No Yeast

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

NO YEAST

Gal 5:7-12

7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

NIV

This last phrase in this section is pretty harsh words, but we think there is a principle we would be paying closer attention to regarding running the race. We also noticed that Paul using that analogy to its fullest when he questions who cut in on them and kept you from obeying the truth, which is implying winning the race. If we were in a race and nearing the finish line and someone cut in on us, making us stumble and lose out on the prize, it would be a very nasty thing. This is the point Paul is making. We have to be careful not to allow those who would persuade us from the truth. We have to also be careful of those who sound almost right but have perverted the truth just the minutest amount. Their brand of Christianity can be just like that yeast, infecting the whole church. Of course, Paul was referring to those who wanted the Gentiles to be circumcised, to obey the law of the Jews like they did. We do not have that type of situation in our post-modern churches, but we do have those who have added to the truth with their own brand of law they feel we should follow. Teachings like if you are a Christian you would not drink, smoke, dance, or whatever else used to be prevalent in the church for the past years. Some denominations have moved past that, but there are still individuals within churches who would want to persuade us those rules are taught by Jesus. It would seem we have to be diligent, both refusing to hear those who would want us to take another view of the truth and being sure we teach the truth. The problem is there being yeast and their beliefs infect others who may not be as sure of the truth as they should be. Again this makes us think we have even a greater responsibility to teach the truth of the gospel message, which is Jesus Christ crucified. What is the most challenging is keeping the yeast out.