Parable of False Doctrines

Luke 13:20-21 And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

parable_of_the_leaven

Etching by Jan Luyken illustrating the parable, from the Bowyer Bible

  • Who is the woman?
  • What does three measures of meal mean?
  • What is the leaven?
  • What does it mean when all are leavened?

These are the questions we may have in this parable spoken by Jesus.

Who is the woman?

Ezek 23:2,4 “Son of man, there were two women, The daughters of one mother. …  Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; They were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

Rev 17:18 “And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

Woman in the Bible refers to a city often speaking about the people of a kingdom where the city is the capital. e.g., Jerusalem refers to the people of the kingdom of Judah and Samaria refers to the people of the kingdom of Israel.

Here in this parable, the woman refers to the people of God who accept the authority of the kingdom of Heaven.

What does three measures of meal mean?

Gen 18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”

The only other reference in the Bible for three measures of meal is referred as food given by Abraham which God ate.

Hence, three measure of meal in this parable refers to food for Christ which the woman made it as leaven. What is the food for Christ?

John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

Matt 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

The food for Christ is to do the will of the Father in Heaven, which is to depart from iniquity.

What is the leaven?

Matt 16:11-12 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?–but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Mark 8:15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Luke 12:1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

As Jesus Christ spoke in various places, leaven refers to false doctrines, false teachings and hypocrisy.

What does it mean when all are leavened?

1 Cor 5:6-8 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 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. 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.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump. A false doctrine or a teaching, no matter how small it is, will spread and causes all people to depart from doing the will of the Father in heaven.

  • A false doctrine where God saves through faith alone is used to reject Christ’s teachings as works.
  • A false teaching where salvation cannot be earned is repeatedly preached to keep christians from doing righteousness which is requirement to enter kingdom of Heaven
  • A false doctine where christains are eternally secure giving a free license to sin and live an ungodly life yet enter into His kingdom.
  • A false teaching where we cannot ever attain God’s standard of holiness to continue living in unholiness
  • A false teaching of salvation through finished works of Christ rejecting His teachings on requirements of righteousness as Christ plus anything is false.
  • A false doctrine of unending God grace which Christ never taught to make His grace to lewdness.

Satan uses scripture alone to exalt Christ alone using faith alone to have grace alone so that Christians who are deceived can have all unrighteousness and unholiness for glory of devil because they can reject Christ’s teachings and the requirement of righteousness and holiness as works. Refer to Satan’s Ministries: Pseudosalvation for more details. Any doctrine or teaching that deviates from doing the will of the Father in Heaven which is righteousness and holiness is a leaven.

Luke 18:8b … when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?

When Christ comes in the clouds, will He find you deceived by the false doctrines in the churches that teaches the opposite of doing the will of the Father in heaven?

Conclusion

Any doctrine or teaching that deviates from doing the will of the Father in Heaven which is righteousness and holiness is a leaven. When Christ comes in the clouds, will He find you being deceived and not doing the will of the Father in heaven?

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