Ex. 32:1-10, 19-20, 26-28 - 1Now when the people saw
that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the
people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come,
make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses,
the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do
not know what has become of him.” 2And Aaron said to
them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears
of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring
them to me.” 3“So all the people broke off the golden
earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to
Aaron. 4And he received the gold from their hand, and he
fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded
calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that
brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 5So when Aaron
saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a
proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.”
6Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt
offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat
down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
7And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your
people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have
corrupted themselves. 8“They have turned aside quickly out
of the way which I commanded them. They have made
themselves a molded calf, and worshipped it and sacrificed
to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you
out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9And the Lord said to Moses,
“I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked
people! 10“Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath
may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I
will make of you a great nation.”
19So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw
the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and
he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the
foot of the mountain. 20Then he took the calf which they
had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder;
and he scattered it on the water and made the children of
Israel drink it. 26then Moses stood in the entrance of the
camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to
me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together
to him. 27And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of
Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in
and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and
let every man kill his brother, every man his companion,
and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28So the sons of Levi did
according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand
men of the people fell that day.
Num. 25:1-9 - Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove,
and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of
Moab. 2They invited the people to the sacrifices of their
gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
3So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the
Lord was aroused against Israel. 4Then the Lord said to
Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the
offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, that the fierce
anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5So Moses
said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men
who were joined to Baal of Peor.”
6And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and
presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of
Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the
children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the
tabernacle of meeting. 7Now when Phinehas the son of
Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from
among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand;
8and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust
both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman
through her body. So the plague was stopped among the
children of Israel. 9And those who died in the plague were
twenty-four thousand.
We can readily see from these instances (plus many more
that are recorded in the scriptures)...that God takes a dim
view of His people defiling themselves.
A. We see from multiple passages in the New
Testament, as well, that God has not changed His
view towards defilement.
1. Because we are in a different covenant period,
we can understand that God doesn’t work in
the same way that He did in the Old Covenant.
a. Then, He physically destroyed those who
defiled themselves.
1.) Now, we shall reap the same
destruction, but this destruction is
of a spiritual nature and for an
everlasting duration.
Let us take a look at some of the ways that we can defile
ourselves in this present age.
A. We wish to take a close look at the subject and
then we wish to make some personal applications.
1. If these personal applications do not apply to
you, don’t make the application...don’t feel
guilty for something that doesn’t apply to
you.
a. If, on the other hand, you find yourself
reflected in this...REPENT.
I. How relevant is “defilement” in our day and age?
A. In Matt. 15:18-20, Jesus speaks of a person’s
heart harboring evil thoughts and motives.
18“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come
from the heart, and they defile a man. 19“For out of the
heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20“These
are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed
hands does not defile a man.”
1. This passage could not possibly list every
wicked thing that could take refuge in our
hearts, but it is enough to show that a person’s
heart can become defiled.
a. It could become defiled 2000 years ago,
...and it can become defiled today.
1.) It all depends upon what is being
stored in it.
a.) Hatred, bitterness, lust, an
unforgiving spirit, revenge,
deceit and lies, etc.......21st
century kinds of things.
B. Christ clearly lets us understand that all of what
defiles a man comes from within that person (the
heart).
Mark 7:23 - 23“All these evil things come from within
and defile a man.”
1. Does this still apply to mankind today?
a. Have we gotten to the place where we
have deceived ourselves into thinking
that it was just the bad ol’ Jews who
defiled themselves?
1.) Or do we apply defilement just to
people who rape, pillage, and
plunder.
a.) If we could cut you open and
look at your spiritual insides...
what would we find?
C. We are defiled when we allow sinful things to
play out in our lives.
1. These things start in the mind, are incubated
in the heart, and finally burst forth in some
way to defile the sacred Temple of God...our
bodies...His personal dwelling place.
I Cor. 3:17 - 17If anyone defiles the temple of God, God
will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which
temple you are.
a. Whether we are speaking of sexual sin,
or any sin, a principle is involved.
1.) That principle states that God
dwells within us and lives within
our bodies...we need to keep every
part of that body holy.
a.) Our minds, our hearts, our
words, and even our intents.
** Can we defile ourselves today?
1. Certainly.
Does God not care about us defiling ourselves today.
1. It doesn’t look like it from the scripture that we
can read in the New Testament.
II. What happens when we defile ourselves?
A. Our consciences are pricked and guilt arises in our
lives.
1. Seldom can a person defile himself in total
ignorance.
a. Even if we may not know book...chapter..
