1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,780 Well good morning church family. Over the past three weeks we've been studying 2 00:00:03,780 --> 00:00:08,000 the doctrine of the Eucharist and we've been asking a few important questions. 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,480 First of all, what does the Bible teach about communion? Second of all, how has 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:17,040 the church approached that subject over the past 2,000 years? And then third, what 5 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:21,440 is our conviction here at Oak Hill about how the Lord's Table should be practiced? 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:25,320 Now if you were with us last Sunday you know that we spent about 30 minutes 7 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,880 talking about what I called the river of Reformation that started to flow in the 8 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:34,380 early 16th century. And we looked at the four major streams that came out of that 9 00:00:34,380 --> 00:00:38,800 river both in Europe and then eventually coming over to America. And those four 10 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:44,080 streams were the Lutherans, the Anabaptists, the Classic Reformed which 11 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,920 of course included both the Swiss and the Dutch Reformed and the Scottish 12 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,600 Presbyterians, and then finally the Anglicans or what we call the Church of 13 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,240 England. Now a few of you reached out to me last week because you noticed there 14 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,880 was something missing from our history lesson and you were right there was one 15 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:03,520 big missing piece and some big names that were left out so good job for 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:08,120 noticing. So today we're gonna fill out the picture by looking at the one thing 17 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:13,280 I didn't touch on last Sunday and that is the evangelical movement. And of 18 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,320 course that's sort of ironic because many of us would say that's our tribe 19 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:21,120 within the Christian world. So here's the question, what is evangelicalism and 20 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,160 where did it come from? Well it's an interesting study because it has quite a 21 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,800 substantial history and yet it's really difficult to nail down an exact 22 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:34,400 definition of what an evangelical is. Now the main reason for that is that 23 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:39,080 evangelicalism has been referred to as trans-denominational, meaning it goes 24 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:44,240 beyond typical denominational lines. So technically you could pull together in 25 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:49,080 one room a Baptist, a Presbyterian, a Lutheran, and a person who calls 26 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:54,040 themselves non-denominational and they could all say we're evangelicals and 27 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:58,440 that can be confusing. Now the word itself comes from the biblical word for 28 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:03,340 gospel in the original Greek language it's pronounced eungelion. So in a 29 00:02:03,340 --> 00:02:08,120 purely definitional way an evangelical is a person or a church that's primarily 30 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:12,560 concerned with the gospel. So that's a good thing right? By the way the concept 31 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:16,000 does stretch all the way back to the Reformation not in a formal way but in 32 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,720 this sense. Some of the earliest reformers were said to go about 33 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,840 gospeling people. That's the phrase they use, gospeling them as they shared the 34 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:28,560 good news about salvation by faith alone. So back in that day the word was used as 35 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:33,800 a verb but it was the English Puritans who truly began to embody the word 36 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,120 evangelical itself. They were the ones who actually brought it across the 37 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,640 Atlantic to our shores and then as the Puritan movement faded away the term was 38 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:45,440 picked up by other groups like Congregationalists and Baptists and 39 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:49,120 Presbyterians, all these different denominations that were established in 40 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,440 the late colonial period. Then we come to what's known as the First Great 41 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:59,040 Awakening which took place in the 1730s and 1740s and most historians pinpoint 42 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:03,760 this moment as the truest root of the evangelical movement. Some of the 43 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,480 greatest preachers in history were active in this time, Jonathan Edwards and 44 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,200 George Whitefield in particular. And in those days many Christians had fallen 45 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:16,400 into an overly formal sort of mechanical faith and it was this old-fashioned 46 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:21,360 town-to-town revival work done by men like Edwards and Whitefield which woke 47 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:25,520 early Americans out of their slumber. Thus we have the term awakening. It 48 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,320 woke them up. Now interestingly the First Great Awakening was marked by 49 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:34,000 Calvinist theology which had been passed down by the Puritans but the American 50 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,200 Church would soon shift towards a different perspective towards an 51 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,800 Arminian view of salvation which interpreted the spread of the gospel in 52 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:46,560 America as a man-centered event combined with a free will response. Now some of 53 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,720 that was driven by John Wesley, very famous name, and his highly structural 54 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,720 view of the Christian life which became known as Methodism. Today we have the 55 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:59,120 Methodist Church. Wesley focused on developing a step-by-step method of 56 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:04,560 achieving holiness and that's where we get the Methodist Church today. Then came 57 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,720 the Second Great Awakening about 50 years after the first and just prior to 58 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:13,720 the Civil War. Charles Finney was the primary man who was responsible as the 59 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,200 spark of the Second Awakening. He was a strong proponent of Arminianism and he's 60 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,720 often credited with being the inventor of what we call the altar call. And like 61 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,800 Wesley he believed strongly in the idea that a Christian could grow to become 62 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:31,840 spiritually sinless and perfect in his lifetime. Then there were men like 63 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:36,120 Barton Stone and