A Little Leaven | How to be easily led astray (Galatians 5:5-10)

Topic: A Little Leaven | How to be easily led astray

Reading: Galatians 5:5-10

5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love. 7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine; and he who is troubling you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.

Introduction and Overview

The use of leaven in the Bible usually refers to how one small amount of anything can affect the whole.

Leaven is a lump of activated dough used for bread-making, and is quite common in sourdough breads. Usually it is activated from fermentation, such as a yeast. It is incorporated into a new batch of unleavened dough and left for a period of time. During that time, the active ingredients in the leaven spread through the rest of the dough, causing it to rise and be ready for baking a new loaf of bread.

This is where the saying that a little leave leavens the whole lump comes from in the Bible. It is a parable or analogy teaching used to describe a spiritual process.

It only takes a little leaven to work through the whole batch of dough enabling it to rise. And likewise, in a spiritual sense, it only take a little leaven of false and erroneous teachings to affect what a Christian believes, leading them further and further from the truth.

If we accept one error or false doctrine, then like a little leaven, it will worm its way into our beliefs affecting everything we believe. Out faith is weakened or can be destroyed by accepting any false doctrine. As a little leaven of error works through us, we are led away from the truth and into deeper and deeper error.

This was the issue facing the Galatians church. Paul was explaining this process and the little leaven of false teaching they were facing. In their case it was the acceptance of circumcision and keeping the law. This is not what Christianity is about, and through accepting this little leaven of false doctrine, they were falling away from Christ.

And it is easy to be led astray. Some false teachings have a ring of truth, especially the half-lies that have some truth in them. And that is the point of a little leaven. Just as it slowly works in and through a lump of dough, a little leaven of false doctrine slowly works through a person and a church to turn them away from the truth.

Key points from reading:

False teachers will try to turn you away from the truth with a little leaven of false doctrine
A little leaven does not remain little. It is active and alive and it works through a person or a church deeper and deeper unless it is stopped.
We do not worship God on the basis of works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ.

Discussion:

Scripture: Galatians 5:5 – We wait for the hope of righteousness through faith

The whole of the book of Galatians is essentially about a church that was falling away from Christ by seeking to to be followers of the law. They were seeking the works of the law as a means to righteousness and to serve God. But in so doing, they did not realise they were cutting themselves off from Christ.
In this verse we see Paul explain it plainly. It is only by faith in Jesus Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit that we can find righteousness. Seeking to be righteous under the law was a little leaven that would cut them off from Christ.
True righteousness does not come through acts and works of the law. True righteousness comes by faith in Jesus Christ. We achieve the perfection attainable in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law, but by the working of the Holy Spirit in us.

Scripture: Galatians 5:6 – Works of law do not matter

The major sticking point the Galatians were struggling with was circumcision, which is one of the many works of the law. This was a little leaven of teaching that was fed to the Galatians by the Jewish teachers.
But the works of the law have nothing to do with Christianity. The Jewish teachers wanted to put the Galatians church, and other Gentile churches under the law. And yet even the Jews were unable to keep the law. It is important to remember that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant, and the Old Covenant is the law.
The truth of the matter is that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any advantage. There is no additional advantage gained in keeping the works of the law. And it is the same with any of the other works of the law. Tithing, fasting, abstaining from certain foods, wearing of certain garments, and so on. None of them will bring you closer to God or make a person righteous in His eyes.
In fact, the issue is that all of these are a little leaven. They are teachings that will lead you astray from the truth. These have the appearance of wisdom and righteousness, but they deal only with physical and fleshly things.
God wants a change in our hearts and minds. Fleshly forms of worship won’t do that. It is only by faith working through love that these things can come about.

Scripture: Galatians 5:7-8 – A little leaven that comes from outside the church

When the church is running well, it will hold fast to the truth. But when outside influences come into the picture, they disrupt the truth and bring a little leaven that turns the church away from the truth.
Every teaching that comes from outside the church must be examined in the light of the scripture. Anything that does not align with the truth of the scripture is a little leaven that will influence and affect the church, if it is accepted. Yes, it is possible that these new teachings will be beneficial. But that can only occur when they align with the truth of the scriptures.
Anything else that fails to meet the test of alignment with the truth, is a little leaven that should be rejected.

Scripture: Galatians 5:9-10 – A little leaven leavens the whole lump

The point of this teaching is that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Just as a little leaven will work its way through a batch of dough, so too a little spiritual leaven will work its way through the teachings of a church and the beliefs of the members of the church.
And it doesn’t take much. To give an example, when I make bread in my bread machine and put all of the ingredients together, the leaven (in this case it is yeast), represents just 0.8% of the total mix. And yet it is sufficient to affect the whole loaf of bread, causing it to rise and double in size.
But it is just a little leaven. It is a very small amount of what makes up the whole loaf. But it has a major impact on the loaf after it works its way through the dough. Without it, the bread would not rise and would lay flat.
It’s the same with spiritual leaven. Accepting just one small error in your church doctrine, or your own personal beliefs, can have a major impact on your spiritual life.
For example, if you accept the teachings of a false doctrine, even a minor teaching, it can lead to accepting other false doctrines. Prosperity gospel is a case in point. People believe that they must give to get back. They are told if they do not get back, then the problem is with their faith, or they are lacking in trust. So, they are encouraged to give more and put more trust in God to provide. And if they still don’t receive, they begin to condemn themselves because the process is not working. They are giving but not getting back, and clearly it can’t be a problem at God’s end, so it must be them. And they become like a hamster on a spinning wheel. They push harder and harder, but get nowhere.
Prosperity gospel was not what Jesus taught. If it were, why wasn’t Jesus wealthy beyond measure? And why weren’t His disciples uber-rich? Prosperity gospel is a false doctrine that is taught by false teachers who have an agenda that is not aligned with the truth of the scriptures. Recall these scriptures:

6 There is great gain in godliness with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world; 8 but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

And;

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [wealth or prosperity]. (Matthew 6:24)

And again;

14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a coin, and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at him. (Mark 12:14-17)

And there are many others. In that last verse note the words of Jesus. He taught that what we need to give to God are the things of God: faith, love, praise, worship, and so on. But Jesus also showed that money is the invention of the world. It is a worldly thing, not a spiritual thing, and we should NOT think giving money will improve our lot in the eyes of God.
The things of the flesh, including the fleshly forms of worship like tithing, fasting, abstaining from certain foods, keeping certain festivals, days, and holidays, will not make us righteous in God’s eyes. It is only by doing the will of God through faith, love, and walking in the Spirit that we will be transformed into His image.
So, we must remember at all times not to accept a little leaven of false and wrong teachings as they will lead us away from the truth. A little leaven is a dangerous thing as it permeates throughout the whole of a person or a church to lead them away from Christ and the truth.

Prayer Points:

Pray and ask the Lord God to help you understand what is truth and what is a little leaven of untruth that is designed to lead you astray.
Pray over all of the teachings you hear from any source (including this website) so that you can know from God and be guided by Him to find the words of Jesus Christ and follow in His ways.
Pray that you can escape the teachings that may have already penetrated your beliefs or your church so that you can draw closer to God and to Jesus Christ. And question everything you hear from the perspective of Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”