No Leaven In Our Houses

Q: What does the Bible say about leaven in relation to sin?

The Bible warns that a little leaven leavens the whole lump, symbolizing the pervasive nature of sin. In Scripture, leaven is often associated with sin and corruption. The phrase 'a little leaven leavens the whole lump' indicates that even a small amount of sin can corrupt an entire community or individual. This analogy is prevalent in both the Old and New Testaments, where leaven is a metaphor for false doctrine and the harmful effects of sin. In 1 Corinthians 5:6-7, the Apostle Paul admonishes the church to purge out the old leaven, emphasizing that the purity of the church is compromised by tolerating even minor sins.

Q: How do we know that salvation is by grace alone?

The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is by grace alone through faith, not by works. The doctrine of salvation by grace alone is rooted in multiple passages throughout Scripture. Ephesians 2:8-9 explicitly states that it is by grace that we are saved through faith, and this is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. This is complemented by Romans 3:23-24 which teaches that all have sinned and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The historic Reformed perspective emphasizes God's sovereign grace in salvation, affirming that it is entirely by God's mercy and not influenced by human actions or decisions.

Q: Why is understanding the concept of grace important for Christians?

Understanding grace is crucial for Christians as it is the foundation of salvation and spiritual growth. The concept of grace is fundamental to the Christian faith, as it underscores the unmerited favor of God towards sinners. Grace is what allows individuals to be reconciled to God despite their sinfulness. It teaches humility, as it reminds Christians that they are not saved by their own merits but through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, comprehending grace encourages believers to extend forgiveness and grace to others, as they have received grace themselves. This understanding also fosters spiritual maturity, as it leads to greater dependence on God rather than self-reliance.

Q: What does leaven symbolize in the teachings of Jesus?

In the teachings of Jesus, leaven symbolizes false doctrine and moral corruption. Jesus often used leaven as a metaphor to warn His disciples of the dangers of false teaching and hypocrisy. For example, in Matthew 16:6, He instructs them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, indicating that their teachings could corrupt true faith. Leaven represents not just false doctrine but also attitudes and practices that lead individuals away from holiness. The warning serves as a call for vigilance in doctrine and conduct, as even a small bit of error can lead to significant spiritual decline.

Q: How can Christians ensure they are free from leaven in their spiritual lives?

Christians can ensure they are free from leaven by regularly examining their hearts and aligning their lives with Scripture. To be free from leaven, Christians must engage in diligent self-examination, prayer, and studying of God's Word. The Apostle Paul advises in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 that believers should purge out the old leaven, encouraging them to strive for purity in their communities. This involves recognizing and addressing sin, false teachings, and harmful attitudes. Additionally, reliance on the Holy Spirit is essential as He guides believers in truth and brings conviction for any leaven present in their lives. Regular accountability within the church community can also assist individuals in maintaining purity.

