Here are the good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the 15th chapter of Matthew in beginning of verse 1. Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders, for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread? He answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother, and he who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. But you say, Whoever says to his father or mother whatever prophet you might have received from me is a gift to God, then he need not honor his father or mother. Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition, hypocrites. Well did Isaiah prophesy about you saying, These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. When he had called the multitude to himself, he said to them, Here, and understand, not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. Then his disciples came and said to him, Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying, but he answered and said, Every plant which my Heavenly Father is not planted will be uprooted, let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch. Then Peter answered and said to him, Explain this parable to us. So Jesus said, Are you also still without understanding, 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, where out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us pray together, Father, we bless you and praise you for your word, for this word about our hearts and about this chasm which exists between our hearts and our minds, what we know is right and our will is what we ought to do. Father, it is our hearts which require attention, the attention of your spirit, it is our hearts which require the Saviour of the gospel, it is our hearts which require the great physician, the Lord Jesus. So we ask that as we deal with your word you would deal with us, as we wrestle with your word, would you wrestle with us and by your spirit would you take your word, open up our hearts, here's our hearts, drive home to our hearts, the truth of your word, God, give us the courage which we have to have face, the truth about ourselves so that we might be healed for the sake of your name and for our own good do we pray this in Jesus' name, amen, you may be seated. We actually want to spend some time considering this proverb which was read for us earlier. And to which the passage in Matthew which we just read points, the proverb is verse 23 of chapter 4, keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. That could have been the text for the sermon that Jesus preached in Matthew 15. Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it, spring the issues of life, I want to spend some time over the course of several weeks unpacking that particular passage, keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. What is the heart, what does it mean to keep the heart, what does it mean to keep the heart with all diligence those are the kinds of things that we want to talk about. And one of the things you have to ask is why is it that our hearts need attention, what does it mean to keep the heart, what is the heart, what does it mean to keep the heart with all diligence but why is it that our hearts require attention, well our hearts require attention because our hearts are deceitful of all things and desperately wicked and they're passed understanding.
Now I observe this about us somewhat regularly, we come here on Sunday mornings and we're all spit and polished and all cleaned up and we look nice and we do a measure of pretending when we come here on Sunday mornings don't we? But that has to do with externals, that has to do with hand washings, that has to do with conformity to standards and expectations, that has to do with appearances doesn't it? But you know it really does seem to be the case that what is at the heart of the Christian faith, what is the heart issue in the Christian faith, what is the great concern of every real Christian, the heart concern of every real Christian is the heart because the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can understand it? Let me tell you a little story, a little little autobiographical thing here. I got a package about a week and a half ago and in the package was a picture, there are two things in the package, a picture and then a book and the package was sent to me by a friend and this friend actually had been my secretary office manager in our previous congregation up in Richmond, Indiana, Christ Presbyterian Church. So there was a picture and there was a book and the picture was a picture of the home that had been built recently by a couple of folks who had been members of our church there and there's only one word to describe this home and that word is palatial, palatial. This home reminded me immediately of the kind of estate that you would find in the countryside of England, palatial. The architecture was even that kind of architecture, I don't know what kind of architecture that is but I think you know what I'm talking about, imagine the English countryside and imagine driving up to an estate where there is a palatial, a palace-like mansion. Now the other thing that was in the package was this book and the book was a recent publication, a reprint of a work by the English Puritan John Flavet called Keeping the Heart and what was surprising about the book is that it includes an introduction and outline of the book and a study guide for using the book and all three of those things were written by my friend who had been my secretary and office manager. Her second publication, now why am I telling you this, I'm telling you this because I want you to know the effect that opening that package had upon me and the effect of opening that package and looking at the picture was exactly the same as the effect upon opening the cover of that book and seeing the name of my secretary office manager on the title page. Do you know anything about the emotions of Envy? Her second publication and she's