Leaven

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

We have indeed been called out to be a separate people…to come out from amongst them

To forsake and leave behind our former ways in order to embrace the new way....to walk the path that God has set before us free of hypocrisy and sin.

Leaven, in the bible, has been looked at in many different ways and many different interpretations.

Many have their own idea of what it means and they would probably be correct ?

I believe that when the bible is talking about leaven, it is referring to the properties and effects of leaven rather than in the strict sense of leaven.

A little bit of leavening agent put into something leavens the whole lump..meaning it effects the whole lump…It changes the whole.

Galatians 5:1 KJV 1900

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

This liberty we have been given is the liberation from sin…we have been set free from the bondage of it.

1 Corinthians 15:53–58 KJV 1900

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

To be liberated from something is to free, release, liberate, emancipate, mean to set loose from restraint or constraint.

We have been set free from sin and the penalty of it....We therefor live no longer under the law of sin....but under Gods laws.

Galatians 5:7–9 KJV 1900

Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

This therefor is the explanation of what leaven does....a little bit affects the whole....and it only takes a little bit to alter the whole lump

The process of allowing a little sin or a little evil in our lives can have enormous effects.

The interjection of something seemingly harmless or very small can and will effect a person profoundly.

In other words: a little false teaching, a little sin, a little hypocrisy....not serving God in purity…a little world mixed with a little God.

This is the way of our adversary....if we except the small compromises, they will indeed take up residency within us.

The says that we must be hot or cold....nothing in between will do.

when we consider something that is against the laws of God we have already given way in our hearts to compromise.

Leaven as Teaching

In the book of Matthew Jesus told his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, but his disciples did not really understand what he was saying

They thought he was referring to the fact that they had not taken any bread with them

Jesus perceived their thoughts and told them this:

Matthew 16:11–12 KJV 1900

How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

when we see leaven used in this context we see that it is referring to the actual doctrine or teaching.

We see that there was something wrong with the Scribes and Pharisees teachings and perhaps to their adherence to that teaching.

Matthew 23:27 KJV 1900

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

The scribes and pharisees appeared one way on the outside…but on the inside where completely different.

They professed one thing but lived another.

The Teacher’s Bible Commentary The Last Conflicts with the Leaders in Jerusalem (Matt. 22:1–23:39)

The greatest danger of religious leaders and institutions is hypocrisy. They appear white on the outside, like tombs, but inside are rotting bones.

There is perhaps an unseen lesson to be learned here...

Jesus indeed spoke of the scribes and pharisees..but the warning was not just to them, but to believers as well

that our beliefs and behaviors must be in alignment

What we profess with our mouths must be evident on the outside in our actions and behaviors

This is why the bible says that faith without works is dead being alone.

Its not a question of whether works will save us....but rather, our works is the evidence of what is truly in our hearts.

These actions and behaviors are a reflection of who we are.

If these actions don't line up with what we profess..it would be called Hypocrisy.

A person cannot just be partly hypocritical or partially a sinner.

We find out that what Jesus was talking about was this very thing.

Luke 12:1 KJV 1900

In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

leaven, in this instance, is understood as false teaching....but much more specific than that, it is referring to Hypocrisy....professing one thing and doing another.

What is this dreaded leaven of the Pharisees? In a word, it is the leaven of hypocrisy. It is the leaven of a false kind of righteousness. It is the leaven of deception, a masquerade of righteousness that is a substitute for the real thing.

R. C. Sproul

hypocrisy:

a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not : behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel

the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion

feigning means: to give a false appearance of : induce as a false impression

We must be so careful to not let our profession be one thing and our actions be another.

Let us not honor him with our mouths but not with our lives

The first group of parables in Matthew 13 tell us about the enemy amongst us..that enemy that serves to create discord and doubt amongst the brethren.

The enemy that seeks to pull away all that he can through compromise, through planting doubt and through the allowing of sin.....Just A Little and through the cares of this life meaning: compromises made because of pressures of this world.

Proverbs 24:30–33 KJV 1900

I went by the field of the slothful, And by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, And nettles had covered the face thereof, And the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep:

When we don’t consider the things we allow in our lives…it’s like falling asleep

not understanding the impact of the things we allow…

We tell ourselves that just a little bit doesn’t matter or can be ignored.

Rather than trying to understand the things of God…men choose rather to turn and walk away....

because of this....the bible says that the hearts of men have waxed gross

They have become dull of hearing and void of understanding.

Leaven In The Kingdom

The second part of the discourse in matthew 13 on the parables, God begins to change the narrative to the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed:

though the seed was small (like a little leaven) it became a mighty tree

The kingdom of God is like unto leaven:

Leaven hid in a measure of meal

This can be understood in two different ways...

Leaven as far as Hypocrisy in the church eventually affecting the whole body.

