Today being July 4th it’s a good opportunity for us to pause together and think about who we are as Christians living in the United States.  To help us with that I’d like share three verses of Scripture with you.  Please join me at 1 Corinthians 5 - verses 6 to 8.  If you have your Bibles or would like to use the Bible in the chair ahead of you that’s fine.  We’re going to put these verses up on the screen.  We’re going to read these verses out loud together.  Paul writing to the church in Corinth.

Verse 6:  Your boasting is not good.  Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?  Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened.  For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Mrs. Smith went to the funeral home to view her husband’s remains.  The presentation - how Mr. Smith was laid out in the coffin.  “What do you think?” asked the funeral director.

“You did a fine job,” said Mrs. Smith.  “However, I do have one request.  I should have told you earlier that my husband always preferred a blue suit to a brown suit and he would look more like himself in a blue suit.  Could you make the change?”

The funeral director said, “We can manage it.  But, it will take some time and there will be an extra charge for the labor.  We’ll have to buy a new blue suit.  It will cost $500 to make the change.”

“Go ahead and do it.” ordered Mrs. Smith.

The following morning when Mrs. Smith returned to the funeral home, she found her husband dressed in a handsome blue suit.  She went to the office to show her appreciation and to pay for the suit.

“That will be $50,” said the funeral director.

“But you said it would be $500.”

The funeral director explained.  “Just after you left another lady came in and wanted to see her husband in a brown suit.”

“So everything went smoothly and you switched the brown suit with the blue suit.  How nice,” said Mrs. Smith.

“Oh, no,” said the director.  “That would have been too difficult.  We just switched the heads.”

Have you heard that?  Let me ask you a question.  Taking the easy way out - switching heads and not suits - if we compromise just a little bit - does it matter?

In verse 6 - what does Paul say the Corinthian Christians are doing that isn’t good?  They’re boasting.

The boasting that Paul writes about - here in 1 Corinthians 5 - was the spiritual arrogance of the Corinthian church.  The church was boasting about their relationship with God.  How righteous they were.  How tight they were with God.  How on fire they were for God.  They’re “holy” people of God.

But, if we back up just a few verses - to verse 1 of chapter 5 - where Paul describes what was really going on with these Corinthian Christians - we read that they were tolerating open incestuous and immoral relationships within the congregation.  In fact, within the congregation there was a  man living in an incestuous relationship with his step mother.

They knew that was wrong.  It violates two of the 10 Commandments and a whole host of other Old Testament laws.  It was right in front of their faces - and they did nothing.  They compromised.  They looked the other way.

We know from reading elsewhere in 1 Corinthians that these Christians had little cliques within the congregation based on who knew who or what your ethnicity was or what your economic status was.  People hung out together - did stuff together - excluded others - even looked down on their siblings in Jesus.  They cared about others in the congregation on the surface level.  They made nice.  But they didn’t really care.  Not really.

The kind of unity and depth of love that’s suppose to be an evidence of what it means to be follower of Jesus - the kind of unity and love that God commands us to and creates in us as we live in obedience to Him - that just wasn’t there.  The kind of purity of life that should be characteristic of a follower of Jesus wasn’t there.

On one hand they’re boasting - what great Christians we are.  On the other hand they’re compromising with sin - not dealing with it - ignoring it.  “Its not like I’m sleeping with my step mother.”  “What’s wrong if we hang out with people we feel comfortable with?” 

What does it matter?  The green teal colored stone slabs are full on Sunday.  Things are going okay.  We don’t want to be judgmental or condemning.  We’re all in different places on the journey.  People need to be able to work things out on their own.  Why bring it up if we can avoid conflict and everyone’s happy?  Don’t rock the boat.   

Let’s repeat this truth together:  “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.”

In the Bible leaven usually symbolizes what?  Sin.  Leaven does what to dough?  It takes over.  Paul’s point:  Boast all you want.  Delude yourself into thinking you’re okay spiritually.  But when you compromise with sin - leaven - sin eventually it takes over - the whole church - the lump - will be  in trouble.

Sometimes were tempted to think that our little compromises don’t add up to a whole lot.  But they do.

