What Defiles A Person?

A SHOCKING TRUTH THAT CUTS TO THE BONE

Let me say it plain.

Most people sitting in pews today are trying to cover up a dead heart with clean hands.

They've learned the language. They know the rules. They bow their heads at the right time. But if you cracked open their chest—if God exposed the depths of their soul—you’d see it: rot, pride, lust, and bitterness masquerading as religion.

And Jesus isn’t fooled.

Matthew 15:10–11:

“Hear and understand: It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

That statement? It was a spiritual bombshell.
He said it in front of Pharisees. In front of disciples. In front of the crowds.

It was a punch to the religious gut of Israel.

Because Jesus didn’t come to tweak religion—He came to burn it down and resurrect something better: a new heart.

CLEAN HANDS, CORRUPT HEARTS

The Pharisees were masters of performance.

They had rules for everything: how to wash, when to fast, how to tithe, how far you could walk on the Sabbath. You could be outwardly perfect—and inwardly hell-bound.

Jesus quoted Isaiah to them (Isaiah 29:13):

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
—Matthew 15:8

He wasn’t being poetic. He was indicting them.

Let’s not sanitize it. Jesus didn’t come with soft words and gentle winks. He came with a sword.

“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
—Matthew 12:34

You can dress up a corpse, put it in a suit, apply the cologne—and it’s still dead.

You can dress up your religion, post your verses, wear your cross necklace—and still be spiritually defiled.

WHAT'S REALLY IN YOUR HEART?

Jesus said:

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander…”
—Matthew 15:19

That’s not a random list. That’s a mirror. That’s an inventory of hell’s workshop inside of you.

Let me ask you directly:

• Have you gossiped about someone behind their back?

• Have you fantasized about what’s not yours?

• Have you smiled in public but secretly cursed a brother?

• Have you defended your reputation but never grieved over your rebellion?

Then don’t play games with God. You are not "struggling." You are defiled.

And no amount of church services or praise songs will clean you up—until you get honest about your heart.

CHURCH HISTORY’S WARNING: A DEFILED CHURCH IS A DEAD CHURCH

Let’s leave the soft devotionals behind and step into the fire of Church history.

In the medieval Church, the Roman hierarchy preached righteousness by ritual. You were saved through relics. You were holy by ceremony. You could buy indulgences to clean your soul.

But the people were still chained to sin, still addicted to power, still blind to truth.

And then came fire.

A German monk—Martin Luther—saw the truth in Scripture. That righteousness doesn’t come through robes or rituals—but by faith and heart transformation.

He lit the fuse on the Reformation with five explosive words:

“The just shall live by faith.”

Not by tradition.
Not by handwashing.
Not by performance.

By faith in Christ alone—the only One who can reach inside and burn the filth out of you.

YOUR TONGUE IS TELLING ON YOU

Want to know the state of your heart?

Just open your mouth.

Jesus said it clearly:

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

You don’t need a spiritual X-ray. Just listen to yourself.

• When pressure hits—do you curse or cry out to God?

• When you’re offended—do you slander or show mercy?

• When someone succeeds—do you envy or rejoice?

What flows out when you're shaken reveals what’s been stored up inside.

Your mouth is a pipeline to your soul.

And some of us have sewage flowing through it.

STOP TRYING TO WASH WHAT GOD WANTS TO BURN

You cannot scrub sin off with soap.

You cannot drown it in religion.

The Jews thought handwashing was holiness.

Jesus said, “You missed the point. You cleaned the outside, but the inside is full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25)

He told them plainly:

“Woe to you… hypocrites!”

Let me say it: if your Christianity is all exterior and no interior—it’s a lie.

• You don’t need new habits. You need a new heart.

• You don’t need better behavior. You need regeneration.

• You don’t need a therapist. You need the Holy Ghost and fire.

This is not about becoming a better version of you. This is about the old you dying, and the new man rising with Christ.

THE GOSPEL IS A GUILLOTINE

We have domesticated the gospel. Turned it into therapy. Softened its edges. But Jesus didn’t come to give you self-esteem. He came to slay the flesh.

And His words in Matthew 15 cut deep.

He wasn’t offering self-help. He was bringing judgment.

And the only way to survive is to repent.

The gospel isn’t a band-aid. It’s a guillotine for the old man.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
—Matthew 16:24

The cross is not decorative—it’s executive.

If you’ve never had your pride crucified…

If your sin hasn’t been exposed and burned by the Spirit…

Then you haven’t encountered the real Jesus.

THE BLOOD THAT CLEANS DEEP

The good news is this: there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins.

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose ALL their guilty stains.

Not just the surface. Not just the habits. Not just the reputation.

But the heart.

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
—Isaiah 1:18

Only the blood of Christ can reach into the deepest corners of your corruption and purify you from the inside out.

Rituals can’t do it.
Reputation can’t do it.
Religious effort can’t do it.

Only Jesus can.

THE WAKE-UP CALL: ARE YOU DEFILING YOURSELF DAILY?

Don’t look to the world and shake your head.

Don’t look to the culture and scoff.

Look in the mirror.

How do you speak in secret?

What do you dwell on in the silence?

What flows out when no one is watching?

Because that is who you really are.

Don’t fear the culture’s darkness if you’re not fighting your own.

“Let judgment begin at the house of God.”
—1 Peter 4:17

God is not playing. And neither should you.

KILL SIN OR IT WILL KILL YOU

How do we respond?

• Repent—Don’t apologize for sin. Confess and forsake it.

• Guard your heart—Because it’s the wellspring of life.

• Watch your mouth—Because it reveals your soul.

• Cling to Christ—Because only He can cleanse the defiled.

• Fear God—Because the One who sees in secret will judge openly.

You are either being purified or polluted—there is no neutral.

A CHURCH ON FIRE OR A CHURCH OF FAKES

We don’t need more “relevant” churches. We need repentant ones.

We don’t need more sermons that tickle ears. We need sermons that slice hearts.

We don’t need sanitized Christians. We need sanctified ones.

The question today is not: "Do you go to church?"
The question is: "Has Christ gutted the sin in your heart and replaced it with His Spirit?"

Because the day is coming, beloved, when every mouth will be silenced and only those cleansed by the Lamb will stand.

CLOSING PRAYER

O Lord God Almighty—burn away our religion. Rip through our facades. Expose the darkness we’ve hidden.

We confess: we are defiled.

Our mouths have cursed.
Our hearts have wandered.
Our eyes have lusted.
Our pride has festered.

And we come with nothing but desperation.

Wash us in the blood.
Crush us and make us new.
Make us holy, not just in image—but in truth.

Raise up a church not obsessed with the outside—but obsessed with You.

In the purifying name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

FINAL CHALLENGE

Stop playing. Start repenting.

Stop cleaning what Jesus wants to crucify.

If you’ve got words that wound…
Thoughts that burn…
Habits that rot…
Then today is the day of confrontation.

Christ isn’t interested in cleaned-up corpses.
He’s calling for resurrected lives.

So fall down…
Weep…
Repent…
Be washed…

And rise up pure, bold, and on fire.

Because what defiles a person isn’t what goes in—but what’s been hiding inside all along.

Let Jesus clean you where it counts.

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