‘Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:6-7)
Paul speaks of Jesus as being our ‘Passover Lamb’. At the original Passover spoken of in Exodus 17, a lamb was sacrificed to bring Israel out of slavery in Egypt. The lamb was to be eaten with bread without yeast; the Passover celebration was immediately followed by The Feast of Unleavened Bread, where they were to rid their homes of all yeast.
Jesus, our Passover Lamb has died to bring us out of slavery to the devil and sin that was symbolised by yeast. He has died to bring us into the Kingdom of God where we have freedom as we walk with God. Paul urges us,
'Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.’ (1 Corinthians 5:8)
We are to ‘keep the festival’ in the sense of living in a way that reflects what the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread means. As individuals and as a church we are to receive Salvation in Jesus’ blood and seek to live to please Him.
He has died to free us from the slavery of sin of which Egypt was a type. If Jesus has died for sin. If the Father gave His own Son because of sin, How dare we have a relaxed or even boastful attitude toward it!
When Israel left Egypt, they had occasions of wanting to return to Egypt -return to their slavery. A Christian who returns to sin is doing just this. To love sin is to love the devil’s country. To hanker after sin is to complain to God that His ways are unfulfilling.
OVER TO YOU - PRAY AND WORSHIP OUT OF THE BIBLE
I’ve made a few comments. However, it’s more important that you engage with the text yourself. Take a moment to pray and listen to God’s voice out of today’s text.
'Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.’ (1 Corinthians 5:8)
I find it helpful to use the following questions which are based upon The Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13).
1. Praise - What does this text teach me about God? What can I praise Him for?
2. Petitions - What does this teach me about His will for me and others? What could I pray for from this text? This is a good time to pray for our non-believing. friends. It’s good to ask, Is the Holy Spirit leading me in any specific response?
3. Peace-making - Is the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin for which I need forgiveness? Do I need to forgive others?
4. Protection - Ask for God’s protection generally and for any specific areas of vulnerability. Am I believing lies regarding the truths in this text?
COMMUNITY GROUP NOTES AND STUDY
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
Important - this Sunday, our service is both live in the building and on Zoom from 10:30. Please go to the website for the Zoom link.
2. Icebreaker
What has been the most memorable (in a good way!) thing that has happened over Christmas and New Year?
3. Recap of Sunday's message - please share in your group
On Sunday, we continued with our series 'Becoming Love' from the book of 1 Corinthians. The Corinthians had become Christians out of a very sexually perverted culture. However, some of them were embracing the sin in their culture and going back to their old lives. Paul likens the spreading effects of sin in a church community to yeast spreading in dough - there is power in little things!
‘It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?’ (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)
‘Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?’ (1 Corinthians 5:6)
The 'yeast' of sin that spreads is much more than sexual immorality. He also adds these things,
'But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.' (1 Corinthians 5:11)