For the answer to this question we must again refer to the passage
itself, and we shall find that,
(1.) They apply to those who are living in _strife and schism_. As
members of the Church of Christ, we are children in God’s family, and at
the Lord’s communion we meet as brethren around the Father’s table. It
is plain, therefore, that love should reign there. We should be knit to
each other in holy love, as each one is knit to Christ by faith; and
whoever breaks the bond of love dishonours Christ, and comes unworthily
to the communion. Nor is this said on man’s authority, for this was one
of the very sins committed and condemned at Corinth. “For first of all,”
says St. Paul, v. 18, “when ye come together in the church, I hear that
there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.” Of these
divisions it is important to remark that they were not such as led to any
outward and visible separation, for they came together to the same
church, and knelt together at the same table; but they did not love each
other; there was strife and party temper amongst them; an inward spirit
of unkindness combined with the outward act of love; and so they came
together not for the better but for the worse. Here, therefore, we have
a simple answer for inquirers. If they are living in strife or enmity,
harbouring the spirit of revenge, unable to forgive some offending
brother, or giving way to a party spirit, they will then eat and drink
unworthily, and they had better refrain till they can obey their master’s
precept—“First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy
gift.”
(2.) A second character to which the words apply is the man who can
receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper _without regard to the sacred
nature of the service_. Such characters are clearly described in v. 20,
21:—“When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat
the Lord’s Supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own
supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.” In the present day
it is quite impossible that any person should commit the actual sin here
described. The mode in which the sacrament is administered and the laws
of society alike prevent all risk of such an outrage. But the state of
heart which led to it is perfectly possible, and, rightly to understand
the meaning of the passage, we must consider not so much the outward
acts, which were peculiar to the Corinthians, as the inward motives and
dispositions, which by nature may be common to us all. Now these are
described in ver. 29:—“Not discerning the Lord’s body.” They ate and
drank without regarding the deep solemnity of the holy sacrifice which
the communion was appointed to commemorate; nor did they come there with
any desire, as hungering and thirsting souls, to feed upon their Saviour
by faith. They lost sight of his grace and sufferings in the pursuit of
their own ends, and the gratification of their own appetites. When,
therefore, persons come to the Lord’s table in a light, frivolous, or
careless spirit; either that they may not appear less religious than
their companions; or because it is the habit of the family, the wish of
their masters, or a becoming act in their rank and station; but without
any deep feeling of the love and work of Christ Jesus; there is too much
reason to fear that the text applies in all its awful force to them.
And this suggests the extreme caution with which individuals should be
urged to become communicants. Masters will, sometimes, show great zeal
in persuading servants to attend the sacrament, and parents will bring
their children thither as a matter of course, on their attainment of a
certain age. Yet such children or servants may be unconverted persons,
not discerning the Lord’s body; in danger, therefore, of coming
unworthily to the table. Begin, therefore, at the right end, and strive
first for their conversion to Christ.
(3.) So, also, it applies to those what are _living in presumptuous
sin_,—drunkards, fornicators, unclean persons, dishonest men in trade,
and such like. By allowing themselves in such practices, they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame. In
coming to his table they profess that they know him, but in the allowance
of their lust they by works deny him. In coming, therefore, to the
Lord’s table, they do but dishonour his holy name; nor can we avoid the
sad conclusion that they come there unworthily, and according to the
language of the text, “are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” We
dare not, therefore, advise such characters to become communicants, for
they cannot do so without imminent peril to their soul. According to the
language of our Church, “If any of you be a blasphemer of God, an
hinderer or slanderer of his word, an adulterer, or be in malice, or
envy, or in any other grievous crime, repent you of your sins, or else
come not to that holy table.”
But we must not here leave the case of those unhappy men. They cannot
come worthily to the communion. For what, then, are they worthy? To
pray? to die? to appear before the Lord at his coming? How will that
angry temper, or that darling sin, appear before the heart-searching God
of Glory? Will it be less deadly then than now? If it now excludes you
from his communion, how will it then fare with you in his kingdom? If ye
be now so in love with sin that ye cannot commemorate redemption, what
interest do ye suppose ye have in Christ’s atonement? If ye know so
little of the cross of Christ, what can ye expect in his coming kingdom?
