A Little Leaven

“You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn’t come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don’t toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread.” – Galatians 5:7-9 (MSG)

Think about this for a moment: 99% of food containing 1% of poison can kill a grown man. 

Like that 1% of poison, a minute amount of yeast – a little leaven – is deadly! Leaven, in Scripture, is used in most instances to symbolize the effects of sin, and even though some verses speak of a little leaven or yeast, that does not mean that there are varying degrees of sin, no, sin is sin and must never be quantified. Apostle Paul was trying to get an important point across to the Galatians at that time, and also to us today. It was important for them then and equally important for us now, to understand that just as a little leaven causes all the dough to rise, so too a mere speck of sin is enough to permeate an entire person, household, community, nation and church. 

When sinful behaviour, even in “small” amounts, is permitted, disregarded, or ignored, its results will be the same as leaven’s effect on dough. Jesus, in Matthew 13:33, helps us to further understand this effect that leaven has, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.” My friends, the effects of a little leaven cannot be stressed enough, and we must not discount its power. 

Satan, and his advocates, have a way of convincing people that it’s just a little sin so there’s nothing wrong with that. But Galatians 5:9 uses the word “permeate” to describe the consequences of a little leaven, a little sin. Do you truly understand what that means? Permeate is to spread or flow throughout, to penetrate through the pores, to get into every part, to saturate, infiltrate, seep into…are you getting the picture? Left to do its thing, sin, like leaven, will spread and spread quickly throughout its host; seeping into every crevice, nook and cranny; hastily getting out of control like flood water or a raging wild fire. And all this happens unseen. 

According to Paul, all it takes is a simple deflection from the true course of obedience – a minor detour from your spiritual path, a casual stumble out of the will of God – it’s as “simple” as that. 

But the news isn’t all bad because we serve a God who never leaves His people without hope. His Word assures us that He has already made a way for us to get back on course (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). God has provided a solution to our little leaven problem – Repentance! 

Repenting is the very first step towards removing the leaven. You’re probably saying, “But we all sin and fall short of God’s glory though”, and that’s the Truth, but you have a choice to continue to run along in sin, or turn in the opposite direction, so that you can get back in the race mapped out for you by God Himself, running superbly with Spirit as your running mate and this time, side-stepping anyone who tries to cut in on you.

Amen†

A Little Leaven

Shelley Johnson July 19, 2017