Thomas and Alexander Campbell who took the gospel west into 64 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:40,320 the expanding frontier and they put an emphasis on simplifying the faith 65 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:45,240 launching a movement that today is known as the Church of Christ. So even though 66 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,600 preachers in both of those two awakenings had differences in theology 67 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:53,000 and came from different denominational backgrounds, their efforts collectively 68 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:58,840 are said to be evangelical. So looking back the word evangelical becomes 69 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:04,000 synonymous with a few basic principles. Number one, the idea of Holy Spirit led 70 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:08,880 revivals. Number two, the authority of the Bible. Number three, an emphasis on being 71 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:14,320 born again. And number four, the urgent need for evangelism and missions. And as 72 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,120 a result of that fourth emphasis the 19th century became known as the great 73 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:23,000 century of global missions led by evangelicals. So missionaries were sent 74 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,760 forth from both Europe and America to faraway places like India and Burma and 75 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:32,860 China. So missions were huge in that time plus during this period you had Christian 76 00:05:32,860 --> 00:05:36,840 publishing that became a force for the gospel through mass production of 77 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:42,240 books and also gospel tracts. Now in the midst of all this gospel activity a 78 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:46,200 series of challenges also rose up in the middle of the 19th century. Charles 79 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:52,560 Darwin published his Origin of Species in 1859 and so this this push towards 80 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:57,360 evolution then drove what came to be known as a period of higher criticism of 81 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:02,040 the Bible. That was a very aggressive secularism that stood in judgment over 82 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,200 the scriptures calling into question everything from biblical miracles to 83 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:10,920 the life of Jesus himself. And sadly that higher criticism movement produced all 84 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:16,440 kinds of variant streams of liberal theology. Now there was pushback against 85 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:20,240 this and that came from a variety of evangelical sources including Dwight 86 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:25,040 L. Moody and his Bible Institute in Chicago and some brilliant scholars out 87 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:29,640 of all places Princeton University. You can't imagine that Princeton University 88 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:34,800 was once a gospel oriented school but it was. Charles Hodge and B.B. Warfield 89 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:39,400 brilliant scholars who defended and fought for the integrity of the Bible. 90 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:44,040 With the turn of the 20th century we have the Pentecostal movement which was 91 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:49,760 born right here in Los Angeles on Azusa Street in the year 1906 and then in the 92 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:54,600 1920s we saw a sharp split take place in the evangelical church that we are still 93 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:59,200 feeling today. Some Christians felt it was time to let go of biblical 94 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:03,560 inerrancy and embrace this new science of evolution and they moved away from 95 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:08,160 evangelicalism and historians call this the break between the modernists and the 96 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,040 fundamentalists. And the modernists matriculated into the mainline 97 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:16,480 denominations embracing various forms of liberal theology while the 98 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:21,640 fundamentalists stood firm in their evangelical ideas. Now the problem with the 99 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:26,120 fundamentalists was increasingly the world began to see them as angry and 100 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,800 hostile all the time and people started asking questions is that really what 101 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:34,160 Jesus has called us to be? Are we supposed to be separatists that go around 102 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:39,080 wagging our fingers and judging everyone and everything around us? And so after 103 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:44,120 World War II the pendulum swung hard back towards evangelicals who embodied a 104 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:49,840 much more positive upbeat image back to the idea of revivals and Crusades and of 105 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,960 course Billy Graham played a huge role in that movement. Plus you had magazines 106 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,360 being published now like Christianity Today and a huge outreach to 107 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:03,640 teenagers called Youth for Christ and so in that period evangelicalism once again 108 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:08,880 became popular. But then the culture took a very shocking and sharp turn away from 109 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,960 Christianity with the coming of the Vietnam War and the sexual revolution of 110 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:16,520 the 1960s. And what's interesting about church history here is when you take a 111 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,880 step back you begin to see that there's this constant action and reaction 112 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:25,240 tendency. We swing the pendulum culture goes this way the church goes that way 113 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:30,480 and it goes back and forth. So that chaos of the 1960s and into the 70s brought a 114 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:35,160 counter reaction among evangelicals in the form of a movement called the moral 115 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:39,760 majority led by Jerry Falwell Sr. and that was followed by a renewed emphasis 116 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:44,360 on restoring not just morality in public life but also restoring the concept of 117 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:48,840 biblical families. So we saw the formation of for example James Dobson's 118 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,520 focus on the family and the creation of what's called the Family Research 119 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:57,420 Council. Then came the 1980s everybody's favorite decade at least if you're my 120 00:08:57,420 --> 00:09:01,800 age. A decade which saw a number of massive shifts in the evangelical world. 