Christ First Forum

Sin is like a yeast roll.


In the Bible there are two types of bread described. One type is common bread that has leven or a rising agent in it. The other is the unleavened bread that was eaten at Passover and was burnt on the altar as a sacrifice.

Leven in the Bible pictures Sin. So I want to describe 2 different kinds of bread and how we react to each.

I remember when I was a younger man several of my friends and I had a custom on Saturdays we woud go to the Gym and work out. But the best part was after we were done we went to Ryans Steak House and had the buffet. One of the best things at that resturant was the hot fresh yeast rolls. They were so nice, looked perfect and with a generous amount of butter they were incredible. I still have fond memories of those days and of all those yeast rolls I had there. Sin in many ways is just like those yeast rolls it looks good, tastes good and appeals to the flesh in a strong way.
Unleavened bread on the other hans is just plain bland. In other words theres nothing that appeals to the flesh.

Unleavened bread verses a Yeast roll.

1 John 2:15‑16

15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Vs 15 Love not the world don’t love the world system in a moral or social sense. If you do the love or affection or benevolence of the Father is not in us.
Vs 16 For all can be translated whosoever as well. So whosoever is in the world is dominated by the lust a longing for what is forbidden, of the flesh the human body or human nature, the lust of the eyes or vision what we see, with a root of envy and the pride self confident or a boasting person of life means of livelihood going all out for the so called good life, materialistic desires is not of the Father.

Luke 16:13
13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Matthew 6:19‑21
19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

We will look at how Satan used these three ways to introduce sin into mankind.

Genesis 3:1‑7

1Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Who sinned here? Eve was deceived but Adam sinned willfully and deliberately with his eyes open.

Romans 5:12
12Wherefore, 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:

We are all sinners because of the man Adams willful rebellion to Gods command to him.

Satan used the same plan to cause mankind to fall into sin as he uses now. Eve saw that the tree was good for food which was the lust of the flesh. She had a desire to eat the fruit because it would taste so much better than the rest of the fruit of the garden since it was restricted by God to them.

Next she saw that the fruit was pleasant to the eye. Satan used the lust of the eye here remember this is the gate into our human nature and is the route for covetousness to invade our heart.

Finally she saw the tree as a desirous thing to make one wise, here Satan uses the pride of life. He told Eve Gods holding out the best from you he doesn’t want you to become as a god with wisdom. He pushed the right buttons in Eves heart and she believed the lie.

Is temptation in itself sin?

James 1:13‑15

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

So what is the figurative yeast roll in your life?

Money?
Possessions?
A Person?

Remember temptation is not sin. It doesn’t become a problem until we reach out and bring it into our heart and then act on it. Because the Devil lays a snare in front of us doesn’t mean we have to be trapped.

How can we have victory in areas of our life that have become a weak spot for Satan to attack us in?

Ephesians 6:10‑18

10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Wiles is the methods or trickery of the Devil. He knows our weak spots and will aim for them.

12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

We are in a spiritual battle against a well organized army of darkness. This is why Paul is using a picture of a warrior suiting up for battle here.

13Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Put on the belt of truth which the rest of your armor is attached. The breastplate covers the heart and we must be armed with a righteousness far above our own to stand against the Devil. This is referring to the righteousness of Christ that is given to us if we are a child of his.

15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

We need to be ready to share the gospel of peace to those who are hurting and without hope.

The shield of faith in God to stop the guided missiles Satan uses to try to make us blow it and fall.

The helmet of salvation protects our head and mind to keep out the whispering liar our adversary the devil.

And our offensive weapon the word of God Jesus said it is written many times to Satan and that’s how we can resist him and he will flee. And finally a prayerful life will help us against the Sin in our life.

Luke 4:1‑13

1And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

Again Satan tried the same 3 things on Jesus here but Jesus countered with the word of God. This is oue example on how to deal with the Devil and his lies.

James 4:1‑10

1From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
James is referring to our old nature or the human nature here.
2Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Being a friend of the world system is a hostile act against God.

5Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Two conditional verses here we have to do something before God does something for us.

7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

So there are some things we need to do to overcome that tempting yeast roll in our lives. First we need to submit our will to God, when we do that we will be able to resist the devils attempts to draw us into sin. Next as we draw close to God he will draw close to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Drawing close to God also requires confession and repentance on our part. If we do this in a spirit of humility God will lift us up.

Jeremiah 29:13 says the following, And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for mewith all your heart.

So what is the yeast roll thats dominating your life? How can you overcome that influence in your life?

That was a great word, brother. I especially liked the description of the yeast bread.

In 1 Cor. 5 , we see the issue concerned a Corinthian Christian who was carrying on an incestuous affair with his stepmother, a relationship prohibited both in the OT and in the Roman Law..

Paul never said anything about disciplining the woman suggests that she was not a Christian.

The shameful situation did not seem to faze the Corinthians' Church in the least...

If anything, the affair may have even bloated their arrogrant spirits.

The godly response would have been GRIEF for this brother leading to discipline which would exclude him from intimacy with the congregation until he repented..

So Paul was compelled to passed judgment on the offender...

There was, of course, no excuse for the Corinthians' pathetic behavior,and Paul reminded them of this truth:

Your glorying is not good. Do you not kow that A LITTLE LEAVEN LEAVENS THE WHOLE LUMP?

A small sickness can eventually kill the body,and the need for church discipline is based on the same principle...