What about the Inside?

Amen. I appreciate those who have come to help me with the song service and other things to make this possible this evening. We're going to turn our Bibles at this time to Mark chapter seven. Mark chapter seven, I'll begin reading in just a moment from verse one and we're going to read down through verse eight. So, Mark chapter seven beginning in verse one and we'll read down through verse eight to get started here this evening.

The message is entitled The Inside Needs Cleansing Too. The inside needs cleansing too. Mark seven verse one, then came together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem and when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled that is to say with unwashing hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews except they wash their hands off, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market except they wash, they eat not.

And many other things there be which they have received to hold as the washing of cups and pots, brazen vessels and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders but eat bread with unwashing hands? He answered and said unto them, well hath Isaiah or Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites as it is written. This people honoreth me with their lips but their heart is far from me. How be it in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups and many other such things And many other such things you do. I think we'll have to go with this Mike or something. All right, let's try it and see. All right, having some technical difficulties here this morning. Make this as realistic as possible.

So back to Mark chapter seven, let's read that last verse. And he said unto them, or verse eight, for laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of manners, the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things you do. Now, when you first read this, you might think at first that Christ is kind of discouraging good hygiene. But that's not actually what's happening here. These Pharisees that we read about at the first part of the chapter come from Jerusalem to keep a close eye on Jesus.

They were not his fans, but his critics. They were watching for mistakes that they might have to accuse him of. They were the self appointed judges of everyone else's piety, including Christ Jesus. They were being keen observers, they thought, noticing that Christ's disciples did not wash their hands before they ate. How could they, the Pharisees, cried.

How could they so disrespect our laws? And unlike our current situation, the issue was not one of hygiene. Avoiding a potentially dangerous virus, but one of ceremonial defilement, an obsession of a different nature. Under the law of Moses, the Jews were required to wash themselves for various reasons before approaching the temple to worship the Lord. For instance, if they touched a dead body, or if they had been sick, they had to be ceremonially cleansed before they could come back to the temple to worship.

They were considered defiled and needed to be cleansed as a reminder that they needed to be cleansed on the what? On the inside too. In Psalm 20 four:three and four, it says, Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? That is to worship the Lord.

He that hath clean hands and a pure heart. The Jews, however, were obsessed with the external ritual to the neglect of the internal. And so having misapplied this to separation from the Gentiles, they did this not to cleanse themselves of germs or microbes or diseases, but of Gentile filth. They washed their hands before they ate in a very meticulous manner to keep them from being defiled by any Gentiles they had come across. They did likewise with anything they purchased in the marketplace just in case it had been touched by a Gentile.

Sadly reminds me a bit of the days in our country when certain people in our country were treated differently. They had to use separate bathrooms or drink from separate water fountains or sit in separate seats because of the color of their skin or the place of their heritage. That should never have been. In James chapter two, God is quite clear on that point. He is not a respecter of persons.

That means that God doesn't see people or treat people differently because of the place of their birth or their race or ethnicity or socioeconomic class. No, God is just and fair to all and we should be also. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Anyway, the tradition of the elders, the rules the Pharisees have replaced the commandments of God with contained 18 rules concerning washings to keep themselves from being ceremonially unclean, particularly from Gentile defilement. They were obsessed with external obedience, The appearance of piety, but not the inward condition of the heart, which sadly was corrupt before God.

God called them, Jesus called them whited sepulchers because they had painted up the outside real pretty. It was very appealing. Everybody thought they were great and pious and but Jesus said inside like that whited sepulchre, that grave, that casket, you're full of dead man's bones, decay and corruption. We can paint up the outside pretty. We can impress other people, but we cannot impress God with a sinful heart.

We need to come to God for cleansing from a sinful heart. They washed their hands meticulously of Gentile uncleanness, but did not concern themselves with own innate unrighteousness, and it profited them absolutely nothing before God. They practiced it in vain, as Jesus pointed out when he quoted from Isaiah in verses six and seven. If you look back there, it says, He answered and said unto them, well hath Isaiah prophesied of the hypocrites as it is written. This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. What was Jesus condemning? The Pharisees, the hypocrites, the Jews that were coming to worship but worshiping him in vain because it was all about the external and they had no relationship with him and no concern about the need for cleansing of their heart And they valued their traditions and they valued the teachings of the rabbis above the teachings of the word of God. And they valued the praise of men more than the praise of God. As Jesus also pointed out in Matthew six.

But here Jesus gives us another example of this travesty concerning their gift tradition. If you would look in verse nine, And he said unto them, full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, honor thy father and mother, and whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, if a man shall say to his father or mother, it is korban, that is to say a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother, making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered, and many such like things ye do.

In other words, to make a long story short, they found or rather they made a loophole in regards to honoring and caring for their elderly parents. By declaring the money that they would have used to help their parents a gift unto the Lord, they exempted themselves from using that money to help their needy parents. Thus, they made of none effect the commandment of who? God. What's the commandment?

Honor thy father and mother. They made it of none effect by their own traditions, by their additional laws, and not God's laws. We need not ignore the traditions of our faith and the values of those who have gone before us, But we must never raise traditions above or equal to the scripture, or we will destroy them both. True worship is then replaced with routine liturgy or ritual or self indulgence. Heartfelt prayer replaced with prepared speeches, crossing yourself for rosaries.

Faith replaced with good works and good luck charms. Repentance replaced with penance and confession to a priest rather than to the Lord. Memorials to Christ's death resurrection replaced with twisted church ritual by which people are told they are scoring points with God. The word of God and the gospel obscured, if not replaced by the laws of men. How sad.

Especially when you consider that many adhering to their traditions are lost in respect to God and eternity, just like the Pharisees were. Why does man do that? Why does man seek to replace God's law with man's law? Well, there are several reasons. First, we have a problem with something called authority.

But in the respect of the Pharisees, they did it in an attempt to justify themselves by keeping the law. Or by their own good works rather than by repentance and faith. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight. Man can't keep the law of God. So if you can't keep it, what do you do?

You change it. So then you can keep it. And that's what the Pharisees and many of the Jews had done. Rather than admitting their guilt and coming to Christ with a humble broken heart, they changed the law so they could feel justified. Hypocrites, they were, who complained to Christ about his disciples washing their what?

Washing their hands or not. Clearly they were in no condition to judge others, but self righteous as they were, they didn't see that. So the case with many today who think they will make it into heaven by their own good works. They won't. Ephesians two:eight-nine, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

If you're trusting in your good works, you're trusting in the wrong thing and you won't make it. So Jesus then took them to the task right there in front of the crowd, pointing out the air of their emphasis on the external when it was the internal that needed cleansing. Look if you would back in verse 14 and when he had called all the people. Now, he wasn't just talking to his disciples at this point or even the Pharisees but everybody that was there. When he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, hearken unto me, everyone of you and understand.

There is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him. But the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith unto them, are ye so without understanding also?

Do ye not perceive that whatsoever thing from without entereth into a man, it cannot defile him, because it entereth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught purging all meats. And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within and defile the man. The Pharisees were all concerned about what came from without, but they weren't concerned at all about what was already within. In Jeremiah seventeen nine, it says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it?

Who knows it? Who sees it? God does. And our heart is fraught with sin. Until we come to Christ for cleansing.

The external cleansing and rituals do nothing for the true need of man if the heart is not cleansed also. Too many today are trusting in the externals and forgetting to deal with the heart problem. Too many Christians also measure the health of their relationship with God by the externals and not by the condition of their heart either. Some today are obsessed with keeping themselves free from a virus. It consumes their waking moment, it worries them every day.

And while being concerned with personal hygiene is a very good practice, especially now, it is not as important as being concerned about our spiritual condition. While everybody is focused today on external uncleanness, God is concerned about internal uncleanness. It is the sin inside of us that is already there which defiles us before God, not water how we eat. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. While we are consumed with avoiding sickness to coronavirus, God is concerned with the eternal destruction of sin upon the human race.

