"Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? I Cor. 5:6
When I read and reflect upon the New Testament epistles, and especially one like this, I am moved to wonder what Paul would write to the churches today. One member had fallen into the sin of fornication and the apostle, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, delivered to the church a stern rebuke that many today would consider harsh. They had not only failed to deal with the transgression, but were "puffed up" with spiritual pride, as though all was well, while the sin was public knowledge, bringing reproach upon the testimony of Christ.
Sexual sins, including the "legalized adultery" of divorce and remarriage, are widely prevalent in the church today, and in most cases tolerated without a hint of shame. The disposition so sharply rebuked in this epistle is commonplace in this generation of "Christendom" which so lightly regards the principles of scripture. The spirit of the age has taken priority over the Spirit of God and, like the believers at Corinth, we "have not mourned."
However, my objective here is not so much to address the problem under consideration, but to draw from our text several important notes which come to us in the way of principles.
First to be noted is what this text implies about the integrity of the church. We generally tend to think of the church as an organization. We "join" it or leave it at will. We deem ourselves associated with it, but seldom really think of it from a truly scriptural perspective. The biblical definition of the church is that of an organism, not an organization. It is "the church which is His body," i.e. the body of Christ, and as such is an integral unit. What happens to any member in it has bearing upon all, for the members are not isolated from one another. "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many are one body: so also is Christ . For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many…But now are they many members, yet but one body (Cf I Cor. 12:12-20ff)."
There is a vast difference between the members of an organization and the members of an organism. An organization is a collection of individuals which functions by consensus. An organism is a functional unit permeated by a single life principle. In an organization the conduct of the individuals comprising it may well have little significance or impact on other members. In an organism every member is affected by the behavior of every other member, whether recognized or not. When I strike my finger with a hammer, the pain, though greatest at the point of impact, is felt all over, and most particularly by the head, which records the blow, and reflects its influence throughout. So with the church, the sin of one has a negative influence upon all, and is felt by the Head, its "nerve center." When believers sin, they not only hurt one another, but the Savior as well.
The second thing to be noted is the permeability of sin. The transgression of one believer not only has a painful effect on the whole, but it is a contaminant that will tend to progress and corrupt others. It is not merely the guilty individual who suffers, but the whole body is weakened as by a virus. Nowhere is this more evident than in the overflowing corruption brought by Adam's transgression upon the whole human race. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Rom. 5:12)." That is the nature of an organism; "…a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."
There is a third and most important point to be noted. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Worthy of study is the biblical reference to "little" things. For example, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines"… (S.S. 2:15)." The believer who fails to address the little temptations that solicit to "little" sins will soon be giving way to greater evil. And the church that fails to discipline the member who flagrantly transgresses will soon have a coalition engaged in the same pernicious practices.
We once had a well that supplied our drinking water. When the water began to taste foul, it was not hard to find the reason. The well was covered with screen wire to keep out foreign matter. However, the wire had buckled—just a little—at one point on its perimeter, and a tiny field mouse had fallen in and began to decompose. His little rotting corpse had contaminated the whole. It smelled bad, and tasted worse. The only cure was to rid the well of his wretched remains. "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened (I Cor. 5:7)." That is the divine directive, whether to the individual or to the church, when sin insinuates itself where holiness belongs!
It is God's intention, for His glory and for our good, that we should run a "tight ship." Failure to do so opens the door to the apostasy prophesied for the end time.
Down with the little foxes,
"Pastor" Frasier
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