The Leaven-Leaden Church

by Michael G. Mickey

A lot of churches today are "Purpose Driven", but I want to address a church many of you may not be aware is in existence in these end times we're living in - the Leaven-Leaden Church.

One definition of the word 'leaven' is "an agent, such as yeast, that causes batter or dough to rise, especially by fermentation."

A definition of 'ferment' is "unrest, agitation."

A definition of 'agitation' is "the stirring up of public interest in a matter of controversy, such as a political or social issue."

Definitions of leaden include:

Lacking liveliness or sparkle.
Downcast; depressed.

Am I trying to increase your vocabulary? No. All of this is leading us to a better understanding of what I'm about to describe - the Leaven-Leaden Church.

Leaven is referred to often in the Bible, most often associated with evil or false doctrines and hypocrisy. Below are some examples of this:

Matthew 16:6: Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Matthew 16:12: Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Mark 8:15: And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

Luke 12:1: In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

In the Apostle Paul's first epistle to the church at Corinth, he wrote that he was upset concerning what was going on in the Church, especially in light of the Church's boasting of its spiritual purity. Paul wrote:

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles--that a man has his father's wife!

2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.

3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person.

12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?

13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." (1st Corinthians, chapter 5, NKJV™)

In Scripture, as shown above, the Church is warned to beware of false doctrines and hypocrisy. Why? Because a little false doctrine (or leaven) will ruin (or leaven) the whole lump (in this case the Church). In Bible prophecy we are explicitly warned, in 1st Timothy 4:1, that the last days will see Satan and his minions bringing immeasurable quantities of "leaven" our way:

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

As shown above, Paul's advice to the church in Corinth was for them to confront, in that instance, sexual immorality going on in their midst and, if necessary, to remove the wicked "leaven" from within the Church that the Church of Corinth's "bread" might be "unleavened", sincere, and true!

In today's world, we're seeing more and more churches around the globe embracing doctrines that are clearly in contrast to the teachings of Scripture, resulting in a downcast and depressed Church lacking in liveliness and sparkle - a Leaven-Leaden Church!

How did the Church of the end times lose its spiritual sparkle? While the Church was in a spiritual slumber, paying little heed to the prophetic signs of the times, its arch enemy, Satan, crept in unawares to stir up agitation and interest in matters of a controversial nature - doctrines of devils - and went his way! Who did he use to stir up these matters? Tares (nonbelievers) he sowed among the wheat (believers) before he exited stage left!

Matthew 13:25: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

Jesus made it clear, in Matthew 13, the tares are going to continue to grow among the wheat here in the end times, weighting the Church down until the very end! What does this mean to those of us concerned that our churches are headed in the wrong direction? It means we are going to have to be more bold in our witness to the lost and more stern in our defense of the Word of God!

If there has ever been a time in the history of Christ's Church when true believers need to be motivated to restore ourselves spiritually, recommit ourselves to strict adherence to the Word of God, and get hungry to lead the lost to come to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior through sound doctrinal teaching, this is it! While we may meet with some opposition, both from the lost and from tares sown within our own churches, each and every born again believer, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, can play a critical role in furthering the cause of Christ, no matter how much "leaven" we have to sweep out of the way to get it done!

If we don't get the truth to a lost and dying world, no one will. Therefore, we must!