“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement on himself.” [2]
Fewer and fewer people today believe the Word of God. I realise that a statement such as this is confrontational, but nowhere is this observation more evident than in our approach to the Lord's Table. I am not a judge, but I am able to observe the reaction of those coming to the Lord’s Table; and I have been observing for many decades. I am not an ecclesiastical policeman, but I do witness what transpires within the churches; and I have been present in multiple churches when the ordinance was observed. As an overseer of the Lord’s flock, I am obligated to warn all who hear me speak week-by-week. During the worship services I address the great issues of the Word of God, and during the Communion services I caution all that we must take care to avoid sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
Merely because centuries separate us from the supernatural judgement of those who shared in Korah's rebellion, or from the death of Ananias and Sapphira when they attempted to lie to God, we must never think that we may ignore God's warnings in this day. We are cautioned that we are responsible to “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” And the reason for this responsibility is that “our God is a consuming fire” [HEBREWS 12:28b-29]. We are also warned against presuming against the Lord as we approach His Table. Though I issue this grave note of caution with regularity as we meet to observe this continuing ordinance, it is mandatory that we emphasise the cautionary note as we consider the text assigned this day.
No church in the apostolic era was more gifted than was the Corinthian church; no church in that same era was more self centred than was the Corinthian church. Their failure to focus on the Lord of the church exposed an exclusivist attitude. They excluded other Christians within the same local fellowship and demonstrated arrogance toward believers outside the immediate congregation. This attitude, unchecked and unjudged, caused them to presume against the Lord Himself. Nowhere was their presumption more evident than in the observance of the continuing ordinance. For them, the rite served as yet another opportunity to promote personal ambition. No longer was Communion a time of worship, it was merely another opportunity to promote self while humiliating others. In short, they had a casual attitude toward the ordinance of the Lord.
PRINCIPLES FOR THE LORD’S SUPPER — In CHAPTERS TEN and ELEVEN of Paul's first letter to the Church of God in Corinth, several terms are used when referring to this continuing ordinance. The Apostle speaks of “the cup of blessing” [10:16], of “the cup of the Lord” [10:21a and 11:27], of “the Table of the Lord” [10:21b], and of “the Lord’s Supper” [11:20]. In the references to the ordinance, The words Paul used emphasises the Lord's ownership of the act. The rite is “the cup of the Lord,” “the Lord's Table,” “the Lord's Supper.” The use of the possessive should give pause to any who may rush to participate in the observance. If it is the Lord’s Table, and if it is His cup, then He has the right to invite whom He wills to share in that meal.
I have a universally recognised right to invite whom I wish to share a meal with me. Likewise, I can restrict those uninvited from participating in sharing the hospitality of my table. Therefore, it should be no great surprise that the Table of the Lord should have similar conditions for participation and restrictions against any who might presume upon the Lord’s Table. The first principle to be applied to the Communion Meal, often forgotten or ignored in this day, is that IT IS CHRIST'S RIGHT TO INVITE WHOM HE WILLS TO THE TABLE.
That assertion raises the legitimate question: WHO IS INVITED TO THE LORD'S TABLE? Clearly, from the context of what is written in the Word of God, non Christians are not invited to share in this commemorative meal. Outsiders have never received Christ as Master over life, which is why they are identified as outsiders. They have placed themselves outside the precincts of grace because they have never brought themselves under the rule of Christ the Master. I must wonder why one who is unsaved, one who is outside of the precincts of grace, would want to partake of the Communion Meal. Since such individuals have not submitted to Christ as Master of life, how can they remember His sacrifice since they have not acknowledged that His sacrifice was for them? Unbelievers and the willingly self deluded have no invitation to the Lord's Table. They neither accept His sacrifice for themselves nor participate in the new covenant in His blood; therefore, they have no share in the Table which is spread to remember those very things.
