The Lord's Supper as a Means of Grace (5)

Introduction: Christ as the Source of Spiritual Life and the Role of Means of Grace

0:03 The following message was delivered on Sunday morning, February 13th, 1994, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now before we turn to the reading of the Word of God, I do want to express for myself personally, and I would hope for all of the congregation corporately, thanks to those men who sought to make a responsible decision about the services of this day, and I believe God has answered our prayers that they would be given wisdom in judgment with reference to whether or not we would be tempting God to gather at all, or whether we would be too easily yielding to a little inconvenience not to gather, and so we express our thanks to those brethren, and for those who have been with us this morning, and for those who have been with us this morning, and for the many who helped us safely into the building, waiting at the curb, spreading salt over the parking lot, and we do thank you for those expressions of concern in these practical matters, remembering the word of our Lord Jesus, that even the cup of cold water given in his name shall not fail of its reward, and inasmuch as you have done any of these things unto the least of us, his brethren, you have done it unto yourselves.

1:26 and inasmuch as you have done any of these things unto the least of us, his brethren, you have done it unto yourselves. and inasmuch as you have done any of these things unto the least of us, his brethren, you have done it unto yourselves.

2:35 and inasmuch as you have done any of these things unto the least of us, his brethren, you have done it unto yourselves. and inasmuch as you have done any of these things unto the least of us, his brethren, you have done it unto yourselves. Now this Bible, from which we have just read, is unmistakably clear in its teaching

3:48 that all of the spiritual life in the soul of a sinner is derived from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. If there is anyone sitting among us this morning who possesses spiritual life, he possesses it because, he has come into personal living union with him who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. It is for this reason that Paul wrote as he did to the Colossians, where in chapter 3 and verse 4 of that epistle we read, when Christ, our life, shall be manifested, again underscoring that, when Christ, our life, shall be manifested, again underscoring that, that Christ is indeed the life of all of his people. Now, while acknowledging that Christ alone is the source of all spiritual life, we must ask the question, how is that life initially imparted by God in sovereign, regenerating grace, further nurtured and developed? And part of the answer is,

5:12 that it is developed and nurtured by the Holy Spirit's blessing upon the believer's prayerful use of those means ordained of God for the nurture of that life. That's what we call the means of grace. They are means ordained of God by which the life of Christ is, is further developed in the heart and life of a believer as he uses those means prayerfully and believingly. Now, in our ongoing unfolding of the ninth tenet of the manifesto of Trinity Baptist Church, we are presently dealing with the fifth major principle that constitutes a balanced doctrine of Christian life. I have stated it this way, that there are no effective substitutes for the God-appointed means of grace in living the Christian life. Having identified the private means of grace, such as personal assimilation of the scriptures, secret prayer and other disciplines, we've been surveying some of the public means of grace

6:37 as described in Acts 2.42, where Luke tells us, by the guidance of the Spirit, with reference to the early days of the church in Jerusalem, that all who comprised that church continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers. And it is in this ongoing consideration of these public means of grace that for several Lord's Days we've been examining the teaching of the Word of God, with respect to the third of those things mentioned with reference to the Jerusalem church, namely, the breaking of the bread, or what we commonly designate as the Lord's Supper. It is this God-appointed means of grace upon which our attention is focused again this morning. In our initial study, we took up the biblical basis, for the observance of the Lord's Supper. Then we considered the biblical significance of the observance of the Lord's Supper, and last Lord's Day, some biblical directives for the proper observation of the Lord's Supper.

Exhortation 1: Loving Obedience as the Prime Reason for Observing the Lord's Supper

8:00 But now today, God willing, both this morning and this evening, we move on from the biblical basis for observing it, the biblical significance, of its observation, some biblical directives for the proper observance of the Lord's Supper, specifically who should come, and how we should come to the table, to what I am calling in this fourth major division of the subject, some concluding exhortations concerning the observance of the Lord's Supper. Some concluding exhortations concerning the observance, the observance of the Lord's Supper. And I've sought to put those exhortations into three basic categories. We'll consider the first two this morning, and then the remaining category this evening. The first category of exhortation is this. It is an exhortation concerning the most fundamental reason for observing the Lord's Supper.

9:12 An exhortation concerning the most fundamental reason for observing the Lord's table. And the exhortation is simply this. Let a present response of loving obedience to the person and word of Christ always be the prime reason for your appearance at the Lord's table. That's my exhortation.

