In the last article I gave a good example of leaven. (see article below) In Matthew 16 leaven is used as a bad example. Jesus told His disciples in verse 6: “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Because they had taken no bread with them, they thought that Jesus was referring to that. Jesus reminded them of the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand. A lack of bread was not a problem for Him. In verse 12 we see that they understood: “Then understood they how that He bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” The point was that if the disciples allowed themselves to be influenced by the Pharisees and Sadducees, they could not teach Christ’s doctrine. Bad doctrine has the tendency to spread just like good doctrine. We need to be careful what we allow into our doctrinal stances. Of course, people change their minds on doctrinal matters from time to time and no harm is done, but if the change takes away from the gospel that the Bible teaches it causes great harm, and, like leaven, will ruin the fellowship. What the Pharisees and Sadducees taught was based on the traditions of men, not just scripture. For example, in the case of the Pharisees, their doctrine included their own righteousness. They were self-righteous. An example of bad leaven from the Sadducees is that they rejected the doctrine of resurrection and life after death. They accepted only the first five books of Moses – the Pentateuch. Also, they did not believe in angels. It is obvious why Jesus did not want this leaven to start its secret work among His followers. Jesus wanted His followers to know that it did make a difference what they believed and , for that matter, what they allowed into their lives. Just remember that bad things spread like leaven and cause great harm. This should say something to us about what we allow into our minds and hearts.
Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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