Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | October 9, 2009

The Leaven of Arminianism and other False Teaching

First, I need to apologize for this devotion’s large font and varied size of fonts.  I just could not find that normal good medium.  Part of the problem was a “cut and paste” from another format that contaminated this format that I could not correct in a timely fashion.  Everything that I tried went from one extreme to the other.  Thank you for your understanding and patience.
 
 
Today’s devotion is Matthew 16:5-12.  The key verses are verses 11 and 12. 
 

“11  “How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

 12  Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  Matthew 16:11-12.  

 

Jesus described the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees as leaven and strongly warned His followers to beware of it.  Leaven is “yeast, the substance that causes dough to ferment and rise.”  In the Bible, “leaven usually symbolizes corruption.”  “It was strictly forbidden in any sacrifices to God.  Also, every Jewish household had to be purged of leaven in preparation for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.”  (Quoted from the Concordance under the word “leaven” in my New American Standard Bible.) 
 

Twice in Scripture, we are warned that even a little leaven can affect the whole.  “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.”  Galatians 5:9.  See also I Corinthians 5:6.  You know the concern was not about cooking, but rather the concern was about the effect of false teaching.

 

In other words, even just a little false teaching can corrupt the surrounding good teaching so that taken together the whole teaching is bad.  For example, we know that the Word of God is true and good, but we also know that false teaching can corrupt the entire message even if part of the message contains quotes from Scripture or good common sense.

 

Almost all preachers and teachers will quote from Scripture, but just because they do so does not make their whole message true and good.  In fact, just the opposite occurs, even a little false teaching corrupts the whole surrounding teaching. 

 

Such false teaching can even come through worship songs which music and lyrics combine to seduce us.  We tend to lower our guard when worship songs are played, but we should be just as much on guard with the worship songs as with the sermons.  We may forget the sermon, but the worship song may get stuck in our head and more effectively contaminate us with false teaching. 

 

In the same Galatians Chapter 5 passage that tells us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough, Paul very strongly warns us: “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law, you have fallen from grace.” Galatians 5:4.  Paul even wishes that those who are troubling the Galatians would even mutilate themselves.”  Galatians 5:12. 

 

We are called to “purity in doctrine”. Titus 2:7.  Scripture warns us against tolerating even a little false teaching.  Such false teaching can corrupt the whole surrounding “good” teaching. 

 

We have to ask ourselves if false teaching is like salt or if false teaching is like leaven.  With salt, we are only concerned if we add too much, and even then, there is no real damage.  We can just brush it off.  Is false teaching like salt where there is no real harm if we add to it surrounding “good” teaching?  NO!  Can we just brush off false teaching?  NO!  Or, is false teaching like leaven that can corrupt the whole?  YES! 

 

 

 

Why did Paul state that “if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.” Wouldn’t circumcision be a harmless addition?  NO!  Wouldn’t Arminianism also be a harmless addition?  NO!  Neither circumcision nor Arminianism is a harmless addition. 

 

Once we try to justify ourselves by the Law, then we are under obligation to keep the whole Law, and we are severed from Christ, and we fall from grace, not in the sense that we lose our salvation, but rather that we show that we never had that salvation. 

 

Likewise, once we try to secure our salvation by “free-will” to which the Arminians cling, then as one example, we are under obligation to not only self-generate enough obedience or even faith through our alleged “free will” to be saved but also to keep enough obedience or even faith to be saved until we die.  Do we really think that we can get and keep enough obedience or faith through our alleged “free will”?  NO! 

 

Arminianism may have an appeal and appearance of truth in quoting from the Law, pointing out the Law’s goodness and pointing out that we should be righteous. However, it implies that we can attain righteousness by knowledge of the Law and exercising our “free will” to obey it.  Such Arminianism, even in small dosages using words like “free will”, “God wants, but it is up to you”, and other words which put the focus on man and man’s work, rather than on God and His work, contaminate the whole surrounding teaching making it all bad. 

 

Arminianism and other false teaching are Leaven, and just like the Jewish households in the Old Testament, we should purge our Protestant churches of the Leaven of Arminianism and other false teaching. We should pursue purity of doctrine.  Abhor what is evil (don’t tolerate it – shun it – run away from it);  cling to what is good.  Romans 12:9.

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