At the Heart of the Matter

What makes us unclean in God's sight?

What makes us unclean in God's sight?

The Bible talks about sin in a variety of different ways.

False worship, idolatry, rebellion, losing your way.

It talks about sin as sickness, as crossing a line, as missing the mark, as a stain, dirty

or unclean.

And we're going to be looking at a passage in Mark chapter 7 verses 1 through 23 in which

Mark 7:1–23

Jesus speaks about sin as that which defiles someone in God's sight.

Sin is something that's morally unclean, something that is morally dirty in God's sight.

The opposite of moral defilement is moral purity which is another way of talking about holiness.

So the question being asked in Mark chapter 7 verses 1 through 23 is what actually defiles

Mark 7:1–23

a human being in God's sight?

What makes us dirty in His eyes?

What makes us unclean in His sight?

Now if I were to ask you, why do you sin?

I'm guessing many of you would be able to give me a really concise answer.

Something like this.

Well Pastor Mike, I still sin because sin is still in me.

Even as a Christian, I am simultaneously justified and yet sinful.

I've got these sinful desires coming up from my flesh even though the Spirit has given me

a new heart.

But even though you might be theologically precise in that, there's another question related to

this that's a little bit more difficult to answer.

How are you at owning your sin?

How are you at taking responsibility for your sin?

If you're like me, I know not all of you are like me.

But if you're like me in this way, I tend to be slow to take responsibility for my sin

and I am really quick at blaming others for my sin.

The devil made me do it.

The world made me do it.

This person that sinned against me made me do it.

But here's the deal with all that.

This blame shifting that we're so prone to.

Even if there was no devil, I would still be sinning.

Even if we were not living in the world, I would still be sinning.

So would you.

Even if no one else ever sinned against me, I'd still be a sinner.

This is a classic and common mistake that we make.

We tend to push the blame of our sin outside of us.

And today Jesus blows it all up.

He's going to say the evil that defiles us.

Well, it doesn't come from outside of us.

The evil that defiles us, that makes us dirty in God's sight,

it actually comes from within us.

We are defiled not from the outside in,

but from the inside out.

Chapter 7, verses 1-23.

You can break them into two sections.

Verses 1-13.

There's a Q&A with Jesus.

It's the questions asked by Pharisees and scribes,

and Jesus answers it.

And then in verses 14-23,

there's another Q&A with Jesus,

but it's His disciples asking Him the question,

and Jesus answers it.

The first set of questions,

Jesus exposes a mistake of thinking

that we're defiled from the outside in.

And then in the latter part,

He corrects it.

And He explains it,

and He helps us to see that we are defiled in God's sight

from the inside out.

As Thomas Watson has said,

Till sin be bitter,

Christ will not be sweet.

So let's open our hearts

to what our Lord Jesus has to say.

You're going to need to behold your King this morning,

because He speaks with authority and clarity

on something that we all must hear.

And the question is,

is it true or not?

So would you look at verses 1-13 in chapter 7?

I'm going to read through them.

It's Q&A with these religious leaders.

Now when the Pharisees gathered to Him,

Jesus,

with some of the scribes

who had come from Jerusalem,

they saw that some of His disciples

ate with hands that were defiled,

that is, unwashed.

For the Pharisees and all the Jews

do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,

holding to the tradition of the elders.

And when they come from the marketplace,

they do not eat unless they wash.

And there are many other traditions

that they observe,

such as the washing of cups and pots

and copper vessels and dining couches.

And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus,

Why do your disciples not walk

according to the tradition of the elders,

but eat with defiled hands?

And Jesus said to them,

Well, did Isaiah prophesy of you, hypocrites?

As it is written,

This people honors Me with their lips,

but their heart is far from Me.

In vain do they worship Me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

You have the commandment of God,

and you leave the commandment of God,

and hold to the tradition of men.

And then He said to them,

You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God

in order to establish your tradition.

For Moses said,

Honor your father and your mother,

and whoever reviles father or mother

must surely die.

But you say,

If a man tells his father or his mother,

Whatever you would have gained from Me

is Corban,

that is given to God,

then you no longer permit Him

to do anything for his father or mother.

Thus, making the void,

the Word of God,

by your tradition that you've handed down.

And many such things you do.

