Sunday Sermon - Matthew 15:1-16

On Sunday yesterday at church, Pastor Chiu gave a sermon on the passage Matthew 15:1-16 in which Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy for stipulating that cleanliness was a matter of adherence to the Jewish regulations and customs when they had broken the commandment of God as a result. “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them” (Matthew 15:11) says Jesus.

Pastor Chiu talked about how all human beings are in bondage to sin, which was the result of the fall of Man at the garden of Eden.  Therefore, all human beings come into the world imperfect, bounded by the condition of original sin. Even children are not innocent. Pastor Chiu talked about signs of manipulative behaviors in his children even at a young age, such as when he tells them not to play the computer, they would approach their mother to get permission to try to circumvent his authority.

Pastor Chiu says that as Christians who have received the faith, we have a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26). However, we still experience evil thoughts as a result of the old heart that remains in us. Pastor Chiu says that a Christian life is a struggle between the old heart and the new heart. The old heart is the vestige of our mortal imperfect self that possess the remnant of original sin, whilst the new heart comes from being saved through our faith in the salvation of Jesus Christ. I am not sure what to make of this two hearts doctrine that is spoken by Pastor Chiu. I suppose it explains why Christians are not immune from having evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19). Paul’s famous words in Roman 7:14 – 20 does talk about how those in the faith can still be disposed to the temptation to sin. I have not heard though of the use of the metaphor of having two hearts to explain the reason why Christians can have evil thoughts. After all, in Ezekiel 36:24, didn’t God remove the old heart of stone before putting in the new heart of flesh?

Pastor Chiu continued, that all are born sinners, but when you trust in him, you become saved. However, we did not choose God, but God chose us (John 15:16). Ultimately, we cannot overcome our inclination to sin, except through God. Pastor Chiu points out that the fact that we were in church that Sunday instead of somewhere else is the work of God. It was a nice message to hear, and it was a message that spoke to me in some personal way. That morning, I had the thought that I would skip on going to church so that I could catch up on law school readings. I mean, I have been quite a faithful and regular attender of church on Sundays, so I don’t really know why I had such a passing thought in my head that particular morning. I suppose I have been disappointed at God these days over my poor law school results last semester, such that sometimes I have the feeling that God doesn’t exist or will not help me in law school. Nevertheless, I decided to go to church that day. So it’s a nice message from Pastor Chiu that God had a will for me to be in church that morning because I could very well have decided otherwise.