...and verse...we know that its wrong!
b. As a Christian we should study the
scriptures so that we need not rely only
on our consciences, but if we have
nothing else to go on...we need to heed
our consciences.
I Cor. 8:7 - 7However, there is not in everyone that
knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until
now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their
conscience, being weak, is defiled.
Titus 1:15 - 15To the pure all things are pure, but to those
who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even
their mind and conscience are defiled.
B. Our thoughts and the things that are stored in our
hearts come out in many destructive ways.
1. Even though, just the thoughts will condemn
us, we see the words and the actions.
James 3:6 - 6And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.
The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the
whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is
set on fire by hell.
a. Wicked words are not enough for some...
they will follow those words with actions
that condemn them in the doing.
1. It really doesn’t matter to God...
a person will burn in hell for
unrepentant thoughts, words, and
actions.
1.) Nobody will be allowed into
the everlasting abode of God..
HEAVEN...with their hearts
and souls defiled in any way.
Rev. 3:4 - 4“You have a few names even in Sardis who
have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with
Me in white, for they are worthy.
Rev. 21:27 - 27But there shall by no means enter it
anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but
only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
III. What are some specific things that defile a Christian
today?
A. The many different forms of entertainment.
1. Just as surely as we nail one down by name
the devil will invent five more, and/or rename
the ones we already have.
a. The defilement comes in the heart and
mind....no so much in the name of the
tool of satan.
1.) satan can and does use all of the
worldly media.
a.) Music can defile the heart and
mind (usually with lust).
b.) Television certainly can defile
the mind and heart in multiple
ways (lust, sex, violence, de-
sensitizing self or others to
its wickedness, causing a
person to become a poor
steward of time, etc..)
c.) Videos...entertainment videos..
can and do (in many cases)
function just like a television
set or a movie theater.
d.) Computers can cause a person
to become consumed by them.
A person can see just as much
filth on a computer as they
can in “Playboy” or
“Penthouse”. A person can
gamble...cheat on their mate..
feed greed and covetousness
and a multitude of other
sins.
e.) Magazines can cause lust from
the ads...covetousness...a
waste of time...voyeurism...
and a poor stewardship of
resources.
f.) The movie industry can be
most wicked. They can cover
their wickedness by their own
self imposed ratings. It would
be hard to see a movie today
which doesn’t have sexually
explicit scenes, gratuitous
violence, a mocking of good
and spiritual things and
people, and an agenda which
attempts to sway all who
watch to accept a vile life-
style as the norm.
** I don’t have the time to cover all of the other entertain-
ment media violations.
A. We can seen the potential for wrong in some
sports and we are sure that some are definitely
wrong (fighting, horse racing, etc..)
________________
2.) The media is not the only place
in which a Christian can be defiled.
...We can look to our consumer
world for plenty of defilement.
a.) Children’s toys...if they whine
long enough, they get them...
What ever happened to a
parent saying NO.
b.) American’s favorite pastime...
do you know what it is?
EATING . It doesn’t matter
that Christians may not have
the money for it...It doesn’t
matter that the atmosphere is
far from being acceptable...
WE JUST WANT TO EAT!
c.) What about birthdays and
holidays? There are some
Christians who cannot support
the work of the Lord, but
there is no shortage of gifts
for their family.
CONCLUSION:
I could go on and on, but time would not allow me to
be specific in every way.
A. I only want us to look at ourselves as we might
look at the ancient people of the Bible.
1. We are disgusted with the frequency and
ease in which they defile themselves.
2. We agree that God is justified in how He
dealt with these wicked rebels.
a. How should God deal with those who
profess to be His people today.
1.) Those who run after whatever the
latest thing is...it matters not that
their conscience is burned out and
their family and they are polluted
by the wickedness, the lust, the
greed and covetousness of this
wicked world.
Can we say, “Come, Lord Jesus” and mean it?
A. What if he had come one minute ago...take a
snapshot of your life...would there be something
that you might want to throw out the window or
get out of your heart...BEFORE HE SAW IT?
1. Friend.........HE ALREADY SAW IT.
I’ve got a neat little thing that I use a kind of a rule of
thumb...I ask myself if I would be willing to think it...say
it...do it...look at it...desire it...........as I would stand before
God and the Christians AT THE LORD’S TABLE.......
I believe that we are washed of all our sins at the moment
that we are immersed in the waters of baptism.
A. This doesn’t mean that we can’t sin again...this
doesn’t mean that we can’t become again
entangled in the wickedness of this world.
1. You may have been washed once...but are you
still clean?
a. Or have you been enjoying the sinful
pleasures of this world while professing
the name of Jesus Christ.