Beyond this, the meal is a church ordinance; it is restricted to those who have openly identified with Christ through the first ordinance. Paul, addressing the Christians in Corinth, recognises that the Lord's Table was to be observed [sunerchoménon humôn en ekklesía], “when you come together as a church” [v. 18a]. That particular admonition is translated elsewhere in this fashion, “when you meet as a congregation” [GOODSPEED], or “when your congregation assembles” [CONYBEARE], or yet again the ordinance was observed “when you assemble as a church” [RSV]. It is when a congregation is met in assembly that the ordinance of Communion is to be observed. The meal is, according to what is written, a church ordinance.
I readily acknowledge that I can enjoy sweet fellowship with Christ as I eat the food that He has provided—and I do! Seated at my table with my wife, I can, and should, remember His sacrifice and the fact that His grace has provided all that I enjoy. However, dining at a meal and remembering Christ’s love is not the Communion Meal. My wife and I, though we do offer thanks to the Lord for His gracious provision, are not observing this ordinance of the Lord’s Supper as we eat a meal. We observe the Lord’s Supper when we are gathered with the congregation to which we belong and that assembly is worshipping at the Lord’s Table.
I can invite friends to share my table in my home or to share a meal in a favourite restaurant. Then, as we are seated around the meal that is provided, we can enjoy sweet communion with one another. And we who follow the Saviour should rejoice in the fellowship that Christ has created. However, that sweet fellowship with brothers and sisters is not the Communion Meal.
If I will honour God, I may not simply gather a few professed Christians together and decide we will observe the supper. I have no warrant to serve the meal to a sick saint in a private ceremony. I could not serve the meal to a bride and groom because it is considered a beautiful gesture with which to conclude their wedding ceremony. THE MEAL IS RESERVED FOR THE BODY ASSEMBLED. PARTICIPATION IN THE MEAL IS RESTRICTED TO THOSE WHO ARE OPENLY IDENTIFIED AS CHRISTIANS THROUGH OPEN IDENTIFICATION WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Only those who have received biblical baptism are invited to the Lord’s Table. This is not a decision made by a congregation, or thought up by a pastor, this is God’s holy decision. No one should imagine that this decision is a denominational oddity. I remind you that biblical baptism is the immersion of one who believes that Christ died for his or her sin and that He has been raised to justify before the Father that one who has believed. Let me be clear, one for whom a rite was performed during infancy may be a Christian if they have believed the message of Christ the Lord. However, they are not baptised if the rite was performed before they believed. One who received a rite in order to make them a Christian has not been baptised since baptism is for those who are confessing the Faith they have embraced.
In His Word, our Lord has given us but two ordinances—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The first ordinance entrusted to the oversight of the churches is baptism. Our Master instituted this ordinance, first commanding John to administer the rite as Jesus openly identified Himself as the Messiah. By this act, our Lord was identifying with those who would believe on Him. In this initial rite the one who has come to faith in the Master confesses that Jesus died and was buried because of our sin. Simultaneously, the one who is baptised confesses that he or she agrees with God that the old nature was dead and has been buried with Christ, and that the one baptised has been raised to a new life with Christ. The act of baptism is a hopeful rite in that the one baptised asserts confidence that though the body may be buried, they believe with a perfect faith that God will raise them from the dead at the return of the Saviour.
All this is detailed in the words of the Apostle Paul when he writes the Roman Christians. He is speaking against the tendency of some to assume that because they have believed in Christ, they no longer need to be concerned about sin. This is what the Apostle had to say about that. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” [ROMANS 6:1-11]. Paul uses the occasion of a distortion of Christian teaching to appeal to what is professed in baptism to correct the errant thinking.
As is true for the first Christian ordinance of baptism, the continuing rite, that is, the ordinance of the Lord’s Table, was blessed by and instituted among the churches by command of our Lord. On that night preceding His passion, when He observed the Passover Meal with His disciples, the Lord forever removed the Passover observance as incumbent upon His followers. He established in its place a new observance that would be invested with a fullness of meaning unrealised in that older rite that was now superseded. Read again Dr. Luke's account of the conclusion of that final Pascal Meal.
