Fluffy Christianity

Introduction

Last week, we saw Jesus’ return to the shores of Decapolis is well received. There, He heals people, and when He is done, the crowd of primarily Gentiles glorifies the God of Israel. Matthew 15:31

Matthew 15:31 KJV 1900

31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

That word glorified is the Greek word δοξάζω (doxazō) which means

to render (or esteem) glorious: — (make) glorify(-ious), honor, magnify. to think, suppose, be of opinion to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate to honour, to make glorious; to impart glory to something, render it excellent, to make renowned, render illustrious, to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged.

These Gentiles became of the opinion that the God of Israel was glorious. They gave Him glory. They extolled His name. They acknowledged Him and ascribed Him worth — we call that worship.

Then, Mark tells us that they acclaimed Jesus, saying, “He does all things well.”

Why? I would give a lot of credit and say that the work of one, ex-demon possessed man who went around all of Decapolis saying what great things Jesus had done for him had a big role in these people following and gathering around Jesus in a friendly manner rather than with a hostile view.

But now it’s getting late. And we see that these people have been following Jesus, listening to Him teach and experiencing Him heal for three days. Look at

Matthew 15:32 KJV 1900

32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

Many of these people had come from a long way. As Jesus travelled through the cities of Decapolis, He picked up many followers. When He finally sat down on this mountain, there were thousands that had followed Him for three days. And Jesus thoughts are filled with compassion for these people.

He knows that if He sends them away, many will not make it home before they faint from lack of food. Does this situation sound familiar? It should as something similar happened in the desert places outside Bethsaida not too long ago.

Bread for Everyone

Many of you are familiar with this event, and for those of you who are not, I apologize for the spoiler — Jesus is about to feed this crowd of 4,000 people. But for now, I want you to forget everything you know about this event. I want you to think for a moment what it my be like to experience this as one of the 12 disciples. There you are, Jesus is wrapping things up. He has healed the last of the sick that have been brought to Him, and He says, “These people are hungry. I have compassion on them, and if I send them back to their homes right now, many will faint on the way for lack of food.”

As one of the 12, you have heard Jesus speak very similar words in a very similar situation not too long ago. In that instance, Jesus used a little boy’s lunch to feed around 15,000 or so people. So if you are a disciple right now, you would probably have your eyes peeled, looking for someone with some food. And if you’re anything like me, you’re looking for someone who has beef jerky, Cool Ranch Doritos, and some fried chicken. None of this dried fish nonsense…

So let’s look at what the disciples say.

Matthew 15:33 KJV 1900

33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?

When you read the Bible, sometimes there are passages like these that make you want to scream, or at the very least, just shake your head slowly in disappointment. “Jesus, we’re in a real pickle here! Where could we possibly get food in this wilderness for so many people?”

To us it seems strange that the disciples would ask such a question after they themselves had assisted in the feeding of the 5,000. But the failure to expect a miracle was a common occurrence, not just in the 12 disciples, but in the history of Israel.

Israel doubted that God would save them from the Egyptians. At least 10 times they doubted God would provide food and water for them in the wilderness. Those same Israelites doubted that God would lead them through the wilderness and keep them alive, and when they arrived at the Promised Land, they doubted that God would destroy their enemies.

This pattern of unbelief is something that is seen often in the people of Israel, despite God having a perfect track record. Similarly, the disciples, having been witnesses to thousands of miracles by now, were also doubting. And before we give them a hard time, we also must admit that even while clearly seeing God’s track record in our lives, we do the same thing. We get anxious, we get worried, we wonder how in the world could we ever get through this situation. Our minds and hearts question, “Is God going to come through this time?”

And God always comes through. There is a saying that I like because I think it describes God’s timing very well. It goes like this, “God is never late, sometimes early, and always on-time.” And in this particular situation, Jesus provided exactly what was needed, when it was needed.

Matthew 15:34–38 KJV 1900

34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. 35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. 38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

Once again, accounting for women and children, you probably have upwards of 12,000 people that are fed on that occasion.

