* Division
* Personal meals
* Getting drunk
Above are the reasons listed as to what Paul was speaking about in partaking in an unworthy manner. What people have done is to add to that, siting their need to examine themselves for sin, which is not what Paul is talking about. We are all sinners! If anyone says he has no sin he is a liar and the truth is not in him. Now if a person has gone back living according to the sinful nature, then it would be good idea to repent and return to the Lord before partaking in the breaking of bread. But if they were in that state I don't believe that breaking break would be on their agenda anyways. But for those who are in Christ, we are all sinners covered by the blood of Christ. Let me put it this way, after examining yourself for sin, do you come to the conclusion that you have none? If you do, then I would say that if anything, that would be partaking in an unworthy manner. The whole purpose of breaking the bread is to remember Christ's body that was broken for us "by his wounds you were healed." And partaking of the cup is done in remembrance of his blood that was shed in payment for our sins. Therefore, to examine yourself and to conclude that you are without sin is in opposition to partaking of this.
We need to stick with the details of the scripture and stop adding our own details. People do the same thing in regards to blasphemy of the Holy Spirit by ignoring the reason that scripture gives us as the reason for this sin and turning it into something that it's not. If people gather together for the sole purpose of breaking bread in remembrance of Christ's body and drink of the cup in remembrance of his blood, then that is the proper manner in which to partake in it.
Mr.
Ahwatukee, you are creating a false dichotomy -- and glossing over a real one. No, Paul says nothing about anyone being "without sin" -- neither did I. Yes, we are all sinners! But the very verse you cite in 1 John makes a real distinction between being a sinner and having sin in our lives:
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8–10)
Yes, we are sinners! But if we have sinned, our sins must be forgiven! If we have unrighteousness in our lives, the Lord will cleanse us from
all of it, if we but confess it! Protestants (and I speak from experience) tend to gloss over this necessity and claim (unbiblically) that "all our sins are covered," that there is never the need even to ask forgiveness. I say with all honesty, after 30+ years as a Protestant, that I don't even know where this idea comes from. Scripture teaches, again and again, that we must ask forgiveness for our sins.
Back to the passage of Paul. Yes, none of us is without sin; but as John teaches, we must confess it and ask forgiveness. This creates a real distinction between the one who is simply a sinner,
prone to sinning, and the one who has
actually sinned and not been "cleansed from all unrighteousness." You yourself admit the difference: between the one living the life of grace and the one who has gone back to actively and unrepentantly sinning. You are quite naive if you believe that for those actively sinning, partaking in Communion "wouldn't be on their agenda." Look only to the Catholic Church, where confessing sins before Communion
is required, and to the pro-abortion politicians and active homosexuals who nonetheless present themselves for Communion every week. Would you say that these people are partaking "in a worthy manner"?
Yes, when we examine ourselves before Communion -- and this is what I was taught as a Protestant also, from my earliest childhood -- we do not consider whether we are
not sinners; we examine whether we
have sinned and not asked for forgiveness for it. And if we have, we
do ask for forgiveness, and are therefore
cleansed from all unrighteousness -- and not uniting the body of our Lord with a prostitute.