7You were running well. Who cut in [on] you to not be
obeying the truth? 8This persuasion [is] not out of the One calling
you. 9‘A little leaven leavens the whole lump’. 10I am
persuaded concerning you in the Lord that you will think nothing differently
but the one troubling you, whoever he is, will bear the judgment. 11But,
brethren, if I am yet preaching circumcision, why am I yet being persecuted?
Consequently the scandal of the Cross is negated. 12O that the ones
opposing you would castrate themselves!
In my last two posts, I looked at verses 7 & 8. I also
want to record some thoughts from the little proverb in verse 9, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump”.
My impression is that this was a fairly common proverb in the ancient world,
much like our “What goes up must come down.” Like them, we all “know what it
means” and we can use it to apply to many different situations. I would also
observe that the proverb itself apparently possessed no connotation negative or
positive. Jesus quoted it in Matthew 13:33 as an illustration of the Kingdom of
Heaven: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like
leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole
was leavened.” Paul quotes it here
and also in I Cor 5:6 in the context of the immoral church member: “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know
that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”
Obviously, it was simply a way of pointing out that
seemingly small influences often can grow into pervasive impacts. Jesus was
saying the Kingdom of Heaven can be that way; and it is certainly true that one
person’s good influence can transform an entire family, a business, a church,
even a nation. On the other hand, as Paul uses it in I Cor and here in
Galatians, he is applying it to evil influences, which can themselves grow to
corrupt entire people groups.
As I have pointed out earlier, it seems to me Paul is no
longer writing in any kind of smooth logical flow. He has already built his
case logically over five chapters and now, in verses 7 through 12, his passion
seems to erupt in a series of exclamations, this proverb being one of
them. I think it is fair to say the
consensus would be that he has in mind the teaching of the Judaizers, that in
his mind there are only a handful of them, or perhaps he is thinking of their emphasis
on the rite of circumcision – as if that were the “only” requirement the
Galatians will have to submit to – when, as he has pointed out earlier, once
you embrace legalism there will be no end to it.
Regardless, Paul’s point, Jesus’ point, and the point of our
proverb is that we should ever be aware, both for better and for worse, that
small influences should never be discounted or underestimated. Here in
Galatians, the point is obviously, one way or another, the influence of false
doctrine, and this is precisely where my blog devolves into more questions than
answers.
Here’s my rub: on the one hand, it makes perfect sense to me
that we must ever be on our guard against doctrinal error. Truth is truth, and,
as I have said before, to be in error will be at least frustrating and may in
the long run prove fatal. On the other hand, there is some measure
of wisdom in knowing what “truth” is worth fighting for and what “truth” can be
delegated to the realm of giving others the space to learn themselves. As a
Christian, I have been “learning” for over 30 years. I don’t even agree with me
from a month ago, much less from 5 years ago, or 10 or 20. And it should be that way. God help us if we
can be around the Bible and Truth and not be constantly learning. But to learn
is to realize I’ve been wrong. Was it “okay” that I was wrong? Was it “okay”
that I myself had to learn to get where I am today? And then, what about the
people around me? When is it okay for them to be wrong? When does the “wrong”
call for correction? When is the “wrong” the little leaven that (dangerously)
may leaven the whole lump?
What particularly brought this to mind was reading Marin
Luther’s comments on this passage. He makes the statement, “This goes to show again how much importance
Paul attached to the least points of Christian doctrine, … What right, then,
have we to make little of doctrine? No matter how nonessential a point of
doctrine may seem, if slighted it may prove the gradual disintegration of the truths
of our salvation. Let us do everything to advance the glory and authority of
God’s Word. Every tittle of it is greater than heaven and earth. Christian love
and unity have nothing to do with the Word of God. We are bold to curse and
condemn all men who in the least point corrupt the Word of God, ‘for a little
leaven leaveneth the whole lump.’”
Again, on the one hand, what Luther is saying makes perfect
sense. Truth is truth. What isn’t truth is error and may grow into the very
destruction of an entire people group. But where is the balance? “No matter how nonessential a point of
doctrine …,” Luther said. Is that true? Hmmmm. While I deeply appreciate
Luther and Calvin and their championing of the Scriptures such that there could
be a Protestant Reformation, I am utterly unimpressed with the vituperative
spirit they all seemed to do it with. If you go back and read their writings
and the history of the Reformation, you will find they all hated and cursed
each other. Luther tacked up his 95 theses on the Wittenberg Chapel door in 1517,
and only 10 years later, in 1527, the first protestant was martyred by
protestants. Felix Manz was drowned because he differed with them on the mode
of baptism. Drowned? Executed?
Really? Go back up to the last paragraph and read again what Luther said. Would
he have someone executed because they
differed with him on the mode of baptism? Yes.
Once again, I can read what Luther is saying and it can make
perfect sense. Yet, somehow, I cannot and will not accept such a condemning
spirit. Yes, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump;” but which leaven can be
left to the process of sanctification in others’ lives and which leaven is
worth going to the mat over?
Frankly, I don’t think I know the answer to these questions.
I hope I will always be a champion for truth; but somehow I also want to live
out the graciousness of a God who’s big enough to give me space to grow and
still love me through it all.
For whatever it’s worth, I think the issues I’ve raised are
of monumental significance. As I would live my faith, I have to live it in a
world that is broken. The best anyone (including me) can be is learning. The best anyone can be is to be
about the business of trying to fix the brokenness. So therefore there is no
perfect church or church group. There are no perfect Christians to fellowship
with. Therefore, and I think this is an enormous “therefore,” I cannot take
Luther’s position to “curse and condemn
all men who in the least point corrupt the Word of God.” Somehow grace must be willing to overlook
much, much, much in my church, my immediate Christian acquaintances, and even
in the broader circle of who I align myself with – not to mention the non-christian
world I live and work in.
On the other hand, the devil, like a roaring lion, still
wanders about, seeking whom he may devour. A little leaven still leavens the
whole lump. Error is still in the short run frustrating and in the long run fatal. To be wrong is still a dangerous
thing. As in Paul’s case here in Galatians, sometimes error is serious enough
to get a godly man into an emotional froth – to even start proposing castration! Love of people sometimes
gives them room to grow, but it may also need to call error error and sin sin.
How can we, for the love of grace and truth, determine where to draw
these lines?
Once again, I don’t think I know the answers to these
questions. Guess that is where I’ll have to leave this one. God grant us the
wisdom to live, to love, and to fight well.
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