When Israel entered the promised land - God gave specific commands to His people to drive out the inhabitants and to destroy their idols and pagan places of worship - to 100% purify the land of sinful people and their sinful ways.  Otherwise, God said, these people - if you compromise - if you don’t drive them out - these people are going to cause you great pain and trouble.  They’re going to lead you away from Me - from your God.  (Numbers 33:51-56)

When Israel entered the promised land what happened?  They compromised.  At first just a little - only wiping out some people.  Then they started marrying these ungodly people.  Then they adopted the pagan gods and worship of these peoples.

The consequences of their seemingly little insignificant compromises with sin - the tolerance of leaven - was a process leading to spiritual and national disaster - the eventual desolation of the land - exile and slavery.  The nation perished in foreign lands - away from the promises of God.

“A little leaven - a little sin - leavens the whole lump of dough.”

That’s what we’re seeing in America today - as our nation slides into disaster.

Today as we’re celebrating the 234th anniversary of the United States’ Declaration of Independence we need to be reminded that Christianity was foundational to our form of government - our liberties - our values and way of life - the principles of religious freedom we cherish.

One estimate puts the percentage of Christians in the United States in 1776 - puts the percentage of Christians at 99.8%.  That probably only refers to the European population - not natives and slaves.  But, still - that’s an amazing figure.

52 of 55 of the founding fathers were evangelical Christians.  When the founding fathers wrote and quoted other sources - 94% of the time they were quoting from the Bible or based their quotes on the Bible. 

George Washington wrote, “While we are zealously performing the duties of good Citizens and soldiers we certainly ought not be inattentive to the higher duties of Religion.  To the distinguished Character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to add the more distinguished Character of Christian.”

John Quincy Adams - our 6th President said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this, that it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”

Can you imagine a President saying that today?  Can you imagine the reaction?

Do you remember who first wrote that phrase, “separation between Church and State”?  President Thomas Jefferson.  He wrote that phrase  “separation between Church and State” when he was writing to a group of who?  Baptists.  In an effort to reassure them that the government could not interfere in their beliefs and practice as a church.

Are we clear on this?  The First Amendment was written not to separate Church and State - but to protect the Church, and the press, and the people, from interference by the State.

Today the vast majority of the American people believe that the words, “separation of Church and State” appear in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution as words written to protect the State from the church. 

William James - a respected psychologist who lived in the late 1800’s - William James said, “There is nothing so absurd but if you repeat it often enough people will believe it.”

For almost 200 years the phrase, “separation of Church and State” - and the purposeful misinterpretation of the First Amendment - has been a rallying cry of historical revisionists and those in opposition to God who’ve been working purposefully - slowly - little by little - almost unnoticeably at first - but steadily - without ceasing - through court case after court case - legislation after legislation - compromising the foundation of our nation - on and on pushing their agenda to remove God and His Gospel and His people from American society.

Slowly the leaven leavens the lump and this country who’s foundation was Christian - blessed by God - is now a post-Christian society - perhaps an anti-Christian society - in reality perhaps an anti-God society - certainly an ungodly society on the path to destruction - on a trajectory away from God.

We know this country is in serious trouble.  But, what are we suppose to do about it?  What does all that mean for us as Christians living in the United States.

In verse 7 Paul writes:  Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened.  For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.

What does Paul tell the Corinthians to do?  “Clean out the old leaven.”  Get rid of the sin.  Not everyone else’s.  But your own sin.

We need to grab on to some background here.

The Passover Feast was what?  Commemoration of God delivering His people out of Egypt.  Moses and the 10 plagues.  The last plague was the death of the first born.  God told His people to take the blood of a lamb and sprinkle it on the doorposts and the lintel of their doors.  When they did that God would spare their first born sons from death - passing over them.  The Passover Feast was the commemoration of that passing over - God delivering His people.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread starts the very next day.  It was a 7 day feast - devoid of leaven.  For 7 days the people only ate unleavened bread.  Thus - The Feast of Unleavened Bread.

On the first day of the feast - the day after Passover - God’s people were commanded by God to remove all the leaven out of their house.

For a Jew - even today - this is a big deal.  Every spring.  On the days leading up to Passover - Jews going through the whole house - searching out every little crumb - anything made with leaven - any item that’s been used with leaven.    It’s a major spring cleaning - even the cracks of the kitchen counters are scrubbed.

