Make Mine Unleavened

1 Cor 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Leviticus 23:4 'These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.

In order to correctly grasp the gravity of what Paul is expressing about sin, you have to understand what the Bible declares about leaven. Leaven is a seemingly innocuous, yet critical ingredient in bread-making. What does leaven have to do with sin? Well, nothing really, except in the typical Biblical fashion of colorful illustration.

You see, leaven is a “type” of sin, a representation of sin we can understand. (Leprosy is another “type” for sin spoken of in God’s Word.)

God wants everyone to understand the critical and often unseen, (until it is too late,) effects of sin - and so He employs leaven to illustrate the point in a way everyone, regardless of age, or education, or culture can fully comprehend.

The point Paul is making is the same point God makes. Keep the leaven out of the church – and out of your personal lives as well. Leaven is an insidious unseen ingredient that brings about decomposition and causes a complete change in the molecular make-up of the bread, which is visibly apparent to anyone who looks on. When ‘leaven’ enters the church, the church is forever changed in a way that is observable to anyone who looks. This must not happen. When it becomes apparent ‘leaven’ (sin,) is present in the church, it must be dealt with swiftly and drastically. It must be purged before it can do any more harm than it has already done, and it must be purged even before it becomes apparent – as once it is apparent, it may be too late. Jesus said, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off...”

Here we see why. Christ is OUR Passover. He is our Lamb Who was slain. He is the One who cleanses our house of sin (leaven) that once was present in such abundance. Can we look upon the Lamb Who was slain and then invite leaven back into our hearts? Can we look upon His great sacrifice for sin, and prevent those who may come to Christ from coming by the presence of unrepentant sin in the House of the Lord? Paul urges, “Once the leaven is gone – keep it out,” and by all means necessary.

- Pastor Bill