Doctor Luke wrote, “[Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, ‘Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’ [LUKE 22:17 19].
Take careful note of that final imperative that Jesus issued and which was recorded by Doctor Luke. Our Saviour commanded, “[D]o this in remembrance of me.” The words that Jesus spoke on that final night with His disciples are identical to those which the Apostle cites in 1 CORINTHIANS 11:24b and 25b. Paul’s citation of Jesus’ words, “Do this in remembrance of me,” serves to remind us of our Lord's purpose for the Meal we observe as an act of worship. We are to remember Him, actively calling to mind His sacrifice because of us. The broken bread reminds us of His body, broken for us; the wine in the cup reminds us of His blood which was shed for us. Together, these elements speak of the sacrifice of our Saviour. Nor should be imagine that the sacrifice is some universal sentiment—it is a personal confession for each participant. The Communion Meal is to serve as an act of commemoration—a meal of remembrance—for each of us as we eat it. It is expected that participants in the Meal will recognise the death of the Saviour to deliver us from our brokenness as we partake of the Meal.
Paul teaches us as well that this is a statement of anticipation when he reminds us that “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes [v. 26]. The meal is to continue until our Lord returns. This is our Lord's own word, recorded by each of the Synoptic Gospels. Luke records Jesus’ words as, “I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes” [LUKE 22:18]. Mark records Peter’s memories of Jesus’ statement, “I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God” [MARK 14:25]. And Matthew, who was also present on that evening, notes that Jesus said, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” [MATTHEW 26:29]. In each instance recorded, Jesus spoke of a future date when He would again eat the meal with His disciples. Therefore, at the Lord's Table, we express our anticipation at His return.
Again, according to the apostle’s instruction, the Lord's Table provides opportunity to make a statement of communion. In our older translations, we find the act of sharing in the rite referred to as a communion. In the translation which many of us employ, we find this observance referred to as a participation [10:16], translated from the Greek word koinonía, often translated fellowship. The meal is, then, a statement of fellowship—fellowship both with the Lord and simultaneously fellowship with His saints. The principle that is enshrined and which each Christian is responsible to put into practise as we each share in the Communion Meal, is that the Lord's Table is because grace has been conferred, and not to receive grace.
Nowhere in the whole of the Word of God is to be found so much as a hint that the meal is more than that, and in particular there is no mention that in some way the meal is a means of conferring grace either in whole or in part. We are not made acceptable to God through sharing in the meal—that is a late addendum by an apostate, or at the least, an apostatising church. Such a teaching is utterly foreign either to the spirit of the Word or the text of the Word. Yet, multitudes gather weekly, in observance of a ritual which they suppose makes them acceptable to God, or at the least more holy, ignoring the instruction of the Word of God.
PRACTISE AT THE LORD’S TABLE — With one arresting phrase, the Apostle forces each of us who are followers of the Christ to examine our practise at the Lord's Table. The statement the Apostle makes, “[W]hoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner,” rivets attention on our attitude as we come before the Lord’s Table. The manner in which we approach the Lord's Table is in view, for the Word of God is challenging each one who participates in this Meal to ensure that he or she is honouring the Saviour even as each one comes before Him.
Many Christians reading the words Paul has written have incorrectly surmised that the word unworthy is an adjective; and since they imagine the word is an adjective, they believe they are excluded from the Communion Meal. After all, who among us is worthy to sit at the Lord's Table? I have actually had people absent themselves from the Communion Table because they concluded were unworthy to come into the presence of the Lord!
I have related in previous messages how throughout the days of my service among the churches, some worshippers have questioned whether they should partake of the Communion Meal because they don’t believe themselves to be worthy. “Pastor,” began one woman on one occasion, “I'm not worthy to take Communion.”