Good singing, good hymns. All right, let's go back to Exodus
12 now. I sure hope the Lord blesses
this, because it's kind of mysterious. But let's read verse 19 and 20
again. He says, 7 days shall there be
no leaven found in your houses. For whosoever eateth that which
is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation
of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land. You shall
eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations shall
you eat unleavened bread. Now let me remind us all that
there is nothing insignificant in God's Word. Nothing insignificant. Whatever is recorded is vitally
important. There's nothing in God's Word
either which does not apply to us today. Nothing. And the Old Testament, which
does not apply to us also. It may be that we just don't
have the understanding. But the Scripture says, Whatsoever
is written is written for our learning. Paul said that in Romans
15, and he was talking about the Old Testament. Whatever is
written is written for our learning. So everything is important, right? You agree with that? Everything
has an application to us. Now, when something is written
once, it's important. But if something is recorded
over and over and over and over, it must be extremely important,
right? I looked this up carefully. or unleavened bread is written
spoken of in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, First and Second Chronicles, Ezra,
Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, First Corinthians,
and Galatians. And when I first looked at this,
I thought, You know, we've looked at that a little bit. We'll go
on. And then I looked up how often
the scripture speaks of this and warns of it. The Lord throughout
the Old Testament commanded them over and over and over again
to observe this feast of unleavened bread. And then throughout the
Gospels and some of the epistles, he also talks about leaven. The Lord commanded These Israelites,
these newly redeemed, newly redeemed Israelites, do not eat leaven.
Don't eat it. Get it out of your house. The Lord Jesus Christ warned
his disciples, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Beware of them. And then the
chief apostle, Paul, warned us, all of us, a little leaven. This
is how serious it is. A little leaven leaveneth the
whole lump. So it must be important and it
must be dangerous. This thing of leaven must be
dangerous and we're told to find out what it is and get rid of
it and don't be a partaker of it. All right. What is leaven? What is leaven? The actual substance You ladies
use it, those of you who bake often use it a lot. It's yeast. That's what it is. It's yeast. Yeast, the actual substance. Yeast, and God's Word, God is,
His Word is so amazing. The things He uses as spiritual
types. But yeast is something which
is fermented, like grain or some kind of fruit that after it ferments,
it turns into yeast. Yeast is spoiled, something spoiled. It's got to spoil or start corrupting,
rotting, decaying to produce yeast. What yeast is, is fungi.
Fungus. That's what it is. It's something
that goes bad, and this fungus breeds. And this fungus is a
living, corrupt organism that grows and multiplies very rapidly.
Now, if you're listening carefully, if you know anything about what
spiritual living is, you're getting something out of this already. It's corruption that multiplies
rapidly. Leaven or yeast, the actual substance,
when added to flour and water. To make unleavened bread, you
just use flour and water. A paste of flour and water. You
don't put anything else in it. Nope. But if you add just a little
yeast to that dough, what happens? What does yeast do? Makes it
rise. It makes it swell up. It puffs
it up. Now listen carefully. This yeast
doesn't add to the substance of the bread. It doesn't actually
make more bread. It puffs it up. Makes you think
it's more than what it is. That's a fact. Yeast doesn't
add to the flavor of it. No, sir. You may think it does,
because what you taste in bread you buy
is all those other stuff, that other stuff people put in. But
yeast doesn't add to the flavor of it, or leaven doesn't. It
only blows it up to make it appear to be bigger and better than
it is. And it doesn't take much to puff
it up. All right, go to Matthew 16 with
me, Matthew chapter 16. And as I quoted to you from Galatians
5, and this is quoted two or three times, a little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump. It doesn't take much. What is
leaven? Matthew 16, go there. Our Lord
spoke of it often. It's recorded in three Gospels.
Levin be taking notes three things Levin and there's much more but
Levin basically is false doctrine. False doctrine. Levin is attitude. Attitude. Levin is sin or sins. All right the Lord said to the
Israelites you look for it in your houses. You search for diligence
are present in there you find it and you get it out of. Our. Subject Sunday morning was
