I. Pray

II. Introduction:

When I was a sophomore in college and serving as the Youth Minister at my Church in Covington, I went to a youth retreat with my students and a speaker there encouraged the students to take private communion. At the time I thought this sounded like a neat idea, so I to Kroger, bought some crackers and juice and little disposable glasses, and began taking communion in the mornings by myself in my dorm room before classes. It is very easy for me to back on those times as great moments of fellowship with God. Yet, I am forced to consider this question, "Is it right for me to take communion by myself?" At the end of the day, do I really need the rest of the Body to participate in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper? In all this, one is forced to consider the purpose and place of the Lord's Supper in the local Church. This is one of the issues that we want to address this morning. Likewise, after considering this we must ask (as we did with the ordinance of Baptism), "Why should I participate in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper?" To this end, we will labor this morning.

III. A Brief look at our Constitution

As we looked at last week, I want to begin this morning by looking briefly at our Constitution and the way in which it defines the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. Our Statement of Faith reads as follows:

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the Church, through partaking of the bread and the cup, remember the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

As with Baptism, we can identify some important key points concerning the Lord's Supper from this brief definition in our Statement of Faith. First, we see clearly that the Lord's Supper is done in obedience to the Lord's command. As members of the Church (Cornerstone and other evangelical Churches) and being in good standing with the Church (see our statement in the bulletin), you are called to partake in the Lord's Supper in our Church as an act of obedience to the Lord's commands (which we will reference below). Thus, we see as with Baptism, we involve ourselves in these ordinances in obedience to our Lord. A second purpose for the Lord's Supper is to "remember the death of the Redeemer." As we eat the bread and drink the cup, we are saying publicly that we believe in the work of Christ on the cross (again, we will look at Paul's command concerning this below). The third purpose, which is linked with the second, is that through the Lord's Supper we "anticipate His second coming." Thus, we are communicating through the Lord's Supper that we believe in the death, burial, and resurrection, and we believe that He is coming again for His Bride, the Church. So, in our participation of the Lord's Supper, we are saying to one another and to the world that we believe in the work of Christ and all our hope for salvation rests in Him.

IV. Passages concerning the ordinance of the Lord's Supper:

A. The first group of passages that deal with the Lord's Supper is Christ's institution of it found in the Gospels. These specific texts include Matthew 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-26, and Luke 22:19-20. In these passages, the disciples, along with Christ, are partaking of the Passover together. This is significant because the purpose of the Passover was to remember how the Lord had rescued Israel from the Egyptians. Thus, the Passover celebration was a public way of remembering God's work of salvation. This context helps us better understand the public nature of the Lord's Supper. In the midst of this Passover meal, Christ stands up and commands each disciple to eat the bread (which is His body) and to drink the cup (which is His blood of the New Covenant). He tells the disciples to do this in remembrance of me, which is why one purpose of the Lord's Supper is to remember the work of Christ. The passages conclude in Matthew and Mark with Jesus commenting that He will not eat of this meal again until the new Kingdom of God, thus, calling us to look forward to his second coming. So, we see in the institution of the Lord's Supper the Lord's command to participate in this with other believers, remembering His death and anticipating His second coming.

B. The next passage that I want us to consider is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. In this passage we find some clear teaching from Paul on the Church's practice of the Lord's Supper. Paul makes it clear from the outset that he is not pleased with the practice of the Corinthians (see v. 17). He speaks against their division and against their practice concerning the Lord's Supper. In their eating of the Lord's Supper they were being selfish, one was eating while another had nothing, and some were even getting drunk. In this practice we see the division among the congregation and we see their misunderstanding of the Lord's Supper.
In verses 23-26, Paul reminds them of Christ's institution of the Lord's Supper. He summarizes the passages that we have already looked at from the Gospels. Then in verse 26 he calls them to remember the purpose of the Lord's Supper. He writes, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." In this statement we see a summary of what our constitution says and what we have said thus far concerning the purpose of the Lord's Supper, namely, it is a public proclamation of our belief in the Lord's death and our anticipation of His second coming. This is what Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to remember as they partake of the Lord's Supper.
In verses 27-34, Paul warns the Corinthians against their practices. He tells them to examine themselves as they take the Supper (v. 28). If they do not, he tells them that they will be drinking judgment upon themselves (v. 29). In fact, this judgment is evident in the fact that many of the Corinthians are weak and ill, and some have died (v. 30). Rather he calls them to judge themselves truly in order to avoid the condemnation that the world will receive (v. 31-32). In verses 33-34 he tells them that if they are hungry they are to eat at home in order that they will not eat and drink judgment upon themselves. So, then the question becomes, 'Exactly what is Paul warning against? What does it mean to eat the cup and drink the blood in an unworthy manner (v. 27)?' Let me answer with a couple of thoughts. First, we must remember the context. Paul is speaking against their practice of being selfish in the Lord's Supper by some eating too much while others go hungry and others get drunk. This blatant disregard for the Body of Christ is what Paul is commanding the Corinthians to cease from doing (see v. 17-22, 33-34). Rather, the partaking of the bread and wine is to be a sober time of examination. As we have said, it is to be a time of remembering the work of Christ and looking forward to His return. Second, based on what we have just said, I do not think Paul is telling the Corinthians (and other believers) to abstain from the Lord's Supper if they are in sin. Many people will interpret verse 27 as calling believers to not partake of the Lord's Supper if they have sinned. Rather, I think Paul is intending for us to examine ourselves in order that if there is unconfessed sin, we would confess it and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Again, I think the call is for believers to take of the Supper together in a sober manner, not neglecting one another, but publicly remembering together the death of Christ and His second coming. In this way, we will not eat and drink judgment upon ourselves, but will truly proclaim our belief in the work of Christ until He comes.

V. Why should we participate in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper in the local Church?

A. First, as we have already said, our participation is in obedience to the Lord's command. In instituting the Lord's Supper and in the passage we have read from Paul, we see the clear command to eat and drink in remembrance of the Lord until He comes. Thus, in obedience to this command we are to participate in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.

B. Second, we participate as a public profession of our continual belief and trust in the Lord's death and His promised return. As we eat of the bread and drink of the cup we are proclaiming to one another (and to the Lord) that our only hope for salvation is the work of Christ. And as we said with Baptism, this public profession is a call to those present to hold us accountable to this profession. In this way, we see the importance of examining ourselves. To eat and drink is to say 'I believe.' Not to eat and drink is to say 'I do not believe.' Thus, in our practice here at Cornerstone, Lee asks us to examine ourselves and to eat and drink only if we believe. In this way, we have an opportunity every week to say to one another and to the Lord collectively, 'We believe.'

VI. Conclusion:

There are two main reasons why I see that the ordinances are often neglected by believers. The first is insufficient teaching concerning what they are and why they are to be practiced. The second is a growing disinterest in the community of God. These reasons are what led to my dorm room sessions that I spoke of earlier. At the end of the day, I simply did not understand the purpose of the Lord's Supper nor the importance of the community of God in partaking of it. As believers we need to combat these errors by teaching the truth concerning the ordinances and stressing their importance in practice. May God grant us grace to labor in these very tasks that He might be honored in our participation of the ordinances.

VII. Close in prayer

Participating in the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper