The Primacy of the Heart

Matthew 15: True and False Faith (3)

Pray Psalm 138.1-3.
I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

Sing Psalm 138.1, 2.
Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory
I will give You thanks and praise You, God of gods, with all my heart. 
I will bow before Your temple, grateful praise to You impart. 
For Your Name and for Your glory, You have magnified Your Word!

Read Matthew 15.1-20; meditate on verses 15-20.

Prepare.
1. What defiles a person?

2. Where do such things originate?

Meditate.
Prompted by Peter, Jesus elaborated on His “food-in/food-out” parable which offended the Pharisees. It turns out He wasn’t really talking about food at all; or, rather, He was talking about food to talk about character. He was blunt: The food you eat goes through the digestive process, and whatever is not used in the body is eliminated. Everybody got that, I’m sure.

Then Jesus peeled back the wrapping of His metaphor. The mouth is a symbol for the whole soul and body of a person (v. 18). It represents our thoughts (the mind), our speech (false witness, blasphemies), and evil works (murders, etc.). And these are not meant to be inclusive, but merely representative. What comes out of the mouth—the soul and body of a person—originates in the heart (v. 18), which is the seat of our affections, and where desire operates to lead us to say and do what we say and do. The heart has the primacy in the soul and thus in the life (cf. Prov. 4.23).

If our heart takes in falsehood – like the transgressive traditions of men – so that we love and honor and cherish such things above all else, they will produce negative fruit in our speech and deeds. 

On the other hand, if we take into our soul and body those Kingdom aspects of mercy, righteousness, meekness, and truth, then these will produce wisdom, and wisdom bears its fruit in good works (Matt. 11.19). It is instructive that Jesus did not complete the parable. He was trying to help His followers understand (v. 16), so naturally He would leave some thinking and concluding to them. 

Stay away from spiritual and moral “junk food.” Seek the pure milk and solid food of the Word of God, and feed on it daily. Then you will bear the kind of fruit that indicates that you really do know Jesus and love Him (Matt. 7.21-23).

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov. 4.23 NIV).
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (NLT).
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (ESV).
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (NKJV).
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (NASB).
“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts” (GNT).

“Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, 
and they defile a man” (Matt. 15.17, 18).

And with this statement Jesus taught a biology, psychology, and theology class simultaneously.
With all roads leading to the heart of the matter: 
“the seat of our affections, where desire operates, leading us to say and do what we say and do.”
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23.7).
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6.21).
“For the LORD does not see as man sees…but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16.7).

Thus, the Scriptures lead us carefully in how to protect this place of primacy in our lives:

“Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119.11).
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51.10).

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, 
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Cor. 10.4, 5).

“If then you were raised with Christ, 
seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God…
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, 
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, 
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3.1-3, 16).

“Thus says the LORD:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?
I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind…” (Jer. 17.5, 9, 10).

Thus He lovingly desires to help us with this heart problem:
“Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I AM the LORD; 
and they shall be My people, 
and I will be their God, 
for they shall return to Me 
with their whole heart” (Jer. 24.7).

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5.8).

Therefore guard, keep, and watch it!

Reflect.
1. How would you explain “guard your heart with all diligence” to a new believer?

2. If we don’t guard our heart, to what do we make it vulnerable? To what can that lead?

3. In your experience, how do your heart and mind work together best?

“Out of the heart,” he said, “come evil thoughts.” Therefore the soul or principle of action is not in the brain according to Plato but in the heart according to Christ. Jerome (347-420), Commentary on Matthew 2.15.19

Pray Psalm 138.3-8.
Make sure your heart is clean before the Lord. Then dedicate your heart for this day to love and serve Him.

Sing Psalm 138.3-8.
Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory
On the day I called You answered, made me bold within my soul. 
When I walk in troubled places, You revive and make me whole. 
For Your hand will gently shield me, and my fearsome foes control. 

All the kings of earth will praise You when Your words of truth they hear; 
of Your ways, of Your great glory, gladly they will shout and cheer. 
For the proud shall not approach You, yet You hold the lowly dear. 

Your Right Hand will save and keep me; all I need You will supply. 
For Your love is everlasting, reaching from beyond the sky. 
You will not forsake or leave me; You will save me when I cry.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.

Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast continues our readings from the book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. Our Crosfigell teaching letter begins a new series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column considers questions all church leaders must address. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.