These people are instructed to sit, and Jesus asks how much food is there available. In this account, we do not know who offered the food. It well could have been some of the provisions that the disciples had left, or it could have been some food that was donated by someone else. In either case, Jesus takes the 7 loaves of bread (at the last feeding of a multitude, there were five loaves) and the unspecified amount of dried fish (just a few vs two for the last time Jesus fed a multitude) and blesses it and begins breaking it apart to be distributed by His disciples.

And similar to last time, the leftovers are picked up and gathered into baskets.

As a side note, I’d like to say that I really like what theologian and Bible commentator Warren Wiersbe has to say about this detail — the gathering of the leftovers — in both this account and in the previous event of the multitudes being fed. He says,

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Twelve: The King’s Concern (Matthew 15)

Jesus ordered the fragments to be collected so that nothing be wasted. The ability to perform miracles does not grant the authority to waste God’s gifts.

That is to say, we are supposed to both make sure that we are generous in the use and application of the gifts that God gives us, but we are to steward them well - not wasting them. For example, those that are gifted in teaching, they ought to know their audience. I love to teach, but I need to know who my audience is. Those who are teaching toddlers are not engaged in teaching the penal substitutionary atonement that Jesus did for us. Instead, they are teaching them, “Jesus is God. Jesus loves you. Jesus died for our sins.”

In the same vein, those that have the gift of mercy must use their gift appropriately, being able to discern when showing too much mercy can actually be a detriment to a person’s spiritual growth.

For more information on this, I recommend you revisit the Wednesday evening series that concluded just two years ago called Gift Giver. https://sermons.logos.com/series/248453-gift-giver

In this series, we covered what the spiritual gifts are, some of their uses in the church, and what the dangers are of using these gifts without consideration for or guidance from the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus gives this multitude a meal, fills them up, and He and his disciples depart for the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee once more.

Matthew 15:39 KJV 1900

39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

No Signs for the Pharisees

And sometime after arriving there, he is sought after by the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Matthew 16:1–4 KJV 1900

1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

The book of Mark also records this interaction in Mark 8:11-12

Mark 8:11–12 KJV 1900

11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit [Jesus sighed, showing a deep feelings that he had because the Pharisees would not believe Him., and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

We haven’t talked a lot about the Sadducees, but they were similar to the Pharisees in some aspects but very different in others. The Sadducees believed in the literal interpretation of Scripture, whereas the Pharisees valued the oral traditions as much as the Scriptures. The Pharisees believed that the dead would one day be resurrected, but the Sadducees rejected this teaching, completely denying the afterlife. The Sadducees also rejected the idea of an unseen spiritual world, whereas the Pharisees readily accepted the existence of angels and demons that live and operate in the spiritual realm. Though both the Pharisees and Sadducees were religious sects of Judaism, Sadducees preoccupied themselves primarily with politics while the Pharisees’ main focus was religion. Typically, the Pharisees and Sadducees were against each other, but they had found a common enemy in Jesus, and are commonly seen working as one to try to trip Jesus up.

So they confront Jesus and ask for a sign. And Matthew records that Jesus calls them out on their ignorance. They are able to determine with reasonable certainty the weather for the next day, but they, who claim to experts in God’s word, cannot interpret the signs of the time of the Messiah which was being lived out in real-time in front of their very eyes.

Jesus calls them a “wicked and adulterous generation.” They have cheated on God, per se, using the blessing of the Scripture for their own benefit instead of for the earnest search for God.

Mark records that they came asking for a sign in order to tempt Jesus. In the eyes of the Pharisees, the miracles that Jesus was already performing were miracles that even Satan could do. What they wanted was a “heavenly sign.” This is in reference to several Old Testament prophets, but probably mainly to the prophet Joel. Joel 2

Joel 2:30–31 KJV 1900

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, Blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, Before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

They are wanting Jesus to do something like that. “Put some pillars of smoke and fire and blood in the sky, Jesus. Then we’ll believe you.”

So, Matthew records that Jesus says, “No. The only sign you get it the sign of Jonah.” In Matthew 12:40 Jesus defines what the sign of the prophet Jonah is:

Matthew 12:40 KJV 1900

40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

So, the supreme sign that Jesus was who He claimed to be, the sign that would be greater than any sign or miracle given by any prophet before would be that Jesus would die, be buried, and, just like Jonah came out of the whale on the third day, Jesus would rise from the dead and exit the tomb on the third day.