121 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,360 First of all there was the so-called charismatic movement that caught fire 122 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:09,780 and the charismatic movement was just Pentecostalism light and so it brought a 123 00:09:09,780 --> 00:09:15,000 much more subtle and acceptable form of Pentecostalism into evangelical circles 124 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:19,400 and it began to penetrate that movement. With it came a renewed emphasis on 125 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:24,280 contemporary praise and worship music and most popular was the Great 126 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,720 Hillsong movement that came out and suddenly everybody in the church was 127 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:32,520 singing Hillsong songs. Then in the 80s and 90s produced what came to be known 128 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:37,320 as the seeker sensitive church movement through huge entertainment 129 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:42,040 based mega churches like Willow Creek outside of Chicago and Saddleback Church 130 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:46,280 in Orange County and the emphasis in the seeker sensitive movement was on the 131 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:50,440 church trying to meet people's felt needs. So the church felt like we need to 132 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:55,160 go out find out why people aren't coming to church and then then arrange our 133 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,920 church to meet those people's felt needs and the thinking was if you can draw 134 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,720 people into the church by meeting their needs using things like entertainment 135 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,800 and prosperity as the draw they'll keep coming back and eventually come to know 136 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:11,200 Jesus. Now that's a lot of history and most people don't know a lot about it 137 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,200 but today if you were to walk outside and ask the average person on the street 138 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:20,320 what is an evangelical he or she is likely to think first of all in terms 139 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:25,160 of politics. They will point to which political party we support and which 140 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:30,960 candidates we support and friends that is a very very sad development. Now last 141 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:35,440 Sunday I talked about how here at Oak Hill we are theological mutts. We don't 142 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,400 really belong in any one stream of the Reformation we're sort of a hybrid 143 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:43,780 church which is driven very simply by what the Bible teaches and our 144 00:10:43,780 --> 00:10:47,280 conviction of how those principles should be lived out in the body and 145 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:51,560 because of the current state of evangelicalism in America we're not all 146 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:56,240 that enthusiastic about referring to ourselves in that way anymore. I mean 147 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,440 let's be honest most of the evangelical church today is a mile wide and only 148 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:04,680 about an inch deep and it has suffered greatly from decades of neglect in the 149 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:09,960 areas of doctrine of sound teaching and discipleship. Historically we've laid 150 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:14,480 aside this robust theology this rich history that we have and we've picked up 151 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:18,200 the tools of the world instead thinking they would be the thing to draw people 152 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:22,140 to Jesus. So we've dipped into entertainment and celebrity 153 00:11:22,140 --> 00:11:27,440 culture and comfort and casualness and worldly standards of success and what 154 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:31,680 we've reaped from all that is a reputation that is not good. A reputation 155 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:36,080 for hypocrisy and a lack of seriousness. Some of that is deserved some of it is 156 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:40,800 driven by a hostile media but either way it's a great shame because there is so 157 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:45,800 much of what is good and biblical in evangelical history it just seems to be 158 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:50,360 like ancient history now. So as I said last Sunday what we want to be here at 159 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:54,920 Oak Hill is an independent Bible church that grabs hold of what is biblically 160 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:59,600 sound in our spiritual heritage and reject what has proven to be shallow and 161 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:03,640 unhelpful and by the way we've been doing that for about the past 10 years or so. 162 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:07,680 It hasn't been easy but we've been firming up what we believe in order to 163 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:12,320 become more biblical more attuned to church history and healthier as a body 164 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:16,600 and one of the ways we've done that is through our emphasis on membership and 165 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:21,400 our view of how the communion table should be guarded and that is where we're 166 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:25,240 going to spend the rest of our time this morning. So grab your Bibles and let's 167 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:33,360 turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 11. 1st Corinthians chapter 11. I'm not going to 168 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:38,000 read the whole passage together today because I'm short on time but I'll be 169 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:43,120 referencing some key passages in this chapter right between verses 17 and 34 170 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:49,840 so just keep your phone open. Alright, recall last week I laid out what takes 171 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:53,560 place when we come to the Lord's table. Specifically we talked about the 172 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:57,800 spiritual presence of Christ found in the signs that have been given to us the 173 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,280 bread and the cup and we talked about our posture towards the Lord when we 174 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:05,760 come to his table not as ashamed people bringing him an offering but as a 175 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:10,880 thankful people who receive gifts from his loving hand. So that was last week. 176 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:15,320 Today is about who should come to the supper and how they should come. That's 177 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:19,760 what Paul is talking about here in 1st Corinthians 11. Now keep in mind that 178 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,020 1st Corinthians was written as a corrective letter. Paul's doing two 179 00:13:23,020 --> 00:13:26,800 things as he writes to the church in Corinth. First he was answering a series 180 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:31,140 of questions that have been posed to him about practical matters and then second 181 00:13:31,140 --> 00:13:34,640 he was addressing some serious problems that had come up in the life of the 182 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:38,820 church. So a lot of this section of scripture is about rebuking and 183 00:13:38,820 --> 00:13:42,960 correcting. Now one of the problems that he's addressing and it's a big one was 184 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:47,840 how communion was being administered and observed there in Corinth. Here's the 185 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,900 good news they were living out the sacrament as Christ had instructed but 186 00:13:51,900 --> 00:13:55,740 the bad news was they'd strayed so far from its true meaning and purpose. In 187 00:13:55,740 --> 00:14:00,360 fact this problem was so serious that according to Paul it had resulted in 188 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:05,080 drastic disciplinary measures on God's part. Because of their failure 189 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:09,960 some members of the church had grown weak and sick and others had actually 190 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:15,120 died. Think about that for a second. In a thinking world that kind of news 191 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:19,720 would bring a response like this. Wow how did the Corinthians fail here? Whatever 192 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:23,800 it was that should be our number one priority to make sure we don't fail in 193 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:28,920 the same way. And since it would result in actual death you had to think at the 194 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:32,960 time this must be the most serious of all matters right? It's got to be 195 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:37,920 something about murder or rape or kidnapping or or at least adultery right? 