Articles
Recipe for Disaster
“A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.” (Gal. 5:9)
I will admit that I am not much of a cook. When I don’t pay close attention to what I am doing in the kitchen, things can get out of control. Sometimes I fail to follow the instructions for a meal then the dish turns out wrong. As mentioned in the above verse, when adding just a tiny bit of yeast can have an enormous impact on a lump of dough. In an episode of “I Love Lucy,” Lucy fails to read the directions and puts too much leaven in her lump of dough. What ensues is a surprise. The loaf grew exponentially into a massive loaf that had her trapped. Everyone watching this T.V. episode can find much humor in this crazy situation, but it is not so funny when just a little sin can trap and have us pinned against the wall.
During the early days of the church, problems slowly emerged in numerous forms. A man called Ananias and his wife Sapphira were deceitful by withholding a portion of their offering to the Lord (cf. Acts 5). In response, Peter, through the power of the Holy Spirit, convicts them of their actions. They immediately are snuffed out by the power of God. One reading this account might conclude that God is not loving. However, consider this, what do you think would happen if this sin went unpunished? Does not this situation tell us how problematic sin can be if not dealt with immediately?! God had to make a statement, or sin could have ravaged the church and caused its imploding before the body of Christ could get off the ground.
Another issue that quickly arose in the early church occurred in Acts 6. Christian widows of Greek descent were being neglected. If this issue was not addressed immediately and effectively, like the sins of Ananias and Sapphira, there could have been catastrophic consequences. With great wisdom, the apostles addressed this problem and got the people to step up and serve. Here was another example of sin that was nipped in the bud before it engulfed the people of God.
Eventually, false teaching found its way into the church and had to be addressed (cf. Acts 15:1ff). These Judaizers were men who taught that the Law of Moses must be adhered to, meaning that the death and resurrection of Christ were not sufficient enough to bring about salvation. When the brethren of Jerusalem heard of this matter, they had to respond: 1) To not cause further disturbance and 2) Offer clarity on this problem. Even though the council drafted a letter to be disseminated among the various congregations, the damage had been done.
One of the groups that were affected by the Judaizers were the congregations of Galatia. The apostle Paul had preached in this area before the council held at Jerusalem (cf. Acts 13:4ff). Initially, the Gospel was accepted in Galatia (cf. Gal. 3:26f), but soon that changed. Paul had strong words for the Galatians who had welcomed the teachings of the Judaizers. He said, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him…if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you…you have been severed from Christ…you have fallen from grace” (Gal. 1:6, 5:2, 4).
Paul not only admonished these brethren for falling for this false doctrine but also warned them to watch out for other sins that plague everyone (cf. Gal. 5:16ff). John echoes this sentiment, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 Jn. 2:16). Fortunately, Paul did not leave the Galatians without the solution, and that is pursuing after the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22f).
We always need to be diligent, on guard against sin, because it has guile and will consume a person’s life. One sin can entrap anyone and destroy our relationship with God. We must resolve to say “NO”! It may not be easy, but we are talking about our eternal lives that are on the line. This is hard, but God will help us as long as we reach out to Him. We can’t let anything or anyone keep us from reaching Heaven.