not even a pastor, she's not even a teacher on the faculty of a seminary, she doesn't even have a radio program, she doesn't have a TV program, she's a secretary and she got something in print before I did. Envy, do you know anything about the emotions of jealousy and covetousness? Do you know anything about the emotions of even resentment and even deep frustration bordering on anger when the emotions of envy and jealousy and covetousness begin to boil and percolate and like a geyser pop through the surface to your consciousness. Where does all that stuff come from? Where does all of that stuff come from? Now think about think about it. Here I am a Christian. Think about what it means to be a Christian. I am one who has nothing to fear because of what Jesus has done for me. I am one who is forgiven and free. I am one who the God of heaven and earth has adopted and made his son. I am not an orphan, I am a son of the living God and my father has promised me that I will inherit all the fullness of his kingdom and my father has promised that he will so attend to me, will so watch over me that nothing in the end will do me harm. And you know the Heidelberg Catechism when it provides an exposition for that phrase, I believe in God, the Father Almighty reminds us that God attends to us in this way so that not a hair from my head falls from my head without my father knowing it. He so orders all of the steps of my life. He so orchestrates the circumstances of my life that my good is effected and accomplished. The Heidelberg Catechism reminds us that God the Father Almighty is not only able to do this because He possesses all power but He desires to do it because He is my father. I am forgiven and I am a son and I have nothing to fear. Nothing to be afraid of and what is more there is not only the encouragement and comfort which comfort which come from those notions but there is the prospect, there is the assurance, there is the promise, there is the repeated reminder in the scriptures that I have stretched out before me and eternity of blessedness and peace and beauty and delight and joy and wonder the depth and height and breadth of which I can only begin to understand a forever in which my soul will be filled to the full and filled over and over and over again and even if the remaining moments and weeks and months and years of my life should be harder painful they are few compared with the forever of beauty and joy in the presence of Jesus the lover of my soul. That's who I am. My mind knows better but I find in my breast this boiling cauldron of misplaced affections and desires and longings my heart. I find in my breast this boiling cauldron of envy and covetousness and jealousy all of which together are symptoms of an unbelief that is rooted in my heart and it is my heart that needs attention. It is that boiling cauldron of confusion that needs work. The proverbs are addressed to sons. The proverbs are addressed to children read through the first few chapters repeatedly there is that little phrase my son my child it is a father speaking to the next generation seeking to impart to the next generation cautions and admonitions and warnings and encouragement and the father does that for his children because he loves his children and he longs for his children to know life and not death but you know that ultimately it is the father capital F who speaks to his children believers the beloved the objects of his affection his church and this admonition that we're to keep the heart with all diligence is an admonition that comes to us from the father who loves us now again I want to take some time to ask the question what is the heart what does it mean to keep the heart what does it mean to keep the heart with all diligence because it is the heart that requires attention
and you know that you know that your life is a civil war and that the casualties are heavy on both sides but this admonition is here because along with instruction about how to keep the heart this admonition is here because in keeping the heart we spare ourselves enormous grief and difficulty and sadness
and we ensure for ourselves by keeping the heart that some real measure of delight and joy and happiness will be our experience so again I want to talk about this I want to focus for a while on this business of keeping the heart but I do want to put this discussion in this series in a context so I want to deal with some preliminaries before we deal with the passage with the idea with the instruction I want to get the big picture the broad brush strokes on the canvas so that we can deal with this in an appropriate way and the first of the basic considerations is this and I've already alluded to it remember that this admonition this encouragement is given to believers it's given to God's people it's given to Christians they are in view here sons daughters not orphans but children of the living God now that's important for this reason it's important because anything that the scriptures call us to any duty that the scriptures call us to whether it be this duty of keeping the heart or any number of other admonitions that are there in the scriptures whether things proscribed that is prohibited or prescribed that is required any one of those things can very quickly very quickly and very easily become laws and performances by which we seek to secure the favor of God the love of God the mercy of God the approval of God you know what I mean you know how this works think about the things that you try to do I've mentioned this I mentioned this all the time because I need to be reminded of it right I've told you that story that Martin Luther the fellow who came to him after he preached a sermon on justification by faith and he said Martin why do you preach justification by faith alone every week and Martin said because you forget it every week there are certain things we need to be reminded of over and over and over again and this is one of them any duty