Read Matthew 15:10-14
Am I Rooted In God’s Word Or Rooted In The Ways Of Our World?
After Jesus’s encounter with the Pharisees, he said to the multitude, “It’s not what enters the mouth that defiles a person, but what proceeds out of the mouth that defiles them.” Jesus said this because the Pharisees were so concerned about others not washing their hands before eating because they felt it would make one’s “hands unclean,” then when they touched the food it would make the food “unclean. Then if they ate the food, they’d become “spiritually unclean”. Jesus was making sure the people knew that what comes out of the mouth is what makes one unclean because what comes out reveals what your heart really looks like. What you say and do is what makes you unclean.
When the Pharisees heard this, they were highly offended resulting in them to stumble in their hearts. Basically, Jesus revealed what was really in their hearts: evil and sin. In fact, Jesus goes on to say, “Every plant which my heavenly father did not plant shall be rooted up.” Jesus was speaking of the Pharisees because they were not rooted in the word of God but rooted in their traditions. This should cause us to examine ourselves. Are we grounded in God’s word or in the ways of the world? Do we look like Jesus or do we look like the world?
Jesus goes on to say, “Leave the Pharisees alone.” Jesus knew their hearts were hard and it’s difficult to speak to those whose hearts are hard because it results in the person usually attacking you. They don’t care about the truth. Matthew 7:6 says, “Don’t give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to the pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.”
Jesus said, “If a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
I pray that I am grounded in the truth so that when I speak, my words become words that God uses to set people free so they are walking in the saving light rather than into the pit of hell. God, help us all. Help our churches to return to the truth rather than be led by the ways of our world.
