[Darris McNeely] A judge once said, "I don't know the definition of pornography, but I know it when I see it." Interesting statement. Do you know sin? Do you know what sin is, the definition of sin? And more than that, do you know it when you see it? The Bible describes sin very simply as the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4). And certainly that encompasses a number of topics and behaviors and patterns of life. But God gives us something as a tangible symbol of sin and it's part of the Holy Days and His festivals every year. It's called leavening. God gives us the festival of Unleavened Bread—the Days of Unleavened Bread. He tells us to eat only unleavened bread during this period of time and to put the leaven from our homes. Leaven in the scriptures is a type of sin and it's one of the most interesting symbols that we can find and understand from the scriptures as we observe this Holy Day.
[Steve Myers] It's a wonderful thing that God gives us an example. He gives us an object lesson during those days to remind us about our behavior and what sin is all about. And so during Unleavened Bread, we're supposed to get that leavening out because the leavening in the bread is what makes it rise.
[Darris McNeely] It puffs it up.
[Steve Myers] It puffs it up. It makes it big and it's like the sin in us. It is a thing that just ruins our character and puffs us up in a way that is unacceptable. And so God gave us that object lesson to get it out. And in fact as He gave that to us, it's a reminder every single day that we're to get sin out of our lives.
[Darris McNeely] In Exodus chapter 12 we find that that's where God initiated this Holy Day when the Israelites came out of Egypt (Exodus 12:14-20). And He said, for seven days you will eat unleavened bread as a part of this festival unto Me. It's an interesting matter. Egypt in scripture is also a type of sin. Leaven is a type of sin. Christ talked about the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and their false doctrine (Matthew 16:5-12). And he said to avoid that. So, leaven is a type of sin that can puff one up with pride, with vanity—any other antagonism toward God, anything that is contrary to God's way of life. And for this seven day festival, God says, eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
[Steve Myers] That's right. In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul was instructing God's people—you and I, as well as those in Corinth of the day—by saying, "Let us keep this feast," Days of Unleavened Bread. And he says, "Not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). And so we're to root out sin every day as we're eating of what's right—eating sincerity and truth, putting Jesus Christ in us more fully. We root out the sin and avoid that. And that should remind us to do that throughout our entire life.
[Darris McNeely] A flat piece of bread, not puffed up with yeast or any other leavening agent that causes it to rise. That's the type of bread God uses to teach us a lesson to put sin from our life and to, in a sense, flatten ourselves in relation to Him and learn humility and service and other qualities and characteristics that represent Jesus Christ and the life that He should be living through us. That's what unleavened bread is all about. That is a symbol of sin that helps us to understand something very important in God's plan.
[Steve Myers] So as he said, let's recognize it and let's root it out and put in what's right.
[Darris McNeely] That's BT Daily. Join us next time.
