It is a constant irritation to me every first Sunday of the month as I sit in church and listen to a pastor tell people that they are unworthy to take communion. This all revolves around 1 Corinthians 11:27-32.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world
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It boils down to what is considered an “unworthy manner”. Typically this is defined by the pastor (either directly or indirectly) as one of two things.
What is irritating to me is that neither of those two things are discussed in this passage, and both are taking this passage out of context. The book of Corinthians was written to Christians in Corinth. It was not written to non-Christians. Whether you are a born-again Christian or not has nothing to do with this topic. It is not addressed in this passage at all. This letter of Paul’s is assuming that all of its readers are already Christians and it is a warning to those Christians. It is not a warning to non-Christians about taking communion. When you take communion, you are proclaiming and remembering Christ’s work on the cross. 1 Corinthians 11:26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Forbidding non-Christians to celebrate, commemorate and announce this wonderful truth is the same thing as forbidding non-Christians to celebrate Christmas. It makes no sense to forbid it and it is not what this passage is even about.
This passage is also not about having any unrepentant sin in your life. It is simply not mentioned here. While I agree that having unrepentant sin in your life is bad and hinders your relationship with God, it does not prohibit you from worshiping him, praying to him or celebrating his great works.
As I said earlier, the key words in the passage are “unworthy manner”. What is the unworthy manner that brings judgment to born-again Christians? The passage clearly tells us this if we simply look up on the page to 1 Corinthians 11:20-22.
When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
The unworthy manner is to disregard the Body of Christ. Verse 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. The term “Body of Christ” can have a couple of meanings. It can mean the physical body of the man Jesus Christ. In that case, the church of Corinth was using the death of Christ as an excuse to party and get drunk. That is a direct disregard for the body of Christ. The term “Body of Christ” can also mean the church or the people in the church. In that case they were disregarding the body of Christ by feeding their own faces while other less fortunate members of the church sat there starving and watched them pig out and get drunk. This all boils down to the two greatest commandments. Love the Lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. To keep from taking communion in an unworthy manner, be respectful and reverent towards Christ and his work. You can have fun while you do this, but do not disgrace him by using him as an excuse to get drunk. Also, think of others before yourself, especially the other member of the church.