of the Lord’s word recorded here deals with the last five commandments, the commandments about fornication, theft, murder, false witness, and covetousness.
If we consider all these matters together, we shall see that the Lord’s conversation with the Pharisees and scribes, the crowd, and the disciples was based on the Ten Commandments. For the Pharisees and scribes to invalidate the word of God meant that they were invalidating the Ten Commandments. It is important for us to see that in this section of the Gospel of Mark the Ten Commandments are covered by the Lord’s word.
Mark 7:1-23 actually covers three crucial matters: the commandment of the Lord, the word of God; the tradition of man; and the real condition of man’s heart. The condition of man’s heart is always exposed by the word of God, or the commandments of God. But the tradition of man always covers up the condition of man’s heart. For this reason, wherever tradition is maintained there is hypocrisy. Instead of exposing the real situation of man, tradition covers it. The Lord even says that the Pharisees and scribes “nicely set aside the commandment of God” so that they could keep their tradition (v. 9).
Apparently traditions are good. Actually they are subtle, and those who maintain such traditions are hypocrites. In religion today there is much hypocrisy because there is so much tradition to cover up man’s real condition. But the word of God always exposes man’s inward situation.
In this short portion of the Gospel of Mark, the Ten Commandments are applied. The Lord Jesus is actually repeating the Ten Commandments and using them to expose man’s inward condition. Whereas the Pharisees and scribes were concerned with the washing of hands, there is no mention of such washing in the Ten Commandments. What is important in the application of the Ten Commandments is not that we wash our hands, but that we come to worship God with a sincere heart, honor our parents, and faithfully carry out our duties. God’s commandments do not expose the dirt on man’s hands; they expose the filthiness in man’s heart. Therefore, the Lord repeats the Ten Commandments in order to uncover the actual condition of man’s heart. I encourage you to look into this portion of the Gospel of Mark according to these points.
