Its Not What Goes In But What Comes Out That Defiles

Somebody should have told Jesus before He made all those unscientific blunders (I speak facetiously, of course). Somebody should have told the Creator of the universe (Hebrews 1:2) that the earth is actually billions of years old, not the approximate 6,000 years of age recorded in His Bible. Somebody should have told Jesus that life evolved from various places all over the earth, and not as He "foolishly" said: from the very first couple created and placed in the Garden of Eden, i.e., Adam and Eve. Somebody should have told Jesus, before He showed off His "flawed geological understanding" that a considerable local flood took place, but certainly not the worldwide deluge that He subscribes to. Somebody should have told Jesus that there is no God and that man created God and not the other way around. Somebody should have told Jesus that He never existed and doesn't exist now, before He so foolishly stated "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) Somebody should have told Jesus. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID: Matthew 15: 10-11:

And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

GOD SAID, Matthew 15: 15-20:

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do ye not yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

MAN SAID: This is just another example of the Bible's lack of scientific and medical understanding. Everyone knows how disease penetrates the human body. If Jesus was the only begotten Son of God and Creator of the universe, He should have known that His statement was categorically wrong.

Now THE RECORD. Let's see whether this is another "Somebody should have told Jesus" moment. Did Jesus Christ understand the principles of germs and disease? Did He understand the principles of infection and sickness?

In Webster's 1828 edition of the American Dictionary of the English Language, he defines the word defile: to make unclean; to render foul or dirty; to make impure. 

Jesus said in Mark 7: 18-23:

And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the 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 men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

The heart is the focus in this passage and not the brain. We are instructed in Proverbs, chapter 4, verse 23:

Keep thine heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Your mind is instructed to keep your heart with all diligence—that means with extreme care—for out of the heart flow the issues of life. Jesus said that it's what comes out of the heart that defiles a man. The heart is the place of things believed, right or wrong, of things loved, of things hated, and of faith, both good and bad.

The Word of God says in Proverbs, chapter 23, verse 7:

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

Jesus said that out of the unregenerated heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies and these are the things that defile a man. The first category the Lord Jesus mentions is evil thoughts, which covers sundry subjects such as hatred, bitterness, gossiping, complaining, and fearful and stressful thoughts. These defile the man. It will become obvious as we go along that Jesus was completely accurate in His statement.

On this website there is a subject titled "Nocebo, Placebo and You," which deals with the effects of the thinking that goes on in the heart. Remember, the heart is the seat of things believed, not necessarily the things which are true. It is the responsibility of the mind to analyze and deduce the truth. The Placebo Effect is the product of positive thoughts whereas the Nocebo Effect is the product of negative, harmful thoughts that proceed out of the heart.

The following is an excerpt from "Nocebo, Placebo and You:"

You may already be comfortable with the general notion that your moods and thoughts affect your physical health—you get sick to your stomach when you're under pressure at work, for example. (Nocebo's flip side, the placebo effect, is another form of this mind/body connection. That's the tendency people have to feel better after they receive a treatment—even if it has zero therapeutic value—simply because they think the treatment will work.) But in the more specific form of the nocebo effect, the cause is a particular thought or belief, not something vague like stress or a bad mood. In one experiment, 13 teenagers were told they were being rubbed on the arm with a plant similar to poison ivy. The leaves were, in fact, harmless, but all of the kids had some reaction—itching, redness, blisters. Their specific belief that the plant was poisonous actually caused them to break out in rashes.

Reining in your brain 

Researchers are just beginning to unravel the complex mechanisms of the nocebo effect, but what seems clear so far, says Herbert Benson, M.D., author of Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief (Fireside, 1997), is that "If you have a memory—of a headache, a rash, a severe PMS reaction—it's wired into your brain." And if your brain mistakenly believes that it's experiencing a trigger for one of those experiences, it may needlessly recreate it. [End of quotes]

It has been asserted by many medical experts that a large majority of sickness originates in the mind. Once negative nocebo thoughts drop down into the heart, the seat of emotion and things believed, the nocebo effect is off and running. Jesus said evil thoughts defile the man.

In a feature on this site titled "Secrets and Demonstrations of Power Speaking," this following excerpt was taken:

In an article by doctors Brennan and Charnetski, authors of the book Feeling Good is Good For You, the following was found:

For instance, you might be a generally carefree, cheery, and well-adjusted person, but if you happen to be angry, upset, or otherwise negative just minutes before you run your hand along a stairway railing that harbors a flu virus, you're more likely to get a cold than if you were happy-go-lucky and free of hostility when you came into contact with the bug. That's because when you're angry, upset, or moody, even for a little while, your IgA drops markedly and your T lymphocytes slow to a crawl. (T lymphocytes are important immune system cells that include helper and killer T cells.) [End of quote]

In today's society, people are being bombarded by the media at large with a never-ending stream of fearful information concerning germs and viruses. Many are being bound up by OCD, which stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, making them afraid to touch doorknobs and shake hands and other once-common life exchanges. Many are spraying doorknobs, telephone handsets, and rushing to the lavatory after each handshake. You can be sure that this kind of thinking is creating a fearful and stressful state of mind that in itself opens one to sickness.

