Purge out the old leaven

1 Corinthians 5:6-7

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 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.

In this passage is contained a principle of utmost importance, but of terrible neglect. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. When you are baking a lump of bread, and would like the whole lump to rise, how much leaven is needed? Is it not only a tiny portion? Does not the minuscule amount that is used permeate the whole of the bread? Does not the leaven that is mixed in infiltrate and thoroughly spread throughout all the bread? Only a small portion is needed! And this same truth is of widespread application across all arenas of life. Only a little is needed to influence the whole! And as is the case in this passage, this truth rings more loudly and truly in the area of sin. A little sin corrupts the whole! A little malice in the church corrupts the assembly! A little idolatry, a little fornication, a little covetousness will mar the Christianity of a person, and the purity of a church. We must purge out the old leaven! We must keep the feast, but not with the leavened bread of malice and wickedness, but instead with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

My friend, take warning today of the undeniable veracity of this saying. Its existential reality cannot be disputed. It will hold true, as does the law of sowing and reaping. Just a little will taint and adulterate the whole. A little bitterness will ruin a relationship; a little strife may destroy the strong bonds of friends; a little lust may send a person down the road of immorality and infidelity; just a little sinful and fleshly influence may corrupt a person’s thought life. An indelible mark may be made. Oh, dear friends, do not forget that only a little leaven is required!

Instead of the old leaven, we are commanded to become a new lump. How will we do this? We must take in the things of the Spirit. You and I must yield to the influence of Christ and the Spirit of God. For just as a little leaven leaveneth, so without the leaven we may remain unleavened. Unleavened means pure, unadulterated, unspotted, and unmarred. That is the sort of Christian we should strive to be—an unleavened Christian. Let us be holy, for He is holy. Let us be pure, for He is pure. Let us be untainted by the evil of this world and the corruption of our flesh, for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. He has given Himself as a perfect Lamb without spot and blemish, therefore let us sacrifice ourselves to the Lord, holy and acceptable unto Him. Let us be a pure offering, a sacrifice to God of a sweet smelling savor. Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, a new and holy creature in Christ.

“Dear Lord, we praise you that you have offered yourself as a pure sacrifice unto God, and we pray that we would also be pure and holy for Thee. Help us now to identity and purge out of our lives the old leaven, that we may be an unleavened lump, a holy sacrifice to the Lord. Show us what must be removed, and how we may be a pure vessel for Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”