A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Galatians 5:9
We know the lesson well, that a little sin has its impact on the entire company in which the sin occurs. Just as Achan’s sin caused the defeat of the armies of Israel, so too one individual’s sin can result in an entire assembly being devastated.
However, let us look carefully at the context of this verse. Paul is challenging those Galatians who were being dragged back into the bondage of the law. He is dealing with doctrine here, the doctrine of the Gospel, not with immorality, dishonesty, or even animosity among brethren. Paul sees a great danger in any swerving aside from the great truths of the Gospel of the grace of God that this Assembly had been taught when it was established. So he warns the saints in Galatia about the perils of departure from those truths, or even a lack of full commitment to them. This is just as great a peril as the leaven of immorality or divisions among the Lord’s people.
So how are we doing in this respect? It has been said that an Assembly is as strong as its weakest members. If that is so, we need to make sure that all of the Assembly is well taught in the truths of the Word of God, that the fundamental principles of the faith are clearly explained, rehearsed, and repeated. We need to make sure that the principles of New Testament gatherings of the Lord’s people are clearly understood by our young people as well as by those who are a little older. There is a great onus on the oversight and on the teachers in the Assembly to make sure the saints are properly instructed, and we need to pray that this onus will be as felt and discharged as it should.
Make no mistake, dear brother and sister, we are not doing as well as we should in this regard. We can see that the leaven of false doctrine and doubts is creeping into our Assemblies and our knowledge of and commitment to the divine principles is not what it used to be. The leaven becomes apparent when questions arise about why we conduct ourselves as we do, questions that show the askers have not been instructed fully in the truth. We need to be aware of this, and be in the Book to make sure that we are not led astray or caused to stumble. As individuals and as Assemblies, we need to stand firm for the Word of God.
What leaven have you purged from your life today? What leaven have you prevented from contaminating God’s Assembly? -Jim MacIntosh