can very quickly and very easily become a means by which we seek to perform for God and by that performance curry his favor seek to earn his love but you understand don't you as Christians that another has already performed for you you understand don't you that the standards have already been satisfied you understand don't you that the Lord Jesus Christ was born of a woman born under the law and fully satisfied all of the dictates of the law all of the requirements of the law he was your substitute with respect to obedience he did what you will never do and because he did it listen and hear this you don't have to worry about it you don't have to worry about Christ has curried the father's favor Christ has secured the father's favor Christ has performed for you this is not about performance this is a fine line that we want don't for a minute hear me saying that obedience doesn't matter it matters infinitely for lots of reasons but your obedience right now does nothing to increase the father's disposition to love you and delight in you and secure your final well-being Christ has done that Christ has obeyed and because he has obeyed you don't need to perform
there's this story which hunter dockery tells about his son his youngest son and I told you this story and I tell it over and over again because it's so poignant they were watching they were playing a game they were sitting in their living room floor playing scrabble putting words together but the television set was on in the background and there was a PBS show on the television set that had to do with orphanages and foster children and the youngest son was overhearing that television program and while they're reading this game the son stops and he looks at his father and says daddy would you ever kick me out of the family because I did something bad it took his breath away this is his son his son looks at him and says daddy would you ever kick me out of the family would you ever send me to an orphanage because I had done something bad and hunter looked around and then he caught the program and he understood that what he had heard his son what his son had heard is that there are times when foster children behave badly and when they behave badly they get sent back to the orphanage and they no longer know the security and the stability of a father and a mother who loved them and cared for them and preserved them and hunter took his son and his arms and looked in right in the face and said you are my son I am your father you can never do anything to change that
if you're a Christian today you're a Christian forever if you're a son today you're a son forever if you're a daughter today you're a daughter forever and there is nothing you can do that will ever disqualify you so that you are kicked out of the family and sent to an orphanage Christ has performed he has secured the father's favor fully completely forever and the writer of the Proverbs tells us to keep our hearts with all diligence for out of our hearts are the issues of life he is not setting up for us a condition which if satisfied will ensure for us the father's favor that's law that's performance what is true of this admonition is true with every other admonition every other encouragement in the scriptures this is the wisdom of God given to his family that his family might order its corporate life so that its members might order their individual lives for his glory and their gladness remember what I said a couple of weeks ago the law is no longer a judge who the friend who guides us that's why this admonition is here that's why every other admonition is here so that we might be guided so that our lives might be ordered and that leads to the second general observation as with anything that God says this is said for our good for our gladness why does God forbid what he forbids why does God require what he requires why does God demand the things that he demands listen to Proverbs 2 the first few verses listen to these words my son if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you so that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding yes if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures that gives you a little bit of a window into what it means to keep the heart with all diligence but if you do these things if you seek her as silver if you search for her as hidden treasures then you will understand the fear of the Lord you will find the knowledge of God for the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding he stores up sound wisdom for the upright he is a shield to those who walk uprightly he guards the paths of justice he preserves the way of his saints and you will understand righteousness and justice equity and every good path listen to chapter 4 verses 10 to 13 hear my son receive my sayings and the years of your life will be many I have taught you in the way of wisdom I have led you in right paths when you walk your steps will not be hindered when you run you will not stumble take firm hold of instruction do not let it go keep her for she is your life why does God impart wisdom why does God give us his word why does God seek to instruct us certainly for his glory but for your good and for your good and for your good and for your good so that you might know life and not death so that you might know sweetness in your soul and not emptiness so that you might know hope and not despair you know every week every week in our service after every scripture reading virtually every time there is some sort of statement like the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ or the word of the Lord and we have this little liturgical flourish where when the minister says the word of the Lord or the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ the congregation responds and says thanks be to God thanks be to God what would our lives be like if our Bibles were removed from us what would our lives be like if we did not have the instruction given