A Little Leaven

The Modern Day Church is in trouble.

I’m not a fan of Christian movies, or anything that advertises itself as Christian.

Because really, Christians are an audience that is to be marketed too.

We are a source of revenue to them, not something that is really cared about.

It seems like this attack has always been there.

Charles Spurgeon was facing what is now known as the Downgrade Controversy in his day.

He was watching the church compromise in key areas, and welcome in a soft and squishy Gospel.

A squishy Gospel is a watered down Gospel, a compromised Gospel.

He went to war, faithfully preaching God’s Word.

One of my favorite authors is AW Pink.

He died in 1952.

Like Spurgeon, he was alive during a downgrade of the Gospel among the church.

His writings are interesting, because his opponents and what he was writing against, seem to describe the modern church of today.

Not much has changed today.

We continue to see an attack upon true Christianity, upon the Gospel itself.

There truly is a downgrade facing the church.

What is happening is in an attempt to get along with the world around us, the church is compromises on truth.

She is caving when it it comes to specific truths of the Gospel and in the process she gives up not just on small points, but the very Gospel itself.

What is the Gospel?

It is good news of the work of Jesus Christ.

It is the actions of Jesus Christ.

It is salvation in Him alone.

It is Him claiming ownership over us, poor wretches, deserving of Hell.

Cleaning us up.

Restoring us.

And in His great love giving us an inheritance.

That is good news.

And any kind of downgrade makes what He has said and done a lie.

Because it says that what Jesus has made crystal clear, and what His Word clearly states is not entirely accurate.

To say that Jesus’ words are not accurate is to say that He lied.

That is blasphemy.

There is an attack upon the church.

There is a downgrade.

Let me give you an example.

This is something that I don’t want to say.

I’ve known about it for a couple months.

I didn’t want to say something, but now, and in today’s text I think it’s a good example of the downgrade facing the church.

It’s an example of a person compromising when it comes to the Gospel, the Lordship of Jesus and the exclusivity of Jesus Christ.

I didn’t want to tell you this one, because the person involved is so beloved by Christians.

In fact, just saying his name, he is the stereotype of the Christian we desire to be.

This person had no scandal, no controversy, no open and condemning sin.

It’s Billy Graham.

And he is an example of the downgrade facing the church.

He’s an example of how people compromise when it comes to truth.

In 1997, Billy Graham was interviewed by Robert Schuller, during the Hour of Power TV show.

He was lucid.

He was aware.

He was not the shell of a man or a senile old man.

Listen to the words from this interview between Robert Schuller and Billy Gram.

Graham says, “I think everybody that loves Christ or knows Christ (whether they are conscious of it or not), they’re members of the body of Christ. .... God’s purpose for this age is to call out a people for His name. And that’s what God is doing today. He’s calling people out of the world for His name. Whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the nonbelieving world. They are members of the body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their heart that they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think they’re saved and they’re going to be with us in heaven.”

Let me interrupt right there and say that’s not true.

I don’t know how you can love Christ or know Christ and not be conscious of it.

Knowing Christ is a conscious thing.

Specifically it’s Christ that we know.

Peter and John were questioned in .

Let me interrupt right there and say that’s not true.

He is saying that there are people in heaven who don’t know Christ.

They were told you can keep doing what your doing, just don’t mention Jesus.

They have never repented.

Knowing Christ is a conscious thing.

He is not their Lord.

Specifically it’s Christ that we know.

They are not following Him, but they are in heaven.

Remember what they said?

And why are they in heaven?

Because they believe in a god.

Scripture is clear, being a nice person, even believing in God is not the Gospel, nor is it what gets you to heaven.

It’s only Jesus, the 2nd member of the Trinity.

Peter and John were questioned in .

Peter and John were questioned in .

They were told you can keep doing what your doing, just don’t mention Jesus.

, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Remember what they said?

Our confession is in Christ specifically.

, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Graham continues, “And I don’t think we’re going to see a great, sweeping revival that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time. . . . God’s purpose for this age is to call out a people for His name. And that’s what God is doing today. He’s calling people out of the world for His name. Whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the nonbelieving world. They are members of the body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their heart that they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think they’re saved and they’re going to be with us in heaven.” 

