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1 Corinthians 5:6-7 - Problem with Boasting.1 Corinthians 5:6-7 (NIV) Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast - as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.1 Corinthians 5:6-7 (NLT) Your boasting about this is terrible. Don't you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old "yeast" by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. INTRODUCTION As the Hebrews were preparing for their exodus from slavery in Egypt, God told them to prepare bread without yeast because they didn't have time to wait for the dough to rise. And because yeast was also a symbol of sin, they were commanded to sweep all of it out of the house (Exodus 12:15; 13:7). Christ is our Passover lamb, the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Because he has delivered us from the slavery of sin, we should have nothing to do with the sins of the past ("old 'yeast'"). [Life Application SB 2019] Paul was writing to those who wanted to ignore this church problem. They didn't realize that allowing public sin to exist in the church affects all its members. Paul does not expect anyone to be sinless - all believers struggle with sin daily. Instead, he is speaking against those who deliberately sin, feel no guilt, and refuse to repent. This kind of sin cannot be tolerated in the church because it affects others. We have a responsibility to other believers. Yeast makes bread dough rise, and a little bit affects the whole batch. In the same way, blatant sins left uncorrected confuse and divide a congregation. While believers should encourage, pray for, and build up one another, they must also be intolerant of deliberate sin that is allowed to continue unchecked. This jeopardizes the spiritual health of the church. [Life Application SB 2019] COMMENTARY PEARL Too Much Yeast An Amazing Fact: The largest loaf of bread ever baked weighed 3,463 pounds! It was made by Joaquim Goncalves of Brazil in 2008. Talk about a lot of bread! On November 13, 2008, in celebration of Guinness World Records Day, Goncalves and a host of others set out to bake the largest loaf of bread ever recorded. Local papers and other members of the press were there to witness it, as well as an official from Guinness World Records. After baking for an hour-and-a-half, the warm, steamy bread came out and the record was declared. A majority of this bread was sent to various charities in the area. In order to bake a loaf of bread that big, you have to have a lot of yeast! Interestingly, it was this precise thing that Jesus warned His disciples against - too much yeast! In response to the disciples not having enough bread for a journey upon which they were embarking, Jesus took the opportunity to warn them, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod" (Mark 8:15 NRSV). The disciples were utterly perplexed. They thought Jesus was referring to the fact that they did not have enough bread, but He was talking about something entirely different. The purpose of yeast is to cause dough to rise and expand. It literally puffs bread up. This is precisely what the Pharisees did and what their teachings encouraged. They were the definition of puffed up. They tried to magnify everything they did, impressing people with their pious prayers and self-righteous ceremonies. And embracing just a tablespoon of their pride-filled teaching would eventually cause the leavening of a whole life. But Christ's character is altogether different. While man's pride naturally expands, Christ humbles Himself and chooses to become nothing. (See Philippians 2:5-8) And His followers, when beholding Him, will naturally follow His lead. [Moving Mountains by Amazing Facts] LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY 2 Corinthians 10:17 - Boasting the Right Way! https://www.abible.com/devotions/2007/20070809-1205.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/ |