Cooking stuff used with leaven is scrubbed and put away.  Any leaven in one’s possession - wherever that may be - at home - at the office - in the car - any leaven in one’s possession is thrown out - or burned - or sold to a Gentile.

Purifying oneself - one’s possessions - of leaven - so that for those 7 days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread - right after Passover - there’s no possibility of possessing any leaven.

Paul calls Jesus what?  Our Passover Lamb.  Why?  Because Jesus - like the Passover lamb in Egypt - was sacrificed - crucified - for our salvation.  What we commemorate with Communion - Jesus broken body and shed blood.  His body - like a lamb - was sacrificed in our place.  His blood - like lamb’s blood - covers our lives.

When we have Jesus’ blood covering us God - rather than us getting dead because of our sin - God passes over our sin.  Forgives us of our sin.  With Jesus’ blood covering us - before God - it is as if we have never sinned.  As if we are unleavened.  Which before God we are.

Do you see Paul’s point?  The Feast of Unleavened Bread took place when?  Day after the Passover lamb was sacrificed.  If God - in Jesus - has made you to be unleavened - without sin - get the sin out.

For what possible reason would we ever compromise - letting sin exist in our lives - in God’s household - the church?  Immorality?  Pride?  Name your sin.  Name your compromise.  Whatever it is - it compromises the reality of being unleavened through the sacrificed body and blood of Jesus.

Paul tells these Corinthian Christians, “Get the leaven out.  Be the new lump that God has made you to be.”  Try that.  Turn to the person next to you and tell them, “Be the lump.”

Look with me at verse 8.  Paul writes, “Therefore - because God has made us to be unleavened - therefore let us celebrate the feast - celebrate our life in Jesus - not with old leaven - the sins that used to be a part of our lives - nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness - not with a desire to do what is malicious - evil - depraved - but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth - to live out our lives with God - with each other - with purity - without any deceit - free of any pretense.

In other words:  What you see is what you get.  And what you get is godly.  Its not two faced boasting and hypocrisy.  Its the real deal.  That’s what it means to be the lump - to be the real deal.

Let’s think about that for us here in the USA.

“What happens in Vegas… stays in Vegas.”  That is a sad commentary on Las Vegas.  Isn’t it?  Do what you want in Las Vegas - and people do - no matter how perverse.  And we won’t tell anyone.

That’s Corinth.  So much was considered acceptable in Corinth - no matter how perverse - that nothing was really shocking to the Corinthians.  It was just part of the culture.

Paul writes - back up in chapter 5 - verse 1 - that it was “actually reported” - we can read that as it was “commonly reported” - it was something that was known and discussed openly in the church - this ongoing tolerated compromised with incestuous adulterous relationship between this man and his step mother - an immorality Paul writes in verse 1 - an immorality that doesn’t exist “even among the Gentiles.”  In other words - the sin of the church was so shocking it even shocked the Corinthians.  Even the Corinthians wouldn’t do something like that.  Can you imagine?

See if you would agree with this.  As I’ve been thinking this through and thinking back over the last 40 plus years of my life and the congregations that I’ve been in and around - some of the most deceitful - cruel - hypocritical - unreal - even immoral people I’ve met have been in the church.  Are we tracking?

“Christians aren’t perfect.  Just... forgiven.”  That can be such a cop-out.  Such an excuse to go on compromising with sin.

In so many ways where Corinth was is where the USA is today.  How can we - if we’re not willing to deal with the leaven in our own lives - if we’re not willing to be the lump - how can we speak with authority and passion to the culture we live in?  How can we ever expect to be taken seriously - ever expect to be seen as relevant?  Who will believe the Gospel? 

Let me suggest two things.  First:  Be Lumpy.  Let’s say that together.  “Be lumpy.”  A lump is lumpy.  Its what a lump does.