When Jesus did rise from the dead, the Sadducees and Pharisees, well aware of at least three times that Jesus had told them he would rise from the dead, fulfilling the sign of the prophet Jonah, paid off the Roman guards that were supposed to be watching the tomb so that they would say that the disciples stole the body in the night. So eventually, just shy of a year later, they would receive this sign from heaven, and even then, they would not believe.

Mark’s record of this interaction does not record Jesus;’ reference to the sign of Jonah. He simply records that Jesus says, “No signs for you.” And the most likely reason behind this is that Mark is writing his Gospel to the Gentiles. He knows that the Gentiles will not know anything about the prophet Jonah, so he doesn’t include it. Because if Mark were to include it, he would also have to attach the book of Jonah with his gospel. And if he does that, then he must also attach the books of 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles. So instead, Mark omits that particular saying.

And after this interaction with the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus and the disciples jump back into the boat and sail to Bethsaida.

Mark 8:13 KJV 1900

13 And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.

Fluffy Religion

Now Jesus is with His disciples. They are in the boat heading over to Bethsaida, that, if you remember from the maps that we have had up here, is on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

And Jesus takes the opportunity to give His disciples a warning.

Mark 8:14–15 KJV 1900

14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

When Jesus refers to Herod, to the Herodians, He is referring to the Sadducees. Of the two (Pharisees and Sadducees), the Sadducees were the aristocratic group that got along well with Rome and were highly focused on politics. And the reason is because many Sadducees were of the house of Herod or were allied with Herod. This is why Mark refers to the Sadducees as Herodians. In Matthew chapter 16, you see the same interaction, but Matthew records it as Jesus saying, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

But did you notice what verse 14 specified? They had one loaf of bread. And as they are travelling and hear Jesus say that, somebody’s conscience starts bothering them, because the response of the disciples is this:

Mark 8:16 KJV 1900

16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.

“They reasoned among themselves,” means they disputed among themselves. They were in a little argument. “Man, who forgot to pack the lunches? Thaddeus, wasn’t that your job? Now Jesus is mad at us and He’s talking about leaven, yeast, because we only managed to bring one loaf of bread with us.”

And whether they were being loud or Jesus, being Jesus, knew what the conversation was, responds to them that His comment has nothing to do with how much bread they did or did not bring.

Mark 8:17–21 KJV 1900

17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. 20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. 21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

“If I can feed thousand with five loaves of bread and another set of thousands with 7 loaves of bread, I think I can make it work out for us 13 with just one loaf of bread. I am not talking about lunch here. ow come you don’t understand?”

And again, because Mark is writing to a Gentile audience, he stops here where Matthew continues.

Matthew 16:11–12 KJV 1900

11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

The disciples had done something that happened often in Jesus’ ministry by both those that were familiar with Him and those that were hearing him for the first time: They had misconstrued Jesus’ teaching by taking something symbolic that Jesus was saying and interpreting it literally. Nicodemus did this when Jesus told him that he must be born again to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. More recently, the masses of Jews that had been fed outside Bethsaida had thought that Jesus was telling them that they would have to turn to cannibalism to truly be His disciples.

And now, the disciples thought that Jesus was talking about actual bread when in fact Jesus was talking about the doctrine, the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Leaven, to the Jews, was a symbol of evil, and both the Pharisees and the Sadducees had infected the religious system of Israel with false doctrines, false teachings. The Pharisees were legalists that taught that only through perfect obedience to the Law and the traditions could one gain God’s favor and usher in His kingdom.

The Sadducees fully denied that God would ever establish a Kingdom on earth, they denied the existence of angels, and the notion of an afterlife — whether one of judgement or of reward.

Their teachings made things look awful nice on the outside, but empty on the inside. I like rice. I love rice. I like rice in most of its configurations. I like steamed rice, white rice, brown rice (though not as much as white rice). I like sushi rice, Mexican rice, fried rice, Indian rice. Wild rice, rife pilaf, saffron rice, rice and vermicelli, traditionally cooked rice, minute rice, Zataran’s, Hamburger Helper rice, short grain, medium grain, long grain, Jasmine, Basmati — you name it, I like it. There is a drink called Horchata that is made with rice water, cinnamon, and sugar, and that stuff is amazing. Rice Krispies, Rice Krispie treats. I like it all except for rice pudding. Not a fan.