9:48 Let a present response of loving obedience to the person and word of Christ always be the prime reason for your appearance at the Lord's table. Now it is true that a well-several fundamental and perhaps even several secondary reasons for coming to the Lord's table. He may come to the table for the good of his own soul, and it's right that he should. He may come to the Lord's table with a desire to manifest his oneness with his brethren, and that also is a proper motivation for coming to the Lord's table. For in 1 Corinthians 10-16, there is an allusion to the fact that as we come to the table and partake of the one loaf, we are manifesting not only our communion with Christ, but our communion, one with another. And I say a well-instructed believer may have many motives and fundamental reasons for coming to the table of the Lord. My exhortation is this,

11:15 that whatever secondary,

11:26 the most fundamental, be two basic reasons. Number one, it is only in this way that the centered nature of this ordinance will be preserved. It is only the centered nature of this ordinance will be preserved. It was instituted this supper of me. It was his nature of the table is to be maintained.

13:27 For he said, if a man love me, he will keep. And if we love him,

13:39 commandments in the ways of them, teaching them not to the L set before you, not teaching them to observe what is embodied in your official confession of faith, teaching them to observe whatsoever,

14:16 indicating that the apostles were under responsibility to make known of the word of and those things which as apostles they were given to reveal as the word of that these things are indeed people. And notice in the institution of that supper there at Corinth underscores that at the very outset, I delivered unto you that which I first gave you. I first of all received of the Lord. So when you confess disciples that there should be such an ordinance as the Lord's table, I made plain to you that in coming you were and were.

15:20 This is beautifully captured in one of our hymns in which we sing according to thy gracious word in meek humility. This will I, my,

15:41 and you see, see in that way to his person and to his word.

16:08 Do you see how that is? There can be no significant departure in the way of faith and in the way of obedience. And therefore, come to the table and we see it spread on the first Lord's day of the month in the evening and take our place before the service and between the conclusion of the preaching and our actual commemoration of the Lord in the way of his appointment. May I urge you, as you sit there and look at the table with the bread upon it and the fruit of the vine in the cup,

17:09 seek there Jesus Christ whom I love. I see beyond that are going to sit behind it and the deacons and men of standing in the church who sit to serve.

17:37 Do this in remembrance.

17:41 I'm not asking you to form a visual image of Christ. No. That's the essence of idolatry. But what I am saying is to hear the voice of the living Christ who is in our midst as he promised where two or three are gathered in his name.

18:00 There am I. And from your heart, Christians, say, Lord Jesus, whatever brought me to this table, whatever operativist I sit at this table, Lord Jesus, my fundamental moment at this table, is that I love you. And I love you because you first loved me. And because I love you, Lord, I want to obey you.

18:32 As said, this do that simple fundamental exhortation will be laid to heart. For it is only then I say that the pervasive Christ-centered nature of this ordinance will be preserved. If that is the groundswell of motivation for the church for the church for the church for the church for the church for the church for the church for the church for the church for this assembly coming to the Lord's table until the Lord himself returns. Do you not see how there would be an immediate rejection factor of anything in the circumstances or climate of the table that would obscure your soul's ability to maintain communion with the Christ who called you to that table? You see, if the souls of men are in this direct spiritual intercourse with Christ and his word, there would be an immediate shock effect that would intrude upon that blessed communion and union with the Son of God himself. But then there's a second reason for this exhortation and it's this. It is only in this way that we will be prepared jealously to conduct everything

20:01 pertaining to the Lord's name. To the table in a way that is pleasing to the Lord of the table.

20:10 You follow? If my primary is that of rendering obedience to the person and word of Christ, then you see in that context having come to his table, I will respect the table manners articulated by Christ and his apostles.

20:32 And therefore, that principle stored up and active in the soul will prepare

20:58 himself or put himself to the test and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. And as we saw last week, that self-examination does not have to do primarily with my own spiritual state, but it has to do with whether or not I'm coming to the table for the purpose for which the table was instituted. Not to satisfy physical hunger, not to enter into some kind of superstitious mystical experience, but to deserve the symbol of this given up to the cruel death of the cross for me. And in the fruit of the vine,

21:44 the symbol of the blood of that covenant which has secured my salvation, if I'm coming to the table, it says it's price of obedience for the Christ-centered nature of the table be maintained. But we will jealously guard all of the conduct at the table to make sure that it's that it pleases Him who is the Lord.

