Saints Made Sinners: Do This in Remembrance of Me

1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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The ordinance of the Lord's Supper is a celebration of worship which proclaims our oneness with Christ, our oneness with each other, and is a visual display that remind us of His sacrifice for us.

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Text: I Corinthians 10:15-17

Theme: The ordinance of the Lord's Supper is a celebration of worship which proclaims our oneness with Christ, our oneness with each other, and is a visual display that remind us of His sacrifice for us.

Date: 01/16/20122 File name: 1_Corinthinas_20.wpd ID Number:

As most of you know by now, I do not preach during the service where we are observing the Lord’s Supper. Many years ago I read an article entitled A Sermon in Living Color that spoke of Evangelical Christianity’s ho-hum attitude toward Communion ... how it had become a ritual that held little meaning to most Evangelicals tacked on to the end of a service (and usually made us late for lunch). It was something we did because ... well, the Church is just supposed to. The article transformed my thinking about Communion. I came under conviction that the Lord’s Supper is the message — the Gospel in ‘living color’ — and ought to be the focus of the service when we observe it. That said, we do from time-to-time, need to preach about the Lord’s Supper to explain it’s importance. Simply: It is a memorial that commemorates our loyalty to Christ and his Church.

In the first-century Roman Empire, a Roman soldier was obliged to take the sacramentum militare. It was his oath of allegiance to the emperor and was administered annually, on January 3. The soldier — regardless of which nation he considered home — was to salute the Roman colors , and pledge fidelity to the Emperor or be guilty of treason. It strikes me, that the Lord’s Supper is essentially our renewed oath of allegiance to the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. When Jesus took the bread, and took the cup and said, “This is My body ... this is my blood ... which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me,” (Luke22:19), he was establishing a memorial that the church was to continue until he returns. Attendance at the Lord’s Supper is the Christian’s salute to the blood-stained banner of the Savior.

This morning, I’d like to take a few moments to talk to you about some of the spiritual elements of the Lord’s Supper.

I. THE LORD'S SUPPER CELEBRATES OUR UNION WITH CHRIST

1. the Bible teaches us that we participate in the Lord’s Supper because we have received grace — not to get grace

a. the bread and the cup contain no mystical or saving properties

b. when you were born again, you got all the grace you’ll ever need in this life or the life to come

c. God does not divi out His grace piece-meal through various church rites or religious ritual

1) when I ask a deacon to bless the cup, when he’s done praying – it’s still juice

2) when I elevate the bread and say, “The bread represents the body of Christ broken for us, do this in remembrance of him” the wafer remains bread

2. the spiritual significance of communion for the believer is three-fold ...

a. 1st, the believer is being obedient to the will of His Savior when they eat the bread and drink the cup — Jesus said, Do this ... it’s a command

b. 2nd, the believer is worshiping the Savior when they eat the bread and drink the cup — Jesus said, Do this in remembrance of me ...

c. 3rd, the believer is anticipating the second coming of the Lord — Jesus said, Do this in remembrance of me until I come again

d. that’s it — the bread and the cup contain no mystical or saving properties

3. when you received Christ through repentance and faith, God covered your life with the blood of His Son, and credited your spiritual account with the righteousness of Jesus Christ

“The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:23–25, NIV)

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV)

ILLUS. The ancient legend of the Holy Grail tells how, supposedly, Joseph of Arimathea, the one who received permission from Pilate to take the body of Jesus down from the cross and bury it, caught, the blood which flowed from the wound in our Savior’s side in a golden cup. The legend says that this was the same cup that Jesus had held at the Last Supper. Joseph of Arimathea then carried it to Somerset in England. There he formed an order of Knights whose work it was to protect the cup and the precious blood it contained. The bravest of these knights was made their king. At certain times the king unveiled the golden cup that held the precious blood, at which times a glorious and radiant light fell on the faces of all who stood about, filling them with rapture and enduing them with strength from on high. Only the pure in heart could look upon the cup and behold the wondrous light which streamed from the precious blood.