Billy Graham - in his book “World Aflame” writes this, “Mr. Average Man is comfortable in his complacency and is as unconcerned as a silverfish ensconced in a carton of discarded magazines on world affairs.  Man is not asking any questions, because his social benefits from the government give him a false security.  This is his trouble and his tragedy.  Modern man has become a spectator of world events, observing on his television screen without becoming involved.  He watches the ominous events of our times pass before his eyes, while he sips his beer in a comfortable chair.  He does not seem to realize what is happening to him.  He does not understand that his world is on fire and that he is about to be burned with it.” (1)

Do you remember what Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12?  “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Later today this sermon - just like it is every week - this sermon will be sent out to a host of people on 4 continents and read by a significant number of people - some of whom live in countries where - putting it mildly - its not safe to be a Christian.  The goal in those countries - for the believers there - is not how to create some kind of Christian American society.  The goal is to lead people to Jesus.  We need to learn from our siblings in other countries.

Grab the difference:  We’re not American Christians.  We’re Christians living in America.

Would that this country would return to its Christian roots.  But that isn’t the ultimate victory we’re after.  Seeing where we’ve been as a nation and where we are today only points out that we live in an expanding mission field that is more desperate for Jesus today than at any other time in history.

Please don’t misunderstand me.  As Christians if we’re given the opportunity to vote - then we should vote.  If we’re given the opportunity to debate - we should debate.  If we’re given the opportunity to serve and live out our relationship with Jesus in the public arena - standing firm for Him - then stand firm.

But, the average American sitting on their “barko-lounger” is either ignorant or disillusioned concerning the spiritual battle raging around them - the leaven that’s infesting this country.  And they’re not going to “get it” by us legislating morality at them or standing on a street corner screaming at people that they’re going to hell.

Too many Christians today are fighting the wrong battle.  Our mandate as Christians is not to bring America back to God - to somehow make us a Christian nation again.  Our God given mandate is to bring Americans to the Savior Jesus Christ.  That’s the spiritual battle we’re engaged in. 

That’s what we need to keep our focus on.  That’s what the lump does.   Its lumpy.

Second thought:  Be The Lump.  Let’s say that together.  “Be the lump.”

Have you heard this?  The mother whale said to her baby,  “When you get to the top and start to ‘blow,’ that’s when you get harpooned!” (2) 

Today the church gets legitimately harpooned by the world when we stand up and seemingly talk about our own righteousness while the world points at our sin.  We need to be clear on this.  People have stopped listening to what we say.   But they’re still watching how we act.

That reality is such a challenge for us.  When it seems easier to give in to temptation and quit.  To accommodate ourselves to the pressure we feel from the world - to compromise.  To watch the wrong stuff and tell the coarse jokes - to use the four letter words and stick garbage into our bodies.  To gossip and harbor anger.  To give up on loving people that are seemingly unlovable.  To hold back on sharing the Gospel with others.  To let the leaven have its place in our lives. 

Do you remember the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14,15?  After Solomon completed the Temple in Jerusalem the Lord appeared to Him at night.  God gave this promise to Solomon:  “If My people who are called by My name - did you notice who God is talking about?  My people - not all the other people around us.  But starting with God’s people.  Too many Christians start with everyone else.  If we humble ourselves, and we pray and we seek God’s face, and we turn from our wicked ways, then I - God - will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin - our sin - who’s sin?  The sin of God’s people - and heal their land. 

We can’t call others to life in Christ if we’re living in compromise with sin.  Someone once said, “Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the person who has it.” (3)

God says, come to Me in humility.  That’s without compromise - without holding anything back - fully aware and honest about our sin.

When we come to salvation in Jesus Christ - we need to change.  We don’t just turn 45 degrees or 90 degrees - that’s tolerating leaven in our lives.  If we want to live for Jesus - with His power and His victory in our lives - we need to turn 180 degrees and start down a completely different path.

Those are the Christians - 100% surrendered - 100% committed - 100% sold out to God - 100% burdened for those around us who struggle as we do but without hope - those are the Christians that this nation needs be lumpy today.  

God has given each of us - and all of us as a congregation - God has given us so much potential and placed us where there is so much of His purposes for us to be lived out.

Say these with me:  “Be lumpy.  Be the lump.” 

_____________________

1) Billy Graham, World Aflame, page 15

2) James Dobson, The Strong-Willed Child

3) Buddy Robinson, quoted in Lloyd Cory, Quote Unguote

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.  Used by permission.