Matthew 15:19-20..Ready

Matthew 15:19-20..Ready

15:19  For out of the heart come evil thoughts (calculating,-(New) murder (Almost always preceded by bitterness, anger, hatred, and animosity.-(New) adultery sexual immorality theft, false testimony, slander 20 These are what make a man ‘unclean’ but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.” (For additional Expository Notes See Book)

Extended Sermons

“Even today, since mankind is totally depraved and corrupt. All the church, religion, rituals, and hand washing isn’t enough. We need Jesus to change us and transform us from the inside-out .” →  We don’t need more rituals or hand washing. What we need is more of our hearts washed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Only in Christ Jesus are we able to conquer theses things. That’s why Jesus came and died on the cross. He came to fulfill what we couldn’t do on our own.

“Jesus’ list here is not meant to be exhaustive; there are far more sins than just these. But these are those that come from the heart .” ⇒  If not careful we can dig in on the types of sins. Will look at sin and say that’s bad and that’s worse, or that’s not so bad compared to others. Will look at “false witness” as little white lies and say that’s so bad compared to murder and adultery. But God says no matter how big or little we think sin is it still defiles the heart. So don’t look at this list and think I must be a pretty good person I don’t commit a lot of these. Nor is Jesus denying the capacity for us to show love and kindness. When Jesus mentions evil thoughts, plans, and various sinful actions, He’s not just providing a list of wrongdoings; He’s highlighting that these actions originate from within us. Our hearts, when left unchecked and unrefined by the Spirit of God it can become a source of great darkness. This is a humbling reminder that the transformation required to live a life of virtue and righteousness must begin from within.

    Additional Notes & Applications

Teaches since the heart is utterly sinful and corrupt, how much more do we need it reshaped and remolded by God.

Teaches no matter our good intentions or how hard we try, even at our very best we will always fall short.

Teaches everything wrong with the world and ourselves comes from within us.

Teaches how it’s the sinful thoughts we entertain in our hearts that drive our actions, our responses, and our behaviors.

Warns against thinking we can avoid sin by setting up boundaries without dealing with the heart first.

Teaches how bad behavior is the result of a corrupt heart, and not the other way around!

We think its our outward behavior & actions that we need to guard against because that’s what everybody sees.

Emphasizes the importance of the condition of our heart. It’s our heart that really needs to be changed. We can’t use the law or religious rules or disciplines to change our heart. With a lot of discipline we might be able to change some of our deeds, but the law or any form of rule cannot deal with the issue of the heart!

Jesus’ list here is not meant to be exhaustive; there are far more sins than just these. Jesus lists only the major evil character traits raging in each heart. Nor is Jesus denying the capacity for us to show love and kindness. But what He is denying is that the solution is within ourselves. When Jesus mentions evil thoughts, plans, and various sinful actions, He is not just providing a list of wrongdoings; He is highlighting that these actions originate from within us. Our hearts, when left unchecked and unrefined by the spirit of God, can become a source of great darkness. This is a humbling reminder that the transformation required to live a life of virtue and righteousness must begin from within.

We should not use the list of sins given here to excuse or condemn oneself, but rather is only showing that if you can do one you can to them all, that sin springs from the same place.

The reason why Jesus didn’t follow this up with an answer to this problem with the heart, or a one, two, three solution. Is because there’s nothing you or I can do in our own strength to solve it. It has to come from Him and the Holy Spirit/

The bible Lexicon defines “Sexual immorality” as unchastity fornication of every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse. Which means it is not true to say that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. He purposely used a word that everyone would have understood to have included all of the sexual sins forbidden in the Torah, including homosexuality. The Lexicon also defines “Sexual immorality” as a persuasive sensuality as indecency, sexual excess, lewdness, depravity, impropriety, etc. Much of which we find in the Western culture of today. With all i’s sexual innuendo as displayed in advertisements, R-rated movies, commercials, video-games, websites, etc. What’s also interesting is that the Greek word translated “fornication” here and which is translated as “sexual immorality” or simply “immorality” in other passages, is “porneia”, which is where we get our word “pornography” from.

HOW TO WIN THE SIN WITHIN

• Cultivate a deeper relationship with God through prayer & worship.

• Stay Reading & Meditating on God’s Word, , Speak out Bible Verses in the moment

• Stay Active in Church, Fellowship with other believers

• Run immediately to God in Confession & Repenting of the Sin

• Develop Strategies and Measures to Avoid, Resist, and Combat Sin & Temptation

• Proclaim the Gospel and all that Christ has Suffered for you

• Embrace the Mercies & Promises of God to Forgive sin

• Be Open & Honest about your sin, Take Ownership, Don’t shift the blame

• See the Consequences, Damages, and Ugliness of Sin

• Remember the Shame, Guilt, and Regret after the sin is  over

• Remember the symbol of Baptism as dying to your old life and raising to a new life

• Walk in Cooperation of the Holy Spirit, not your own strength

• See the Benefits & Blessing that come in Turning away from Sin

• Remind yourself that despite your failures, your a work in progress, God is not done with you,

• Seek Accountability Partners who will Encourage & Hold you accountable for sin