196 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:42,040 But the answer is no none of those things. Paul says that God has disciplined 197 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:47,480 his people physically even taken their lives for this reason. Because they had 198 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:52,600 come to the Lord's table and participated in an unworthy manner. And 199 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:57,680 therefore he says they are guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. This sin 200 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,800 whatever it is is so heinous that this failure it lumps people into the same 201 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:07,000 category as those who put Jesus on the cross. Think about that. So we better 202 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,440 figure out what this means. Whatever it is to come to the table in an unworthy 203 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:15,560 manner it requires serious consideration for both churches and for church 204 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:20,080 leadership right? I don't think we've done a lot of work on this. We haven't 205 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,800 really taken this seriously as we should. But we better get this right or get it 206 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:29,360 corrected if we're in error. So key question why was the Corinthians conduct 207 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:34,720 so offensive to God? The answer to that question lies in the true meaning of the 208 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:40,240 supper and in the Lord's great love for his body the church. So when you read a 209 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,640 passage of Scripture like this the best best thing to do when you're looking for 210 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:47,960 a reason is to look at what it actually says and then keep the main thing the 211 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:54,280 main thing and the main thing here has to do with the unity of the body the 212 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,960 unity of the body. So hear me carefully as I say this because it's a huge 213 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:04,200 misconception that many many Christians have today. The reason God disciplined 214 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:08,480 the believers in Corinth was not because they were spiritually unworthy to come 215 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:13,200 to his table. The reason behind God's severity was the distinct lack of unity 216 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:19,240 and love in that church. Let me say it again the distinct lack of unity and love in 217 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:24,520 that church was exemplified by their actions at the communion table. Look at 218 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:30,400 verse 17. Paul says, but in giving this instruction I do not praise you because 219 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:35,160 you come together not for the better but for the worse. For in the first place 220 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:40,160 when you come together as a church I hear that divisions exist among you and 221 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:45,840 in part I believe it. So underline that word divisions. Divisions in the church 222 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:51,360 cliques of people unresolved conflict between believers. Factionalism on 223 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,200 display in the midst of what should be one of the most sacred moments in the 224 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,400 life of the church. And Paul's language here is very strong he says like if 225 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:03,320 you're gonna act like this if what you're doing reflects what's truly in 226 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,940 your heart it would be better if you didn't gather at all. You're hurting 227 00:17:07,940 --> 00:17:11,120 members of your own spiritual family your brothers and sisters in the Lord 228 00:17:11,120 --> 00:17:15,160 and you're doing damage to the reputation of Christ and the testimony of 229 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:19,760 his church. It would be better if he didn't come together. Now drop down to 230 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:24,520 verse 20 he says therefore when you meet together it is not to eat the Lord's 231 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:29,520 Supper for in your eating each one takes his own supper first one is hungry and 232 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:36,380 another is drunk. That is shocking stuff isn't it? Your gluttony is showing Paul 233 00:17:36,380 --> 00:17:41,120 rights your lack of self-control your inability to moderate your appetites and 234 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:45,920 all those things are immature and foolish absolutely but listen here's the 235 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:51,200 core of it you just don't care about each other. That's the core you care only 236 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:56,360 for yourselves. I'm hungry so I'll eat my fill. This wine is delicious so pour me 237 00:17:56,360 --> 00:18:01,360 another cup. Your fellow church members don't figure into your decisions and 238 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:05,120 therefore he says you may think you're eating the Lord's Supper but you're not. 239 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:09,960 There's nothing supernatural nothing spiritual happening at all because you've 240 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:14,680 nullified its meaning and its power and then if you look a little deeper there's 241 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:18,800 something even more wicked happening beneath that raw self-centeredness. Look 242 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:24,520 at verse 22 he says what do you not have houses in which to eat and drink or you 243 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:29,760 do you despise the Church of God and shame or humiliate those who have 244 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:35,940 nothing. So now we see it's also an economic issue a class issue there in 245 00:18:35,940 --> 00:18:39,600 Corinth. It seems that there is this upper crust of people the wealthier 246 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:44,040 elites in the church and they're arriving at the meal early and indulging 247 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:48,000 themselves without considering their poor members. These are the ones who 248 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,000 didn't have the freedom to arrive early at the meal probably people that are 249 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:56,200 working