Danger of Yeast
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”
Galatians 5:7-9
Paul writes to the believers that we are set free in Christ. It is in this freedom we must stand firm in and we must not let ourselves get caught up in slavery to sin once again. We do not have to worry about the law when we have been declared free in Christ. In Jesus, the act of circumcision has no value to your spiritual condition. What matters is expressing our faith to others in love. Paul questions who is trying to hinder the Galatians as they remain faithful. He calls upon them to remove the burden that is tempted them to go back. “A little yeast leavens the whole lump”.
When I was in college, I had a pretty cool part-time job at Pizza Machine in Gardena. I worked there for about an year and it was a fun experience! The job was separated into three parts throughout the 8 hour shifts: Prepping, Cooking, and Delivering. The delivery part was enjoyable because you were able to get some rest and extra cash from tips after. Plus you met some interesting people as you delivered pizza to them. The cooking part was also fun because you get to see the pizza you were making develop into a delicious meal. Sometimes, when there was down time, we would try to make new creations for fun.
The hardest part of the shift was prepping. This included cutting the ingredients, prepping, cleaning, etc. Yet the hardest part of prepping was none of that. It was prepping the dough for the pizza. We had to make it manually because that is where the good taste of the pizza came from. There was a large tub that the stirring machine was on top of and in that tub you were to insert the flour, water, and salt. Then you add a small portion of yeast and you begin the machine to stir.
You need the yeast because the yeast is what essentially allows the dough to rise. You don’t add a lot, just like a tablespoon and it makes this large dough that is the size of my upper body. It was also heavy to carry.
It is amazing that a little yeast leavens the whole dough. Yet that is what Paul is trying to address here in his letter to the Galatians. Just a little bit of false teaching will immediately spread and cause havoc in the church. Likewise, we as believers must remove any “little yeast” because while it may seem “little” it can create and cause great harm to our Christian life. What are they?
Feckless Legalism: adding rules or standards to salvation or spiritual condition.
False Doctrine: against what the Bible says.
False Expectations: judging or gossiping about others based on their spiritual condition.
We must remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the freedom we have in His resurrection by removing the yeast in our personal Christian life and within our church.
The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
Proverbs 28:1
Wicked people will always flee when trouble comes but those that are righteous will have the confidence to be bold as a lion. This confidence stems from the hope we have in Christ Jesus. When people seek after the Lord, they have the discernment of what is right and wrong. It is better to be poor yet walk in righteousness rather than rich but walk in wickedness. Those that tempt the righteous into wickedness will fall into their own trap. Mercy is only found in those that confess their sins for when they conceal them, they will not prosper. Continue to walk in righteousness for it will keep us safe rather than falling into a pit.
