“A. O.” You desire to know what is meant by the expression, “Guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” This is a deeply solemn question, and one which demands the serious attention of thins just now. We fear there is a vast amount of lightness and indifference in reference to the Lord's Supper. There is not that deep exercise of soul, or that earnest self-judgment, which the Holy Ghost enjoins in connection with our approach to the Lord's Table. It is very questionable whether many of us, in seeking to keep clear of legality and superstition on the one hand, have not fallen into levity and indifference on the other. Legality, as we know, has sought to fence the Table with certain conditions of man's device; and superstition has sought to surround the Table with the pomp and circumstance of man's invention. All this is true; but what is the remedy? Will levity and carelessness cure us of the ills of legality and superstition? Alas! as is too often the case, the remedy is far worse than the disease. Dear friend, we must confess to you, that we contemplate with alarm very much what goes on in the assemblies of Christians. We cannot shake oil' the fear that many are incurring the guilt of not discerning the Lord's body in the Supper.
True, the evil does not appear in the same form in our midst, as in the Church of Corinth. This could hardly be expected; but it in nowise alters the real principle of the thing. The question is, Are we really discerning, by faith, the Lord's body in the breaking of bread? if not, we are eating and drinking unworthily; we are eating and drinking judgment to ourselves; we are guilty (ενοχος) of the body and blood of the Lord. Solemn thought I We need to remember that, while the Table is spread oh the ground of accomplished redemption, it is to be surrounded in the power of personal holiness, that while we are not saved by personal holiness, we are saved to it—that while as Christians we are entitled, through grace, to partake, we are called upon to examine and judge not merely our ways, but ourselves. Christ was judged for our sins on the cross, and we are exhorted to judge ourselves, and then show forth His death. Now we believe that this holy exercise of self-judgment is a deep, earnest, habitual thing. It is not the formal, wordy, lip confession, on the Lord's day morning, of the sins and follies of the past week, to be followed by the sins and follies of the next.
There is far too much of this. What we want is thorough, abiding self-judgment. If this were exercised, we should not so readily fall into sin. But how is it, in many cases? Alas! alas! we shrink from the reference; but we must deal faithfully. Well, then, is it not too true that many who take their place at the Lord's Table, on the first day of the week, have been living in folly, vanity, and worldliness during the past six days I They have been seen, it may be, at concerts, at exhibitions, at processions, at musical parties, pic-nics, and pleasure trips. And can there he, in such cases, the discernment of the Lord's body in the breaking of bread? Is it possible to conceive, in connection with such gross worldliness and unsubduedness, anything like spiritual communion with the body and blood of the Lord 1 Such persons may perform the outward act of “breaking bread;” but we fear they know but little of the inward power and reality of eating, by faith, the body and blood of Christ. (Comp. carefully Matt. 26:26-2826And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:26‑28); Mark 14:22-2422And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. 24And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. (Mark 14:22‑24); Luke 22:19, 2019And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19‑20); 1 Cor. 10:16, 17; 11:23-2916The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. (1 Corinthians 10:16‑17)
23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. 27Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (1 Corinthians 11:23‑29).) It is with extreme reluctance, and, we trust, with a real sense of personal failure and infirmity, that we write in this strain. Nothing but felt responsibility to the Lord and to His people could ever elicit such remarks. But we feel solemnly called upon to sound an alarm; and we fondly hope the word of warning will be received as it is intended. We see the tide of worldliness rapidly rising—worldliness in various shapes. Witness the style of dress in many of our assemblies the rustling silks, the gay ribbons, the artificial flowers. How do such things tally with the showing forth of the Lord's death, the discerning of His broken body? It may be said, If people have Christ in their hearts, it does not matter what they have on their heads.” We reply, “If people really have Christ in their hearts, it will regulate what they put on their heads, yea, it will exert a hallowed, separating, and subduing influence over their whole person, deportment, and character.” Let us not he deceived with vain words.” Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” May the Spirit of God produce in our midst deep searchings of heart May all who present themselves at the Table of the Lord cultivate the spirit of self-judgment” Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat.” It is a deeply solemn thing to be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord; and all arc thus guilty who do not discern, by faith, the broken body and the shed blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper. We need hardly say to you, dear friend, that there is no change in the bread and wine. You are in no danger, we trust, of falling into the error of transubstantiation or consubstantiation. The elements of bread and wine undergo no change whatever; but they have been appointed by Christ, in His supper, to set forth to the believing heart His body broken, and His blood shed for us. “Take, eat; this is my body.” This is true to faith; and if it be not thus received, we do not worthily partake.