Traditions and Total Depravity - Mark 7:14-23
When the traditions of men become law, they can divide and devastate the people of God. The Hebrew oral traditions strayed from the main point of the Law, and ended up dishonoring what God actually requires. This is why we adhere to Scripture alone as the final authority!
It's not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out (evil thoughts, sexual immorality, etc.)
Jesus says all foods are to be considered pure for man to eat, but the root of every sin lives inside each of us. Evil in our lives comes from our own hearts... evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.
No one else is responsible for your bad behavior. The central issue is sin, the wickedness of man! When your flesh rises up, it's all you. It's not the person who triggered your reaction, but your own sin. We must be on guard against these sins.
We have to acknowledge our own total depravity! Within our hearts is every evil imaginable. Destruction can come to all of us without the spirit of God. When Jesus ascended into heaven, his Spirit descended onto the church, and teaches us what sin is. The true marker of revival is holiness; we need less of us and more of him!
Two thoughts...
1. The Law...
The Law was necessary because of the sin nature of man. We cannot save ourselves! Galatians 3:24... The Law was a babysitter for a young people. As children, we needed lots of rules! God's people were just kids, but now we live as a people of faith.
Matthew 5 says the laws of the Old Testament have been fulfilled in Christ. In Hebrews 9:12, Jesus entered once and for all into the holy place! He fulfilled the Law that through faith, we may be freed from it.
2. Jesus declared what is clean... What cleanses us?
We are clean because of the Word he's spoken to us, and we abide in him! All we want is to hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
A Christian is someone who reads God's word and lives it. We accept Christ as he is, not as we want him to be!
Inside each of us is an evil sinner. But if we come to Jesus for cleansing, he will cleanse us. We can't earn this; only he can replace our heart. We can live a sanctified life, free to sin no more! Only in Christ do we begin to change.
Biblical Christians need to reject the modern idea that we are doomed to be weak and ineffectual. There's a call on our lives, a call to be different. We must be all in, and watch what God does!