Or as the word of God hid in our hearts..a case can be made for both.

Prior to this passage…It is talking about the enemy within…the tares

The Teacher’s Bible Commentary

Though the leaven is very small in relation to the three measures of meal, it will eventually leaven the whole lump by working from within.

We see This scripture in psalm that says:

Psalm 119:11 KJV 1900

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.

when we hide or embrace the word of God in our hearts....it begins to affect our entire life from the inside out.

And this in turn, through the planting of the seed of the word of God , will begin to work in the hearts of those round about us (similar to a grain of mustard seed, starts out small but grown mightily.

Leaven of Malice and Wickedness

1 Corinthians 5:7–8 KJV 1900

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Malice and Wickedness are very similar in meaning.....

Committing or engaging in things that are morally bad or mischievous.

The bible says that we must be Holy as he is Holy.

restating that the outside must reflect the inside....if the inside is pure then the outside will reflect purity and Holiness.

This refers to the fact that if we allow even a little bit of malice or wickedness in our lives it can and will affect the whole of our lives and walk with God.

But if we rather, choose the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (which is the opposite of Hypocrisy), our lives will indeed reflect that and growth can begin to take place.

Which in turn creates a more accurate reflection of whats in our hearts and of our God.

Hosea 7:1–4 KJV 1900

When I would have healed Israel, Then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: For they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, And the troop of robbers spoileth without. And they consider not in their hearts That I remember all their wickedness: Now their own doings have beset them about; They are before my face. They make the king glad with their wickedness, And the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, Who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

The word adulterer means:

alteration (conformed to Latin adulter) of Middle English advowtrer, avowtrer, advouterer, avouterer, from avouter, avowtier "adulterer" (borrowed from Anglo-French avuiltre, avouter, going back to Latin adulter, noun derivative of adulterāre "to commit adultery with, to pollute or to adulterate

This is referring to the act of polluting or to adulterate

To pollute means:

to make ceremonially or morally impure : defile

Adulterate means:

to corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior substance or element

especially : to prepare for sale by replacing more valuable with less valuable or inert ingredients

Inert would indicate a person that is not engaged in the things of God....a person idle or inactive in his pursuit of Holiness or his desire to be complete in submission.

Allowing the cares of life to supersede or interfere with the things of God in his life

though leaven can be used in a variety of different contexts…it is most generally used in a negative manner.

In Paul’s world, when people spoke of leaven in a metaphorical sense it was almost always a way of talking about a bad influence corrupting something that would otherwise be pure.

N. T. Wright

This is indeed the work of our adversary....to take what is pure and holy unto God, and to corrupt it with compromise

With unholy things mingled in with Holy things…To make the pure, impure.

Hypocrisy is similar to the “Boy who cried wolf”....

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

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There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"

The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces.

"Don't cry 'wolf', shepherd boy," said the villagers, "when there's no wolf!" They went grumbling back down the hill.

Later, the boy sang out again, "Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!" To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away.

When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, "Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don't cry 'wolf' when there is NO wolf!"

But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more.

Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, "Wolf! Wolf!"

But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn't come.

At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn't returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.

"There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, "Wolf!" Why didn't you come?"

An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village.

"We'll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the youth, "Nobody believes a liar...even when he is telling the truth!"

If we allow it in our lives long enough, no one will believe you....

As well as having the opposite affect....instead of turning someone to God, we actually turn them away.

1) leavened material along with honey would be prone to ferment and decay and thus would change the nature of the offering,98 and (2) leaven and honey were used in pagan worship practices in the ancient Near East, so they were prohibited in the Israelite religion.

Mark F. Rooker

The children of Israel where forbidden to use leaven in anything that was a offering by fire to the Lord.

Leaven in our lives (sin and Hypocrisy) will have the same affect to us as it does naturally...

It will eventually cause decay in our spiritual lives to the point that it loses its effectiveness...

With this sin and hypocrisy....we see the appearance of two masters...

We can only serve ONE.

1 Peter 2:1–5 KJV 1900

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

The bible goes on to tell us who we are in Christ.

1 Peter 2:9–10 KJV 1900

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

We must hide the word of God in our hearts and allow it to permeate throughout our lives

To allow it to take root in purity and Holiness unto God and to be a perfect example to others in truth and sincerity.

The question them comes…Are we Christians

we might say that yes, I am trying to be a Christian....

this is a misunderstanding of what it is to be a Christian...

Being a Christian starts in our hearts and minds with the determination and acknowledgement that we ARE Christians…not that we are trying.

If we start with this premise we have missed the mark....

The more accurate response should be: Yes, I am a Christian and am working through the process of perfection in the spirit to become a true example of the believer....a more accurate reflection of God

By default: if we say we are trying to be a Christian we have, in essence, justified our actions…good or bad.