Today, I have two configurations of rice. And I have the same amount. I have a bag of cooked rice. It was cooked with __________ seasonings.

And I have another identical bag of rice. Except that this rice is puffed rice. Rice Krispies. It’s a whole bunch of air in there. It’s good stuff. I’d eat plain Rice Krispies by themselves, but to this bag I added a bit of cinnamon and sugar to it for sweet treat.

Two bags of rice of the same size. However, when I go to put these on a scale, you see a marked difference. This rice (cooked) weighs ______. But this identical bag full of Rice Krispies, puffed rice, only weighs ______.

If I am needing calories, which rice is considered a staple food because of its caloric value, among other reasons, but if I am needing calories, which of these bags will give me more sustainable calories? The bag with the cooked rice.

The other bag is mostly air. And even though the volume is about the same, the nutritional value is different.

Jesus says to His disciples, beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees. It is like leaven, like yeast. It makes dough rise, it makes a nice looking loaf of bread, but all it does is add useless, nutrition-less air. It may seem like you’re getting more, but the lump of dough weighs the same before and after the yeast is applied.

And just like yeast or leaven, the doctrines of the Pharisees and Sadducees have fully permeated the religious system and have fully corrupted it. It looks nice. Their teachings sound nice and sound logical, but in the end, they are useless. In the end, they do not help, they corrupt. Not because the dogmas were evil, but the spirit behind it all was a self-righteous spirit rooted in pride and in judgement toward others.

This spirit behind their grip on traditions concealed a tomb full of death and rot.

The Pharisees talked a big talk, but could not even meet the expectations they set themselves. This is why Jesus is always referring to them as hypocrites. The Herodians, the Sadducees, were very materialistic, and held high the opinion of the powerful and the elite. They were typically very well off and powerfully influential.

We can never be too careful about detecting and avoiding false doctrine, and this is why Jesus says, “Beware. Be very careful.”

Fluffy Christianity

So we come to the moment of application for our lives. This is important because general knowledge is just knowledge. Knowledge of the Bible is beneficial to its fullest only when it is applicable. There is a very real risk of Christians being contaminated with the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees even today.

Jesus said, beware the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Two extreme view points that infected everything they touched.

Seven months ago we concluded a 6-session series called Salt and Light Living. It is about having a truly biblical worldview. We studied that there is nothing that needs to be considered secular - having nothing to do with the spiritual realm or with God. We saw that everything is spiritual. Yes, we acknowledge, hopefully, that coming to church and the activities we participate in here are spiritually related. We would consider it a spiritual activity when we have our devotions or sing hymns and songs around the house or in the car. But the thing is we often do not think about our jobs as spiritual. Our entertainment as spiritual. Our chores as spiritual.

And because we do not see them as spiritual, we treat them as if God had nothing to do with them. But have you ever stopped to consider that God has told us that everything we do should be to the best of our ability, not unto man, but unto the Lord? 1 Corinthians 10:31

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV 1900

31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

From the most mundane tasks, eating and drinking, and everything else we do should be done to the glory of God. The leaven of the Pharisees was that they had taken this as principle, making sure that everything they did outwardly looked like it was done for the glory of God, but their pride and judgment toward others revealed that it was done for the glory of themselves. They heaped regulations and rules upon people so that those people would view the Pharisees as very holy and very sanctimonious. They believed that the better they performed, the more they were accepted by God, and that the more they were accepted by God, the better they were in comparison to other people.

Their goal was not relationship, it was position, power, and influence. Their motivation was not love for God, it was pride imbedded with fear.

We find this in the Church still today: There are churches that will urge you to do more so that you can be more in God’s sight. If you aren’t doing then you aren’t loving God. Pastors and leadership tell the congregations exactly how they ought to dress, how much they should be giving, where they should be spending their free time, if and when and where they should be taking their vacations.