In verses 1-13,

Jesus has this very sharp interaction

with the Jewish religious leaders in Israel.

Some Pharisees and scribes

have observed Jesus' disciples

doing something in that culture

would have been very peculiar.

They were eating,

some of His disciples were eating food

without washing their hands.

So, the Pharisees and the scribes

asked Jesus,

What's going on here?

And then Jesus answers them

with a very sharp rebuke.

There's a question and an answer.

The question is in verse 5,

and the answer is in verses 6-13.

But preceding the question,

is some peculiar activity.

In verse 2,

these Pharisees and scribes,

they observed something

that's peculiar.

What is it?

Some of Jesus' Pharisees

were eating without washing their hands.

And you might be thinking,

what's the big deal?

I mean, I had a meal this week

and I didn't wash my hands before I ate.

What's the big deal with that?

Well, the big deal is represented

in a little word.

It's in verse 2.

They saw that some of His disciples

ate with hands that were defiled.

The Pharisees and the scribes

weren't physical hygiene police.

They were morality police.

And they had observed

a big moral no-no

among some of Jesus' disciples.

They were eating without washed hands.

And they had made themselves,

in their opinion,

spiritually unclean.

Now you may be asking,

well, how does that work?

Well, Mark tells us how that works.

In verses 3 and 4,

you see how it's in parentheses?

He's anticipating Gentiles like us

need a little bit more information.

And so what Mark does

in verses 3 and 4

is he kind of spells out

the extent of all this washing.

We read

that the Pharisees and all the Jews,

so this is a cultural norm.

They do not eat

unless they wash their hands.

Every meal,

they've got to wash their hands

a certain way.

Every meal,

it has to be done

a certain way.

And so there's this frequency

to this.

It's happening

all the time.

And it's not just frequency

dealing with

kind of like what you eat.

It's where you come from.

Did you see that?

So,

in verse 4,

when they come from the marketplace,

the agora,

from meyer,

from woodman's,

you've got to wash

a certain way

before you would even eat again

because you were there.

So it's just not every meal.

You've got to be paying attention

to where you come from.

And it's not just

having your meals

and where you come from.

Look at the scope of this

at the end of verse 4.

Such as the washing,

so there were many other traditions

such as the washing of cups,

pots,

copper vessels,

and dining couches.

Not only were they

washing their hands

and coming from meyer

and having to wash,

but they were also

having to be washing

what they made their food in,

what they presented their food in,

and what they sat on

when they ate their food.

So what we're seeing here

is this like extent

of this washing.

The idea behind it was this.

That defilement

was transmitted,

transferred by touch.

And so to stop

the transmission of defilement,

you've got to do a lot of washing.

Has anybody heard of the phrase

OCD?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder?

This is O-C-W-D.

Obsessive-compulsive

washing disorder.

They had created

these layers upon layers

of washing

in order to keep

in order to keep

the defilement

from the outside

from getting

into the inside.

And if you notice

in verse 3,

the Pharisees

and all the Jews

practiced these things.

It was a cultural norm.

You would have grown up in it.

You know,

you might be asking,

hey, where did all this come from?

What authority

is driving this?

And you see it

referenced twice.

It's the tradition

of the elders

in verse 3

and in the question

in verse 5.

Why do disciples

not walk according

to the tradition

of the elders?

The tradition

of the elders

was this,

these applications

that rabbis

had come up with

over the centuries.

They would take

God's commands

commands,

and then they would

think through

how to apply it

to every possible

situation

that they could imagine.

Every possible situation.

And so,

over time,

it became an oral tradition

and it started

to become more

and more authoritative.

And then it took

a written form

called the Mishnah.

And so,

all of a sudden,

what you have over time

is this new

competing authority

with God's commands

that have been

made up by man

in order to apply

God's law

to people's lives.

But,

it wasn't

the Word of God.

It wasn't

the Torah.

And over centuries,

what happens

is these

traditions

become treated

as if

they were

God's law.

And

the whole reason

why is

they didn't want

to be defiled.

Because they thought

defilement

came from the

outside in.

They had built

all these rules

to keep it out.

It's a man-made

system

being treated

as

coming from God

when it wasn't.

So,

are you starting

to understand

what's behind

the question

in verse 5?

