Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from 1 Cor. 5. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- The Apostle Paul uses the imagery of bread and leaven to encourage us to “CELEBRATE THE FESTIVAL” of the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
- He ties into the whole “Passover” account, of the Exodus from Egypt, identifying Jesus as “our Passover Lamb.” Of course you remember that it was the blood of the Passover Lamb painted upon the door posts of the children of Israel that caused the angel of death to pass over them.
- So in Christ, with the blood of Christ upon us, cleansing us from all sin, we too are saved from death and hell, and have new and eternal life in Christ Jesus. We are blessed here and now, and we have even better blessings to look forward to in heaven, and on the day of resurrection.
- Paul describes us as if we were a “lump” of bread dough. I’m not sure how to take this – it doesn’t seem too flattering. He then speaks of sinful and evil things as being a kind of “leaven” that has been mixed into us, the “leaven of malice and evil.” He asserts that we were created to be “unleavened,” and also redeemed that we might once again become “unleavened.”
- The nature of such “unleavened” existence is that of “sincerity and truth.” In the next verse he makes clear what he is warning about – we are not to be or even to associate with “sexually immoral people.” And certainly, the “leaven of malice and evil” includes not just sexual sin but all immorality, including the idolatry of selfishness, pride, and greed for wealth.
- So, this is how Paul encourages us to “CELEBRATE THE FESTIVAL.” Not just with a service of hymns and songs. Not just with Easter dinner. But to allow the new reality of God’s love and salvation to push out the old leaven of sin and evil. After all:
I. Christ, Our Passover Lamb, Has Been Sacrificed – And Raised Again To Eternal Life
Romans 4:25 “He was delivered up for our transgressions, and raised again for our justification.”
A. We Now Have Full And Complete Forgiveness Of All Our Sins
Eph. 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
1 John 1:7 “the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
B. We Too Have Been Delivered From Our Enemies And Freed From Slavery To Sin
John 8:31,32 “Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
Romans 8:1,2 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
Gal. 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
C. We Now Also Have A New Land And A New Home
Philippians 3:20,21 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.”
Statement: You see the parallels between the Exodus and our salvation in Christ Jesus – but our blessings are far greater; they are eternal! We have been brought into a holy and new relationship with God – through His forgiveness and cleansing, and the freedom of the truth.
Application: It then makes perfect sense that we should be changed, different. And though we still struggle to put our sinful nature to death – as God’s Word encourages, it is happening, and we are free to engage in this process! And this is what and why the Apostle encourages us to:
II. Celebrate The Festival By Living The New Life
A. Casting Out The Old Leaven Of Malice And Evil
Romans 6:9-14 “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
B. We Are Freed Now To Live By The Unleavened Bread Of Sincerity And Truth
Text: “Let us therefore celebrate the festival . . . with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
C. And We Must Remember – Even A Little Leaven Leavens The Whole Lump – So Let’s Be Careful And Rigorous In Expunging All Evil From Our Lives
1 Cor. 15:33,34 “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’ Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.”
Statement: We all know the truth of this dynamic. And while it is impossible for us to separate ourselves from all evil – to do this we would have to leave this world – it is important for us to remember, and to resist any influence or encouragement to evil living. Those unaware are like people who are “passed out drunk.” Nothing good or productive or pleasing to God comes from this!
Application: And of first importance is this business of “malice and evil.” There is so much malice in the world today, and it has even infiltrated into the life of the church. So much so that many think spats and the refusal to reconcile are ordinary and normal, even for relationships among Christians! This is capitulation to malice and evil – and drowning in it!
Conclusion: We must always remember – as we “cast out the old leaven” – that we have already been delivered! Christ has already saved us and freed us and given us a new destiny!
It should be our delight to “celebrate” His victory and His gifts in the manner with which we live life!
So let His Word and His Sacrament which we have right now here in worship, move and compel us as we go home, today and every day, to truly “CELEBRATE THE FESTIVAL” in our daily life. God grant it to us all, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.