long hours blue-collar type workers working long hours or even some 250 00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:00,960 who are stuck in indentured slavery. So imagine for a second already feeling 251 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,640 like a second-class citizen in the church because of your your economic 252 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:10,080 level and then you arrive excited for the the supper as soon as you possibly 253 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:14,640 can expecting to worship and fellowship only to find out that the others have 254 00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:19,680 started without you. And now there's nothing but scraps left there is blatant 255 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:24,520 inequality going on in the church at Corinth and so this is appalling to Paul 256 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:30,920 and that's why he says do you despise the church strong language. So there's a 257 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,920 reason why early on in the life of the church James even warned about this very 258 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:38,560 very same thing he talked about favoritism in the worship service and 259 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:43,120 there's a reason why we have the story of Paul rebuking Peter. Remember Paul 260 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:46,840 wrote that prior to the coming of certain men Peter used to eat with the 261 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:51,760 Gentiles but when these Jews came he began to withdraw fearing a backlash 262 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:57,120 from them. So Paul says I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned he 263 00:19:57,120 --> 00:20:01,480 was deviating from the truth of the gospel. So Paul viewed Peter's sin as a 264 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:06,760 blatant attack and affront to the gospel and he wasn't going to put up with it. So 265 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,880 that's the type of stuff that's happening here in Corinth. Now don't miss 266 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:13,600 this too this part of Paul's rebuke because it's often overlooked look at 267 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:20,880 verse 18 he says when you come together as a church that noun Ecclesia is 268 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:27,160 written in the singular a church that means he's describing the community 269 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:33,200 table as everybody together the whole body at one time together and that's the 270 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:37,480 pattern throughout scripture one body one gathering and that's reinforced if 271 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,640 you look down at verse 33 it's reinforced in this summary exhortation at 272 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,920 the bottom of the passage verse 33 so then my brethren when you come together 273 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:51,320 to eat wait for each other very simple right the question is how can a local 274 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:56,720 church was which is designed by God to be one interconnected body how can they 275 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:00,560 launch into a celebration of the Lord's Supper when only part of the church has 276 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:05,320 arrived and frankly in my mind that raises the question about large churches 277 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:09,720 today with multiple services they say they're one body and they they say we're 278 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:13,760 coming together as one and yet they don't even know each other because they 279 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:18,400 don't come together in one place okay let's talk about the self-examination 280 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:23,240 piece then in verses 27 and 28 because this is where Christians tend to get a 281 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:27,680 little bit confused they they they think they know what Paul's talking about but 282 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:32,360 they're often mistaken verse 27 says therefore whoever eats the bread or 283 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:36,440 drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the 284 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:41,480 body and the blood of the Lord here it is but a man must examine himself and in 285 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:45,480 so doing he's to eat the bread and drink the cup now the average Christian when 286 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:50,480 they read unworthy manner and must examine himself we immediately think of 287 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:56,040 our private personal sins we think about all the ways that God must be very angry 288 00:21:56,040 --> 00:22:00,560 with us because we've fallen so short in our walk with him so our thinking usually 289 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:05,400 goes something like this okay we rub our hands we get all upset and we go before 290 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:09,480 I come to the table I better be all prayed up I better remember and confess 291 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:15,560 everything and be as pure as I possibly can before I partake otherwise I'm gonna 292 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,720 be judged by God oh and if I don't feel pure enough in that moment well then I 293 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:24,440 have to withdraw from the table and just let the elements pass by that's the way 294 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:28,400 we often think but there is a glaring theological problem with that way of 295 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:33,080 thinking notice that idea that I just mentioned it's not found anywhere in 296 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:37,800 first Corinthians 11 it's not there that is a self-imposed concept that has been 297 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:42,680 taught and retaught for far too long in fact it was taught to me and I believe 298 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:47,040 that for many many years and frankly for many Christians that has made the Lord 299 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:51,520 Supper a very joyless affair where we come and we beat ourselves up and we 300 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:56,320 wallow in shame rather than come to actually commune with the Lord and to be 301 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:00,560 nourished by him now as I shared last week I'm not saying that confession of 302 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:04,960 sin doesn't matter when we come to the table it certainly does what I'm saying 303 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:09,280 is is that repentance and confession is supposed to be an everyday thing a 304 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:12,940 moment-by-moment thing not just something we do when we come to the 305 00:23:12,940 --> 00:23:17,560 Supper and by the way we dare not tread where the Catholic Church lives holding 306 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,140 to the idea of penance where the sinner before he can come to the table has to 307 00:23:21,140 --> 00:23:25,360 go out and do a list of things to somehow work off their sin so that we're 308 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:30,880 deemed worthy to commune with God that is unbiblical no repentance is a 309 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:36,400 changing of the mind it's a coming into agreement with God about our sin and we 310 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:40,920 can do that in an instant when we look to him even as the elements are being 311 