We do not say that none can be saved who do not attend the Sacrament of
the Lord’s Supper; but we do say, without the smallest hesitation, that
none will be saved who are found so wedded to their sins that they cannot
receive it worthily.
But there are many tender consciences in the Church of Christ, and many
hopeful persons who are apt to write hard things against themselves.
Such persons will sometimes so deeply feel the solemnity of the warning,
that they tremble at the thoughts of communion, and because they see in
themselves great defects, are afraid lest possibly they should come
unworthily to that sacred feast. Such a conscientious spirit must be
respected greatly, and treated tenderly; it is much more hopeful than
when persons regard the thing without a fear. It is, important, however,
to avoid a mistaken dread, and great care is needful lest such characters
should be debarred from that which is designed for their especial
benefit. It may be well, therefore, to examine a few of those cases to
which the words are sometimes applied in practice, though not in
Scripture.
(1.) They do not apply to persons _actively engaged in the business of
life_. It has pleased God to place us in a world in which we are
surrounded by various cares and duties. Some are in business, and have
their minds constantly occupied by its management; some are servants, and
required to work hard throughout the week; and others have so much to do
in the maintenance and management of their families, that their hands are
completely full, and their thoughts engrossed by the necessary
engagements of the day. In such cases persons often feel that they had
rather wait until they are more at leisure. They have little time for
meditation; they find that their pursuits tend to make their minds
secular, causes of irritation frequently arise, and they are led, it may
be, into conduct which they fear might be unbecoming the communicant of
the Lord. They, therefore, postpone the communion in the hope of greater
leisure; the usual result of which postponement is, that one delay
follows another till the whole desire becomes extinct within the soul.
The servant, for example, waits till she is settled; she then waits again
till she is less harassed with a small and increasing family; and then
she waits till freed from the cares of providing for their entrance into
life; till at length the infirmities of old age creep rapidly upon her,
and she goes to her grave having spent her whole life in waiting. Now
all this waiting is founded on a wrong principle,—a principle often
strengthened by a misunderstanding of the words of St. Paul. If it were
wrong to attend to life’s engagements, there would then be some force in
the objection. But the Scripture says that diligence in business as a
duty, “Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”
It is plain, therefore, that attention to a lawful calling can form no
barrier to the means of grace. Thus many of the holiest saints of God
have been engaged in active life. Enoch had his family; Moses was the
leader of Israel; and David had the charge of a nation’s government.
There, is, we know, a tendency in the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches to choke the word, that it becometh unfruitful.
But this should rather draw a man to the means of grace than keep him
from them. If we are exposed to great temptation, then we need great
strength; and if harassed by the world’s influence, we need the more
peculiar help, that we may not be infected by its spirit. The question,
therefore, comes to this, Do you intend to abandon yourself to the spirit
of the world? If you do, by all means abstain from the communion. But
if it is your heart’s desire, in the midst of the world, to walk with
God; then neglect no means of seeking him, but in the way of his
judgments wait on him, that he may give you grace to overcome, and by his
own mighty Spirit set you free from its snares.
(2.) The words of St. Paul do not apply to _young and inexperienced
believers_. There is sometimes a tendency in devoted persons to
discourage beginners, and hold them back from the communion until they
reach a certain point in spiritual attainment; until, for example, they
are able to recognise a full and experimental knowledge of the great
principles of the Gospel. So young Christians of a tender spirit are
often ready to fall in with such advice; and because they know they would
come, to a certain extent, ignorantly, they fear they might therefore
come unworthily to the sacrament. What, then, is the most scriptural
course for such persons to pursue? Our Lord’s command says plainly,
“Come;” and we must not allow his supreme authority to be checked or
impeded by any artificial standard of our own creation. Especially in
this instance, when we have his example to illustrate his command. For
consider those to whom he himself administered the first communion.
There was not in the whole company one advanced believer. Peter was then
so ignorant of the Gospel, that he had just dissuaded him from the cross,
and so weak a follower, that that same night he denied him thrice.
