July 09, 2015
Sanctity of Communion
Occasionally we’ll hear the
phrase “come just as you are” spoken or in a praise song, which implies that
you don’t try to clean yourself up before you can come to the Lord. I recently
had that “come just as you are” experience during communion. It was open
communion, there were no membership restrictions, nor asking guests if they were
in good standing in their home church. The pastor gave a brief explanation about
what the emblems represent, said a quick prayer and then two men passed the
bread and juice trays. However, no Scripture was quoted and nothing was said
about examining yourself, or partaking in an unworthy manner. I’m wondering if
some denominations haven’t so elevated the sanctity of communion that the
invitation to come just as you are is lost.
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----“As you are” is for coming, not staying, “for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” (Rom 8:12b-13) “Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.” (Rom 13:11-13) “Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Gal 5:19-25) “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (II Cor 3:18) “For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall.” (II Pet 1:5-10) “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord…For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.” (I Cor 11:27,29) “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent.” (Rev 3:16-19)
-----As a CPA, I’ve learned how to detect and keep guard against error. And I’ve learned that what applies to a world of numbers also applies to the world of ideologies, concepts, attitudes, and behaviors: error happens less by fallacious invention or deliberate twists, and far more by simple oversights, failures to recognize connections, and incomplete trains of thought. For example, I think behavior would be much better if “you” were capitalized instead of “I“. Great affects grow from tiny things. Come as you are, but by all means, staying as you are will be fatal.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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