a. friends, the story of the Holy Grail is a myth, but there is a profound truth in the story — the precious blood of Jesus makes the sinner pure in heart

4. the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of remembrance — instituted by our Savior — as an act of worship that is meant to remind us of His substitutionary atonement, and our union with Him

5. when we participate in the Lord’s Supper we are preaching a congregational sermon about our faith relationship with Jesus

a. the question is, What are we preaching?

b. I m glad you asked, let me tell you

1) we are acclaiming our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ

2) we are proclaiming that Jesus is Savior of our life and Lord of our church

3) we are reclaiming our hope of being glorified with Christ

A. WE ARE ACCLAIMING OUR FAITH IN THE DEATH, BURIAL & RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

1. the word acclaim means to praise enthusiastically in a public way

a. when the believer participates in the Lord’s Supper, he is unashamedly telling everyone around him, “Praise the Lord, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He was crucified. He was buried, but he rose again. This is the core of my faith and I don’t care who knows it!”

ILLUS. One of the hymns in our hymn book is, "I'll Tell the World That I'm a Christian." The first verse rings out ... "I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian – I'm not ashamed His name to bear; I'll tell the world that I'm a Christian – I'll take Him with me anywhere. I'll tell the world how Jesus saved me, And how He gave me a life brand new; And I know that if you trust Him, That all He gave me, He'll give to you. I'll tell the world that He's my Savior, No other one could love me so; My life, my all is His forever, And where He leads me, I will go."

2. the Apostle Paul writes to remind us that the Lord’s Supper is our participation with Christ in his death

“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16, NIV)

3. the historical background of Christian Communion is the Jewish Passover

a. you know the story — it is rich in symbolic meaning for us

b. during that original Passover in Egypt, each Jewish family was commanded to sacrifice a lamb

1) they drained its blood and applied it to their door mantels of their homes in anticipation of God’s judgment upon Egypt

2) the evening came and with it the angel of the Lord went throughout the land smiting the firstborn of every home that was not protected by the blood

3) the blood represented deliverance from bondage that comes only from God

4. Jesus gave new meaning to the Passover

a. Jesus communicates to his disciples that he is going to be the Passover Lamb

1) he is the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world

b. just as when the death angel passed over the homes with the blood on the door posts, so too does God pass over us in His righteous judgment when He sees the blood of the Lamb of God in our lives

5. when we participate in the Lord’s Supper we boldly acclaim to the world our eternal faith in Christ to save us from judgment

B. WE ARE PROCLAIMING THAT JESUS IS LORD OF OUR LIFE

1. all believers are worthy to participate in the Lord’s Supper not because of who you are, but because of whose you are

2. once we were dead in trespasses and sin, but now you have been made alive in Christ

a. because we are alive in Christ we are worthy in the sight of God

3. 1 Cor. 11:27 has always caused some difficulty for some believers

a. the word unworthy is an adverb and describes the way that some believers in the Corinthian Church celebrated the Lord’s Supper

ILLUS. In the early church, the Lord’s Supper was celebrated by the congregation coming together for a supper. In the church at Corinth this time of fellowship and worship had degenerated into an excuse for gluttony, drunkenness and self-centeredness.

b. now, I normally don’t use some of the more modern translations of the Bible, but let me share with you 1 Cor. 11:20-23 from The Message

1) it gives you an idea of what was going on at the church in Corinth

"And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord’s Supper, 21 you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can’t believe it! 22 Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God’s church? Why would you actually shame God’s poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I’m not going to stand by and say nothing. 23 Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. ... " (1 Cor. 11:20-23, The Message)

4. the focus of Paul’s warning in these verses is on the attitude we have when we participate in the Lord’s Supper

a. to partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner means ...

1) ... to have a divisive attitude toward others in the church

2) ... to discriminate against other members of the body of Christ (i.e. do you only fellowship with your own kind?)

