Pattern of Contamination and Effective Counter Measures

UV 2837/10000 Pattern of Contamination of Faith
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
Galatians 5 v 9

This proverb spoken by Jesus and quoted by the apostles in their writings has a deep as well as practical meaning. Yeast changes the nature of the bread from being solid into something full of holes and pores and hot gas as it is baked. Likewise, a variety of factors in life change our character and faith to be full of holes, pores and hot air. A little pride can cause a person to swell up like a loaf of bread to be several times the size of the original unleavened bread. A little untruth similarly distorts a person’s perceptions, decisions, actions and behaviour. A little deceit has huge consequences and can take a person off course like even a tiny shift in an aircraft’s direction take it to a completely new destination. A little anger expressed inappropriately can damage a relationship. Scripture states that "evil communications corrupt good manners. " Small compromises can affect our faith and our relationship with the Lord in more ways that we can guess as we learn from the tragedy of Ananias and Saphira in the book of Acts as a little lie involving hiding a part of the proceeds of the sale of their own house led to their instantaneous judgement and deaths.
Jesus warned his followers of the leaven or yeast of the Pharisees , the Sadducees and of Herod. The yeast of the Pharisees that robbed them of their priestly anointing and grace in the sight of the Lord was hypocrisy. They liked to look good on the outside with their ceremonial robes and ritual practices but their hearts were full of covetousness, pride and selfishness. The yeast of the Sadducees was their wrong doctrine that there was no resurrection of the dead. The yeast of Herod was his lust for power and the consequent erratic actions and aberrations that led him to order the massacre of innocents and the beheading of John the Baptist to satisfy the vindictive whim of Herodia, his wife.
We need to guard against all these types of contamination of our pure faith. We require not a one time cleansing but a thorough ongoing cleansing by the mighty Holy Spirit. He will purify and sanctify us from deep inside our hearts. We need to have any traces of the old leaven or the old creature from our lives so that we are new creatures in Christ and we keep renewing ourselves in the spirit. Any old beliefs or attitudes or practices that we are prone to should be pruned at its roots and given no opportunity to grow like weeds to outgrow the seed of truth planted in us. A little duplicity or double mindedness can deprive us of the grace or favour of the Lord. Our faith should be authentic, genuine, strong, without any mixed motives or feelings for it to be fruitful and effective. Any hidden sin or unconfessed wanton sin can block our prayers from reaching the Lord and from being answered. A good protection against such contamination is the continual intake of the Word. The Word gives us what doctors call endoscopy or a view from inside us.
Prateep V Philip