no complaining in our streets. And tonight it's no living in
our houses. So look at Matthew sixteen three
verses one through twelve the Pharisees came with a fantasy.
and tempting desired him, Christ, that he would show them a sign
from heaven. He answered and said unto them,
What, when it is evening, you say it will be fair weather,
for the sky is red, and in the morning it will be foul weather
to-day, for the sky is red and lowering? O ye hypocrites! You
can discern the face of the sky, but can you not discern the signs
of the time? A wicked and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it
but the sign of the prophet Jonah. We looked at that Sunday morning.
And he left them and departed, and when his disciples were come
to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said
unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves,
saying, He's mad at us for not bringing any bread. Listen to
what our Lord said, which when Jesus perceived, he said unto
him, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves? Because
ye have brought no bread. Do ye not yet understand? Now,
this has been a couple years, a couple years have gone by.
Neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how
many baskets you took up, neither the seven loaves of the four
thousand, how many baskets you took up. How is it that you do
not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread,
physical bread, that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and of the Sadducees? Then understood they. how did
he bathe them not beware of the level of bread but of the doctrine
of the Pharisees and of the seducer. All right let's look at this
doctrine of the Pharisees and the seducer. All right go to
Matthew twenty three with the Pharisees who were that. I did
a real interesting study on the Pharisees just went into Unger's
Bible dictionary and looked up a huge thing on Pharisees from
Josephus and all down through history. But. Pharisees and Sadducees
were different. Scribes are Pharisees. Scribes are Pharisees who transcribe
the word. Scribes are kind of like the
doctors of law among the Pharisees. OK, but Pharisees were the orthodox
or that is those who followed the word the Bible very carefully
tried to observe the Bible very strictly and its morality and
tried to hold to the law as their rule of life. You could say that
about Pharisee the law was their rule of life at least the way
they interpreted But what their doctrine while you could sum
up the doctrine of the Pharisees this way. They believe that if you kept
the law. That God would be pleased with
you. That God would accept you. If you just keep the law in commandments
and the rest of the Levitical law. They believe that that You
could make yourself holy by keeping the law. That's that's the sum
and substance of what the Pharisees believe you all. Most of you
know that everyone in here doesn't know that. But most of you do. The Lord said you beware. Of the 11 of the Pharisees. Rooted
out. Don't let there be any in your
house. Get rid of. It'll damn you. That's how serious
it is. Now, what the Pharisees did not
consider, and the Apostle Paul was a Pharisee. He was one of
the chiefs. He would have been the high priest
if he'd gone on. He was moving right up the religious
ladder. And if you go over to Philippians 3 sometime and read
that, Paul said, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews, Pharisee. He said, concerning the law,
I was blameless. He kept every jot until he thought. And he just thought God was real
pleased with him, but he didn't even know God. He was ignorant
of the law. Ignorant. Pharisees don't know
that God doesn't look on the outward countenance. God doesn't
see like men see, that His vision is not limited to what's on the
outside. But God looks on the heart. And it's the heart, out of the
heart are the issues of life. And God's word says this, it
shall be perfectly accepted. Absolutely perfect. If you're
going to be justified or accepted by God by the law, he demands
that you keep it not just in outward action, but in thought. He can't ever even think. Remember
the Lord in Matthew, in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord said,
you look on a woman, he's committed adultery. To get angry without
a cause, he's killed that person. The Pharisees, they got angry. And they set out to kill him,
these law keepers. He magnified the law, you see.
He showed what it really is, what it really means, what it
is, what it requires. Look at Matthew twenty three
verse five. Here's what Pharisees do. Our Lord speaking to the
multitude. And I know there was some Pharisees
standing around. Our Lord didn't fear men. And he was warning
the people about these Pharisees. And he said in verse five, all
their works, this is it, this sums it up, all their works they
