What you say and do really matters.

Mark 7:14-15 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear, "All of you listen," he said, "and try to understand. You are not defiled by what you eat, you are defiled by what you say and do."

Jesus makes it very clear that what we say and do does matter to God. Many have the idea that grace will somehow keep us right with God regardless of how we talk or act. It’s simply not true. What we do and say can, and does, defile the soul. We need to take a deeper look at our lives and quit rationalizing our behavior and talk because we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and are now living in grace.

We dare not gloss over this. Grace never has, and never will, give us a license to sin. Paul makes that very clear in the book of Romans. A careful reading of Romans will dispel any idea that we may have that our sins do not matter since we are saved.

Consider for a few moments how you talk. If you are a gossip, talk people down, pass on raunchy jokes, use the Lord’s name loosely, curse, berate others, lie, etc., your heart is defiled. You are not right with God and need to repent.

Consider what you do. Do you participate in unholy things? If you would be uncomfortable being somewhere or doing something knowing that Jesus would be physically right beside you, you are defiled and need to repent. Never forget, even though Jesus is no longer physically on earth, He is spiritually with us. Jesus said, "I will never leave you, or forsake you." This means that we, as His children, cannot go anywhere without Him being with us. He does not stay behind when we want to go somewhere where we know He would not go.

Examine your life today. Do the things you do and say defile you? If so, you need to repent now while you can and change your ways. Only the pure in heart will see God.