And though we can find churches that advocate this kind of control from the pulpit, we can find individual Christians that have been contaminated with the Pharisees leavening in every church across the globe. These are the individuals that are so caught up with making sure that they read a certain amount of chapters, pray for a certain amount of hours over a specific set of things, attend every church service, be in volved in every ministry possible, and a whole host of other things that might as well be on a daily check list.

Here’s the thing — giving, serving, praying, reading the Bible, fasting, coming to the services — none of those things are bad. Those are good things to do, but when done in a spirit of pride, when sought after while thinking that these things will make God love you more, or make you a “top tier” Christian, then you’ve got it all wrong.

We should absolutely be doing these things. But they must come from a place of love. Every husband here has probably lived this situation or some situation similar. The wife says, “I wish you would buy me flowers every once in a while.” So you go out and buy her a nice flower arrangement. Then, when you give them to her, though she likes them and is appreciative of what you have done, you notice something isn’t quite right. So you ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. I just wish you would have bought me flowers because you wanted to, and not because I asked you to.”

We ought to be compelled by our love for God to seek Him and spend time with Him. As we learn His plans for our life, we ought to be compelled by our love for Him to give and to serve in the areas that He is showing us. We ought not be compelled by command, but by love.

It boils down to something like this: Why do you do the things you do? Why do you pray the amount that you pray? Why do you read the amount that you read? Why do you come to church on Sunday and on Wednesday? If your answer is something like,

Because I don’t want to fall out of favor with God

because I am a better Christian than to not do those things

because I want God’s blessings

because it makes me a better Christian

because if I don’t then God will discipline me

or anything like that, then you are doing it for the wrong reasons and you have been contaminated by the leaven of the Pharisees. The same goes for the reasons you do not do the things that you don’t do. “Why don’t you do do drugs? Why don’t you go and get drunk at parties? Why do you not cheat on your spouse?” If the answer is anything besides, “Because the love that I have for God and the love that He has for me compels me to do the things that please Him,: then you’ve got the wrong priority.

It is a natural thing to obey God’s commands at first simply out of respect and a healthy fear of the Lord. There come times when we, in this fleshly body, do not feel like doing the right thing or abstaining from the wrong thing. In those times, we may continue to do things purely out of a sense of duty, or even habit. However, if that has become the norm rather than the exception, then we desperately need a heart check as this is the tell-tell sign of the leaven of the Pharisees.

The leaven of the Sadducees was different, and we can find it active still today.

The leaven of the Sadducees was religious liberalism. To them, religion was a means to an end that was earthly, temporal. They used religion to gain, maintain, and protect their wealth and status. They used religion to have influence in politics and among the elite. They were thoroughly materialistic and rationalistic. The Sadducees looked for things that were logically sound, not by God’s standards or the Kingdom of Heaven’s standards, it needed to make sense in their own minds before they would pursue it or engage in it. It had to benefit them in some way or another.

Boy can we see this leaven permeating churches across the globe today. Churches that are status symbols, and if you want to network and you want to have influence and you want to be able to get in good with prominent figures of society, then join our church. There are celebrity churches. If you are a celebrity whether it is as an actor or singer, and you claim Christianity, chances are you belong to Hillsong, Zoe Church, Churchome, the Potter’s House, or Saddleback or one of their campuses across the United States and the world. These are the churches where celebrities attend. If you are looking to break into the Christian Contemporary Music scene and you want to fast track your career, you go to Elevation, Hillsong, or Bethel churches and join their worship teams.

Back in Decatur, TX where we moved from, I got to see this play out really well. If you wanted to start a business and were looking to network, if you wanted to be successful in local politics, if you wanted a place where you could talk shop and get special treatment from other business owners or local influencer, you had to either be a member of the First Baptist Church or the Church of Christ. You were on your own otherwise. You sphere of influence was limited if you didn’t join those churches, at least in the realm of business and politics.

Pastors and preachers the world over are corrupted with the Leaven of the Sadducees, and they preach things like, “God wants you to be happy. God wants you to be blessed and healthy and rich. You give money to this ministry, and God will bless you, your family, your business. Partner with our church and we will promote your campaign.”

It extends to individuals who seek to make churches a networking center. Individual Christians who are giving to the church or serving in the church as a way to look good to other people or to exert some type of influence over others within the church or outside the church.

