sin in your heart

[coconut711]

Mar 7:20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Ok so basically this is saying that when you murder, commit adultery, covet, etc it's defiling you b/c it's coming out of your heart. But what I'm confused on is I thought it was a sin to hate someone (commit murder in your heart w/o outwardly doing it), lusting in your heart w/o outwardly doing it and doing other things within your heart. Idk, I feel dumb for not understanding this, but I just want people's opinions. I mean wouldnt those things (things that you commit in your heart, but not OUT of your heart) defile you too? Or am I taking the words out of context/ not understanding it correclty?

 

[faceofbear]

You have to take the context before it. Basically the Pharisees were putting on a religious show. They were acting like their heart was right, they had outward holiness, but their hearts still had hypocrisy in it, which God demands holiness of heart. Read 1 Coritnihans 13:3 and see if it makes any more sense of what your asking. I'd go on but my enter key isn't working and it's making me very angry.... it works on the URL bar but on anything I am typing, i.e. word processor, email, forums, etc. it doesn't....

 

[Skala]

Christ's point is that physical, outward acts of sin aren't the main problem, but rather, fallen men are sinful at their core. Sin has corrupted us not only on the outside, but has penetrated to our core.

So it's our "heart" that is the problem. Evil comes from within - that's why you don't have to necessarily do sinful acts to be a sinner. We are sinful by nature (doctrine of original sin)

The pharisees didn't understand this and were putting on a facade of outward righteousness and holiness. That is why Christ described them as whitewashed tombs: they were beautiful on the outside but inside were full of dead mens' bones.

In other words, sin is not merely an action, it is a condition.

 

[coconut711]

Oh, ok thanks guys for replying; it helped me understand it better