“And he 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.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” (Luke 22:17-20 ESV)
It was the time of the celebration of the Passover Feast, and so Jesus gathered together with his twelve disciples to share in that celebration with them. But what follows sounds a whole lot like what we do when we take communion, when we remember Jesus giving his life up for us on that cross to free us from our slavery to sin and him raised from the dead so that we might live a new life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness, in the power of God, by his Spirit.
But this remembrance is not to be in formality only. We don’t eat the bread (or crackers or wafers) and drink the grape juice (or wine) just as a religious practice or ritual. This is a time to seriously reflect over the very purpose for why Jesus died on that cross, which was so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and live for him and no longer for self. For he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery to sin so that we might now honor and serve the Lord Jesus with our lives.
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
“What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:14-22 ESV)
So, what is the message here? If we go back and read the first 13 verses it will give us context. For the majority of the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness ended up dying in the wilderness. They not only did not get to go into the Promised Land here on this earth, but God said that they would not enter into his eternal rest (see Hebrews 3:1-19 and Hebrews 4:1-13) because of their disobedience (their unbelief). Therefore, many of them he killed off in the wilderness because of their rebellion, their idolatries, their sexual immorality, their revelries, their grumblings against the Lord, and their obstinance in putting the Lord Jesus to the test.
Then we are told that these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. And they were written down for our instruction so that we do not follow after their example. And all this was in the context of the taking of communion and the remembrance of what Jesus did for us in his death and in his resurrection. For he died to free us from our slavery to sin so that we will now become slaves of righteousness, and so we will live new lives in him in holiness and in obedience to his commands.
“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 judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-32 ESV)
So, what’s this saying? When we remember what our Lord did for us in the taking of communion, in drinking from the vine and in eating the bread, again, this is much more than just a formality. This is a serious time of reflection and prayer and self-examination and repentance (where needed) and renewals of faith and practice. But this is not to be just an emotional experience and then it is done with and life goes on. Each time we enter into communion with our Lord should be a time of life transformation.
This should be a time when we really consider all that Jesus did for us in his death and in his resurrection in freeing us from our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we can now live holy, morally pure, upright, honest, and faithful lives to God in surrender of our lives to the will of God. And we should never participate in this remembrance if we know that sin is still our practice, and that we regularly participate in what we know is sinful in direct defiance to God and in direct disobedience to his commands.
For, going back to chapter 10, we cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons, too. We cannot take part in a remembrance of his blood sacrifice for us on that cross to free us from slavery to sin if we are still in slavery to sin, still deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord and against other humans, without conscience, and without true remorse. That is what they did in the wilderness, and most of them God killed off and they did not get to enter into his eternal rest. And we won’t, either, if we continue in making sin our practice and if obedience to God is not our practice.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
So, please take this to heart, for your eternity depends upon you believing and living the truth which says we must die with Christ to sin and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living or we do not have eternal life.
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
https://vimeo.com/379406352
No comments:
Post a Comment