3) ... to become board with the routine of Communion and fail to ponder its significance every time you participate

5. to partake of the Lord’s Supper proclaims that Jesus is Lord

a. that means we ought to let Jesus be Lord

C. WE ARE RECLAIMING OUR HOPE IN BEING GLORIFIED WITH CHRIST

“Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.”” (Matthew 26:27–29, NIV)

1. the Lord’s Supper is a memorial that not only looks back to Christ’s substitutionary atonement, but forward to His glorious appearing

a. the Apostle Paul said the partaking of the Lord’s Supper proclaims the Lord’s death till he comes again

2. Jesus Christ is coming again and He’s coming for all those who faithfully confess his name in this world

II. THE LORD'S SUPPER CELEBRATES OUR UNION WITH EACH OTHER

“Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” (1 Corinthians 10:17, NIV84)

A. THE LORD'S SUPPER TESTIFIES THAT THE BODY OF CHRIST IS FAMILY

1. we is all related!

2. someone once said that you can pick your friends, but that your stuck with your family

a. some of you here that don't like me? That's ok. You don't have to like me, but you do have to love me!

b. we are commanded to love each other

3. the early church was a fellowship of love

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34–35, NIV84)

4. to participate in the Lord's Supper means you are not embarrassed to call those in the pews around you brothers and sisters in Christ

B. THE LORD'S SUPPER TESTIFIES THAT WE HAVE UNITY OF SPIRIT AND PURPOSE

1. Paul urged the Corinthians to be like-minded

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” (1 Corinthians 1:10, NIV84)

2.when you participate in the Lord's Supper you are saying, "I'm willing to love and participate in the family of God for good or for bad."

a. it means working at loving each other when the other fellow is sometimes unlovely

“God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Get along with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:12-14, NCV)

b. it means working together in evangelism, ministry, and missions as Christ grows his kingdom in this place and beyond

III. THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATES!

1. there is a great word that the early church used to describe the Lord’s Supper that we just won’t use in Baptist circles

a. we won’t use it because it just seems “to Catholic”

2. it’s the word Eucharist

a. the word simply means thanksgiving

b. it is not used in the New Testament as a name for the rite; however, the related verb is found in New Testament accounts of the Last Supper

“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.” (1 Corinthians 11:23–24, NIV84)

3. Jesus gave thanks for the redemptive work of God that was about to be accomplished on the cross

4. Christians give thanks for the redemptive work of God that was actually accomplished on the cross

a. and for that we are ... we must be ... a thankful people

b. we express our thanksgiving to God for the unspeakable gift of grace that comes to us in Christ

ILLUS. Earlier, we sang the hymn “My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness” was written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend in 2002. The song of heartfelt thankfulness is structured into three verses of past, present and future salvation: the first verse reminds us of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross; the second verse of God’s day-to-day presence and power with us, walking alongside and providing us with all we need; and the third verse looks forward to the sure knowledge that His eternal rule makes our future assured in Him.

IV. LESSONS FOR THE CHURCH

A. THE SUPPER IS ABOUT CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

1. in vs. 18 Paul writes, “I hear that when you come together as a church ...

a. a passage in Hebrews brings together two important ideas that highlight the importance of church community

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24–25, ESV)

b. the writer of Hebrews actually comes out and says that Christians shouldn’t fail to meet with other Christians

1) even in the early church the author says that the habit of some has been to neglect the corporate life of the church

2. church is that place where we find encouragement and become encouragers

a. when you meet with fellow Christians, you have godly examples of behavior and beliefs that can spur you on in your own spiritual growth

b. you have access to people who can actively encourage you and walk beside you in trials and joys

c. how can you expect to maximize your growth in Christ without learning from the wisdom and insight other believers can offer?

3. we gather, not just as any ‘ol community of people, but we gather as a community of people who — in the act of eating the bread and drinking the cup — pledge an oath of allegiance to the King of kings, and the Lord of lords who has made us one through his death and resurrection

ILLUS. Pull a charcoal briquette out from the fire, and it will glow and burn for a while on its own. In time, however, because it’s not part of the pile of other briquettes it will begin to loose its glow, then its heat and finally it will simply die. It may still look like all the other briquettes, but it’s dead — there’s no life in it. It’s not accomplishing the purpose for which it was actually created ... to burn bright and produce heat, and it can only do so when it’s in the pile of fellow briquettes!