I knew her to be a Christian, but I nevertheless responded to her mournful statement. She was shocked when I agreed with her. “That's right,” I shot back. “You are not worthy, but Christ has made provision for you anyway.” Conscientious Christians recognise that we have no inherent goodness to recommend ourselves to God. We are not worthy! And this sense of our unworthiness is magnified as we approach the Table of the Lord. However, the focus of the text is not on our worth—it is on our attitude. The passage in question is challenging each of us to examine our attitude as we come before the Saviour. Here is a truth to hold in mind: The Communion Meal is not reserved for perfect people, but it welcomes broken people who come to worship the Risen Son of God. God invites sinners to come to the Lord’s Table, but He calls those sinners to come seeking to honour Him and not for their own personal reasons!
In the Greek language, the word that is translated “unworthy” is an adverb. Moreover, that adverb modifies the compound predicate “eats … or … drinks.” The adverb “unworthy” modifies the noun “manner,” and not the pronoun “whoever.” For clarity of translation, the translators rendered the adverb by an adverbial phrase. Thus, “unworthily” is translated in “an unworthy manner.” Rather than moral quality, it is our manner of life, our attitude toward Christ and the instruction of the Word, which is under scrutiny. Neither personal worth nor character is in view—our attitude as we approach the Lord's Table is in view. The question is not “Am I fit to come before the Lord?” That question is already answered—I am not worthy! The question that is to be considered is whether I hold the proper sense of humility, obedience, and reverence as I come before Him to share in His table.
The issue goes back to principles previously enunciated: it is Christ's right to invite whom He wills to His Table or to exclude whom He wills from His Table. The observance of the ordinance of the Lord’s Table is because grace has been conferred, and not to become a means of conferring grace. If we hold opinions other than these which are clearly taught, we err; and in our error we invite divine judgement of our attitude. This is the reason the Apostle will shortly insist, “let a person examine himself.”
Our examination must first insure that we belong at the Table, that we are indeed one who follows the Christ. Ask yourself this question: Have you trusted Christ as your Lord? Let’s rephrase that question and push the boundaries a bit. Is Christ Jesus Master over your life? Bluntly, Are you saved? I would hope that everyone who comes before the Lord at His Table would recognise that faith in Him is absolutely necessary if there is to be worship.
Flowing from this examination concerning whether we are saved or not is a related question of whether we have been baptised as taught in the Word of God. Knowing that we are saved we must ensure that we have openly identified with Him, proving obedient in first things by our having been baptised as He commanded. Have you openly proclaimed your faith, identifying through baptism since you believed? Have you obeyed His command in this first issue of Christian living? Then, having openly put on the Faith once delivered to the saints, we are responsible to ensure that we remember why we come to the Lord's Table. At this Table we are to focus on Him, remembering His love and His sacrifice for us, renewing our hope as we express our anticipation of His return, confessing our fellowship both with Him and with His people. This is the Lord's Table. Examine yourselves.
CONSEQUENCES OF AN UNWORTHY OBSERVANCE — Paul issued a stern warning, whether we recognise it as a warning or not. The issue of judgement may well be the most neglected doctrine in Christian circles today. Our failure to acknowledge that God does judge is less a mark of our freedom in Christ than it is an example of our wilful ignorance. Paul is adamant that to eat or drink in an unworthy manner is to invite judgement.
It may interest you, and it will assuredly be of benefit to you, to know that multiple judgements are mentioned in the Word of God. We know that Christ was judged in the place of sinful people at the cross. The righteous Son of God received our punishment because of our sinful, helpless condition. Scripture informs us, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’ [GALATIANS 3:13]. And again we read in the Word, “For our sake [God] made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:21]. The judgement of Christ because of our sinful condition is the first judgement we must remember.
There also is a judgement of believers before the Bema of Christ that lies in the future. This is a judgement in which all that is commendable in the life of each Christian will be revealed. Perhaps you will remember what is taught concerning this judgement by reviewing a couple of passages of the Word. Recall how the Apostle has written, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” [1 CORINTHIANS 3:10 15]. And we are comforted by the knowledge that the good we have done will be revealed!