do to be seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries.
They enlarge the borders of their garments. Now do you know what
phylacteries are? And this is, folks, this is still
very, very, very applicable. Phylacteries were scripture verses
which the Pharisees had memorized. And however many memory verses,
where's the... they are however many memory
versus you remember you would make a little box and put them
in a little box and if you memorize a lot of me make a bigger box
and they would wear these on their wrists and even on their
head and the bigger the box the broader
the phylactery Boy, you sure knew a lot of Bible. Everybody
knew you knew a lot of Bible, because you was wearing it. What they were doing was trying
to be seen to men. Does that have any application today? Is
there anything wrong with putting God's Word on your bumper? Yeah,
there is. Number one, God's Word is too
holy and too glorious and too high to be used in such a fashion. That's degrading the God's Word,
and to put it in a common, filthy, rotten place like this, it's
too holy, it's too wonderful to be displayed in a common fashion
as you would a slogan by whoever, Martin Luther or something. No. But people do it sometimes. They put it, wear them on a t-shirt,
they make broad there. I like that. to be seen of men. Read on. Read on. It says they,
in verse 5, enlarge the borders of their garments. Our Lord,
in one place, said they like to wear long clothing. Now, I don't know why some of
the early church fathers started wearing those robes and stuff.
I don't know why they did that, but they were wrong. They were wrong. Oh my, they
started doing that, clerical collars and all that. Some men
that we know, right, some men that we have confidence in were
gospel preachers, did this sort of thing. And the only one reason
they wore that was that it was to stick out. And that's wrong. But anybody
who wears some kind of ecclesiastical habit, that's what that's called,
a habit, is doing it to be seen of man, and it's wrong. It's
wrong. Beware of this. We're not to
dress in such a way as to try to distinguish ourselves. Some fellow we know, some preacher,
my wife, well, he ran into some woman who was dressed very conservatively. And he said to her, he had the
audacity, he had the ignorance to say that, he said, are you
a Christian? And the woman said, well, yes,
I am. He said, I thought so. You can
tell by the way you're dressed. What an ignoramus. The Pharisees
were lost. Every one of them were lost.
Can you tell by the way somebody dresses? No. For sure you see
a harlot out on the street, you can tell she's lost. But you
can't tell somebody's faith by the clothing they wear. That's ridiculous. And don't
let that enter into your mind. It can, can it? Oh, they look
good. They're trying to live a holy... They look real pious. They're doing it to look that
way. And it's an abomination to God Almighty to try to look
a certain way to appear to be pious. They do it to be seen of men.
A little leaven, what does a little leaven do? It puffs up. It puffs up. Puffs up. The fear of the Lord deflates
you. The fear of the Lord, humility, wants you to not stick out, but
to blend in and hide yourself. The fear of the Lord will cause
you to want to hide yourself, not look at me. Right? Look at verse 14 down here in
the same text. He said, Woe unto you scribes,
Pharisees. He called them hypocrites. That
is, a hypocrite is someone who says and doesn't do what they
say. So, a hypocrite is someone who
appears to be what they're not. That's a hypocrite. We get the
modern word, actor, comes from this Greek word, hapokret, actor. We make great people out of hypocrites. and pay them big money. Hypocrite. Scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites.
Read on. You devour widows' houses. They're acting apart for what?
Money. It's all about money. And for a pretense, make long
prayers. Go back to Matthew 6 with me.
All these things are harmless preachers. No, they're not. Matthew
6. Go back there. It says, for a
pretense, make long prayers. For a pretense. Or a pretend. Matthew 6, look at what our Lord
said. He commands this. He said in verse 2, when you
do your alms, that means any kind of religious works you do,
don't sound a trumpet before you. Don't let everybody know
what you're getting ready to do. You know, that's what the
Pharisees actually did. They actually did it. And they
were, did a little processional toward the temple, you know,
and sound of trouble. Look, look, here come the Pharisees.
Holy processional, religious processionals. Look, here comes
First Baptist Church float. It's all, it's just good, harmless
fun. No, it's not. It's monumental
to God. It's no different than these
fellows. He says, don't sound the trumpet. They have their reward. He said,
that's why they're doing it. Verse five, when you pray, when
