Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
One of the most common-sense suggestions in the Bible is in 1 Corinthians 11. Paul has been discussing the Lord's Supper (vss. 23ff); the bread is a symbol of the body of the Lord Jesus "which is broken for [us]." We are to observe this ordinance "in remembrance of [Him]."
But then he warns us against eating "this bread or [drinking] this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner," for such careless, thoughtless irreverence makes us "guilty of the body and blood of the Lord," in other words, guilty of crucifying "again" for ourselves "the Son of God, and put[ting] Him to an open shame" (Heb. 6:6).
Then the apostle says "let [someone] examine himself," for "he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." This guilt can even cause sickness, and "many sleep" (die prematurely). The reason is that the Lord's Supper teaches us that "every meal becomes a sacrament." If we eat our daily food without discerning and recognizing that all we have comes because of the sacrifice of the Son of God we "eat and drink judgment to ourselves."
Then comes the eminent common sense: "If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged" (vs. 31). Why wait until the final judgment to face judgment? Wouldn't it make sense to do a self-judging process first, and get it over with before the final condemnation?
The Holy Spirit's job is to "convict of sin" (John 16:8), and enable us to do the self-judging now. It's all on a friendly basis, though it feels severe. The primary sin at the bottom of everything is, we do "not believe in" Him (vs. 9).
If we do believe, not only will those "rivers of living water" flow out of our inmost soul, but we will see righteousness in Jesus going to His Father, and we will know that "the ruler of this world" has been cast out of our lives (vs. 11). We will "trample" upon that enemy! (cf. Luke 10:19).
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 25, 2005.
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