However, we must not neglect the fact that all that is associated with this life will be burned up. The things that seem so important to us now will have no value in Heaven. When that which we deem precious now—gold, silver, precious metals and precious stones—are used as paving stones in Heaven or used as foundational materials, all that is accumulated now will be lost to us. James teaches us to despise what men esteem now when he writes, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days” [JAMES 5:1-3].
Wealth, as we count wealth in this present age, is but a tool to be employed in Christ’s service and for His glory. This is the reason for James’ stern warning, “You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter” [JAMES 5:5]. There is a reason why the death shroud has no pockets. What we imagine is necessary for security now provides no security at all in Heaven. Our security is in Christ the Lord and not in what we can accumulate.
The Apostle has reminded us, “We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:10]. Each follower of the Christ must remember that he or she shall assuredly give an account of the life they have lived. Each choice, each decision, each refusal to obey the will of the Master, will be revealed at the return of the Master.
That we must answer for what is said becomes obvious when we read the words which the Master spoke. Jesus cautioned, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” [MATTHEW 12:36-37]. As the Apostle Paul has iterated, “Each of us will give an account to God” [ROMANS 14:12]. That is decidedly sobering!
There is an ultimate judgement of the wicked at the conclusion of the millennial reign of Christ, delivering eternal condemnation of those who would not receive Him as Master of life. Jesus has warned, “An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear [the voice of the Son of God] and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement [JOHN 5:28b-29].
How awful that final judgement will be! The Revelator saw the future and described for us what is coming upon the earth. John writes, “I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” [REVELATION 20:11 15].
When I was a little lad, my daddy would sing some of the great hymns of another era. One of the hymns that he often sang as he held me on his lap was a song popularised by Hank Williams. The opening verse and the chorus was so sad to a child’s heart. Dad would sing,
I dream’d that the great judgment morning had dawn’d, and the trumpet had blown;
I dream’d that the nations had gathered to judgment before the white throne.
From the throne came a bright shining angel and stood on the land and the sea,
And swore with his hand rais’d to heaven, that time was no longer to be.
And O, what a weeping and wailing,
As the lost were told of their fate;
They cried for the rocks and the mountains,
They pray’d, but their pray’r was too late. [2]
What a tragic song, warning as it does of what those without Christ must face when God says, “Enough!”
When John writes those verse which I just read from the twentieth chapter of the Apocalypse, we are provided what must be recognised as the formal pronouncement of the final condemnation—final, because unbelievers even now are under the condemnation of God. Have we never read what God says through the Apostle John? Believers are comforted to read, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned.” But I must wonder if we actually read the remainder of that verse that warns, “Whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the Only Son of God” [JOHN 3:18]. What is written in that verse is iterated shortly, when John writes, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” [JOHN 3:36]. Sinners are judged even now, but sinners shall yet be judged as they are exposed as those who have no faith in the Son of God—they shall be revealed as lost and condemned to eternity without the love of God. They will be eternally lost and without hope.
Just as the unbelievers are already judged as lost, so the saints have already been judged at the Cross of Christ; and because Christ took our sin upon Himself, we are declared righteous. Nevertheless, the redeemed saints shall yet be judged as they are revealed for what they are in Christ. In the text before us today, the Apostle Paul speaks of a current self examination which each Christian is urged to conduct as he or she comes to the Lord's Table. Whether we realise it or not we invite the One whose Table it is to judge us each time we come before Him in Communion. Coming to His Table, we appeal to Him to examine us, judging our attitudes. I would err in my ministry if I did not caution all who hear me against presuming against the Lord's Table. When we attempt to force ourselves on the Table or when approaching this ordinance with an arrogant attitude seeking personal benefit instead of declaration of those things God has commanded, we sin against the body and blood of the Lord.
When we fail to recognise His ownership and His conditions for approaching Him, we sin against Him. If we sin against Him, and especially if we know that He is pledged to judge us in our sin, must we not anticipate that He shall indeed judge us? If we are not His, we are but adding sin to our already great load of sin for which we are even now under judgement. If we are His, however, we invite His discipline so that we might avoid being judged with the world.