Our confession is in Christ specifically.

, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” 

Maybe you think I’m looking too deeply into Graham’s words, thankfully, Schuller was there to clear things up (something he normally doesn’t do.

Schuller says, “What I hear you saying is that it’s possible for Jesus Christ to come into human hearts and soul and life, even if they’ve been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you’re saying?”  

And Graham says, “Yes it is, because I believe that. I’ve met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations, that they have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, and never heard of Jesus, but they’ve believed in their hearts that there was a god, and they’ve tried to live a life that was apart from the surrounding community in which they lived.”  

Let me summarize that.

He says that if you believe in a god and are moral this is good enough.

If that is true, then why did Jesus need to die if you don’t need Jesus?

If that is true why did the martyrs spill their blood for the name of Jesus?

If that is true why do we go out into the world making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit if they don’t need to even know Jesus’ name?

Let me make this clear, believing in a god is not what saves you.

When Israel came into the Promised Land, they were to get rid of all the people there.

They were set apart for destruction.

Why?

Because they believed in gods.

And because they worshipped gods.

But the gods they believed in and the gods they worshipped were not Yahweh, the true God.

They worshipped gods that were not God.

In , when Paul was in Athens, he looked around and he saw that they worshipped other gods.

Billy Graham said that if you believe in your heart there is a god and you’re a nice person you’re going to heaven.

But Paul didn’t say, “I see you believe in a god and you are nice people.”

In Paul calls them out, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Paul was calling them out.

You may be nice people.

You may believe in a god.

But unless you repent and believe in Christ … you can only expect a judgment.

Yes this is distinct.

And it’s scary, because it means we need to know truth.

And we need to know specific truth.

We need to know Christ.

We are in , and looking again at verses 7-12, and Paul is facing a severe downgrade of the Gospel.

Let’s read this passage again.

Let’s read this passage again.

Read Galatians 5:7-12.

This passage is Paul’s climax in his frustration and outright anger towards the Galatians and those who had lead them astray.

Paul is angry.

He uses language in this text, that I really questioned how I would preach.

But whatever the words are, it is God breathed, it is useful, and it is for our benefit, and it is worth looking at.

We begin with the Church’s Unswerving Opposition To False Teaching.

Why are we so opposed to false teaching?

Because it’s wrong.

Last week we talked about how the Christian life is like a race.

And in a race you don’t want things that slow you down, but things that speed you up.

Running shoes continue to get lighter. Why is that?

Because lighter shoes mean it takes less effort to lift your feet, so you can fun faster.

I ride bikes.

Road bikes continue to get lighter and lighter. Why is that?

Because less weight means you have less to push with your legs.

We talked about how there are things in your life that can slow down your spiritual maturity.

You find these things out and you get rid of them.

Hopefully, that wasn’t news to you.

But this week in the text we learn a new thing … people can slow you down.

The Galatians were Christians, that had started on their path to maturity.

But at some point they had welcomed in false teaching.

It entered their doors.

It entered their lives.

It slowed them down.

Ideas matter.

What you hear matters.

What you think matters.

Let’s say you are about to go for a little jog.

Feed yourself on the word of God and you will mature.

But start feeding yourself on garbage.

It will slow you down.

Guard your heart on what you hear.

Sometimes I hear people say they are reading a book, or something by someone who claims to be a Christian.

There is a little bit of good stuff there.

Then there’s also some bad teaching.

And I’ll tell them, you shouldn’t be reading that.

And they respond:

I hear people say:

“I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water.”

Or, “I will chew the meat, but spit out the bones.”

As if to say, “I’ll take the good with the bad.”

And then you see them starting to embrace some of the ideas they read.

What does Paul say?

It slows you down.

It keeps you from obeying the truth.

The Christian life is a race.

Imagine you are about to go for a little jog.

You put on a nice light shirt.

You put on a pair of sweat pants or running shorts.

You get your shoes on.

Then before you run, you pour yourself a nice big glass of milk and cut yourself one of those huge chocolate fudge cakes they sell at Costco.

Claim Jumper used to have the 7 layer cake … but it’s gone, so Costco will have to do.