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:45,720 distributed we can cry out to God acknowledge our weakness and come to his 312 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:51,520 throne with confidence precisely because Christ gave up his body and blood for us 313 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:58,160 that's the truth our sin should drive us towards Christ not make us withdraw 314 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:03,560 because his table is for sinners like you and me and when we come to the table 315 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:07,960 we don't bring a sacrificial offering to God other than ourselves we are actually 316 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:12,860 the offering living sacrifices like the disciples in that upper room we allow 317 00:24:12,860 --> 00:24:17,600 Christ to be the host of the meal and we receive gifts of grace from his hand 318 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:22,440 grace that reminds us of his love for us grace that reaffirms all of his promises 319 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:27,400 towards us grace that will nourish our souls and strengthen our faith and in 320 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,720 that sense we really do feed upon him spiritually as we partake in his body 321 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:37,480 and blood so let me summarize this is really important this warning in verses 322 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:43,400 27 and 28 is not about how deeply and thoroughly I can examine my heart in 323 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:48,360 relation to my personal sin and confession based on the context of this 324 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:52,800 chapter it is a warning to examine ourselves in relation to how we are 325 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:59,000 operating in the local body that is so important to know look at the verse next 326 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:04,160 verse verse 29 for he who eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment to 327 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:08,200 himself that's what we're afraid of right but look what it says if he does 328 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:14,560 not judge the body rightly well what body are we talking about here well 329 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,920 there's two bodies involved with the Lord's Supper right first of all the 330 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,680 sign of the bread points us to the reality of Christ's literal body which 331 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:26,520 is in heaven seated at the right hand of the Father and second his body here on 332 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:32,980 earth which is what the church so judge the body rightly Paul says that means 333 00:25:32,980 --> 00:25:38,180 this understand what the meal points to Christ's body and then make sure you 334 00:25:38,180 --> 00:25:43,360 understand the high value that Jesus places on his body on earth the church 335 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:47,800 so here's some good self-examination questions to ask when you come to the 336 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:52,480 table do I understand that the church is Christ's body and bride and therefore 337 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:57,100 deserving of the highest level of honor and respect does my life in the church 338 00:25:57,100 --> 00:26:01,800 reflect an act of love for my brothers and sisters am I involved in a form of 339 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:06,360 division or part of a clique in my church am I holding on to a grudge 340 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:10,360 against another person in my church family am I living a life in the body 341 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:15,100 that is self-centered or other centered this is what Paul is trying to get at in 342 00:26:15,100 --> 00:26:18,640 first Corinthians 11 these are the things that need to be repented of and 343 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:24,480 potentially repaired in a tangible way before partaking of the family meal so 344 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,480 this is why we let you know when communion is coming if you have two or 345 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:31,760 three weeks and you know it's coming you have time now to take whatever steps are 346 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:38,120 necessary to repair any divisions in the body now I realize that very few 347 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:41,840 Christians today would act like the Corinthians did in our text in the first 348 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:45,960 place we don't usually combine communion with a real agape feast where a full 349 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,240 dinner is served so you're not going to see Christians today gorging themselves 350 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:54,600 or getting drunk at communion but listen here's how we can fall into the very same 351 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:59,640 error we can wrongly come to believe that the Lord's Supper is just an 352 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:04,440 individual thing between me and God that's it so communion is when I come to 353 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:09,800 the table and I get right with God it's when I purify myself through confession 354 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,360 and then I go I try to picture Jesus taking the nails and bleeding on the 355 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:17,720 cross and then I feel bad and I thank him for his sacrifice oh and it's great 356 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:21,400 that there's others here with me but really the focus is on my worship and 357 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:26,640 on my relationship with the Lord that is not the picture Jesus drew for us in the 358 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,760 upper room and it's not the picture Paul is painting here in first 359 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,920 Corinthians 11 now again I'm not trying to say that the Lord's table has no 360 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:37,600 connection to the individual of course it does because we're all individually 361 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:42,480 responsible for our spiritual life with Jesus but a narrow individualist 362 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:46,960 mindset doesn't reflect the full picture of how we're to live out a life of 363 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:52,320 worship give you an example of this here's how you and I should think of our 364 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,960 time together when we walk into a church service like this morning here's what we 365 00:27:55,960 --> 00:28:01,400 should be thinking the people around me today are my truest family and together 366 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,760 we make up God's people at Oak Hill our hearts are being knit together more and 367 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:11,080 more as we sing with one voice as we pray with one heart as we sit together 368 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,840 under the word being preached so that together we grow stronger as a spiritual 369 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:19,680 force in this community and beyond that's how we should be thinking now if 370 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,840 that was your mindset when you came in today I praise the Lord for that but to 371 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:27,800 be honest most Christians are closer to this mindset I wonder what I'm gonna get 372 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:32,620 out of the worship today I wonder what God's gonna show me in the sermon how am 373 00:28:32,620 --> 00:28:37,040 