The situation confronting Christians who are observing the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper today is quite different from that which prevailed during the days of the Apostles. Those professing the Faith in that distant day could not afford to be casual when embracing the Faith, for the mere act of confessing Christ could mean imprisonment, punishment, or even death. The appellation “Christian” was not adopted without knowledge of the potential of serious consequences. We need but recall the apostolic observation that, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” [1 CORINTHIANS 12:3b NET BIBLE] to verify this fact. Merely attending the meetings of the congregation in the apostolic era meant that worshippers were accepting a measure of risk. Thought it may have happened, it would have been exception were an unbeliever actually share in a service of Communion at the time Paul wrote this letter.
Much later, after the Faith of Christ the Lord had attained a measure of respectability and acceptance among the elite of society, those professing faith—though not necessarily possessing faith—began to frequent the meetings of the saints. It became socially acceptable to identify with followers of the Christ. In earlier days, baptism was recognised as the distinguishing sign between believers and unbelievers; therefore, the commonly accepted instruction in the church was to ensure that no unbaptised person shared in the Eucharist. We read a stern warning delivered in The Didache, an ancient work of the post apostolic era, “Let no one eat or drink from your Eucharist except those who are baptised in the Lord's Name. For the Lord also has spoken concerning this: ‘Do not give what is holy to dogs’” [THE DIDACHE 9:5]. Clearly, our spiritual forbears were more concerned to honour the Christ whom they worshipped than they were with hurting the feelings of unbelievers who might be present at a meeting.
Today, while all who believe are Christians, there is no one name by which Christians are known. There is, however, but one doctrine defining who we are. We are Christians, not because our parents sent us to church, nor because we decided it would be socially advantageous, nor because we submitted to an ecclesiastical rite, if we are a Christian it is because we have faith in the Risen Christ as our Saviour. Scripture affirms, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” [EPHESIANS 4:4-6].
We choose to become Christians when we believe the invitation of Saviour, receiving Him as Master over our life. The Living God has promised, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10]. Each person has this promise from the Word of the Living God, “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. So a Christian is one who is twice born, having believed the message of life and believed in the Risen Son of God.
In Scripture, I find no warrant that I am appointed to serve as a policeman, scrutinising those who share in our worship, though I was saved in a church which believed and taught that such was their responsibility. I would feel compelled to exclude those under discipline of the church, primarily for their own sake; but I find no command to exclude believers who are not part of our particular body from this meal. Nevertheless, I am constrained to warn in the strongest possible language that participants must not profane the Lord's Table through ignoring what He Himself has said through His holy apostle. I am very careful to warn that the Lord is holy, and that He shall judge according to His holiness as we present ourselves before Him.
If we sin against the Risen Saviour, presuming against His Word, what will He do? Those words which follow the Apostle’s initial warning should give each Christian pause. “Anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” [1 CORINTHIANS 11:29-30]. Surely you will agree that those are sobering words. The attitude most frequently demonstrated today has revealed an air of disbelief concerning these words. Do you believe God has spoken the truth? Knowing His warning, will you truly challenge Him? Have you examined yourself?
These truths I have spoken today are not meant to exclude anyone from the Lord's Table, but to provide sound, biblical instruction for everyone. We see the instruction and warnings provided, not as something meant to rob us of joy, but as words given to ensure our joy. When we know that we are in a right standing, that our motives are correct and that we revere and honour the Lord, there is a freedom to approach His Table. As the apostle John has said, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” [1 JOHN 4:18] Later, the Apostle of Love would write, “This is love for God: to obey his commands” [1 JOHN 5:3a NIV]. Confidence arises out of love; and where there is confidence, there is freedom. That sense of freedom cannot be worked up or prayed down, but it is the result of confidence given by the Holy Spirit as we, in love, obey the Lord. The invitation that flows from this study is for you to ensure that your faith is in Christ as Master over your life. Then, we invite you to come join with us in serving Him in this church. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Bert Shadduck, “The Great Judgment Morning,” Song, (1894)
