The Lord goes on to speak of covetousness. Paul tells us that he could overcome other things, but he could not overcome covetousness (Rom. 7:7-8). He could keep all of the Ten Commandments except the commandment concerning covetousness. “For I had not known coveting except the law had said, You shall not covet. But sin, taking occasion through the commandment, wrought in me coveting of every kind” (Rom. 7:7-8). The reason Paul could not fulfill the commandment about covetousness is that this commandment is related to man’s inward condition, whereas the other commandments are concerned with outward conduct. Covetousness, like the other evil things mentioned by the Lord, proceeds out of the corruption of man’s heart.
In 7:22 the Lord goes on to speak of wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, a wicked eye, blasphemy, arrogance, and foolishness. The Greek word rendered “deceit” may also be translated “guile.”
Fornication, adultery, and licentiousness are of one category. We have pointed out the difference between adultery and fornication. Those who indulge either in fornication or in adultery are licentious persons. The Lord certainly knows man’s actual situation. This is the reason He uses these particular words.
We may wonder what a wicked eye has to do with our heart. It may seem that the eye cannot be in the heart. However, if we consider this matter, we shall see that sometimes in our heart we may have a wicked eye. According to the Lord’s word, a wicked eye is something that proceeds out from our heart.
In verse 22, a wicked eye is followed by blasphemy. A wicked eye is toward other persons, but blasphemy is mainly directed toward God.
The last two items mentioned by the Lord are arrogance and foolishness. Arrogance is even stronger than pride. Foolishness here denotes nonsense. Much of what proceeds out of our heart is foolishness, nonsense.
In 7:21 and 22 the Lord lists thirteen items. Paul gives a much longer list in his description of fallen mankind in chapter one of Romans. But the thirteen items listed by the Lord are sufficient to describe the actual condition and situation of the heart of fallen man. We need to realize that all these things are still in our old, corrupted heart. The condition of our heart is that described by the Lord in Mark 7.
When I was young, I loved the Gospel of John because it is a book on life. According to John 10:10, the Lord Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly. In the Gospel of Mark we may not find the word “life,” but in this book we have life in actuality, if not in terminology. For example, the seed in Mark 4 implies life. The Lord came to sow the seed of the kingdom. For Him to sow the seed means that He imparts life. The sowing of the seed is the imparting of life. What we have in Mark, therefore, is a record concerning life written in a practical way.
In chapter seven Mark does not simply tell us that man’s heart is evil. To talk like that would be to speak in a doctrinal way. What Mark does is record the word of the Lord Jesus concerning what comes out of our heart. This is to deal with the heart in a practical way. From this we see that Mark is not a book on doctrine; instead, Mark is a book on practicality, on actuality.
In chapter seven of the Gospel of Mark the Lord purposely lists the evil things that come out of our heart. None of us is an exception. Chapter seven is outstanding in that it touches man’s inward condition.
In His gospel service the Slave-Savior took the opportunity afforded Him by the opposers to expose, analyze, and diagnose man’s inward condition. In 7:21 and 22 we have the diagnosis of the condition of our heart. Every human being has a heart problem, and the Lord’s diagnosis of the condition of man’s heart applies to each one of us.
Concluding His diagnosis of man’s heart, in 7:23 the Lord says, “All these wicked things proceed from within, and they defile a man.” The wicked things that proceed from within are the evil issues of man’s fallen and sinful nature (Rom. 7:18). Not only are wicked things in our heart; these things proceed out from within us. This means that there is a procession of wicked things out from the heart of man, a procession that is defiling.
When worldly people come back to work after the weekend, they often speak about the evil things they have been indulging in. Their conversation is a procession of evil things from within their heart. They may be educated and well-mannered, but from within their heart and out of their mouth comes a procession of evil, defiling things.
The Lord’s gospel is able to deal with the condition of man’s heart. In chapter seven, however, we have only the diagnosis; we do not yet have the dealing with the heart in a positive way. In this chapter the Lord opens our heart, exposes it, and then seems to leave us on the “operating table.” But chapter seven is not the end of the book. In the remaining chapters of the Gospel of Mark we shall see how the Lord is the “heart expert” who knows man’s heart and how He takes care of the condition of man’s heart.
The picture portrayed in chapter seven is very different from the pictures in the preceding chapters. Before chapter seven, we have pictures of society, of the world. But in chapter seven we have a picture of our inward condition, a picture of the inward situation of our heart.