Leaven alert

Yeast cells

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 16:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "Then Jesus said to them, 'Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.'" Matthew 16:6

We can't help but smile at the little comedy of misunderstanding near the beginning of today's reading. Jesus had just had an encounter with the unbelieving Pharisees and Sadducess where they goaded Him for a heavenly sign. His reply cut to the bone: "Hypocrites...a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign..."

Then He and the disciples got into a boat and crossed the Sea of Galilee. When they reached the other side, the disciples realized they had forgotten to bring bread.

Into that setting Jesus interjected, "'Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.'"

I can just see the wheels trying to turn in the disciples' heads: What does that have to do with anything? They tried, among themselves, to connect Jesus' statement with their present lack of bread.

But that wasn't the connection Jesus wanted them to make. So what was He talking about?

Not physical bread. His words in Matthew 16:8-11 show us that. Even the literal-minded disciples realized by the end of that conversation that Jesus was warning them not about some literal brand of leaven to avoid, but false doctrine.

It wasn't a specific teaching that Jesus was referring to either. Because the Pharisees and Sadducees beliefs contradicted each other. According to the study notes in my Bible:

"The Pharisees had a strong commitment to the Law as interpreted by 'the tradition of the elders.' They were strong ritualists and were legalistic.


The Sadducees came from leading social families and were rationalists and materialists. They rejected "the tradition of the elders" and denied the supernatural, including the possibility of a bodily resurrection. The Pharisees and Sadducees are best known for their mutual hostility" - J. Lyle Story, commentary on Matthew in the New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1320.

Jesus was, it seems to me, warning them about the leaven of false doctrine of any kind.

Leaven or yeast, is a fungus that we add to bread dough. In the right conditions just a little grows in a matter of several hours to permeate a large lump of dough. Its presence is evident by the air bubbles that make the bread light and fluffy.

False doctrine is like that. Just a little imbalance or false teaching can quickly work its way through our whole teaching about God, resulting in aberrations as dissimilar as the cults and Christian liberalism.

How do we know when truth has been mixed with leaven? By getting familiar with teaching that is pure—that is, by immersing ourselves in the Bible. As we get to know its message from cover to cover, we will not be easily lured away by doctrines of a bloodless atonement, or angelic guides or any other leaven-permeated diversion from what Peter confessed later in the chapter: "You are the Christ the Son of the living God," or the simple gospel that Paul preached: "...Jesus Christ and Him crucified" 1 Corinthians 2:2.

PRAYER: Dear God, please sharpen my spiritual awareness so I will recognize the leaven of false teaching. Please guide me into truth by Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

MORE: Feast of the Confession of St. Peter

Today is the day the church celebrates the Confession of Saint Peter. It begins with this prayer:

Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Liturgy for this day

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Fireproof

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 3:10-23

TO CHEW ON: "Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is." 1 Corinthians 3:12-13

Who of us hasn't seen video clips on the evening news of people sifting through the charred remains and ashes of their burned homes? Each time I am chilled by their, "This was all I had. My whole life was here. I lost it all."

That's the scene these verses from 1 Corinthians bring to mind. And I just know I don't want that to be me on "the Day" (of Jesus' return). I'm sure you feel the same way. So how do we avoid this? How do we leave a life-legacy that doesn't go up in flames?

As I view the rubble of the scene, I think of the warning Jesus gave:

"Don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" Matthew 6:20.

Expending our efforts on things that last beyond this life, pouring ourselves out for the well-being of peoples' souls instead of amassing physical stuff and building monuments to ourselves is certainly one aspect of this.

But it seems that Paul is talking about more. The implication is that these people are all busy in spiritual work, building on Jesus, the right foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11). We can conclude that even in that there is a right and wrong way to build, a way to build with lasting materials or flammable ones.

Read any book describing cults and you will, I think, be struck by how many start with Jesus. He is part of their foundation. But somewhere their leaders and/or followers have used other materials than the Word of God, or stressed one part of the Bible ignoring other parts, or compromised in their lifestyles necessitating rationalization with its accompanying potential for false teaching.

A footnote in my Bible says about these building materials:

"To build on the foundation a building of durable material (gold, silver, precious stones) is to teach sound doctrine and live a life of fidelity to the truth, thus leading converts to spiritual maturity. To build with perishable material (wood, hay, straw) is to provide inadequate or unsound teaching or to compromise the truth by demonstrating a lifestyle that contradicts or fails to model it" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1583.

So how do we make sure we "teach sound doctrine and live a life of fidelity to the truth"? I would submit it's by getting very familiar with the building supply depot — the Bible (all of it, not just the red-letter parts, or the gospels, or the epistles, or the Psalms...) and by giving the Holy Spirit permission to apply it to our lives, even when it wreaks a little havoc with our current building projects.

PRAYER: Dear God, I don't want to stand before You someday next to a pile of smoking rubble, having accomplished nothing that lasts. Help me live my life with today's warning in mind. Amen.

MORE: Learning about world religions

There are thousands of belief systems in the world, hundreds of which name Jesus as part of their foundation. One book that helps the layperson through this maze is James Beverley's Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions: A Comprehensive Introduction. A part of the book that makes it useful is Beverley's evaluation of how each belief systems relates to Christian orthodoxy. This book would be a valuable addition to any home library.

(My July 2009 review of Nelson's Illustrated Guild to Religions is here).