Leadership in the church is servant-leadership. Leaders in the church should boldly lead and at the same time be willing to serve. Jesus modelled this perfectly for us. He didn’t gather disciples so that He could be popular. In fact, Jesus resisted the cries for Him to be made king. He healed and told people to not spread the word about Him healing.

Invitation

“Beware,” Jesus said. Watch out. Why did He say this to His disciples? They were not following a Pharisee or a Sadducee. They were following Jesus. Why did Jesus say, “Beware”? Because, as we have seen just a couple of weeks ago, Satan is sneaky. He doesn’t come to us with horns and a tail and a pitchfork. He dresses up like an angel of light. He is subtle. These things sneak in and when they do, they begin a corrupting work that soon affects everything.

There was already one disciple that was using Jesus for personal gain — Judas Iscariot. The Bible tells us that he held the purse. He was the group’s treasurer, and he took from it. Jesus did not measure up to Judas’ standards, and because Judas was out for Judas’ benefit, he betrayed Jesus. The leaven of the Sadducees had permeated Judas.

And later, Paul would call out the Apostle Peter for allowing the leaven of the Pharisees to influence him. Out of fear of the Jewish leaders, Peter had stopped engaging with Gentile believers. Many other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s example, so the Apostle Paul confronted him publicly and rebuked him for his hypocrisy.

Peter evidently listened to Paul and to the Holy Spirit because in his two letters preserved in Scripture, Peter writes extensively about grace.

Beware. Be careful. Examine yourself.

Have you allowed the leaven of the Pharisees to creep in? Are you checking boxes. Doing things out of duty?

Jesus told John the Apostle to write a letter to a certain church in Ephesus. Look at what it says in Revelation 2:1-5

Revelation 2:1–5 KJV 1900

1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, [they had done everything right. They were involved in kingdom work, they were patient and longsuffering, the called out false Christians and did not tolerate false doctrines. They honestly worked for God and did God’s work, but something was off. Something was wrong.] because thou hast left thy first love. [They had continued in the work but they had lost the love. So God gives them a warning...] 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

This warning is that if they do not go back to loving God, God will take away their candlestick. Remember - we as a church are a city set on a hill, we are the light of the world. But if we lose the love for Christ, we will lose our influence too.

To the church of the Laodiceans in Revelation 3, Jesus acknowledges that they were rich. They were wealthy and influential. But they did not have a fire for God. They had appearances or righteousness. They looked to be clothed with godly raiment, but Jesus calls them out and says, “You are naked, you’re poor, you’re starving, you’re blind.” He commands them to invest eternally, not in the temporal. To repent and to open their eyes.

The leaven of the Pharisees, the leaven of the Sadducees — different extremes, both very damaging to the impact of the Gospel, first in our lives and in the level of impact we can have in the world.

Life Group

1. Did anything stand out to you from the sermon? Are there any questions, comments, doubts?

2. In the past, did you lean more toward “rule-keeping religion” (Pharisee-leaning) or “go-with-the-flow, God-wants-me-happy” religion (Sadducee-leaning)? How do you see that now?

3. If someone asked you, “What does it mean that false teaching is like leaven?” how would you explain that in your own words?

4. When Jesus refused to give the Pharisees and Sadducees another sign, what did that reveal about their hearts?

5. When you face a new problem, do you more naturally remember God’s past faithfulness or default to fresh anxiety like the disciples did about the bread? Why do you think that is?

6. Think about your current spiritual routines (prayer, Bible reading, serving, giving, church attendance). If you’re honest, what is your primary motivation in each: love, duty, fear, habit, or something else?

7. What are some modern “fluffy religion” messages you see (in churches, books, social media) that look big and puffy like Rice Krispies but are light on truth and weight?

8. Thoughts to consider as you leave:

This week, choose one spiritual practice you’re currently doing mostly from duty or fear. What concrete step can you take to reconnect it to love for Christ (e.g., changing how you pray, what you say before you serve, how you think about giving)?

Identify one “leaven” influence in your life (a voice, habit, or environment) that tends to push you toward either legalism or shallow comfort. What is one specific boundary or change you can make about that this week?

Who will you share this with for accountability?