When We Are Judged, We Are Disciplined
May the grace and peace of God be with us as we receive hard truths today!
Having just laid out the distinction between divisions within the church because of the lack of love and the way we treat one another and what heresy is, Paul moves to the heart of the issue. Here is the text that we will wrestle with today. Take the words of Paul to heart.
So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:27-32
Paul has already expounded on what the Lord's Supper is. It is a gift given to us from Jesus to bless our lives. Jesus is giving Himself to us in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It is pure Gospel! The issue at hand for the apostle Paul is that anyone who denies the Gospel is guilty of heresy and must be put out of the church for the sake of the body. To allow heresy to go unchecked in the Church is to put the eternal salvation of everyone present at risk. It brings joy to the heart of the devil to twist the truth and turn it into a lie while convincing people it is still true. It is the Church's responsibility to preserve the Gospel in its purity from all error.
To deny the truth of the Lord's Supper and the presence of Christ as He comes to us with His blessings is as great a heresy as to say that Jesus did not rise from the dead. This is a topic Paul will address in this epistle very soon. So, the question for us today is, “What does it mean to receive the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner?” Or, as Paul states it, what would make one unworthy?
Let us just simply take the text and break it down in sections to understand what Paul is saying.
So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord.
What is the sin which Paul says a person is guilty of? He declares that a person who receives the sacrament in an unworthy manner is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Obviously, what is present in the Lord's Supper is not simply bread and wine or grape juice. You cannot sin against something that is not present. So, the sin of the person receiving the sacrament is a sin against the body and blood of Jesus. Continue on.
Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
How is it a person sins against the body and blood of Jesus? Paul gives us the answer, it is to eat and drink without recognizing the body! To deny the presence of Jesus, to deny the Gospel, is to sin against God as you receive the Lord's Supper. To examine ourselves is to understand what we truly believe concerning what the Lord's Supper is. Continue on.
This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep.
This is a hard statement, but a true reality. The Lord's Supper is Gospel and therefore brings great power from the throne of God to the individual receiving it. The Gospel brings with it the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life. What makes this possible is faith which holds on to the truth of the Gospel. If on the other hand a person denies the Gospel, what is the end result? The end result of not having the Gospel is eternal damnation. This is not what God wants for His children.
Paul's point is that those who have denied the presence of Jesus in the sacrament, the Gospel itself, have experienced the consequences of earthly judgment so that they will not experience eternal judgment. Continue on, and let me explain.
If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world.
Paul says those who have become sick or fallen asleep have experienced discipline from the Lord. So, let me ask you this question, would you want to live a life being healthy, wealthy, and wise, and then die and go to hell? Or would you rather God cut your life short in this world that you might spend eternity in heaven? We sometimes believe earthly consequences are unfair. God's judgment is from a totally different perspective. His goal is to have you in eternity regardless of what you've experienced in this present world.
Paul says if we would take the time to judge ourselves as to what we personally believe and how our beliefs align with the Word of God and the Gospel we will not experience the discipline of the Lord. But if we do not do this, we will find ourselves under discipline, which from God's perspective is a gracious thing. It is a gracious act of God to shorten our lives in this world that we might live with him in eternity.
I've said it many times, there is nothing more important for us to understand than the Gospel. Because it is vital for our salvation, we must seek to protect the Gospel from any and all error in our midst. Faith in anything else equals condemnation. Faith in the Gospel equals salvation and life, and the Lord's Supper is pure Gospel.
May we ever hold on to the truth of the Gospel and live with the assurance God wants us to have.
Pastor Russ
Having just laid out the distinction between divisions within the church because of the lack of love and the way we treat one another and what heresy is, Paul moves to the heart of the issue. Here is the text that we will wrestle with today. Take the words of Paul to heart.
So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:27-32
Paul has already expounded on what the Lord's Supper is. It is a gift given to us from Jesus to bless our lives. Jesus is giving Himself to us in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It is pure Gospel! The issue at hand for the apostle Paul is that anyone who denies the Gospel is guilty of heresy and must be put out of the church for the sake of the body. To allow heresy to go unchecked in the Church is to put the eternal salvation of everyone present at risk. It brings joy to the heart of the devil to twist the truth and turn it into a lie while convincing people it is still true. It is the Church's responsibility to preserve the Gospel in its purity from all error.
To deny the truth of the Lord's Supper and the presence of Christ as He comes to us with His blessings is as great a heresy as to say that Jesus did not rise from the dead. This is a topic Paul will address in this epistle very soon. So, the question for us today is, “What does it mean to receive the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner?” Or, as Paul states it, what would make one unworthy?
Let us just simply take the text and break it down in sections to understand what Paul is saying.
So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord.
What is the sin which Paul says a person is guilty of? He declares that a person who receives the sacrament in an unworthy manner is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Obviously, what is present in the Lord's Supper is not simply bread and wine or grape juice. You cannot sin against something that is not present. So, the sin of the person receiving the sacrament is a sin against the body and blood of Jesus. Continue on.
Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
How is it a person sins against the body and blood of Jesus? Paul gives us the answer, it is to eat and drink without recognizing the body! To deny the presence of Jesus, to deny the Gospel, is to sin against God as you receive the Lord's Supper. To examine ourselves is to understand what we truly believe concerning what the Lord's Supper is. Continue on.
This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep.
This is a hard statement, but a true reality. The Lord's Supper is Gospel and therefore brings great power from the throne of God to the individual receiving it. The Gospel brings with it the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life. What makes this possible is faith which holds on to the truth of the Gospel. If on the other hand a person denies the Gospel, what is the end result? The end result of not having the Gospel is eternal damnation. This is not what God wants for His children.
Paul's point is that those who have denied the presence of Jesus in the sacrament, the Gospel itself, have experienced the consequences of earthly judgment so that they will not experience eternal judgment. Continue on, and let me explain.
If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world.
Paul says those who have become sick or fallen asleep have experienced discipline from the Lord. So, let me ask you this question, would you want to live a life being healthy, wealthy, and wise, and then die and go to hell? Or would you rather God cut your life short in this world that you might spend eternity in heaven? We sometimes believe earthly consequences are unfair. God's judgment is from a totally different perspective. His goal is to have you in eternity regardless of what you've experienced in this present world.
Paul says if we would take the time to judge ourselves as to what we personally believe and how our beliefs align with the Word of God and the Gospel we will not experience the discipline of the Lord. But if we do not do this, we will find ourselves under discipline, which from God's perspective is a gracious thing. It is a gracious act of God to shorten our lives in this world that we might live with him in eternity.
I've said it many times, there is nothing more important for us to understand than the Gospel. Because it is vital for our salvation, we must seek to protect the Gospel from any and all error in our midst. Faith in anything else equals condemnation. Faith in the Gospel equals salvation and life, and the Lord's Supper is pure Gospel.
May we ever hold on to the truth of the Gospel and live with the assurance God wants us to have.
Pastor Russ
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