Things I Would Change
APPENDIX 3 SERMON 1
APPENDIX 3
1729, Edwards became the sole pastor when his grandfather died.
For about 20 years, Edwards followed his grandfather’s way of communion until in 1748, he began to teach that only regenerate persons should be admitted to the Lord’s Supper. A controversy arose for about two years until Edwards was voted out of being the pastor of the church in 1750 by a 10 to 1 margin.
Edwards was willing to lose his pastorate in the most influential church in New England over the matter of the Lord’s Supper.
Even more, J.C. Ryle reports that Reformers such as John Rogers, John Hooper, Rowland Taylor, Robert Ferrar, John Bradford, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, John Philpot, and Thomas Cranmer were martyred, in part, over the issues related to the Lord’s Supper. (from Why Were the Reformers Burned?)
Why is the Lord’s Supper such a big deal? Would you be willing to lose your job over the Lord’s Supper? Would you be willing to lose your life over the Lord’s Supper?
Why should we give priority to the Lord’s Supper?
I. The Lord’s Supper was given by Jesus and is a command for us to obey.
A. Jesus commanded his disciples to observe the Lord’s Supper.
1. Luke 22 – Jesus “earnestly desired to eat this Passover”
(He was going to redefine the Passover) 2. I Corinthians 11:24 – “Do this…”
B. The Early Church took this command seriously.
1. Acts 2:42 – “devoted”
2. I Corinthians 11:18-20 – “When you come together….the Lord’s Supper.”
3. Acts 20:7 – “On the first day of the week, when they gathered together to break bread…”
4. We will get into the frequency of the Lord’s Supper in a later study, but for now, the point is that the Early Church took Jesus’ command very seriously and so should we. The Lord’s Supper should be important to us, personally and corporately.
II. The Lord’s Supper is a means of sanctifying grace.
A. Sanctifying vs. Saving Grace.
1. Saving grace – what brings about the forgiveness of sins and salvation of our souls.
2. Sanctifying grace – What “sets us apart” / what brings about spiritual health, nourishment, and maturity.
B. What is meant by “Means of grace”?
1. “The delivery systems God has instituted to bring grace - that is, spiritual power, spiritual change, spiritual help, spiritual fortitude, spiritual blessings, to needy souls on the earth…the means of grace are those conduits through which Christ alters, modifies, adjusts, changes, transforms, and develops souls on the earth.” - Richard BarcellosThe Lord’s Supper as a Means of Grace p. 23.
2. This is nothing new: the Belgic Confession of 1561, Westminster Confession of 1647, Second London Confession of 1577 and 1689, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Baptist Catechism all affirm the Lord’s Supper as a means of sanctifying grace.
3. Every Christian is on a path of sanctification. To help them along this path, God has given several means by which the believer is to grow in his or her relationship with God. For example, the Bible, prayer,
Christian fellowship, and the church are means by which the believer’s soul is to be nourished. The Lord’s Supper is another one of those means of gracious nourishment.
4. “Sensing Grace” – get to taste, feel, smell, and see God’s means of growth for us.
III. The Lord’s Supper is God’s accountability program for the church.
A. We are reasserting our fidelity to Jesus.
a. Participation in the blood and body of Christ – I Cor. 10:16.
b. More will be said on this in a future study.
B. We are reasserting our unity with the church.
a. Unity – Many are made one. – I Cor. 10:16,17.
b. The reason for Paul’s rebuke to the Corinthians – no unity at the Table.
c. It is hard to feel superior to someone when approaching a table of grace and mercy. Likewise, it is hard to hold grudges against a brother or sister when approaching the table of forgiveness. The Table, with all of its significance, reminds the participants that they are no better than any other person.
d. In order to be part of Christ’s fellowship, one has to be committed to peace and unity. Therefore, when publically professing adherence to Christ at the Table, the believer is also publically testifying to the importance of unity and peace in the brotherhood.
e. It is incomprehensible to claim fidelity to Jesus and his teachings by taking the Lord’s Supper while ignoring His commands against holding grudges and his insistence on pursing peace with a brother as seen in Matthew 5. In many ways, the Lord’s Supper is God’s built in accountability program for the church. If the church celebrates the Lord’s Supper each week, then every believer present has to consider their relationships, not only with Jesus each Sunday, but their relationship with the other believers present.
IV. The Lord’s Supper helps the church maintain a Christological focus.
I think all of us would say that we desire to have a better focus on Christ throughout the week. Looking forward to and participating in the Lord’s Supper should do just that.
A. “In remembrance of me.” We eat and drink together to remember Jesus.
B. We proclaim the Lord’s death. “The Lord’s death” is a euphemism for the gospel, not a funeral or memorial service.
C. Every church service goes back to the cross. Every sermon has to lead to the cross if the Lord’s Supper is regularly observed.
D. Richard Baxter – “Nowhere is God so near to man as in Jesus Christ; and nowhere is Christ so familiarly represented to us, as in [the Lord’s Supper].”
Conclusion
This is a gift from Jesus to be taken seriously – he commanded us to do so.
We must receive this gift from Jesus as nourishment for our souls:
1. We remember our need in the brokenness of the bread and the redness of the cup.
2. We sense (taste / feel) God’s gracious gift of forgiveness when we eat.
3. We do this again and again knowing that the God’s cupboard will never be empty.
We must remember to be at peace with each other. The Lord’s Supper is a constant reminder of that importance and an extra motivator to work through conflict quickly.
We must remember Christ. He is to be the focus of our lives. We eat a small morsel now in anticipation of the feast in heaven yet to come. We proclaim that Jesus is coming back and we are anticipating that return.
APPENDIX 4