Exhortation 2a: Sensible Flexibility in the Details of the Lord's Supper

22:24 So that's my first exhortation. And it has to do with the base subject of our fundamental reason for observing the Lord's table. But now, the second category of exhortations, and here I have but two, exhortations concerning the details of the observance of the Lord's Supper. Exhortations concerning the details of the observance of the Lord's Supper.

22:58 And under this category, words of exhortation.

23:04 The table conducted with sensible flexibility and then let the table be conducted with stark.

23:17 First of all, let it be conducted with sensible flexibility. Now, what in the world am I talking about? Well, here I'm referring to such things as how frequently should we come to the Lord's table? Should we gather in the morning, the evening, or in the afternoon?

23:41 Unleavened bread, ordinary bread, should we use little cubes of bread? Should we use one loaf that's been scored to break it easily or unscored so it's a little more difficult to break? Shall we use one cup fermented fruit of the vine? All the content?

24:06 Shall we use pasteurized fruit? Well, it is great juice. We sit in the pew at the front of the church to the detail.

24:29 Questions like these, believe it or not, some of you are blissfully ignorant of this. I wish I were, but I'm not, and that's why I'm bringing the word of exhortation because there's no new thing under the sun. Such questions as these have split whole groups of Christians into denominations. Questions as these and the differing answers you have no Lord unless you have unleavened bread and fermented wine and they are called every Jewish charade and every generation and realizing also that more and more as the Lord is pleased to save people out of the diversity of backgrounds we bring with us and those whom the Lord has saved elsewhere and adds to our number we bring with us the baggage of our past associations and there are some for whom the thought of the Lord's supper with anything other than a single cup is very, very strange. For others, the concept of a single cup would also bring them to the place where they would almost barf.

25:58 Some, the concept of having anything other than wine that has some measure of alcoholic content in it is again an unknown thing. For others, it would be a horrendous thing and in some cases could even be an occasion of stumbling back into a life of drunkenness. So you see, my exhortation is this, dear people of God, with reference to the details of the observance of the Lord's supper, let it be conducted with sensible flexibility. And I want to demonstrate now from the scriptures with your Bibles open before me that this apparently was the way in which the apostles guided the early church with reference to some of these questions.

26:41 When we turn to the second chapter of Acts, we read in the text to which allusion has been made many times in recent days,

26:52 2.42, concerning all that were added, they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship in the breaking of you have the two articles in the breaking of the bread and the prayer. Now read on with me. And fear came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles and all that believed were together and had all things common.

27:22 And they sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all according as any man had need. Now notice, and day by day in the temple they took their and singled singleness of heart praising God and having favor with all the people. There seems to be in the text a very clear distinction between what is called the breaking of bread at home and taking their food. Most likely again a reference to the fact that though there may have been some kind of a common meal leading up to the celebration or the observance of the Lord's table, at this point it appears having having daily upon the apostles' doctrine when they would gather in Solomon's porch for the preaching of the word of God. For this is what we are told in chapter 5 that they were gathering there in Solomon's porch. Verse 12 And they were all with one accord Solomon's porch in this fresh outpouring

28:50 and where God was adding to the church great numbers gave up that they were practicing group communion in segments of that vast church numbering into the thousands now would gather. You see that in the passage. Day by was indication practice to Acts 20 and verse 7 it seems quite clear that the church was gathering on the first day of the week and that they were having

30:03 at least on this particular Lord's day if not every Lord's day a group of people and they were a communion service for in Acts chapter 20 we read in verse 7 or we back up to verse 6 and we sail away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and came unto them to Troas in five days where seven days when there was no gathering of the week when the church gathered on her Lord and at that time she broke bread. Now then in chapter 11 nature the all back to frequency of the remembrance is this one adverb used twice. Look at it in verses 25 26 in like manner the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood this do urge to translate

31:29 one little Greek ass whenever absolutely no in that adverb often whenever it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes we are to do it as we drink it in remembrance of him and as often as we eat it what then are we to learn from this we are to learn reference to the frequency of the observance of the Lord's table that it should be conducted with sensible flexibility suppose the Lord should pour out his spirit in such a way that shops and businesses all of this county were shut down and God was once again doing in this county what he did in Jerusalem bringing multitudes to true repentance in faith it is possible we might be holding daily meetings in this building for preaching and teaching and might be conducting daily communion