I must note here that God is the author of cleanliness, sterilization, disease, and waste control. It must also be noted that God's cleanliness begins in the heart. 

Bitterness and hatred are evil thoughts that proceed from the heart and Jesus said these defile the man. These spiritual defilements also show up as a demise of the flesh. The following excerpt is from the article, "Grudges vs. Forgiveness…Death vs. Life," on this website:

A February, 2002, article in Prevention Magazine was titled, "How Grudges Hurt You. Learn To Forgive, For Your Health's Sake." The first paragraph reads:

Forgiveness can mend more than strained relationships. New research has demonstrated that letting go of a grudge can have dramatic and fast-acting health benefits.

Researchers at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, studied 71 subjects who mentally relived hurtful memories but this time with two alternative endings: harboring a grudge and forgiving. The researchers measured their heart rates, blood pressure, and perspiration and cataloged their emotions.

Again quoting from the article:

Heart rates and blood pressures were 2 1/2 times lower when participants forgave than when they held grudges. Holding a grudge also made them sweat, a sign that their nervous systems were on high alert. Forgiveness left them feeling calm and in control.

Dr. C. Witvliet, assistant professor of psychology at the college had this to say regarding the study:

Participants felt significantly more negative, angry and sad during the unforgiving condition than during the forgiving condition.

And finally the doctor said:

We know that sustained anger and hostility are risk factors for heart disease. Forgiveness may be a powerful antidote for hostility. If people become forgiving, there can be accumulating health benefits, just as there are increased health risks when people have accumulated anger and hostility.

An unforgiving spirit breeds hostility in all forms. Dr. Redford Williams, an internist and behavioral medicine researcher at Duke University had this to say about hostility:

A cynical, mistrusting attitude is a driving force that makes people most susceptible to heart disease.

He went on to say:

Hostility predicts the risk not just of heart disease, but mortality due to all causes. [End of quotes]

Wrath and anger are known killers which proceed from the heart. Another feature article on this website, "Let Not the Sun Go Down Upon Your Wrath," noted the following terrible results of anger:

Duke professor Dr. Redford Williams, author of "Anger Kills," says research shows that those who have an angry response to everyday setbacks are 400 to 700% more likely to be dead of coronary disease and other causes by age 50. According to research in the Oct. 1, 1995 issue of Circulation, the risk of suffering a heart attack is 2.3 times higher in the two hours following an episode of anger. [End of quote]

Jesus said it's what comes out of the man that defiles him.

Stress shifting is a major principle of the scriptures. A believer has the ability and responsibility to shift stress to the Lord Jesus Christ. He said in Matthew, chapter 11, verses 28-29

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Stress proceeds out of the heart and it defiles the man. The following excerpt is from the article "Rest From Stress," on this website:

It is common knowledge that stress unchecked is a killer. In a June 14, 1999, Newsweek article, titled "Stress," the lead paragraph states, "A whole new body of research shows the damage stress wreaks on the body: not just heart disease and ulcers, but loss of memory, diminished immune function and even a particular type of obesity."

Dr. Sheldon Cohen conducted a study in 1991 at Carnegie Mellon University linking stress to immune dysfunction. He ran the study again in 1998. Test people were chosen and intentionally infected with a respiratory virus. Those who experienced chronic stress—ongoing conflicts with co-workers or family members, for example—increased their odds of getting sick by 300 to 500%.

Men who said they were highly stressed were 60% more likely to have heart attacks and strokes than their unstressed counterparts. [End of quote]

According to Jesus Christ, defilement is a product of what comes out of the mouth and not what goes in, and we are just beginning to understand what Jesus Christ meant.

Remember, out of your heart flow the issues of life. A heart that has been made new by the blood of Jesus Christ is daily being developed in the ability to believe and speak good and excellent things into one's life. Peace that passes understanding becomes the believer's trademark. And because good things are proceeding out of the heart, good and healthy results are in the offing.

God's Word reads in Proverbs, chapter 17, versed 22:

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

When an individual is happy, at peace, confident, safe, his bone marrow pumps out red and white blood cells prolifically. Red blood cells bring food and oxygen to the cells and white blood cells kill disease. See "A Merry Heart or a Broken Spirit" on this website for more astonishing truths.

Do you understand? It's not what goeth in but what cometh out.

GOD SAID: Matthew 15: 10-11:

And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

GOD SAID, Matthew 15: 15-20:

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do ye not yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

MAN SAID: This is just another example of the Bible's lack of scientific and medical understanding. Everyone knows how disease penetrates the human body. If Jesus was the only begotten Son of God and Creator of the universe, He should have known that His statement was categorically wrong.

Now you have THE RECORD.


References:

King James Bible

Brennan and Charnetski, "Hey You! Lighten Up!" Prevention, October 2001, p 136.

Colino, S., "Mind Over Medicine," Mademoiselle, April 1999, p 115.

Harrar, S., "How Grudges Hurt You," Prevention, February 2002, p 38.

Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary 

"Stress," Newsweek, June 14, 1999.

• Go Further With Christ
• Email To a Friend
• Comments or Questions?