I gonna be built up and encouraged that's the wrong mindset or it could be 374 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:42,040 worse I'm not comfortable in this seat I don't really like this song the sermon 375 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:47,560 isn't connecting with me or I'm annoyed by these people over there yikes right 376 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:52,200 see I think it's possible that some of the the first century Corinthians they 377 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,040 were attacked they were taken back by Paul's rebuke here because they were 378 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:59,040 blind to it my guess is some of them were thinking Paul what do you mean 379 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:03,620 despise the church we love this church this church is perfect for us I love the 380 00:29:03,620 --> 00:29:08,040 way we worship I love our feasts I eat my fill I get I get to drink this all 381 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:12,800 fan why would we despise this church it's actually quite easy to become 382 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:17,560 blinded by our own self-centeredness and yes it's possible to love being a part 383 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:21,960 of Oak Hill to love coming to worship to love being part of church events and 384 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:27,280 still in the eyes of God despise his church because you put the priority on 385 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:32,360 yourself and you've neglected the body as a whole we should never lose sight of 386 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:36,440 the truth that together we are both the body of Christ and the bride of Christ 387 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:41,200 and if you're not actively cherishing the bride how can you say that you truly 388 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:46,720 love the groom okay so let's bring this back to the Lord's Supper know this in 389 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:50,600 the previous chapter in first Corinthians 10 Paul speaks of a loaf 390 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:55,720 that's broken at the Lord's table and he says this since there is one bread we 391 00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:00,720 who are many are one body for we all partake of the one bread one one one 392 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:06,280 right so the entire church is to gather in unity is one body acting as one loaf 393 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:12,040 of bread without the leaven of division or strife in their midst here's part of 394 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:18,200 what that means that means that this meal is not for unbelievers it's not for 395 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:23,080 unbelievers now we love when unbelievers are here with us on Sunday morning in 396 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,800 worship we love when unbelievers come to our small groups during the week we 397 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:30,760 treasure those opportunities to show them Christ's love in those situations 398 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:35,920 but communion is altogether different it is set apart as a time of intimate 399 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:40,440 fellowship reserved only for those who are members of Christ as we say here at 400 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:45,880 Oak Hill it's a family meal so here's a logical question that follows everything 401 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:50,760 that I've shared thus far from this chapter how how can a church make sure 402 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:57,520 that we're coming to the Lord's table as one book as only believers with no 403 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:01,920 division no strife and that we don't defile the table and put the souls of 404 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:07,380 our people at risk how do we do that let me run that through again how do we come 405 00:31:07,380 --> 00:31:11,120 together making sure that only believers are there that there's no division or 406 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:15,280 strife among us and that we don't defile the table and put the souls of our 407 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:19,960 people at risk how do we do that well I want you to imagine for a second being 408 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:25,440 the pastor of a church okay think about a typical communion Sunday morning 409 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:29,680 typical church imagine you're the pastor at the front and you're explaining 410 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,560 communion and the elements are about ready to go out now imagine you're the 411 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:37,480 pastor and you know your sheep really well okay you know what's happening in 412 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:41,320 the body and you give them this warning about making sure they judge the body 413 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:46,440 rightly right and you look out of your congregation and the elements go out and 414 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:52,800 they start getting past and what do you see well there's two people I know in 415 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:57,600 the back that are are hating on each other right now right there they have 416 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:01,160 unresolved conflict then there's this group up here and they're sort of 417 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:04,440 clickish I know they have a long-standing problem with this group 418 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:08,360 over here and I know that there's a guy here and a guy over there they're not 419 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,760 believers yet we're glad they're here but they're not believers and then 420 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:15,440 there's some new folks I see they're visitors I have no idea who they are or 421 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:19,680 what their spiritual condition is okay so I'm dealing with all that and there 422 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:25,120 go the elements and everybody's partaking of communion what do you do 423 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:30,840 as a shepherd you walk up and snatch the elements out of their hands and tell 424 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:34,440 them they got to go outside and then continue without them that would be rude 425 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:39,080 well maybe you just give that warning and you hope for the best right hope 426 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:43,000 that they'll heed the warning but the reality is in my experience is they 427 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,560 don't if they're spiritually unhealthy or they're spiritually mature they're 428 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:51,820 not going to let those elements pass by and a big part of that is because if they 429 00:32:51,820 --> 00:32:57,840 let it pass by and people see it it's grounds for juicy gossip like hey how 430 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:02,640 did why did those two people allow it to pass what's their sin and so most folks 431 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:06,360 will participate in the elements even if they know they shouldn't simply 432 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:11,840 because of peer pressure now you might say well that's on them but that's not 433 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:15,880 the heart of a shepherd the true shepherd is always looking to defend and 434 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:20,200 protect the sheep under his care I cannot stand by and pretend