32:57 based in the gospel would be so powerful and the hearts and the desire very quickly to grounds in the reality of the Christ enteredness it might be expedient for the elders we ought to have communion every day to have communion at least every Lord's day do you see that there is nothing in script that gives us any definitive concerning the frequency and therefore we need flexible flexibility always recognizing that clear word of 1 Corinthians 14 let all things be done decently and in order let all things be done unto edification and let all things be done unto and likewise with regard to the details what kind of bread what kind of fruit of the vine obviously in the original institution what did Jesus do he took some leftover Passover bread that would have been unleavened bread because it was called the feast of unleavened bread and the feast of Passover were one and the same things continuing over a period of 8 days so he would have had unleavened bread and the wine that he would have had at that time of the year

34:26 would have been to some degree fermented though we are told by extra biblical sources that they diluted it with water but whether it had 1% 3% or 6% it was not pasteurized Welch's grape juice fermented wine oh wait a minute wait a minute when we read in Acts chapter 2 that the spirit of God came on the day of Pentecost and from Pentecost we move into this means the grace the breaking of bread do we have any biblical data to say that they took anything other than the ordinary bread that was present in their homes which would have been leavened bread on that occasion there is nothing that indicates it and the word unleavened is used later on in the epistles it was ready at hand to be used by Luke if the spirit of God was intent upon that specific detail he would have emphasized it but he doesn't and when we read in the gospel when out in the Gentile community of Corinth is there any shred of evidence that those had no occasion in any of their religious feasts to have unleavened bread would for this occasion prepare special unleavened bread no that's the very essence of a kind of sacramentalist mentality that misses the great issue

35:53 for the sake of some unbiblically founded piddling inconsequential detail it's the mentality that would strain in a mat and swallow a camel likewise it's interesting that not once in conjunction with the Lord's Supper its original institution or this passage in 1 Corinthians 11 is the standard word for wine oinos used but we do have the term fruit of the vine Luke 22 18 Matthew 26 29 Mark 14 25 and all we have mentioned in 1 Corinthians is the cup the cup the cup the cup see to the brother or sister who says we must have fermented wine I say show me from my Bible fermented or non-fermented no that's a matter of sensible in a culture such as France Italy several other European countries and other cultures where wine is as common at the table as a tablecloth and fork and knife to have wine as part of one's daily diet and then to have great juice if the communion would be unseemly and so when I was in France I believe I was there for a communion service I know I discussed

37:22 it with the missionary it would be unthinkable to serve anything other than fermented grapes to serve wine with some alcoholic content at the Lord's table there is a flexibility that is right and sensible and proper and I am pleading with I'm exhorting concerning the details the observance of the Lord's supper let it ever be in this place mark sensible sensible flexibility sooner or later mark this word especially you younger generation somebody's going to come along who's got a bee in his bonnet about unleavened bread and he's going to agitate and he's going to irritate and he's going to start pushing books under your nose that very fermented wine you must have one cup etc. you remember this text Romans 14 and verse 17 the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness peace

38:50 and joy in the Holy Ghost and what a travesty on the table it would be the very table symbolizing the body given up to a violent death and the blood shed and bathed of sinners gracious word of Christ through which alone we are initiated into the kingdom then to turn those very symbols into a climate where there would not be a concern for righteousness but a concern for whether the bread had leaven or no leaven oh yes there might be the leaven of anger bitterness and ill and all over what kind of bread kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness peace peace of a church could be disturbed over the agitation of details about the table all joy in the Holy Ghost could be stripped away and in its place a spirit of heaviness and mourning God was not the author of confusion the apostle says so ordain I in all so that's my first exhortation

40:17 under this heading of exhortations concerning the details of the of the observance of the Lord's Supper and may I indulge a little history to let you know this is not theoretical there is none of us in leadership or anyone who was in leadership when Trinity Church was formed that had any background where the communion service was conducted with one loaf but as we studied the scriptures and as we contemplated the symbolism as we tried to be sensitive to where people were coming from the leaders decided that the use of the one loaf would not create any kind of an emotional or psychological barrier the reasons for it were explained from the word of God and we moved from little cubed pieces of white bread pre-cut into one loaf there was no disruption of a climate of righteousness peace or joy in the Holy Ghost as we were wrestling with that matter we wrestled with the concept of the cup Jesus obviously had one cup in the upper room but he only had eleven disciples it's evident that in the language of 1 Corinthians 11 the word cup is used in the singular 1 Corinthians 10-16 it's the cup which we bless singular and we said well there seems to be pressure in the direction