Jesus,

why do your

disciples not walk

according to the

tradition of the

elders

like the rest

of us?

Why are you

letting your

disciples

become unclean?

They're dirty

in God's sight.

Why would you

do that?

So,

this is the

question.

Jesus,

why aren't you

enforcing the

rules?

And in verses

6-13,

Jesus answers

their question

with a

very sharp

rebuke.

Have you

ever seen

a hockey

game?

When a

fight breaks

out,

gloves are

off.

Look at

verse 6.

And Jesus

said to them,

well did

Isaiah prophesy

of you

hypocrites.

You notice,

Jesus is not

appealing to

the tradition

of the

elders.

Jesus is

quoting

Isaiah 29-13.

Verse 6-13.

This

people,

he's speaking

to the

Pharisees

and scribes,

this people

honors me

with their

lips,

but their

heart is

far from

me.

Hypocrisy.

You're saying

one thing,

tradition of

the elders,

but you're

actually,

your heart is

seeking to

accomplish

something else.

We'll see

that in a

sec.

He goes

on to say,

in vain do

they worship

me.

All of these

washings,

it's just

vanity.

It's

pointless.

It's not

accomplishing

what you

think it's

accomplishing.

Teaching as

doctrines the

commandments of

men,

they have

elevated these

traditions of

the elders,

these applications

that are not

God's Word,

on the same

par as

God's Word.

The gloves

are off.

And so

using God's

Word,

Jesus answers

the Pharisees

with quite a

rebuke.

In verse 8,

he goes on to

say,

you leave the

commandment of

God and hold

to the

tradition of

men.

This is what's

really going

on.

So verse 5

carries this

kind of like

veiled

accusation

that Jesus

and his

disciples are

not obeying

God's will

by not observing

the tradition

of the elders.

And what

Jesus does

is,

he's like,

hold on a

second.

You are the

ones who are

not living

according to

God's Word.

You've

actually left

God's commandments

to lay hold

of these

traditions.

Behold your

king.

Calling him

out.

And in

verse 9,

you see

something that

may make you

a little

uncomfortable

from Jesus.

It's

Jesus'

sarcasm.

The

sarcasm of

the Son

of God.

Sarcasm of

the Son

of Man.

And he

said to

them,

you have a

fine way of

rejecting the

commandment of

God in order

to establish

your tradition.

That is

not a

compliment.

He's using

sarcasm to

expose

their hypocrisy.

And in

verses 10

and 13,

Jesus goes

on to give

a very

specific

example of

how the

Pharisees and

scribes had

rejected the

commandment of

God to

establish their

tradition.

It was a

tradition introduced

by the elders

and the

Pharisees and

scribes called

Corban.

Corban means

dedicated to

God.

God.

So here's

what was

happening in

a nutshell.

God had

commanded

his people to

honor your

father and

your mother.

And so I

have parents

in their

70s.

And so that

command to

me at that

time would

have showed

up like,

okay, we're

going to use

our resources

to care for

my parents.

And what

the Pharisees

and scribes

had done is

they introduced

this Corban

thinking to be

able to say

things, you

know what,

Mike?

You don't

need to give

that money to

your parents

because if you

call it Corban,

then you dedicate

it to God and

you're not no

longer responsible

to care for

your parents.

And that

money, of

course, do you

know where it

goes?

Temple treasury.

So what Jesus

is pointing out

is this.

These Pharisees

and scribes

had rejected

honor your

father and

your mother in

order to

hold to the

tradition of

the elders,

Corban,

and their

hearts were

far from

God.

It's hypocrisy.

It's self-serving.

And what Jesus

says in verse

13, he says,

and many such

things you do.

This is just

one other,

there's more.

So here's this

Q&A.

Jesus is

answering,

and what we're

seeing are two

things.

First is this.

The thinking

that defilement

comes from the

outside in,

and that you

need to be

obsessively,

compulsively

washing in

order to

keep it

outside,

it's a

terrible mistake.

And here's

what we're

going to

find out

in a second.

Because it

doesn't make

you clean.

And the

second terrible

thing we're

seeing here

is the

tendency among

human beings

to elevate

their thoughts,

their traditions,

their intentions

on the same

par as

God's

word.

You might be

thinking,

well,

whoo,

we don't

practice

Corban

around here.

