5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
A little leaven will corrupt the entire lump. It does not take much to destroy everything. Leaven in a lump of dough, I generally think of a drop of Anise Oil in my cookie dough makes them taste oh so much better. I have never tried to replace Anise Oil with Vinegar and think how disgusting the cookies would taste, but with dash of this and a pinch of that, it is all about the details.
God has used this illustration for centuries to teach the people how just a little dash of false teaching will corrupt and destroy the entire system. I have asked people repeatedly, "How much does one have to believe in order to remain a Christian?" Another way of saying it would be, "how much doctrine can I disregard or toss aside and still be faithful?"
I often times will use the illustration of a wheel with many spokes. The fewer spokes you have the less the wheel remains a wheel. The other illustration of a suspension bridge, all you have to do is cut one cable and you will watch a chain reaction as all the other cables snap. Even the least of all doctrines, is necessary for our teaching concerning Christ to remain true.
Here in our text St Paul has people that are taking away the true offense of the cross. They are removing pure teaching, and in so removing the freedom of Christians so that they can truly love their neighbor. The offense of the Cross is not just the excessive blood, but it is our sinfulness. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. He died for our freedom from sin and death.
God has used this illustration for centuries to teach the people how just a little dash of false teaching will corrupt and destroy the entire system. I have asked people repeatedly, "How much does one have to believe in order to remain a Christian?" Another way of saying it would be, "how much doctrine can I disregard or toss aside and still be faithful?"
I often times will use the illustration of a wheel with many spokes. The fewer spokes you have the less the wheel remains a wheel. The other illustration of a suspension bridge, all you have to do is cut one cable and you will watch a chain reaction as all the other cables snap. Even the least of all doctrines, is necessary for our teaching concerning Christ to remain true.
Here in our text St Paul has people that are taking away the true offense of the cross. They are removing pure teaching, and in so removing the freedom of Christians so that they can truly love their neighbor. The offense of the Cross is not just the excessive blood, but it is our sinfulness. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. He died for our freedom from sin and death.
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