Our scripture this morning is 1 Corinthians 5:6-8.
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Paul speaks to the Corinthians using an analogy about dough that also applies to our lives. He teaches that a small amount of disobedience can affect everything we do individually, and likewise individual bad actions can negatively influence a larger group. He tells us what we think and do is important, not just to us but also to those around us.
Our conduct as Christians is especially important because others watch God’s children to see if all this “Jesus talk” is just that – empty words. If our behavior does not match what we profess in Christ, we are failing Him. Paul encourages us to be “the unleavened bread of truth and sincerity” (v. 8).
Jesus was willing to be obedient to God, even unto death. While it is unlikely that any of us will be called to face death for our faith today, we must always be ready to testify to the truth of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection to save us from sin. Jesus has called us as the disciples of today to share the Gospel with everyone.
Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Jesus to teach us and redeem us. Bless us to go in Your name, telling the world the Good News of Your kingdom. Amen.