Today’s devotion comes from 1 Corinthians 11:27-34.
“Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.” 1 Corinthians 11:27-34.
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“Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.” Verse 27.
There are different ways in which we can do the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy way. One way was a specific problem for the Corinthians as stated in 1 Corinthians 11:21 “for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.”. It was repeated in today’s Scripture in verse 34: “If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment.”
Today’s devotion focuses on another way in which we can do the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy way. We can regard what was accomplished by the Lord’s death in an unworthy way as the following Scripture teaches.
“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:26-31.
I think this Scripture applies to those who steadfastly continue to hang on to false doctrine and insufficient belief of what was accomplished by the Lord’s death despite receiving knowledge of the truth.
They hang on to the false doctrine that Jesus died for everyone and they love to speak about the power in Christ’s blood. But, they realize that their doctrine forces them to conclude that Christ’s blood (as they claim, shed for everyone) by itself did not save, “purchase”, or “redeem” anyone, because they admit that most people are not saved. They claim that it is up to man to generate his own faith through his own free will in order to make Christ’s blood effective to save. They claim that the only difference between the saved and the unsaved is not Christ’s blood, because everyone gets the blood, but rather the only difference is whether or not a certain individual will generate his own faith through his own free will to make the blood effective. According to this false doctrine and insufficient belief of what was accomplished by the Lord’s death, man’s faith, not Christ’s blood, is the determining factor as to whether or not one will be saved.
Because they talk about the blood of Christ all the time, it is true that in a sense they are trampling it, not in the sense of being hateful to it but in the sense of treating it as common and ineffective by itself, like the description in Matthew 5:13: “… if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”
This Hebrews 10:26-31 Scripture does not apply to the person who steadfastly rejects Christ. That person did not receive the knowledge of truth as stated in Hebrews 10:26. That person is not sanctified, so to speak, as is stated in Hebrews 10:29. That person does not talk about the blood of Christ.
Rather, this Hebrews 10:26-31 Scripture speaks about those received or were exposed to knowledge of the truth and were sanctified so to speak but nevertheless denied the power of the blood and insulted the Spirit of grace. This Scripture applies to those who love to talk about Christ’s blood all the time, but who really treat Christ’s blood as ineffective by itself, that it does not actually “save”, “purchase”, nor “redeem” anyone, because they teach that most people are not saved and that it is up to man to generate his own faith through his own free will in order to make Christ’s blood effective to save.
Likewise, they can be compared to the one who insults the Spirit of Grace as is mentioned above in Hebrews 10:29. Think of a situation in which your father took you out to a very expensive dinner and even left the tip in addition. However, you did not think that the tip was sufficient so you add your $5 to the tip. Wouldn’t your father be insulted that you thought that what he did was not enough? Likewise, they insult God by their doctrine that believes that the blood of Christ is not enough, they feel that they must add their own tip of faith.
They waiver in unbelief and live in fear, uncertain if they can generate enough faith on their own and keep enough faith on their own. They are not confident of what the blood of Jesus accomplished.
But, there is hope!
Reformed Doctrine proclaims what was accomplished by the Lord’s death.
Consider what the Canons of Dordt states was accomplished by the Lord’s death: “the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation” and “he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death”. Article 8 of SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby.
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 