We don't

do the

OCWD

thing around

here.

Well,

we don't.

But we

have this

knack for

making

applications

of God's

good word

into

pharisaical

rules.

And so,

every parent

in the

room is

called to

raise their

children in

the fear

and admonition

of the

Lord.

Lord.

And in

that

command,

parents,

you're

going to

need to

decide how

your kids

are going

to be

educated.

Are we

going to

send them

to public

school?

Are we

going to

send them

to Christian

school?

Are we

going to

homeschool?

There are

groups of

Christians who

will say

something like

this.

All

Christians

must

homeschool

their

children.

That is

pharisaical.

That is

moving beyond

the scriptures.

Is it a

good option?

Sure.

Is it

God's

defined

will?

No.

So we

can't

raise it

to the

same

par as

scriptures.

Do you

see?

Here is

another way

we do

it.

No

Christian

should

drink

alcohol.

When the

Bible itself

doesn't forbid

alcohol, it

forbids getting

drunk.

We cannot

insist upon

things that

the Bible

itself does

not insist

on.

We don't

go beyond

what the

scriptures

say.

No

Christian

should

participate

in

Halloween.

People

have

different

opinions

on

Halloween.

But can

you make

that into

a thus

saith the

Lord?

Lord, you

can't.

Make a

good case.

Let's

debate it.

Here's the

ways that we

as Christians

today have

made our

applications.

We raise

them to the

same bar as

thus saith

the Lord.

Every one

of us has

an inner

Pharisee.

we like

to make

rules and

regulations

to live

by.

Because we

think we're

safe.

But these

man-made

restrictions

that go

beyond God's

Word,

they don't

keep us

clean.

And we

make the

mistake

of putting

our words

in the

mouth of

God.

God.

So here

we have

Jesus

in verses

1-13

exposing

the

outside-in

mistake.

But then

in verses

14-23

He

supplies a

corrective

inside-out

defilement,

the way

things really

are.

Let me

read that

for you.

14-23

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.

Amen.

And He

said,

What comes

out of a

person is

what defiles

him.

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.

So this

whole passage,

verses 1-23,

it now takes

a turn in

verse 14.

And you

can see it

because He's

no longer

talking to

the Pharisees

and scribes.

He's now

called a

people back

to Him.

This crowd

comes back

to them,

and what

Jesus is

doing here,

He's saying,

let me just

set the

record straight,

everybody.

Everybody.

And He

says in

verse 15,

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 in

that sentence,

He blows

up the

tradition of

the elders.

Blows it

up.

Because what

He's saying

is defilement

isn't

transferred

by touch.

it's not

what you

eat that

will defile

you.

And in

verses 17

through 23,

there's another

scene change.

He goes

from talking

to this

crowd outside

to moving

into a

house,

leaves the

crowd,

and is now

with His

family of

faith,

His disciples.

Remember,

at the end

of Mark

Mark 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

And they

have a

question for

Him.

Verse 17.

And in

verses 18

to 23,

He supplies

the answer.

So the

question in

verse 17

is asked

by His

disciples.

They want

to know

about this

saying,

this parable

that He

said.

Let me

just read

it to

you again.

There's

nothing

outside a

person that

by going

into Him

can defile

him,

but the

things that

come out

of a

person are

what

defile

them.

Now,

if you

were one

of His

disciples,

most likely

you grew

up in

some kind

of Jewish

context of

that time.

So you're

thinking,

hold on a

second,

Jesus,

I don't

think I've

ever heard

you say

that before.

Are you

saying we

don't need

to wash

our hands?

Because I

grew up in

a culture,

I was being

told every

day since

I grew up,

Michael,

have you

washed your

hands so

that you

can be

pure before

you eat?

Jesus,

are you

saying it

doesn't matter

what we

eat?

So when

you think

about it,

there's good

reason for

His disciples

to be asking

questions about

that saying.

18-23,

Jesus answers

their question

and 18

starts with

a mild

rebuke.

Then are

you also

without

understanding?

You guys

seem to be

a little

slow.

The reality

is I think

everybody in

the room

identifies with

being a little

slow.

It takes

some time

to fully

understand

what Jesus

calls us

to.

And then

in the

second part

of 18

into 19,

He starts

to spell

it out

for His

disciples.

