<p>15:18<em> But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart, and it is they that defile the man- </em>Mark adds: &ldquo;This He said, thus making all foods clean&rdquo; (Mk. 7:19). Paul really did meditate on every word of his Lord. Thus he says he was&nbsp;<em>persuaded</em>&nbsp;by the Lord Jesus that all foods were clean (Rom. 14:14)- this is how he took the Lord's teaching in Mk. 7:19. Those words&nbsp;<em>lived</em>&nbsp;to Paul, they were as the personal persuasion of his Lord, as if Christ was talking to him personally through the Gospel records. Peter was taught the same lesson (Acts 10:14,15), as was Paul:&nbsp;&quot;I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself&quot; (Rom. 14:14).&nbsp;Earlier, Paul had reasoned that to refuse certain foods was a sign of spiritual weakness (Rom. 14:2).&nbsp;Our attitude to food &quot;does not commend us to God&quot; (1 Cor. 8:8).&nbsp;Most incriminating of all is the warning that apostate Christians would teach men, &quot;to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth&quot; (1 Tim. 4:3).</p>