1 Corinthians 5:7 April 19, 2013

Frank Bibb 1 Corinthians 5:7

"You must remove the old yeast of sin so that you will be entirely pure. Then you will be like a new batch of dough without any yeast, as indeed I know you actually are. For our Passover Festival is ready now that Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."

In the ancient Jewish tradition, yeast or leaven was associated with decay and became a symbol of sin, Here, Paul elaborates on this analogy. Just as a small portion of yeast contained in a "starter lump" of dough can grow and spread through any amount of unleavened dough, a small sin, left un-repented, can grow and spread. In this passage, Paul is confronting a situation in the Corinthian church where one member persisted in committing a particularly heinous sin. Paul insisted that the congregation address this situation by removing him from the church to prevent sin from permeating the congregation through their attitude of permissiveness. However, the yeast analogy applies on a personal level as well as it does on the corporate level. A small sin, which we do not confront and from which we do not repent, can grow and spread to other areas of our lives. Thus, Paul's exhortation applies to us individually today as much as it did to the Corinthian church. The good news comes in the second part of the passage. The Passover Festival to which Paul refers included unleavened bread (i.e. without yeast) as a reminder to the Israelites of the bread that was eaten by the Jews prior to their escape from Egypt. They did not have time to wait on yeast to rise, so they ate un-leaven bread. But this festival is also a reminder and a celebration of their salvation from slavery in Egypt. Paul is taking that term and applying it to the salvation provided by Christ's sacrifice for us, which removes the leaven (sin) from us and frees us to live new lives.

Prayer: Lord, thankyoufor the sacrifice you made to cleanse me of my sins. Help me to remember and appreciate daily all thatyou have done for me. Help me to turn that gratitude into action to further the advance of your Kingdom. In Christ's name, Amen.