you pray, he's talking to us, his people. When you pray, don't
be as the hypocrites are. They love to pray standing in
the synagogue, in the corners of the street. We have a public
prayer, prayer here, prayer there. Why are they doing it? To be
seen of men. I don't know of a human being
on earth that can pray out in a public place without being
conscious of other people around them. I can't do it. Our Lord said, they're doing
it to be seen of man. Oh, it's harmful. You can do it. Our Lord
said, don't do it. Don't do it. When you pray, get
in your closet. Enter in your closet. Why do
you pray? Why do we pray? We're praying
to God. We're not praying to men. And
we pray publicly here, but it's the church. It's believers met
together, and one person stands up, and it's a blessing to pray
for one another. We don't hold it out here on
the parking lot so everybody can see us praying. That's self-righteousness. Old Brother Barnard, I've got
to tell you about him. That man, he was a John the Baptist. A couple of stories about him,
most of you have heard of him, but one time he sat down to eat
with a fellow who was real religious, you know, and the fellow, Margaret
dove into his food and started eating it. And the fellow was
just shocked. He said, Brother Margaret, he
said, aren't you going to pray? Martin. How you know I didn't. You're not doing it so you can
see. Prayers and attitude of heart
anyway it's not. A position of the body or. Words
of the mouth. Another time. Another time he. Same thing have. A bunch of fellows
met together and. for breakfast or something, and
Barnard dove into his food, you know, and no, no, what it was
was they started, let's just have a little prayer. Barnard
said, well, y'all go through your little ritual. I'm going to eat. And
he started eating. They do it to be seen. That's
just an absolute fact. An absolute fact. Our Lord said,
don't do it. Don't do it. Look at verse fifteen. He said here neither. He says
Matthew five verse. Where am I? I'm not wrong. Go back to Matthew sixteen. I
believe that's where it is. Matthew. Matthew twenty three. I'm sorry.
Go back there. Matthew twenty three. That's
where we were. Matthew twenty three. Look at Matthew 23. He says in
verse 15, Matthew 23, verse 15, Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees,
hypocrite, who encompass sea and land to make one proselyte. And see these people going door
to door. They're trying to evangelize. They're trying to win souls for
Jesus. No, they're not. They're proselyting. There's
a big difference. They're trying to make members
of their organization. They're not doing it for the
glory of God, for the truth, the furtherance of the truth,
or so that people might know Christ. They're doing it that
people might turn into Mormons or something. That's why our
Lord said that. Nowhere in this Bible does it
tell the apostles told to go door to door. Nobody was. Nobody. A lot of casting of pearls before
swine in that respect. A lot of it. Verse 23, go down there. Woe
unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, you pate, tithe of
men, and of succumbent, who have omitted the weightier matters
of the law, such as judgment, mercy, and faith. Very careful
about the little things, the outward things. Very careful
to not do this, not do that, and to do this and do that. But
have omitted the very sum and substance of the truth. Judgment,
mercy, faith. These ought to have done. Verse
29, go down there. I got to hurry. Woe unto you,
scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, you build the tombs of the prophets
and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous. I've heard men
like Jerry Falwell and some of these
some of these hucksters quoting Charles Spurgeon, quoting John
Whitfield, quoting men that did preach the gospel. They don't
believe what they preached. And worse still, they quote the
Lord Himself. They don't believe what the Lord
said. They garnish the tombs. But they hate the living preachers
that say what they said. And Whitefield and Spurgeon wouldn't
have anything to do with those men. They would denounce every
one of them. I know them. I've got all their works. Beware the leaven of the Pharisees,
our Lord says. Pharisees, Pharisees believed,
go back to Matthew 16. Pharisees believed in resurrection. They believed that. They believed
in life after death and they were interested in the supernatural. They were interested in signs
and wonders. Remember where we read, it said the Pharisees sought
a sign from the Lord and he said, you beware the leaven of the
Pharisees. Sign. Who are the Pharisees today? There are many denominational
Pharisees, Southern Baptists, full of them, full of them, Pentecostal,
full of them. I'd observed the law, strict
law, Presbyterian, on and on you could go with them. Beware
the leaven of the Pharisees. And then our Lord said, the Sadducees,