Thomas knew so little, that he could not believe the resurrection, even
when he saw his risen Lord; and the other apostles were still so far from
what they afterwards became, that, without one single exception, they all
forsook him and fled. Do not these facts prove clearly that he did not
intend his sacrament for advanced believers _only_? and that none must
check the first yearnings after better things? It is milk for babes as
well as strong meat for those who are of full age; and by deterring
beginners, we may rob them of the portion which God has provided for
their growth in grace. If we do not perceive a full knowledge of the
Gospel, let us at least rejoice in the desire to do the Saviour’s will;
and let us never forget that the desired knowledge is more likely to be
gained in obedience than neglect. And if there be any poor and
uninstructed person, who is no scholar, and has little knowledge even of
the things of God, who has still the desire to act as Christ appointed,
let not such an one be for a moment discouraged by his ignorance; the
feast is for him; the invitation to him; and the welcome sure when he
kneels as a guest at the Father’s table.
(3.) Still less do the words apply to the person of _tender conscience_,
_who knows and mourns the burden of his sin_. There are those in the
Church of Christ whose earnest desire it is to be God’s servants, but who
are so conscious of deep corruption, that they can scarcely hope they
have an interest in their Saviour, and can therefore scarcely venture on
the enjoyment of his sacrament. They have felt their sin, but their
sorrow is that they have not felt it more; they hope they believe, but
are obliged to confess their unbelief; they have known something of
repentance, but yet it has been so feeble, that they can scarcely think
it real; and the longing of their soul has been fixed upon their Lord;
but still there has been such apathy and coldness, that they cannot
presume to call that longing by the holy name of love. Now, how should
such persons act? Should they wait till their repentance has become
deeper, their faith stronger, and their love more worthy of a Saviour’s
grace? or should they come at once as poor, guilty, helpless creatures,
and so cast themselves for a full and free salvation before the Lamb of
God? The question involves the whole doctrine of Christ’s Gospel. If he
had required preparatory fitness before the sinner could be pardoned
through his blood, then we must have answered, “Wait till you are
better.” But since, on the other hand, he grants a pardon first, and
then adds holiness as its consequence; since the pardon promised under
the Gospel is immediate and free, granted because Christ Jesus was the
sinner’s perfect substitute upon the cross, and because the work he then
wrought was perfect, it follows thence as the sure and certain
consequence, that the broken-hearted sinner must not wait till he is
better; but as he is, and without a moment’s delay, must throw himself
before an All-sufficient Saviour, and cry, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall
be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.”
It forms the very essence of the Gospel; that as “they that are whole
need not a physician, but they that are sick,” so Christ “came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” As sinners, therefore,
we trust his grace, and as sinners come to his communion, longing for
holiness, but yet not waiting till we gain it; striving to love him
better, and therefore not standing distant from his mercy-seat, but
rather keeping close to it, that we may gain a fuller knowledge of his
love; earnestly praying for a greater fulness and strength of faith; but
meanwhile commemorating his work with what we have, in the earnest and
humble hope that he may perfect that which is lacking, and fulfil the
work of faith with power.
There is a great difference between coming unworthily and being unworthy
to come. The pharisee and publican were both unworthy; but the pharisee
alone went unworthily to the temple. The halt and the lame and the
blind, who were gathered out from the streets of the city, were all
unworthy of the marriage supper; but the man without the wedding garment
was the only one who sat down unworthily. So the noblest saint that ever
joined in heaven’s happy hymn, was utterly unworthy of the blessed feast
of his Redeemer’s love, and could best appreciate the heart-stirring
language of our Liturgy,—“We are not worthy so much as to gather up the
crumbs under thy table;” but the careless man, who knows nothing of the
broken heart, who is living in strife, and does not discern the Lord’s
body, he is the person that comes unworthily. If this be your character,
stay not to the communion, but go home and repent. But if, on the other
hand, you know your sin, and hate it; if you know your Saviour, and long
to love him; if you are looking to him as your only hope of life eternal;
then, as a guilty sinner redeemed by blood, remain, believe, rejoice,
obey; and may the God of all grace fill your heart with overflowing
peace!
* * * * *
Just as I am—without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bid’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am—and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am—though tossed about
With many a conflict—many a doubt;
“Fightings within, and fears without,”
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am—poor, wretched, blind,
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am—thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come!
Just as I am—thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come!
* * * * *
Macintosh, Printer, Great New-street, London.