to us in scripture remember listening to a story related about a Puritan minister's name was John Rogers and he preached a sermon on that subject and he asked his congregation in this very dramatic fashion to think about what it would be like if their Bibles were taken away from them and the minister assumed the place of the Lord and he made these impassioned pleas to his people to have regard for what it was they possessed in possessing their Bibles to read their Bibles to saturate themselves in the teaching of scripture to pickle themselves in its tree and John Owen who is arguably the preeminent English Puritan was in the congregation and John Owen was so moved by his own thanklessness for the very possessing of the word of God that after the service he went out to his horse he couldn't get on his horse he was so weakened he threw his arm over the neck of his horse and he says that he wept for 15 minutes a quarter of an hour with deep heaves and signs over his own thanklessness that he possessed the word of God instruction wisdom from a father who loves his children the Bible is given to us so that we might know life and not death its instruction is there so that our lives might be ordered so that we might possess gladness not disappointment so the first thing to remember is that this admonition is there not so that we might perform and seek to curry God's favor Christ has already done that we come to these admonitions in the first place understanding that we're forgiven and free and then we come to these admonitions secondly understanding that God gives them to us because they're good for us and then there's a third thing thinking about the heart and the centrality of the heart thinking about the fact that the heart is the heart of the issue explains why God does what he does in our lives aren't you sometimes mystified aren't you sometimes mystified by the things that God does in your life aren't you mystified by the upheavals by the tumult by the turmoil aren't you mystified by the difficulties aren't you mystified sometimes that there are those experiences in your life where God does seem to open up your heart and give you a quick little glance into that boiling cauldron of confusion and chaos aren't you sometimes overwhelmed by some of the things that you do
and by the things that are repeatedly done why doesn't God protect me from myself why doesn't God protect me from these things why doesn't God build a hedge about me and keep me safe and secure I think you probably know the answer to that listen if the heart is made for wisdom if the heart is made for righteousness and if the heart is made to know and love and delight in God above every other thing and if the heart is never satisfied with anything less than wisdom and righteousness and to know and love and delight in God but if the heart is confused and twisted and bent out of shape and a boiling cauldron of mixed motives and desires and affections and if the heart is the place where the cancer is rooted would it be the loving thing for God to leave me alone and not through the difficult circumstances of my life through the tumults through the hardships through the pains through those periodic exposures to the deep corrupt corruptions of my soul
would it be good if God didn't do those things knowing that my heart is so easily and so quickly attached to selfishness and to the things of this world and isn't it because my heart is so much in need of correction and surgery that God forces me to deal with my heart the heart is like a garden
it grows weeds easily the heart is like a musical instrument a piano or a violin you can have it tuned perfectly one moment and then some sudden slight change in temperature or humidity or some slight movement of the instrument causes the instrument to go out of tune that's what our hearts are like and God knows that and God does what he does in our lives so that we will deal with our hearts so that we will face our hearts as we make our way through this keeping these things in mind that this is not about performance keeping in mind that this is the wisdom of God given to us so that we might know life and not death keeping in mind that it is because of the corruptions in our hearts that God does what he does in the circumstances of our lives keeping all of that in mind this is the question that we'll want to be wrestling with the question is not what do I believe the question is not what do I think the question is not do I have my theological teas crossed and my theological eyes dotted the question is not can I articulate the system of doctrine taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the larger and shorter Catechism that's not the issue the issue is not what I do I don't care whether you wash your hands before you eat dinner I don't care whether you keep the inside of the cup clean I don't care what your performance is that's not the question the question is what do I love what do I long for what have I attached my heart to the truest indication of our condition is our hearts what we love what we long for and the love it because God longs to be glorified and because God longs for you to be satisfied he summons us to deal with our hearts with our hearts and so ask yourselves as a first question as a first step in moving forward in this very difficult Christian life ask yourselves in the first place what is going on in my heart let us pray together
Father there is so much for you to overcome in the way of resistance there is so much for you to overcome in the way of lethargy and apathy but because you love us we trust you that by your spirit you will come to your people and by your spirit enable us not only today not only maybe in the few minutes following the service but throughout the days and weeks and years of our lives we trust you that you will enable us to deal with our hearts oh God help us again so that you might be glorified and we might be glad we pray in Jesus name oh man