To keep others from His love (part three).

Though I have many disagreements over the church policy given in part two of this series, I will articulated only a few of them for now.

The governmental system of many churches is corrupt and Catholic in conduct. It places burdens of the law upon people and lacks grace. Elders have no authority that Jesus Himself did not use but claim to by their actions. For instance, whereas elders may seek to deny a person communion, Jesus GAVE Judas (the person He said would betray Him) the bread and wine. Jesus SHARED in communion with Judas (the son of perdition)! He did not WITHHOLD the cup from the man who planted the kiss of death on His cheek in the Garden of Gethsemane! The man was allowed by the Lord to eat and drink condemnation upon his own head!

Thus, as I understand it, we "examine ourselves" based upon the scripture and "eat and drink condemnation upon our own heads" if we eat the meal in an unworthy manner (as Judas did). It is a matter of one's own conscience. Nowhere does it say that it is the elders responsibility to determine the sincerity of a person's heart and so approve or deny them the meal. Read the passage from 1 Corinthians 11 for yourself:

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." ²⁵In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." ²⁶For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

²⁷Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. ³¹But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. ³²When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

As for examining others for communion it is important to remember that Satan is called the Father of Lies and his name means "tempter" and "deceiver." Who are we to think that a slave to such a swindler could not easily fake sincerity in his/her oaths of membership and thus penetrate the visible church? That person (a wolf in sheep's clothing) would be allowed to take the Lord's Supper and I would not, though I am a believer who simply, by my conscience, does not agree with membership. Yet, Jesus will build His church and even the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it! He has broken Satan's power.

Lastly, according to Romans 14:23, "everything that does not come from faith is sin." How ironic then, that in the very act of "protecting" those who would take the meal in an unworthy manner, some are encouraged to deny their own conscience! By my faith, I am clean and worthy before God to remember His sacrifice for me and eat the Supper. If you trust in the righteousness of Christ alone to save you from your sins and have a repentant heart then the meal is for you, as well.