When it comes to the sacraments, not following the directions may cause serious side effects.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34 (NIV)
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 29: The Marks of the True Church
We believe that we ought to discern
diligently and very carefully,
by the Word of God,
what is the true church—
for all sects in the world today
claim for themselves the name of “the church.”
We are not speaking here of the company of hypocrites
who are mixed among the good in the church
and who nonetheless are not part of it,
even though they are physically there.
But we are speaking of distinguishing
the body and fellowship of the true church
from all sects that call themselves “the church.”
The true church can be recognized
if it has the following marks:
The church engages in the pure preaching
of the gospel;
it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments
as Christ instituted them;
it practices church discipline
for correcting faults.
In short, it governs itself
according to the pure Word of God,
rejecting all things contrary to it
and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head.
By these marks one can be assured
of recognizing the true church—
and no one ought to be separated from it
Summary
Boy, are we thankful for the hapless Corinthians. It's because they were getting so many things wrong that we can now learn from the letters that Paul wrote from them and not make the same mistakes. And the mistake Paul corrects here in chapter 11 is a doozie: their practice of the Lord's Supper was a mess.
The first thing Paul notes is the divisions present in the congregation. We don't get the details, but we really don't need them either. The group had descended into various factions that were all whispering behind one another's backs, all while participating in a sacrament designed to symbolize the unity of Christ and His Church.
Paul then gives a bit of insight into how he instructs the church: what the Lord gave to him, he passes on to the Church. In this case, Paul retells the story of Jesus' last supper with His disciples and commends the process to the Church. Twice Paul repeats Jesus' instruction to do this in remembrance of Him.
Paul urges the Corinthians, and by extension us, to not just show up for Supper, but to prepare for it by examining themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. This word is translated "test and approve" in other passages. In other words, as you prepare to commune with the Lord and His people, carefully look over your life to identify sin and repent of it.
Dig Deeper
This process of examination is hugely important, and Paul puts a huge exclamation point behind it. "For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves," he writes. As scary as that is, Paul's not done there. He goes on to write, "That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep!"
If it wasn't clear before that God takes sacraments seriously, it ought to be after reading that! Paul's not referring to godless pagans here; these were committed church members who happened to be getting a core practice wrong and ended up paying a significant physical penalty for their error!
Yet even this seemingly harsh discipline is a gift of God's grace, part of His process of separating His Church from the world so that His covenant people aren't "finally condemned with the world."
It's because the Bible takes sacraments so seriously that the Church must as well. So seriously, in fact, that we confess "the pure administration of the sacraments" to be one of the three marks of the true Church.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who commands us to examine ourselves and come together to remember His Son, Jesus Christ;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will prepare for the Lord's Supper by "testing and approving" all aspects of your life and doctrine;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Timothy 3
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