ILLUS. Unfortunately, COVID has made the problem of neglecting church even worse. While polls show that in-person religious attendance has begun to rebound, it is still far from normal, and no one knows when, or even if, church attendance in America will ever come back to pre-COVID numbers. In the years before the pandemic, 62% of active church members attended Easter services. A recent Pew Research poll reported that only 39% of active church members plan to attend Easter worship come April 17.

a. I understand that every believer must weigh health decisions for themselves, but I can’t help but wonder when faith will overcome fear among God’s people

4. The Supper Is about Christian Community in Christ

B. WE NEED TO TAKE THE SUPPER MORE SERIOUSLY THAN WE PROBABLY DO

“But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.” (1 Corinthians 11:17, ESV)

1. Paul is critical of the Corinthian’s practice in observing the Lord’s Supper

a. it is for the worse — it is a word referring to a moral evil — it’s a tremendously strong rebuke to this congregation

b. instead of communion being a time of loving fellowship and spiritual enrichment it had come to involve selfish indulgence, shaming the poorer brethren, mocking the Lord’s sacrificial death, and scandalizing the church before the unbelieving world around them

1) no wonder the Apostle writes, In the following directives I have no praise for you (1 Corinthians 11:17)

2. both their attitude and practice was perverting the purpose behind the Lord’s Supper — to express our oneness with Christ, but also our oneness with each other, i.e. the family of God

a. Paul is implying that, “Hey, you wouldn’t treat your physical family like that, so don’t treat your church family like that!”

b. they had the ceremony but not the reality, the form but not the substance

“When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.” (1 Corinthians 11:20, ESV)

c. Paul is saying, “You may be breaking some bread, passing the cup, and repeating some of Jesus’ words, but what you are doing has nothing to do with the ordinance the Lord instituted. Christ has no part in it.”

3. and because they are treating the Lord’s Supper in a trivial manner, Paul says there are serious consequences

“For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (1 Corinthians 11:29–30, ESV)

a. one can come to the Lord’s table unworthily in many ways

1) some people participate in it ritualistically, without participating with their minds and hearts

a) you can go through the motions without going through any emotions, and treat it lightly rather than seriously

2) some people participate in it in an unsanctified manner, without having confessed known sin

a) some come with a spirit of bitterness or hatred toward another believer

3) some people participate in it a faithless manner, not discerning the body and blood of Christ and thereby become guilty of the body and blood of the Lord

ILLUS. There is a reason why, in our observance of Communion, we normally have to confessions. One is a confession of sin, and the other a confession of faith. They are there to remind us to take the Supper seriously. The confession of sin is a reminder that we are fallen creatures at emnity with God and the only solution is a faith experience with the risen Christ.

b. to come unworthily to Communion does not simply dishonor the ceremony; it dishonors the One in whose honor it is celebrated

1) we become guilty of dishonoring His body and blood, which represent His total gracious life and work for us, His suffering and death on our behalf

2) we become guilty of mocking and treating with indifference the very person of Jesus Christ

c. Paul doesn’t mince any words here, but cuts right to the chase saying, many of you are weak and ill, and some have died

4. We Need to Take the Supper More Seriously than We Probably do

C. THE SUPPER ENCAPSULATES THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IN ONE EVENT

1. it serves as a backward look to the cross 26a

2. it serves as an inward look to the conscience 28

3. it serves as a forward look to the crown 26b

The psalmist cries out, “How can I repay the Lord for all the good done for me? I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah!” Among Christians, part of the answer to the psalmist’s questions is the celebration of the Lord’s Supper with deep thanksgiving for the one who ... plumbed the depths of my disgrace ... who walks beside me, and ... to Him who reigns above.

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