Just spell

it out

for us,

Jesus.

Look what

He says.

Do you

not see

that whatever

goes into

a person

from outside

Him

cannot defile

Him?

Verse 19,

since it

enters not

His heart

but His

stomach

and is

expelled.

What Jesus

does is He

gives us an

anatomy lesson.

He's like,

hey, do you

not realize

that what you

eat, it

doesn't defile

you because

it goes

into your

mouth,

into your

stomach,

and then

expelled.

And His

point is

this.

In verse 19,

it never

enters your

heart.

And when

Jesus starts

talking about

the heart,

He's not

talking about

the muscle

in your

chest right

now that

is pumping

oxygen-rich

blood into

your body

so that you

can live.

He's not

talking about

that heart.

He's talking

about what

the Hebrews

thought as

the core

of who you

are, the

control center

of your

life, the

seat of a

person's

emotions and

thinking and

will and

worship.

You live out

of your

heart.

Is anybody

in the room

a Star Trek

fan?

I see

that hand.

Well, I'm

a bit of a

Star Trek

fan.

Old school

Captain

James T.

Kirk of

the USS

Enterprise.

There you

go.

James T.

Kirk, do

you know

where we

see James

T. Kirk

a lot in

episodes?

He's in his

captain's chair

on the what?

The bridge

of the USS

Enterprise.

Now, if we

were a Klingon

horde wanting

to take over

the USS

Enterprise,

I would

have our

beamer

person,

beam us

all onto

the bridge

of the USS

Enterprise.

Do you know

why?

If you

control the

bridge of

the USS

Enterprise,

you control

the USS

Enterprise.

We can

hijack it.

So when

Jesus is

talking about

the heart,

he's talking

about the

control center,

your bridge

of your

life.

What controls

you?

Where you

make decisions,

emotions,

where you

make priorities

from where

you worship,

out of the

overflow of

the heart,

you live.

So what

Jesus is

doing here

is very

simple.

He's saying

what you

eat has

no defiling

influence or

consequence on

the control

center of

your being.

Food

doesn't

defile

you because

it can't.

It doesn't

enter your

heart.

And Mark

spells out

the immediate

implication.

He declared

all foods

clean.

Do you know

what yours

truly had

this week?

I had some

pork chops

and they were

delicious.

Not once

did I think

they defiled

me.

If I were

a Jew

growing up

in Galilee

at this

time,

oh, I

would have

been in a

lot of

trouble.

But Jesus

is saying

no, that's

not your

problem.

Food

coming into

you is not

your problem.

But if food

can't defile

us in God's

sight, what

does?

defiles us.

And Jesus

continues with

his correction.

In verses

20-23, he

clearly shows

us what

defiles us.

He clearly

shows where,

from where,

we are

defiled.

And it's not

outside of us,

it's inside of

us.

Look at verse

20.

And he said,

what comes out

of a person is

what defiles

him.

Look at verse

21.

He gets a

little bit

narrower.

From within.

And then the

next phrase,

he hits the

bullseye.

Out of the

heart of man.

Your control

center is a

corruption

center.

John Calvin

talked about the

human heart as

an idle

factory.

Jesus talks

about the

human heart as

an evil

factory.

You generate

evil from your

heart.

And then he

uses that

phrase,

evil thoughts.

It's like a

banner flying

over the

next 12

evils.

Let me just

list them for

you.

Out of your

heart comes

sexual immorality.

Any sexual

activity outside

the marital

union.

Out of your

heart comes

theft.

Out of your

heart comes

murder and

adultery and

coveting and

wickedness,

which is malice.

It's hate

heartedness.

Out of your

heart comes

deceit.

Out of your

heart comes

sensuality,

this hedonism

that's pursuing

pleasure.

Out of your

heart comes

envy.

Out of your

heart comes

slander.

Out of your

heart comes

pride and

foolishness.

He does

not relent,

does he?

In what he's

doing there,

this is not a

list coming

from the

tradition of

the elders.

This is a

list coming

from your

Bible.

Five of the

twelve come

right out of

the Ten

Commandments.

what Jesus

is saying,

and this is

where you

need to

just ask

the question,

is it

true or

not?

Is that

everyone in

the room,

every one of

our hearts

is capable

of producing

any and

all of

these twelve

evil things.

all of

us.

