Communion is not a time to remember sin, it is a time to remember Christ. It's a celebration of what Christ has already done and finished for us. We do not go to confess our sins., we go to Confess Jesus Christ and remember Him.,,do this in remembrance of "Me" He said.
The confession of sin is for those who do not have Christ yet. Coming to the table 'unworthily' is coming without Christ. We believers have Him 'already'. There are no fearful expectations for the bride. We are to come to communion together as believers often to remember what Christ did for us when He shed His blood and when He suffered on the cross and finished the work. He said "it is finished" And we can rejoice and also say it is finished., and we can rejoice and be so grateful that Jesus was willing to do this for us and loved us that much. That is what we are to think about when we go to communion.
Since Jesus has already saved us we come in a worthy manner and there is no other One who is worthy but Christ. That is why we come with Him as our Savior and can partake worthily. Coming any other way IS unworthy.
I believe and am convinced the more reading I do on how Christians believe here on these forums, that if we truly want to KNOW the meanings of the verses, we are to read and read again and again and read the Bible often.
For years I just followed the rest and came to communion with fear and not joy. I did not come as one who was already saved but as one who had some expectation of judgment. At times I did not partake because I thought I could be zapped in the pew for not asking forgiveness for a specific sin or may have missed one.
That is not how sons come.,that is not how the bride comes. We have already been judged and we are accepted in the Beloved. We come to communion to confirm again that truth and are again renewed and joyful. We come to remember Christ., not our sins., for they are forgiven and forgotten as far as the east is from the west.
Ladylynn,
This, like many of your posts, is beautifully written.
I often get a 'good feeling' from them,
(for want of a better way of putting it).
And I want to give big Amens, but then I remember that
you are a proponenet of the WoF movement /preachers
and I get conflicted. I wish this weren't so.
It makes me feel like maybe I'm someone who has
'itching ears', just wanting teachers who give me
nice sounding words, but avoiding the tough realities.
Then again, I don't want to 'throw the baby out with
the bathwater'. (sorry, I don't really like that expression).
I've had enough tough realities from the world,
and have experienced more than my share of it even
right on this site by ppl who pretend to be a certain way
with others, yet turn stone-cold-hearted towards me
regarding prayer, forgiveness, compassion, or even
general devoted friendship and communication
God or no God, let alone genuine christian love ...
so maybe I DO just want to believe that in Jesus
all is forgiven and fulfilled, take communion with a
clear conscience and not worry about how others
judge me or misrepresent me to others behind the scenes,
or paint the Lord in a bad light through cold-heartedness.
If I could just get past the whole WoF movement,
and it really grieves me that I get stuck there.
But God bless you and Hallelujah anyhow,
And thank you for the lovely msg on grace and communion.