1 Corinthians 5:6-8
6 “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 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. 8 Therefore let’s celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
A little leaven: Too much yeast and leaven in bread causes the bread to be ruined. Likewise, a sin such as the one mentioned in 1 Corinthians, can ruin the reputation of the church. Those unbelievers who participate in heathen religions would hear about the Corinthian Christians’ behavior and misunderstand what they stand for theologically.
Clean out the old leaven: Paul’s solution to the problem was for the sinful individual to be temporarily banned from the church. This would communicate a high moral standard to the unbelieving world and also hopefully bring about repentance in the sinful individual.
Celebrate the feast: Paul did not want the church to be overcome with sin and misunderstood in the eyes of the world. Instead, he wanted the church to spend time celebrating Christ, the very reason why they are forgiven and spotless. Sin is always a waste of time and distraction from Jesus.
Sincerity and truth: Christian community must be founded on sincerity and truth. It is impossible to be sincere and truthful if sin is not recognized for what it is. There is no real relationship without recognition of truth.