verse six of Matthew sixteen, beware the leaven of the Pharisees
and the Sadducees. Who are the Sadducees? Well,
these were The Pharisees and Sadducees didn't get along at
all. They didn't get along at all. Sadducees didn't even believe
in, basically didn't believe in life after death. They didn't believe it. They
were a perverted offshoot of Judaism or whatever. I don't
know where are these fellas, but they were the rich fellas,
real rich fellas. And theirs was a social religion. A very social religion. They
believed in morality, but they didn't believe in the law so
strictly, and they believed everybody could just interpret it the way
they wanted to. Just a social religion. You need to be moral,
and you can interpret the law however you want to, if you like
that fine. They were strong believers in free will. Who are these? Methodists. They don't know anything. Why
am I laughing? It's not funny at all. And then
there's another one, and I'm not going to have you turn there,
but go back to Exodus 12. Our Lord said, you beware of
the doctrine of the Herodians. There was some fellows called
Herodians. That is, they were close to Herod. They were involved in Herod's
court. What it was is they were political
people. Their religion was very political. They had connections with Herod. And they were very religious,
but they used it for gain and political purposes, for social
causes, you know, and so forth. So who's it? Catholicism. That's
a political organization, Catholicism is. Right? It has its own government,
and their vast majority Catholicism. Well, Exodus 12,
our Lord said, you beware of the jock doctrine of the Pharisee.
It's leaven. He says in verse 15, you'll eat
unleavened bread. First day, you'll put it away.
First day. We come here on Sunday, first day of the week, to feast
on Christ's, the bread from heaven. We come here on the Lord's day
to eat this bread from heaven. Our souls are fed. with bread
from heaven, manna, Christ, the bread from heaven. We don't need
anything else. Unleavened bread is bread that
you don't need to add anything to it. All the substance is right
there in it. All that you need, all the nourishment,
all that's good, you don't need to add anything to it. Christ
is all. God's Word is bread. You don't
need anything to it's pure it's unleavened it doesn't have the
impurities of man whenever you add man's works. Man's will man's
ways. In March chapter seven the Lord
said this four times he said the Pharisees. They nullify or
do away they with the word of God to keep their tradition. So they do away the Word of God
just to keep their tradition. Well, we can do without all that
tradition. But we need to know what God's Word says. But we
come here to eat from this bread, which is perfect. It doesn't
need anything. And this bread is Christ's. And you don't need anything else
but Christ's. Don't need anything else. You don't need all these
self-help stuff. You beware of all this lemon
that's out there. That's how to add to this. All
the time I advise you counsel you if you want anything to study
this book with just get the commentary. Let me tell you what a man said
about those commentary. This is incredible. Back when. Right after my dad my pastor
wrote these commentary. Submitted them to the evangelical press over there
to have them published bill clark's idea he won the public is one
of the few solid man in that much and there was a fellow in
that board on that board of publishers from spain and that he was a
great man but anyway he read through the proofread through
the the commentaries and he said yes he actually said He said,
while all these commentaries, he said, he said, all they say
is what the Bible says. He was critiquing them. He was
saying that they weren't valuable because all they said was what
the Bible said. May that be the commentary on
our preaching. Oh, we need more. We need to
know what such and such says and what this says. No, you don't.
That's leaven. That's leaven. You beware of
it. And people, all these self-helps, you don't need this stuff. I've
gone in a few people's houses and seen these books all over
shelves. Maybe you've still got them left over from your Armenian
days. Burn them. All this Max Lucado
crap and all this stuff. I'm telling you, it's crap. You
go through it and you look at it and there'll be a little leaven
here and there of man's will, man's works, your this and this
and that and the other. And it takes away from the purity
of God's glory and God's Word. Salvation is by grace, 100% grace. Salvation is in Christ alone.
Christ alone. That's unleavened bread. If you
put any of man's works with it, any of it, decision, Witnessing,
keeping the law, whatever, you've corrupted it. Salvation is 100%
by the sovereign mercy and grace of God Almighty. His choice,
His will, His power, His work. If you add any of man's decision,