that that's 435 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:24,240 not happening that people are eating and drinking judgment upon themselves and 436 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:30,160 I'm allowing it by not overseeing the table as a shepherd in the church so to 437 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:34,240 kill we want to provide oversight to communion in such a way that the 438 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,880 following things take place number one again only true believers are present 439 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:43,240 number two the entire body comes to the table as one without division or strife 440 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:47,720 and number three that the sheep are all protected from eating and drinking 441 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:52,760 judgment upon themselves now imagine this is a solution what if a church were 442 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:56,120 of the right size where the shepherds had the ability to know their sheep well 443 00:33:56,120 --> 00:34:00,960 and to know what was actually happening in their lives what if the shepherds 444 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:05,040 were so deeply involved in body life that they were aware whenever conflict 445 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:08,920 came up that they could help to facilitate reconciliation before the 446 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:13,600 next communion service and what if the sheep made a formal commitment to submit 447 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:18,440 to their shepherds and to put the needs of others before their own and what if 448 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:21,960 these shepherds had a process by which they could carefully discern whether the 449 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:27,200 sheep are true believers or not question would those things be helpful in 450 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:32,240 preserving the Lord's table in a way that pleases God and builds up the body 451 00:34:32,240 --> 00:34:36,640 here at Oak Hill we think it we think it does that's what we call guarding the 452 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:41,040 communion table guarding the table and this is something the church has always 453 00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:44,960 done so we're not making this up at a whole cloth the early church the 454 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:48,880 historical record tells us that the table was carefully guarded in the first 455 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:53,040 400 years of the church we know that guarding the table was then reinstituted 456 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:57,000 by the reformers in their day and we know that it was standard practice among 457 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:02,000 the Puritans when they came over here to America in fact up until recent history 458 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:07,120 in the 20th century when things began to get squishy and casual the church was 459 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:11,320 always concerned with guarding the spiritual integrity of the Lord's 460 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:16,160 Supper and it's always been the responsibility of the shepherds to do it 461 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:20,920 so here at Oak Hill we take that historical charge seriously not because 462 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:25,480 the elder team wants to lord our power over others that's often we're accused 463 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:29,520 of that that we just want to lord our power no we do this out of biblical 464 00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:36,200 conviction and out of love love first of all for Christ right to keep his 465 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:40,840 table pure but then love for the flock to protect them and to guide them in the 466 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:45,880 way they should go that is our calling as shepherds now here's the key the 467 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:50,080 means by which we do this is through membership everyone who comes to the 468 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:53,720 communion table at Oak Hill has walked through a membership process with our 469 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:58,040 elders they have committed themselves to every other member of the body through 470 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:02,400 a sign covenant so every person at the Lord's table is committed to living 471 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:07,640 life together every person is committed to unity every person is committed to 472 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:11,800 accountability every person is committed to living out the one another's of 473 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:16,560 scripture and committed to practicing forgiveness and reconciliation that's 474 00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:21,440 what it means to be a member at Oak Hill and so we don't observe the Lord's table 475 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:25,400 on a Sunday morning because unbelievers might be present or visitors might be 476 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:30,320 with us we come to the table at a separate member communion service where 477 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:34,280 the shepherds can ensure the integrity of the supper is being maintained again 478 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:38,960 for the glory of Christ first and secondly for the protection of the flock 479 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:42,520 now I've heard people say many times I'm not sure I like this whole idea of 480 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:47,080 membership in the church Jeff feels very exclusive but guys membership is such a 481 00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:52,440 strong biblical concept Romans 12 five says we who are many are one body in 482 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:55,840 Christ and individually members of one another 483 00:36:55,840 --> 00:37:01,720 melos in the Greek member fusions 425 we're members of one another 1st 484 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:06,600 Corinthians 12 12 for even as the body is one and it has many members and all 485 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:11,720 the members of the body though they are many are one body later in verse 27 now 486 00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:17,520 you are Christ body and individually members of it the verse prior to that if 487 00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:21,480 one member suffers all the members suffer with it if one member is honored 488 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:28,440 all the members rejoice with it listen 17 times in 1st Corinthians 12 alone Paul 489 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:33,120 uses the word member so when people say I don't like this idea of membership in 490 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:38,040 the church my response is always you're gonna have to take that up with Paul so 491 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:42,200 listen so much more could be said about this topic the case for membership in 492 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:46,920 the local church is a worthy one but it is worth a whole sermon series in and of 493 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:50,880 itself but if you have any questions on that subject please don't hesitate to 494 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:55,200 reach out to me or to another elder we'd be happy to sit down with you over a 495 00:37:55,200 --> 00:38:01,240 cup of coffee or a good meal and talk about what that means amen let's pray 496 00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:28,280 together you