Imagine eating that cake and drinking that milk before the run.

How fast will you run?

Not very fast, and not very far.

You’ll probably get sick.

What you feed yourself matters not just physically, but spiritually.

If you don’t feed yourself a healthy diet of truth from God’s Word you will get sick and it will slow down your spiritual growth.

We must be unswerving in our opposition to false teaching, meaning we don’t accept any of it, not even a little bit of it.

Because if you add even a little bit of extra stuff to the Gospel, it’s no longer the Gospel.

There are many groups that say they are just like us.

They believe that Jesus died on the Cross.

They believe in the Trinity.

They’re just like us.

And then they have some extras.

Sins are forgiven because of Jesus … and:

Your baptism.

Taking communion.

Going to confession.

And you are a good person.

Back in , Paul says that this is a different Gospel, it’s a distorted Gospel, it’s something that leads to damnation.

This is a big deal.

Back to , Paul says that it is not from God.

Our opposition to false teaching must be so strong, that we cannot tolerate any false teaching.

It makes us sick to think about it.

Because it’s talking about Jesus.

There are some people who are more willing to hear lies about Jesus, then the truth about people.

For example

Within the church, false teaching cannot be tolerated, not even a little.

We should treat false teaching like how the center of disease control handles ebola.

You put on those big plastic spaceman suits.

Don’t let the virus touch me.

And we don’t let false teaching touch us.

In verse 9 Paul says, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

When you bake bread, you put just a little leaven in the dough.

Just a little yeast, makes a delicious loaf.

In Israel’s history, yeast was compared to sin.

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, each spring, Israel would cleanse their homes of all traces and particles of yeast.

It was the original spring cleaning.

Go through the pantry and the cupboards and look for old bread, specks of yeast, yeast dust, and get rid of it.

Meanwhile their doors are covered in the blood of a lamb.

This was a reminder of our battle for sin and our quest to be holy.

Reminding us that sin needs to be completely removed from our lives.

When it comes to baking bread, just a little yeast is needed.

And when it comes to the church, just a little error, just a little heresy can have big results.

Because we influence each other.

I have known entire churches to get swept up in bad teaching.

I mean the whole church accepts it, in some big group think.

And on the outside, I’m like Paul?

“You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

How could all of you start thinking the same wrong thing?

Our culture says if lots of people think it, it must be true.

Paul says a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

False teaching acts like a slow moving poison, it infiltrates and contaminates the whole church.

If it is that dangerous then we need to approach it like the Center for Disease Control.

Put on your big plastic spaceman suit and mark it “Handle With Care” and get rid of it.

It’s dangerous for the church.

And what is implied by all of this is that we cling to what is good.

We become Gospel centered, Christ focused people.

Who obsess over Him.

That brings us to the second point, The Church’s Confidence In the Face of False Teaching.

False teaching is dangerous.

It’s deadly.

It’s wrong.

I hate it.

I watch this downgrade affecting the church, and affecting Christianity and I get angry.

Never before have we lived in a culture when information was so available.

Once upon a time the church had to borrow individual books of the Bible.

Martin Luther was sent to Rome and he found the book of Romans for the first time.

He’s a monk, a religious holy man, and he’s never seen Romans?

That seems foreign to us.

I’ve got a shelf with Bibles in my office.

I’ve got 2 or 3 apps on my phone that has a dozen translations on it.

And yet, we have a people who are biblically illiterate.

So much information, and we don’t know it.

says, ““Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”

We are facing a famine of the word of God.

But the Word of God is near.

It’s like dying of starvation while in a buffet.

This confuses me.

What hope is there for people?

But we don’t have to fear.

We don’t have to crawl into our beds and hide under the sheets.

Because we have a confidence, we have a hope.

And it is this … God is sovereign even over false teaching.

It’s not some rogue element in creation that God just can’t get a handle on.

Even with the presence of false teaching, God still protects His church.

We see this in verse 10, “I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.”

He has a confidence in the Lord … even over false teaching.

How do I know that God is sovereign over false teaching?

First, God knew that it was coming.

Here are a few verses to show you what I mean.

Paul writes to Timothy and says, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Paul wasn’t going to be caught off guard with the presence of false teaching.