41:46 of the one cup and many biblical principles that would move in that direction however as we contemplated that we thought of the impediments it would create among the people that were amongst God's people and it wasn't a matter of having a man pleasing spirit but we came to the conviction that the overall symbolism would not be materially undermined did we forego the use of the one cup given our cultural mix given a number of factors and so we've retained the use of individual cups now someone says compromise maybe compromise with someone who only sees circumstantial details and doesn't see larger issues but not compromise in our consciences before God when do we meet well in the early days we used to meet before an evening service once a quarter once a quarter once every three months we would gather an hour for the evening service for a communion service we had a number of reasons I won't go into them but there were wise reasons and there was flexibility then when the purposes were locked in place in the things of the people and there was a groundswell of desire for more frequent coming to the table we moved to once a month still gathering an hour before the evening service then in time we have the

43:15 present structure but that's not the law of the Medes and the Persians there may be compelling reasons in days to come to change the precise time and how often we meet and as a result we have had no controversy no divisiveness and we've had a marvelous opportunity to do what the Bible says in honor prefer one another in love now there are certain brethren among us whose whole background and experience in corporate worship has been inseparably linked to a certain instrument called an organ and while they in a very innocent way get in their licks whenever they can about when we're going to have an organ over there they've really laid that issue to rest at least I think they have in their hearts and they defer to those of us who believe that in the present set of circumstances our corporate worship with the use of a piano serves the ends of corporate worship better than would an organ and what have they done have they caused a stink in a split no they've been willing to defer to their brethren and defer to the judgment of their elders and so peace prevails and that's the climate brethren that we must maintain or we will take the very table around which we gather as the symbol of our unity and use it to rend this church

Exhortation 2b: Stark Simplicity in the Conduct of the Lord's Supper

44:43 what a horrible thought parasitic mindset regarding some nitpicking detail would be the occasion of schism in this body but then my last word to you this morning and it's the second exhortation under this heading of the circumstances or the details of the Lord's Supper let it be conducted with sensible flexibility and now finally let it be conducted with stark simplicity let it be conducted with stark simplicity and I've chosen that word stark deliberately I've looked up many synonyms I've toyed with using many synonyms but when someone is in his birthday suit we say he's stark naked and when he ain't got a stitch of clothing on him we say of a certain thing it was stark in its plainness it was bold it stood out this is what I'm using the word for to underscore that as a people we must be determined to see the Lord's table conducted with stark simplicity as we studied the passages which refer to the Lord's Supper the original

46:12 institution from which we read this morning in Matthew 26 the subsequent expansion of that in 1 Corinthians 11 we did not find anything which pointed to an elaborate liturgy we found nothing indicating pompous agentry nothing about deep mysteries of the sacrament of the Eucharist rather on the night of his betrayal in company with the eleven disciples at the conclusion of the Passover meal with bits of leftover food sitting around Jesus at a common ordinary table at which they had eaten a common meal celebrating the great deliverance of God's people out of Egypt after supper the plain old ordinary leftover bread and he gave thanks one passage says he eulogized it the other says he eucharized it two verbs are used they're interchangeable he blessed it by giving thanks then he broke it and he said take eat this is my body sitting there what would the disciples think that somehow when he gave thanks for it that ordinary leftover Passover bread was transformed into the very body of Christ and while that body stood before them whole with every

47:41 last bit of skin on the end of every finger and every toe and on the end of his nose that somehow parts of him had been multiplied like he multiplied the loaves and the fishes they were eating his literal body that turns that supper into cannibalism cannibalism it's cannibalism it's cannibalism it's cannibalism anything other than what he intended they should think this bread represents my body which is given for you then he takes the cup the ordinary cup from which they had drunk or a separate cup there is a diversity of opinion about the practice of the Jews at that time but he takes an ordinary cup with the ordinary fruit of the vine and he gives thanks and he says this cup is the new covenant in my blood did some of the cup become blood and comment too no they understood what he meant this cup that is what is in the cup the fruit of the vine that you are about to drink this represents the blood of the new covenant which is shed for many drink all of you drink of it do this in remembrance of me now isn't it interesting from that stark simplicity in an ordinary room seated at an ordinary table

