Friday, March 22, 2019

WHY YOU HAVE TO TAKE COMMUNION


Every born again child of God must
often take communion. Jesus said:” “Truly, truly, I say to
you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood,
you have no life in yourselves. 54“He who eats My flesh and
drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last
day. 55“For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true
drink. 56“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in
Me, and I in him. 57“As the living Father sent Me, and I live
because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because
of Me. 58“This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not
as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live
forever.” John 6:53-58. Jesus was talking about communion.
Taking communion is done in remembrance
of the death and suffering that Jesus went through to pay the price
for our redemption. Had He not paid that price, we would be doomed to
hell and damnation. “Without shedding of blood there is no
forgiveness.”Hebrews 9:22. Jesus gives eternal life to those who
believe in Him and obey, Him, who repent and are baptized, sin no
more but live in obedience to Him. Taking communion reminds us of the
price that Jesus paid and enforces on us His command to SIN NO MORE.
If we should be living in sin and practicing sin while taking
communion, we would be eating and drinking the judgment of God on us
for despising the sacrifice and blood of Jesus. That judgment would
lead to punishment and even death if we do not repent and live holy.
The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians
11:23-33”For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered
to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed
took bread; 24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and
said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of
Me.” 25In the same way He took the cup also after
supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this,
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26For
as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the
Lord’s death until He comes.
      27Therefore 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. 28But a man must
examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink
of the cup. 29For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks
judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30For
this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number
sleep. 31But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be
judged. 32But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord
so that we will not be condemned along with the world.


      33So then, my brethren, when
you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34If anyone is
hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for
judgment.”


We read about the judgment of God on those who use the Lord's
Supper in an unworthy manner, in verse 30 “For this reason many
among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. “He is
talking about sickness and death as punishment from God.


The first believers did not have church buildings or temples, they
broke bread from house to house. The very same, we as followers of
Jesus must have communion in our houses, with fellow followers of
Jesus IN REMEMBERANCE of Him and the price that He paid for our
redemption.


You don't need to go to a church. You can have the Lord's Supper
in your house with wine and bread. We use grape juice because we do
not consume alcohol. We also use ordinary bread. Often it is just my
wife and I.


It is important that we have the Lord's Supper to maintain our
communion with Jesus.


May Jesus bless you.


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