While we are consumed with physical health and death, God is concerned with our spiritual health and eternal death. Which are you concerned about? Most? You know, some even go to church religiously, but they still have no relationship with God. They go through the liturgy or whatever routine they think will make them acceptable to God and they even look down on others who don't.

But they don't know him. They have not embraced him by faith as their risen Lord, as their one and only savior from sin. They are like those whom Christ condemned in Matthew seven when he said, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.

Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Some give to the poor and do good things with their money or with their time. They stand for good causes or at least what they see is good, but they have not dealt with the sin in their heart and their estrangement from God. There's only one way to fix it and that's Jesus. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No man comes to the father but by me. Others who do know the Lord have become and have become his children through faith in Jesus, still major in the minors and minor on the majors. By choosing a shallow relationship based mainly on rules and standards, we miss out on a growing and vibrant relationship with God. Walking daily with Him, walking in His spirit, learning to love Him more each day as we realize and confess that without Him, we are nothing. So what are you most concerned about today?

Are you most concerned with personal hygiene? Are you most concerned with religious ritual, self righteous works? Or the condition of your heart and your relationship with God? I know in times like these, we sometimes get distracted and disrod over the things that's going on in life. And we take our eyes off the Lord when we should be fixing our eyes on him.

When we should be looking inwardly to what God wants to do in our lives as Christians to draw us closer to him. That there be nothing between our soul and our savior. What are we most concerned with today? And what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do about it for yourself?

Will you put your faith in Christ alone? Will you call on him as savior who died for you and rose again? Romans ten thirteen, for whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Have you done that? Have you come to Christ Jesus to be saved not from a virus or not from bad relationship or not just from the troubles of life or financial stress.

Have you come to him for salvation? Have you humbled yourself, repented, and called on him in faith to be your savior? Will you see the vanity of man made ritual and choose the gospel of Christ instead? Paul said in Romans one sixteen, for I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Will you receive that salvation today?

And Christian, will you stop majoring on the externals? And take a serious look inside. Our relationship with God cannot be measured simply by what we do or what we don't do or how often we do this or how often we do that. Our relationship with Christ is a living, growing relationship with a person. How close are you to him?

Is there anything between your soul and your savior? If so, confess it to him and let him fix it by his grace. Stop being so concerned about what others think and let us start being concerned more about what our Lord and Savior thinks. So what are you doing about it? And then lastly, not only for yourself, but also for others.

You see there are others out there that need Jesus. And they are diswrought by what is going on in the world today. And they are looking for answers. And you know something? I know someone who has the answers.

His name is Jesus. Let us look for opportunities to tell others about Jesus. Let us look for opportunities to to hand them a tracker to tell them what an important part of our life Jesus Christ is and what he means to us. Let us show them that our God is real. That he does bring peace in the midst of the storm.

That he does save sinners. And give to them everlasting life. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord for your word. And for the message that we find here.

A reminder, Lord. To not be consumed with the external things to the neglect of the internal things. Not be so consumed with physical things to the neglect of spiritual things. Not be so consumed with the things of the world to the neglect of the relationship with our heavenly father. Lord, I pray that you would not only help us to examine ourselves and be honest with you.

But Lord, help us also to show others what a difference you make. And Lord, I pray if there's anywhere here or watching this today, Lord, that you would show them how much you love them, what you did for them, how much they need you, Lord. Lord, help them to see that the only way of salvation is through faith in Christ and not through the works of the law. For by the works of the law, no flesh is justified. In your sight.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen. If you have a hymn book, you turn with me, I'd like to close the service with a familiar hymn to many of you. It's two forty nine in the hymn book and it's entitled just as I am. If you're here, if you're watching this from home and you've never trusted Christ as savior, I plead with you today.

As much as you're concerned about the physical things or your health, would you take a moment to think about the spiritual things in eternity? And as we sing this hymn, would you consider trusting the Lord Jesus as savior? Let's sing. Just as I am. Just as I am without one plea but that