49:09 at the end of a special celebratory meal the Lord Jesus takes some leftover bread and some leftover wine gives thanks distributes it has his disciples eat it and he says do this in remembrance of me now I ask you in the name of all rationality how do we go from that stark simplicity to a table becoming an altar and giving thanks becoming a so-called consecration by which the elements are actually changed into the body and blood of Christ in which there is an elaborate ritual in which there are so-called great mysteries going on contrary to all of our senses and faculties mysteries which will actually save our souls and impart grace by our mouths blasphemous soul-destructive nonsense but listen dear people of God it didn't get to that point overnight as instituted by the lawyers and interestingly as reiterated by the apostle himself

50:37 for when he says in 1 Corinthians 11 I received of the Lord that which I delivered unto you what does he add? nothing Jesus in the night which he was betrayed took breath when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you this do in remembrance of me in like manner also the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood this do oft as you drink it in remembrance me the apostle in its stock simplicity from the risen Lord and he passed it on without embellishing it with one iota of liturgical trappings he did not enlarge upon it with any pat he didn't shroud the most keen minded intellects along with a mystical spirit even to begin to comprehend the tones that are written on the mystery of the Eucharist the apostles understood it as a simple supper of remembrance concerning which instruction could be given so quickly that day by day saved people can come to the table worthily and the moment the Lord

Why Stark Simplicity is Crucial: Wisdom of Christ and Warning Against Ritualism

52:06 undertaken in faithful we've moved of our Bibles and we will grow in our understanding of their significance we will grow in appreciation significant and saying if the faith in such a way that babes in Christ can continue steadfastly in the breaking of bread unto their edification you've got a false doctrine of the Lord son you've got moved away from the simplicity of the biblical institution now why is it so crucial and why am I blowing my fuses on this issue again I give you two reasons and listen to me very carefully I beg you reason number one if Jesus decided that this simple meal of a symbolic nature was the best way to keep him in remembrance who are we to be able to be wiser than he

53:31 remembrance of me do what Lord take ordinary bread with no fanfare and give thanks in giving thanks bless it set it apart as a symbol of my body which was assumed my body in which I carried your sins up to the tree my body given up in a vile and death upon the cross this do in remembrance of me and take this cup in which is the fruit of the vine that symbolizes that blood that I will pour out in that violent death the separation of body and blood in a violent death as a penal sacrifice for sin in order to procure all the blessings of the new covenant take this ordinary fruit of the vine without any fanfare without any pageantry without any great mystery and drink it in loving reflective believing affectionate remembrance of me this do this do no more do this nothing less do this nothing more if Jesus in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge if he decided that that

55:01 simple supper in its stark simplicity was the best means to aid our faith to remember him who are we? to be wiser and all movement away from the stark simplicity of the supper is a movement away from the wisdom and then the second reason why we must be determined that it shall be conducted with stark simplicity is this it's a tragically evident pattern in scripture and in church history that when spiritual life and power wane or die in direct proportion men will seek to truss up the lifeless corpse of empty religion with increasing ritualism ceremony and clericalism and perfume the corpse with concoctions of superstition in short for those of you who take notes when the soul of religion vital religion dies the body of religious ceremony grows when the soul dies the body of ceremony grows is not just an observation made by a preacher late in time

56:30 who's standing before you but William Cunningham a Scottish theologian of another generation recognized by many as one of the greatest theologians to come out of Scotland writing on this subject wrote as follows a grievous corruption of the scriptural doctrine of the sacraments appeared very early in the church and it spread far and wide and exhausted the most injurious influence upon the interest of true religion confusion and exaggeration very early appeared in speaking of these ordinances as quote the tremendous mysteries as some of the church fathers called them and this confusion and exaggeration soon led to substitution of the mere observance of awkward rights for the weightier matters of the law there was soon a tendency to give up the essential features of vital Christianity for the sake of form and ritual even in the second century we find plain indications of a tendency to speak of the nature design and effects of the sacraments in a very inflated and exaggerated style a style very different from anything we find in the New Testament this tendency to exaggeration and extravagance to confusion and absurdity upon the subject of Lord's Supper and baptism increased continually now notice in proportion as sound doctrine

57:59 upon matters of greater importance disappeared and vital religion decayed until in the Middle Ages Christianity came to be looked upon by the body of those who professed to be Christians as a system which consisted in and the whole benefits of which were connected with a series of outward ceremonies and ritual services Romanism prior to the Reformation is the end of the world is the end of the world is the end of the world is the end of the world is the end of the world is the end result of this tendency that when the soil is in the eyes the carcass of ritualism grows that has been true again and again and again and whenever the Spirit of God is broken in with power and brought men back to the vitals of true biblical religion what happens? The stark simplicity of the ordinances to some degree is not is recovered.