When I hear of pastors who teach error, I wonder, “How can this happen?”

“These churches have belief statements?”

“These are churches, don’t they know the Bible?”

explains how this happens; there is a 2 way desire for false teaching.

False teaching wasn’t going to catch Paul off guard.

And notice the two way desire for false teaching.

There are the listeners who desire false teaching.

It starts within the congregation.

And the listeners will accumulate, or gather for themselves false teachers.

People who will say what they want to hear.

But either way, Paul knew the day was coming.

Just before these words is that tells us all Scripture is God breathed.

This means God knew that these days were coming.

is Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesian Elders.

After serving that church for 3 years, Paul is about to move on, but before he leaves he says these words, “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

He knew that the Ephesian church was going to face hard times, and those hard times would come from within the church.

Men from within the church would speak twisted things.

This is false teaching.

It would draw people away.

Even Jesus knew about false teachers.

He probably knew better than anyone else.

Jesus says, “For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.”

He not only knew about false teachers, but he knew how they would come, and they’d be successful.

They’d come claiming to be Him.

Groups that claim to have had secret messages from Jesus are not original.

These verses tell us that God was well aware of downgrades facing the church and false teaching.

God is not losing His grip.

He knew that this attack was going to come.

God’s sovereignty over false teachers is ultimately displayed in His judgment over them.

Anyone who teaches is going to be judged.

So like Satan, who is limited in His ability, false teachers are limited.

describes a beast that is allowed to attack the church.

says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

Myself included.

It says, “Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,”

God cares about what teachers say, because really they are talking about God.

All truth is God’s truth.

God will judge teachers.

If you stand in front of anyone and speak about truth, know God will judge you.

This is a warning, there is a high standard on teachers.

Over those who preach to the body, someone in my position.

Over those who preach in Sunday School or to the youth.

Even over those who teach children.

This is a reminder that teachers on any level, are to be above reproach in their life and teaching.

God will judge.

Maybe you wonder, how come some false teachers seem to get away with it.

There are false teachers who escape this life and fool the masses.

Men like Joseph Smith or Charles Russel, their books may survive their life and remain in print for future generations, we know there is a judgment.

And the judgment is a strong one.

If they are teaching a lie that condemns people eternally, then you can expect that punishment to be a terrible eternal punishment.

In some degree there are levels of punishment in Hell.

I don’t know what that looks like, God does.

Jesus said, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.”

There’s punishment, then theres really bad punishment.

Back to , Paul says that he is confident that “the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.”

This helps him sleep at night, knowing that Christ will defend and protect His church.

And you can know that God will judge those who encourage a downgrade and a compromise of the truth.

We don’t often find comfort in God’s wrath.

In fact that is one of those subjects that people tend to run from or shy away from.

But here it is a comfort.

Paul finds comfort knowing that there is a penalty for those who attack the church.

says, “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.”

The righteous will rejoice.

Why do we rejoice? Because:

Good conquers evil.

God has His victory.

Our King is on His throne.

This is our comfort and confidence in the presence of an attack upon the Gospel.

Now lastly, what are The Gospel’s Affect Upon False Teaching?

The Gospel causes False Teaching to hate the truth.

Paul says, “But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.”

Paul

We’ve seen how a false Gospel is dangerous and poisonous to a body, but notice that it’s motivation is that it is completely opposed to truth.

We’ve seen how false Gospel is dangerous and poisonous to a body, but notice that it’s motivation is that it is completely opposed to truth.

It hates truth.

It wants to shut the truth down.

Specifically, it wants to shut the Gospel down.

False teaching persecutes those who hold to truth.

At times it has violently oppressed those who hold to truth.

But nowadays it’s a little different.

It’s to gossip or slander those who hold to truth.

It’s to mock us.

It’s to

Sometimes it’s not an all out war, and sometimes it’s more of a strategy of attacking truth is by diluting truth.

Paul talks about removing the offense of the Gospel.

There is an element of the Gospel that is offensive to the world around us.

And it’s predictably offensive.

It rubs people the wrong way.

Think of offensive like an attack.

It’s a trap upon self-righteous man.

The offensive nature of the Cross is that it is the culmination of our inability to save ourselves.

