A Little Leaven
A Little Leaven
Pastor Keith Hassell
Foundation Scripture: I Corinthians 5:1-13
I. Sin in the Camp
A. Sexual sin had made its way into the church
B. Arrogance ignores sin as inconsequential. The fear of the Lord mourns over sin and seeks to remove it
II. Sin has its consequences
A. Sin leads to defeat (Joshua 7 The sin of Achan and the battle of Ai)
B. Sin spreads like leaven in bread. A little leaven leavens the whole lump
C. Sin will make you its slave. Sin will take you where you don’t want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than you want to stay.
D. Sin will harden your heart to the voice of God.
E. Sin will destroy you.
III. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us.
A. Jesus paid to remove our sin. Don’t let it back in the house!
IV. Let us keep the feast
A. Purge out the leaven
1. On the day before Passover, Jews search their house to find any leaven and remove it for the feast of unleavened bread.
2. Old leaven – sinful habits of the past
3. Leaven of malice – ill will, a deep-seated and often unreasonable dislike and a desire to see someone suffer.
4. Leaven of wickedness – morally bad or evil, twisted and perverted
B. First option: Judge yourself and remove the sin
C. Second option: Judge the sinner who refuses to repent
1. Turn over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (Satan eats the dust of the earth---flesh)
a. That the spirit may be saved
b. With intention of eventual restoration of fellowship (I John 1:7)
D. That you may be a new lump of bread (Body of Christ without sin)
1. I Corinthians 10:16 “The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”
E. With the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (John 4:24 true worshipers)
V. Communion ( I Corinthians 11:23-32)
A. God wants the body free from the leaven of sin
B. Let each man examine himself (any leaven of sin?)
C. Let a man judge himself (repent and get the sin out)
D. If we will not judge ourselves, then we will be judged (by God and the church if necessary)
1. When we are judged it is that we not be condemned with the world
E. In this manner let a man eat of the bread and drink of the cup