or man's will, or man's consecrating, dedicating, re-consecrating,
you've corrupted it. He put lemon in it. And it's
not pure, not pure grace anymore. It's not salvation 100% by God
anymore. It's 99.99%. Old brother Scott
Richardson, wise old man, said, rat, he noted this, rat poison
is 99% good food. That's not what'll kill you.
Not what kills a rat. It's that 1% of poison. 1% for salvation is 100% for the
glory of God Almighty. He must get 100% of the glory
in salvation. If you give man any credit for
anything, you've polluted it and you've corrupted his glory,
you put 11 in it. And 11 I said to him, he said, on the
first day you eat this leaven, he said, and you eat it all week
long, that means that's all you need to eat is that unleavened
bread. Now we can't help but come across
this stuff on radio and TV and all that, but just turn it off.
Because what happens, like I told these young people, don't go
out there, you don't need to go to these other places, unless
you haven't found what you're looking for, and then go. Worship
at the church of your choice. That's what these places say.
Worship at the church of your choice. Yeah, fine. God's people
worship at the church of his choice. The scripture says souls are
added to the church daily, such as should be said. The Lord adds
people to his church. They don't even know what they're
looking for. When they go and they see it and they listen,
poof! And the Lord turns the light on and breaks the heart
and all. They just looking for a church.
They weren't looking for the truth. And he opened the eyes,
and then they found the pearl of great, and they're not going
anywhere yet. They don't need anything yet. But just turn that stuff off. There's
nothing good in it. Nothing good in it. Well, he says some good
things. Like I said, I've heard some of the most out-and-out
false prophets. You know them if I told you their
name. I've heard them preach on just and justifier. If I told
you a man's name, you wouldn't believe it, but I heard him preaching
one day from Leviticus 13 on the cleansing of a leper. I was
shocked to hear what he was saying. I mean, why is that? How can that be? Saul did it. Judas did it. And Balaam did
it, and nobody was saved by their ministry. They did it, the Lord
did it to condemn them, to add to their condemnation. The Lord
did it to condemn those who heard them and didn't do what they
heard, which was from God's Word. And the Lord did it to show us
that He can make a fool of Balaam's
ass. and tell the truth at his own
condemnation by man's words you'll be condemned. And on and on you could go with
that. Look at 1 Corinthians 5. Eleven is attitude. I told you
attitude. Well, I just told you what the
Word said. 1 Corinthians 5. And this self-righteousness
breeds a bad attitude. And we all got to be aware of
this self-righteousness. It's a very subtle thing, very
subtle. Just a little bit of it starts
growing. We can be self-righteous with
our knowledge of the truth, can't we? We know the truth and others
don't. What do we have that we have
not received? I mean, we can't look down on people because they
don't know the truth. Burgeon one time said, used this
illustration, he said, suppose a man was down in a pit with
a bunch of other men and he couldn't get out. Down in a pit and he
could not get out. And somebody comes along and
pulls him out of the pit. He couldn't have got out if somebody
hadn't chosen him out of that bunk and pulled him out of the
pit. He said, what if that man start
standing up over those other people think you know what's
wrong you don't even know you don't know that you are just
are you still bitter. He wouldn't be able to get some
money and. That's what spurred said beware
that. They wear that beware that you don't say I'm glad I'm not
self-righteous like that person. That's what the person said about
the public. It's real subtle and a little leaven. I know some
men, the strict grace fellows, and they got all puffed up, buddy,
and they got so puffed up, the Lord exploded their little Sanhedrin. Just exploded it. Burst it apart. There's no more. Four out of
five. Five-member Sanhedrin who said
they were the only ones preaching the gospel. Only one. And four
out of the five are gone, buddy. The Lord had mercy on the people.
A little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump. Leaven, verse 7. Verse 6 and 7. Know ye not, glory
is not good, know ye not a little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump?
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as
ye are unleavened, even Christ our Passover. who is unleavened,
no sin in him, his sacrifice for us. Let us keep the feasts.
Therefore, let us worship God, not with the old leaven, neither
with the leaven of malice and wickedness." We're guilty of
this sometimes. We come in here, we've got a
grudge against somebody, or we... The husbands and wives, every
