Are You Defiled?
My wife and I started hiking about a year and a half ago. We really enjoy seeing God’s creation and God’s beauty while we are out on the trails. But you know what we don’t like to see? Trash. Some people leave their trash on the trail. This is very selfish and inconsiderate of them. They defile the beautiful scenery with their pollution.
Synonyms for the word defiled include: tainted, corrupted, poisoned, polluted, degraded, debased, impaired, sullied, marred, dirty or unclean. When someone defaces a valuable painting, it is defiled or marred. When people throw trash on the hiking trails, they are polluting nature. But what about you; are you defiled? I’m not asking if you pollute the land or if you deface paintings or buildings. I’m asking if you, yourself are defiled.
Before you get indignant about the question, let me give you some context for asking the question: are you defiled? In Mark Chapter 7, the Pharisees asked Jesus why His disciples ate food without first washing their hands. They were more worried about their traditions than they were about dirty hands or any concerns over health issues.
Nothing Going Into A Person Can Defile Him
This was Jesus’ response to the Pharisees concern over eating with dirty hands. “Thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 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.”
And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 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, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 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.”
Are You Defiled Or Do You Have A Pure Heart?
Are you defiled? Jesus is more concerned with your heart than He is about your eating with dirty hands. Do you have a pure heart? Do you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Have you truly repented of your sins and surrendered your life to Jesus? If you get offended by the question: are you defiled, then you need to hear this message.
Those of us who have truly repented and put our faith in Jesus, know that we are sinners. I freely admit that I am defiled. Not in a prideful way, but just speaking the truth. I have had evil thoughts, been sexually immoral, was a thief, been a murderer in my heart by hating some people as well as having been an adulterer, covetous person, prideful person and foolishly rebelled against God. I’m in no way bragging, I’m merely stating the truth. I am guilty of every one of these evil things that Jesus mentioned on this list. I have been defiled.
So I ask you again, are you defiled? Maybe you are a more moral sinner than me. Maybe you didn’t commit every sinful act that Jesus stated in this list, but will you admit to at least one of them? Have you ever been envious over someone – either their riches, position in society or maybe their beautiful wife or wonderful kids? Or have you ever really desired to own someone else’s car?
Have You Ever Had Impure Thoughts?
Can you say that you have never had impure thoughts? You’ve never had an evil thought in your life? Have you ever been sexually immoral? Anything sexual outside of biblical marriage between a man and a woman is sexual immorality. Looking at pornography is sexual immorality. Watching sexually explicit movies and TV shows is sexual immorality. Having any sexual relations outside of biblical marriage is being sexually immoral.
I’ve only asked you about coveting and sexual immorality. Will you admit that you have done one or both of these? Will you admit that you are defiled? If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior, then the first thing you need to do is recognize that you are a sinner and that you have rebelled against God.
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it (Jeremiah 17:9)? Genesis 6:5 says: The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Unless God regenerates your heart, your heart is wicked. Unless you are born again, the intentions of your heart are evil. I’m not picking on you, I’m quoting the Bible. I was no different than any other lost soul, before God saved me and I’m nowhere near perfect. But I’m not the same old dirty, rotten sinner that I was before I repented and put my faith in Jesus.
Most People Won’t Admit They Are Defiled
The problem is most people won’t admit that they are defiled. A lot of people think they are good, because they compare themselves to others who are worse or more evil than they are. Please notice, Jesus didn’t say the worst of adulterers or the worst covetous people, or the worst of the sexually immoral. No, He just said adulterer, sexually immoral, prideful, etc.
You don’t have to be the worst of the worst. You just have to be yourself, a sinful creature who rebels against God. What does it take for you to go to Hell? Absolutely nothing. Since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, you don’t have to do anything to go to Hell. Just keep walking down the broad road to destruction that you are currently on.
One little tiny, white-lie is enough to send you to Hell for all eternity. But let’s face it, we’ve all done so much worse than one white lie. God is not going to compare you to every other human being on Judgment Day. No, He is going to compare you to His sinless Son – Jesus Christ and none of us can meet that standard.
Jesus never sinned, not one time. He walked this earth 2,000 years ago and He did what none of us could do. He perfectly kept that list stated in Mark 7. Not only did Jesus never sin, but He even kept the Law to a higher standard. Jesus said, you have heard it was said by them of old time, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, if a man lusts after a woman, he has committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).
Jesus Never Sinned
The Lord never sinned, held Himself to a higher standard, yet He willingly went to the cruel cross to suffer, bleed and die, in the place of guilty sinners. Jesus took the punishment that you and I deserve. His heart was pure, but your heart and my heart are impure. Jesus bore the wrath of God over sin. He took the punishment that you and I deserve. He was bruised for our iniquities. By His stripes we are healed.
Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose victoriously from the grave three days later. The Lord Jesus defeated sin, death, Hell and Satan and God offers eternal life to each and every person who repents and puts their faith in Jesus. Oh, do this today. Recognize that you are defiled. Understand that you cannot meet God’s Holy, righteous and perfect standard. That’s why you need to cry out to Jesus, the one who is perfect. The one who suffered, bled and died in your place.
Oh, I’m pleading with you to repent and surrender your life utterly and completely to Jesus. He is the only Savior. Jesus is the only way of salvation. There is no other. Cry out for God to save you. Repent from your sins and put your trust in Jesus. Trust in His finished work on the cross.
Deny Yourself And Pick Up Your Cross
Then do what Jesus went on to say in Mark 8:34-38: And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Once you admit that you are defiled and you cry out to Jesus to save you, your life will never be the same. True disciples, true followers of Jesus deny themselves, pick up their crosses and follow Him. Then we go out and tell others about this amazing love and salvation that is found in Christ alone. Don’t delay. Repent of your sins and surrender your life fully and completely to Jesus Christ the Lord. Do this today and be saved.
(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on October 18, 2019)