September 1st
1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles–that a man has his father’s wife! 2And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 NKJV
As I read this passage, I thought of a parallel in how we may tolerate certain sins in our life. Just as the Corinthian church had tolerated the man sleeping with his father’s wife, so might we tolerate sin that we enjoy and/or don’t want to deal with. Some obvious examples of this are lusting after pornography and fantasizing about illicit sex. Perhaps some less obvious examples might include living for money, idolizing things or holding grudges against family members. No matter what the sin is, giving it shelter in ourselves is destructive.
Paul used the analogy of the leaven used in making bread. Leaven contains yeast, which multiplies and ferments with time. A tiny bit of leaven will spread through an unleavened batch of dough, “leavening” the whole batch. Evil works the same way. A little tolerated sin will spread through the rest of our life and corrupt it. Paul urged the church to purge out the sin and pursue sincerity and truth. We must do the same with any sins we are harboring in our lives.
Questions for further thought:
What are some of the typical lies the devil uses in attempt to persuade you to tolerate sin in your life?
How much of our hearts does God want us to yield to his ways? (Psalm 119:2, Mark 12:29-30)
How does tolerating sin destroy truth in our innermost parts? (Hebrews 3:13, Psalm 51:6, Ephesians 4:22)
Prayer:
“Father God, I come to you in confession of any sin that I’ve tolerated in my life (specify). I repent from my sin. Thank you for the forgiveness and cleansing that comes through the blood of Jesus. Please unite my whole heart to fear you and walk in your ways, instead of turning back to my pet sin. Please let your truth penetrate to my innermost parts and reveal the lies that I have believed. Thank you Lord! You are my God and King and it is my pleasure to serve you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”