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Before the Bread and Wine...
Just How Do I Examine Myself?
MP3
In my many years in both the church and the ministry, I have seen
members struggle with this one. It begins with this set of verses:
1 Corinthians 11:27-29
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the
Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and
drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
They experience fear and trepidation knowing that, somehow, they are
unworthy to take of the bread and wine in the Passover service.
They do not wish to bring damnation to themselves. The number one
reason for these feelings is a knowledge that they currently have some
sin in their lives. They reason that if they are in current battle
with this sin, they are unworthy to take the bread and wine. Why
some I know refused to participate in the Passover service for five
consecutive years because of these unworthy feelings. They put so
much focus on verses 27 and 29 they fail to understand what verse 28 is
saying.
Everyone in the Salvation Process is fighting sin and working to
overcome these sins in their lives. If we were to bar entrance to
the Passover service based on sin, no one could be admitted, including
all those in the ministry.
Let us take a close look at verse 28 and see exactly what it is saying.
To accomplish this, let us take a look at a verse in Paul's second
letter to the Corinthians:
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.
Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye
be reprobates? –2 Corinthians 13:5
Do you see that? Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.
"In the faith" is the same as saying "in the Salvation Process".
When God calls each of us to repentance, baptism and the receiving of
the Holy Spirit, we enter for the first and only time, the
Salvation Process. This is a lifelong process. We are
justified before God as long as we remain in this process. If we
are in this process at death or the return of Christ we are assured the
Kingdom of God with eternal life. One element of this process is
the lifelong process of overcoming sin in our lives. We will not
perfect this until we turn to spirit. The idea is that we are
moving toward perfection in overcoming sin all through our spiritual
lives. We sin less and less until that time of perfection.
Until that time, sin will always be with us.
Remaining in the Salvation Process gives us the boldness to come before
the very throne of God in prayer and supplication.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
So examine yourselves whether you be in the Salvation Process and then
go to the Passover services in complete confidence and
BOLDLY take of that bread and of
that wine.
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