An Oft-Perverted Lesson
By W. N. G.
“God is a Spirit” (John 4 : 24), and His Son Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Ghost (Matt. 1 : 18, 20). At His baptism He was anointed with the Spirit of God (chapter 3 : 16), “and it abode upon Him” (John 1 : 32). He was full of the Spirit, was led by it (Luke 4 : 1), and spoke by it (verse 18). Therefore we conclude that the lessons which He taught were spiritual, tho earthly, fleshly, tangible things were used as illustrations. Men are so prone to catch at some words of Christ that will sanction their carnal lusts, that they often lose sight of the precious lessons that He would teach for their spiritual good. For instance, we are confronted with Matt. 15 : 11 as a pretext for eating and drinking any and everything that depraved appetite may demand. The text reads, “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” The Pharisees were offended at this, because it was said in answer to their complaint that the disciples of Jesus ate without the traditional ceremony of frequent washing of the hands. It was the ceremonial defilement about which they were concerned. See Mark 7 : 1-8. There was no question as to what was proper food; they were all Jews. To eat food without their unnecessary traditional hand-washing was no defilement. The language of Christ conveys a spiritual lesson, and nothing more: “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For 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 defileth not a man.” Here we have the drift of the whole controversy, and the lesson, and only the sheerest perversion of Scripture can make anything else out of it.