Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 332: Leaven

Good morning, everyone!

I'm not feeling very well today, so this post is going to be short. Today I read 1 Corinthians 5-8, and these are some great chapters. I'm probably going to do a further study and other blog posts on some of the verses. Today, however, I want to focus on just a few verses.

First, remember context: Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, and in this letter, he is rebuking them for allowing immorality in their church, specifically, one of their members has his father's wife. I'm also going to assume at this point that she's also his mother.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 - Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.

We can apply this to our lives. If we hang around with people who do not serve God, especially if they claim they do, if they are our closest friends, and are close enough to us to influence us, we need to back off so that they don't have the opportunity to influence us away from God.

Also, if we allow even one sin in our lives, it can change our entire mind and heart, even turning us away from God. Therefore, we must be vigilant to root out all sin from our lives.

Now, that said, Paul goes on to say this:

1 Corinthians 5:9-11 - I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-not even to eat with such a one.

He goes on to say that God judges those who are outside the church, and that does not fall to those in the church.

So, if someone claims to be a Christian, but doesn't act like it...ever, then that isn't someone you want to associate with. Certainly, pray for them, and don't abandon them completely, but remember Paul's warning. A little leaven leavens the whole dough. Be careful about being influenced by someone like this.

But don't give up talking to people outside the church. If we don't talk to them, how can they possibly hear the good news of Christ and what He has done in our lives.

Now, that said, I want to add my own point: don't beat someone over the head with Bible verses. For example, if you see someone drinking alcohol, don't yell at them that the Bible says not to drink alcohol. Rather, by example, and by your own testimony, show them Christ. Jesus will change their hearts, just as He changed ours. It's only our job to tell people about Him.

And this can be difficult. I have great difficulty with this. But when it comes up in conversation, or makes a natural segue, I will say something. Sometimes people have questions, and sometimes they really don't want to hear anymore.

That's okay. We plant the seed. God reaps the harvest.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow when I read 1 Corinthians 9-11.