Internal Affairs

Internal Affairs

Today's Three-minute Bible Study
Print, Study and Apply
Title: Internal Affairs ------------------- Date: 1/29/2002
Keywords: "external" "internal"
Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation.

Passage: Matthew 15:17-18*

17. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?

18. But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean'."

Questions

1. Why does Jesus make the distinction between internal and external evils?

2. How can his message help you avoid Web porn?

Practical help

How could movies about corrupt cops succeed without the Internal Affairs Departments? These heavies try to cut out the rot in the force, driving the plot forward.

If Christians had an IAD of the heart, the plot of our struggles against Web porn might not remain stuck in failure. Jesus pointed the way in Matthew 15:17-18. Focus your attention, he said, on the interior life, not the external trappings of holiness. But what do we do? Scramble to tidy up the external signs of failure, such as porn e-mails and bookmarks.

The real work begins inside. Let's spend more time figuring out why Web porn appeals to us and less on the (still admirable) goal of cleaning up our browsers. Root out the evil that comes from within, and the externals may take care of themselves.

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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLEŽ, Š Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."