one of us have had a spat, and come in here and try to pretend
to worship. It would have been better to
stay home and kiss and make up and pray to God between you and
then come next time when you're not thinking about that woman you gave me. We've all
done it, haven't we? We've all done it. The problem
is I can't stay home. Oh, we've been a long time and
long. I can't even remember when the
last one. We don't go in here with a bad
attitude as quenching the spirit. I can't. I really can't remember
before church. Anyway, living is a bad attitude,
bad attitude, malice, wickedness. Look at this first eight. The
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Sincerity. You need
to come in here with a sincere desire to be fed. A sincere desire to be fed. Truth
and no guile. No alterity or motive. What if
I don't show up? People, what do they think? That's
not the reason to come here. But a pure hunger and thirst
for Christ. And lastly, leaven is sin of any sort. And a little leaven, boy, a leaven
a whole lump. There's no such thing as a little sin. You know,
a little sin, a white lie, it'll corrupt a whole man, if allowed,
if tolerated, if condoned. Y'all know exactly what I'm talking
about here. Muslim sins, the old writers
used to call them. Get it out. That's the Lord.
That's what we sung there from Psalm 139. Lord, see if there
be any wicked way in me and get it out of there. David prayed
in Psalm 19, Lord, keep me back. Keep me from secret false things
I don't know and keep me from presumptuous sins. Sins I think
I can go on in that won't, that I'll get up. Get it out of me. David prayed, Lord, how do you
get rid of this letter? You seek, you search, you ask.
David prayed, Lord, let no iniquity have any dominion over me. Don't
let this breed me. Lord, purge me with hyssop, and
I'll be clean. Wash me throughly from my iniquity,
and I'll be white as snow. Create in me a clean heart. He's
the only one that really can get rid of that. Keep me from
presumption. Search me, try me, see if there
be, lead me. That's what the Lord told the
Israelites. He said, you get that leaven
out of there. Thank God for the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God for His
Holy Spirit who purges, who teaches, who leads, who guides, who approves,
who corrects, who conforms us to the image of Christ. There's not going to be an eleven
in heaven. Eleven in heaven. No sin. None whatsoever. And I don't want eleven in our
houses. Whatever it may be, eleven. Get
rid of it. Lord, help me. They asked Charles
Spurgeon one time, they said, if you could have anything on
this earth, anything, what would it be? The Lord would grant your desire, what would it be?
You remember what he said? He said that my desire would
be that I'd be completely without sin. None. Well, thank God for the blood
of Christ, because we've still got a lot of sin in us, don't
we? The blood before the Lord and
His righteousness. And I want him to conform me,
get this stuff, get it out of me. Get it out of me, tell me,
show me, teach me. Don't let me tolerate. What's a little bit, what's this?
It's not, it's all right. 11-0, Lord. All right, let's stand. Our Lord will teach us, we pray,
lead us We pray, not in a temptation, but in paths of righteousness,
for Thy name's sake, for Thy glory, for Thy honor. Thy Word
is our guide, a lamp to our feet, a light unto our path, Lord.
And put it in our hearts, write it on the tables of our hearts,
that we might not sin against Thee, but we do thank You for
the blood of Christ that cleanses us from all unrighteousness,
from all iniquity, from all sin. Thank You, Lord. Before you are
gone, you remember them no more, but they're ever before us. And
Lord, we see some of it and we want it out, root it out. And
Lord, cleanse us from secret thoughts, presumptuous sin, keep
us back from presumptuous sin. Let no iniquity have dominion
over us, we pray. Purge out this old leaven and
we worship with unleavened bread of sincerity and in truth. That's
in Christ's name we've met here tonight. Amen.

No Leaven In Our Houses

What does the Bible say about leaven in relation to sin?

How do we know that salvation is by grace alone?

Why is understanding the concept of grace important for Christians?

What does leaven symbolize in the teachings of Jesus?

How can Christians ensure they are free from leaven in their spiritual lives?

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No Leaven In Our Houses

What does the Bible say about leaven in relation to sin?

How do we know that salvation is by grace alone?

Why is understanding the concept of grace important for Christians?

What does leaven symbolize in the teachings of Jesus?

How can Christians ensure they are free from leaven in their spiritual lives?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

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