The four-column study from the Timothy Group has been simplified for this tailored Devotional series which is part of the Clayton Church Value-Based Discipleship series, which was launched on Sunday 23 July 2017.

Passage: Mark 7:14 – 23

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

After he had left the crowd and entered the hour, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come – sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.

Scripture

The following phrase(s) or verses stand out to me in terms of the theme of disciple-marking, God or people in the passage. For this passage, the verses (repeated) that emphasize how what comes out of a person defiles them are rightly emphasized. The listing of specific thoughts and sins in Verses 21-22 also stand out.

My Words

Retelling the story for someone else (you – my audience):

Jesus was teaching on the source of our purity and how our hearts and minds reflect the purity of our nature, or how damaged they become. Anything that influences us as an external source can only impact what is already within our hearts and minds. So, we can remain pure and sanctified before God, even whilst being a rose among thorns, or a blade of healthy grass among weeds, IF our hearts and minds remain untainted. The focus of this teaching is that we can also understand the condition of our hearts and minds by our actions or words. Where that output reflects immoral and sinful behaviour, it is a sign that the root of this evil lies within and has taken a hold.

What I Discovered

The following revelations are discerned from the passage:

• This passage is closely tied to another passage where Jesus talks about fruit of the Spirit, and the need to bear good fruit. In Matthew 7:15-20, the same concept is taught – that what comes out (good or bad fruit) is a reflection of the nature within.
• As stated in my retelling, we can remain pure and sanctified before God, even whilst being a rose among thorns, or a blade of healthy grass among weeds, IF our hearts and minds remain untainted.
• The list of sins above share a common heart/mind origin – they all stem from an unholy nature and negative intention.

Obedience Step “I Will”

My response to this passage takes the form of the following “I will” statements.

• I will be mindful of my thoughts and heart condition
• I will be a positive influence for the purposes of God, and to the best of my ability, with God’s help, not allow my surroundings to influence me away from God.

Today’s devotion is summarised in the following, which I developed as a graphic, which I’m now thinking of adding to my Threadless Artist Shop…