These evils,

according to

Jesus,

come from

our hearts.

They're not

outside of

us.

The devil

doesn't make

me do it.

The world

doesn't make

me do it.

The person

that sinned

against me

doesn't make

me do this.

I make

me do

this.

It's not

outside of

you.

It's inside

of you in

the point

Jesus is

getting at

and you're

responsible.

you're

responsible for

your heart.

Jeremiah 17

9 says,

the heart is

deceitful above

all else and

desperately sick.

Who can

understand it?

Jeremiah 17

10 says,

the heart,

the Lord

knows the

heart.

And so

Jesus is not

painting a

flattering picture

of our sinful

condition,

is he?

He's getting

at the

depravity of

sin.

It's at the

root,

brothers and

sisters.

It's in

our hearts.

We have an

evil factory

dwelling within.

So Jesus

is exposing

our hearts.

We have an

evil producing

control center

that we live

out of.

The question

is,

is it

true?

Do you know

how you can

test it?

Has anybody

committed sexual

immorality in

the room?

No.

I have.

Guilty.

It's true.

Has anybody

stolen?

Has anybody

coveted?

Just go down

the list and

ask, has it

come out of

your heart?

Yes.

The evil that

defiles us,

verse 23,

is coming from

inside of us.

we defile

ourselves

because of the

evil in our

hearts.

Here's what this

means.

It means you

need to decide

if these words

of Jesus are

true or not.

Either our

hearts are

producing evil

and that they

are defiling us

or your heart

doesn't do that.

if your heart

is producing

evils,

you are

responsible for

those evils.

You can't

blame the

devil.

You can't

blame the

world.

You can't

blame someone

else for

sinning against

you.

You are

responsible

for what is

defiling you

and it's

coming from

within you.

So,

why do we

sin?

Why do we

sin?

Our own

hearts

cause us

to sin.

And yet,

till sin

be bitter,

Christ will

not be

sweet.

What's the

point of this

passage?

Well, the

point is

simple.

The evil

within

defiles each

of us.

That's the

point.

It's not

outside of

us, it's

inside of

us.

And don't

forget who's

saying this.

Remember the

Gospel of

Mark, what

it says about

Jesus, that

Jesus Christ

is the Son

of God, that

Jesus Christ

is the Son

of Man.

That Jesus

Christ has

the authority

to forgive

sin.

That Jesus

Christ has

authority over

nature, Mark

4.

That Jesus

Christ has

authority over

demons, Mark

5.

That Jesus

Christ has

authority over

disease, Mark

5.

Jesus Christ

has even

authority over

death.

The all

authoritative

King of the

universe is

clearly declaring

to us this

morning that

the evil that

defiles us

doesn't come

from outside

of us, it

comes from

inside of us.

And we're

responsible for

it.

Till sin be

bitter, Christ

will not be

sweet.

You want

some good

news?

The very

one who

exposes our

defiled hearts

is the only

one who can

purify our

defiled hearts.

Isn't that

good news?

He's the only

one.

making,

obeying rules

that's not

going to block

the defilement

because the

defilement

comes from

within.

Making,

obeying rules

cannot

cleanse your

heart.

Only Jesus

can purify

your heart.

who can

forgive sins

but God

alone.

As an

example of

this, do

you remember

when King

David in

2 Samuel,

remember when

he sinned,

he had

committed adultery

with Bathsheba,

and then he

killed her

husband Uriah,

murdered him

to cover it

up.

And then in

Psalm 51,

David confesses

it.

And he uses

this kind of

language,

cleanse me,

wash me with

and make me

clean,

create in me

a clean

heart.

Where we go,

when we

acknowledge

the defiling

evil in our

hearts,

we run

to God

and seek

cleansing

from Him.

Do you want

to be cleansed

from your

evil?

Just as

David cried

out to God,

we cry out

to our

Emmanuel.

There is a

fountain filled

with blood

drawn from

Emmanuel's

veins,

and sinners

plunged beneath

that flood

lose all

their guilty

sayings.

What can

wash me

from my

sin?

Nothing but

the blood

of Jesus.

God's

cleansing

grace

is greater

than the

evil

that defiles

our hearts.

Amen.

Amen.

So this

morning,