Inside Out

Faith starts with unmerited love from God for the people of God. From Abraham to us here examining the scriptures, the Almighty God has shown us love, even though we never deserved it. Thus, it does not begin with the right action or purpose; it begins with the divine providence of the Almighty. The Christian doesn’t start by becoming good, but rather accepting the ultimate good of the Almighty God into their heart. Thus, the change happening for the Christ follower happens from the inside and demonstrates this goodness through the right actions and words.

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 15:10–20.

Jesus had to confront the Pharisees about their incessant criticism regarding the habits and practices of His followers. At this point, Jesus addresses their obvious hypocrisy because they have spent all the time looking at the part but have not allowed God’s love to fill their hearts; therefore, they are overly focused on the outward appearance and actions to uphold the outward appearance. In our world, this is similar to focusing on whether someone looks the part and uses the right language rather than actually carrying out the mission of Jesus in our world. How we treat one another, and the people we share the Gospel message matters more to Jesus than utilizing perfect diction and penmanship. Wearing the right clothes, learning the right codes, and making the right moves come from mimicking someone else, but the Holy Spirit wants to use us with new abilities.

The problem with an outside-in approach is that the outside will continue to spoil if the inside is spoiled. No amount of hand washing will clean the inside. Sin has to be dealt with at our core, and Jesus provides the only way to deal with that sin. Do we accept that gift? Do we allow the Holy Spirit to route out all the evil within? Without allowing God to cleanse us from the inside out, our lives will continue to get marred by the results of sin. The Gospel guides us to change how we see the world, not from the perspective of looking perfect, but allowing Christ to be the perfecter of our lives from the Inside Out.