You sinned against God.

And there is nothing that you can do to fix that.

You can’t offer God money.

You can’t do good deeds.

You have nothing that God needs.

And if you happen to have the currency that God needs, you don’t have enough of it.

The only way to be made right with God is for Jesus to die for you.

False teaching dilutes the Gospel, or removes its offense by trying to say it’s the Cross plus something else.

False teachers were telling the Galatians the something else is circumcision.

Others have said it’s baptism.

Some have said it’s communion.

Some say it’s living a good life.

Sometimes the Gospel is reduced to only believing in a god and being a good person.

Whatever it is, if there is something you can give God to make yourself right with God, you have removed the offense of the Gospel.

You have removed that part of the Gospel that makes us completely dependent upon God.

The Gospel says you:

Were dead.

Unable to come to God on your own.

And you needed Emmanuel, God with us.

You needed God to enter into human history and humanity to save us.

Jesus came and died for us.

The Holy Spirit regenerated us.

You have been saved of grace, not of your own deeds.

But False teachers say the opposite.

They don’t want followers of Christ.

You’re not totally dead.

It’s hard to follow Christ.

You don’t completely need God.

Do these 5 things.

They can get followers if they build you up and say you can do it on your own.

Do this.

Do that.

Then you’ll be good, because you are good.

Where’s the offense in that message?

Where is the attack upon the self-righteous?

It’s not there.

It’s been removed.

But I’ll tell you what, it’s subtle.

It’s a little bit of truth, mixed with a lie and self-righteousness.

Then we get to verse 12, Paul’s anger, which since this is Scripture it’s God’s anger, reaches its climax, “I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!”

Can you hear his anger in that sentence?

Just north of Galatian was a town called Phyrgia.

Just north of Galatian was a town called Phyrgia.

It was home of a cult where the very devout worshipers would show their devotion by castrating themselves.

I don’t think he’s saying “Move on north, and just cut everything off.”

It’s not the first time he’s talked like this either.

In , in dealing with something similar, he calls his opponens those who mutilate the flesh.

When he says that they should emasculate themselves, it has a double meaning.

He’s being sarcastic here, speaking in hyperbole.

The exaggerated meaning is in reference to a town just north of Galatia, a town called Fridge-Eea (Phyrgia).

It was home of a cult where the very devout worshipers would show their devotion by castrating themselves.

So in exaggeration, he says, you want to show your devotion, go north, and cut it all off.

You want to bring harm?

I don’t think he’s saying “Move on north, and just cut everything off.”

Go cut it all off.

Get out of here.

Like I said, it’s more of a pun.

The word emasculate means to cut off or to separate.

Jesus said if your hand causes you to sin, “cut it off.”

He’s calling for those who are leading the Galatians astray to cut themselves off.

This is self excommunication.

Just leave.

I wish you would get out of Dodge, leave Galatia and never return.

“Your so into cutting things, why don’t you cut yourself off from this church.”

I remember one time sitting in a room filled with people who believed a false gospel and wanted to have it preached.

They voiced their opinions.

I was young at the time, 30 years old.

They were in the room, saying “What do you want us to do?”

I told them leave.

Just leave.

The Gospel causes a separation.

And if they don’t leave voluntarily, then church discipline would step in.

They be would be rebuked publicly, and the church would be told to separate from them.

To no longer have fellowship with them.

You know what one of the best defenses against false teaching is?

Teach truth and teach it often.

And don’t compromise.

It will make those who hate it squirm.

It’ll either convert them or drive them off.

And if they leave … that’s okay.

They left because of the offense of the Gospel.

There you have it. Perhaps you wonder why we come off so strong against false teaching.

Namely because God comes off hard against it.

If God is truth, then anything false is a lie about God.

Today makes it clear:

The church is to be in opposition to false teaching.

That we are to remain confident in the Lord’s sovereignty over it.

And remember that the Gospel has an effect, it separates.

One thing I didn’t answer, but probably doesn’t need any explanation is that we are talking about Jesus Christ.

He’s my Lord.

He’s my Savior.

He died for me.

I can’t deny Him.

If we desire to glorify God and exalt Christ, then we put His truth before anything else.