59:02 Dear people it is the pure preaching of the gospel that alone can make Christ precious to men's hearts and when Christ is precious to men's hearts simple bread broken and eaten the fruit of the vine poured out and drunk are more than adequate to cause our hearts to return afresh to the pole star of all of our life and ourselves our salvation. But if Christ is not precious to the heart man being the inveterate religious creature he is will reach out for something and if he has no Christ to ravish the eyes of his soul he must have pageantry to ravish his physical eye and if he has no felt Christ to fill him with awe and wonder he will have a mystery of the sacrament and priests to fill him with wonder and peace if they tremblingly look to the one who holds their salvation in his hand and don't think you can

60:16 when the star implicitly where the law is preached in its sin exposing pride withering power when gospel is preached with the blessing of the spirit sinners to repentance and faith and sinners do what Jesus described in John 6 they eat of his flesh and drink of his blood by faith when they're exclusive by faith they need no cannibalism with a Christ who has been transformed to bread let the law and the gospel be truncated ignored or pushed into a secondary place in the ministry of the word let them be dealt with without the power and unction of the Holy Ghost and we're sitting ducks to move away from simplicity of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper and if the time should ever come in this place where there's a push

61:45 to go beyond the stark simplicity may some of you have the discernment to remember what you heard today and say look our answer our answer to the dullness to the lifelessness the humdrum of the stark simplicity of the table is not ritualism upon our death but it's to go back to the law the Lord will bless the preaching of the law and the gospel until once again there are sinners ravished with love to an immolated crucified risen savior and who will count it their privilege to come to his table in the stark simplicity of broken bread and the fruit of the vine poured out I could not help but wonder in my preparation for this morning you forgive the preacher for wondering I said Lord I wonder how many pastors in some of those first century churches planted by apostles gave warnings similar to this I can't help but believe that they saw these things maybe not as clearly from the historical perspective they did not see degenerate Christianity as we can look back and see it culminating in the blight of the middle ages

63:14 with Roman Catholicism holding men's souls encased in their rituals but I wonder if the warnings were given how many saints are now in heaven who if they're given to look back back and say ah I should have been perceptive enough to see when this little suggestion came for just a little bit more elaborate something a little more attractive to the eyes something a little more dignified with a liturgy that will give us a sense of of being dignified this plain Jane coming to the table with ordinary men claiming ordinary extraordinary powers take the ordinary bread and pray a humble ordinary prayer of thanksgiving and break and distribute and we eat and an ordinary prayer is offered by an ordinary man that ordinary fruit of the vine would be set apart as the symbol of his blood oh dear people I don't want to be around at that time when you want something more but by the blessing of the spirit of God Christ's institution is sufficient to Christ's ends and we need no more so my friends

Summary of Exhortations and Call to Unbelievers

64:43 my exhortations to you this morning are number one with respect to your fundamental motive in coming to the Lord's table let it be a present response of loving obedience to the person and word of God now that's not a lot to lay on is it is it to urge you when you come to the table to say Lord Jesus you are calling me to your table it's according to your gracious word in the name of Jesus in meek humility this will I do my dying Lord I will remember then with respect to the matter of the Lord's table and its circumstantial details let it be conducted with sensible flexibility let it be conducted with stark simplicity and God willing tonight I hope to take up the third category of the Lord's table the exhortations and that has to do with the prevailing disposition with which we come to the Lord's table and I have four exhortations I've prepared and that's why I've held the third head until tonight and if you're here this morning there may be some whose church was closed and you came here because we were open and you're not a Christian I hope in this preaching this morning you've caught

66:11 at least one thing that in this place we believe that this book is the book it is that if you're ever to be right with God and made fit for heaven you've got to have direct personal dealings with the Christ of this Bible with that Christ who is God and man in one glorious person that Christ who died upon the cross the just for the unjust that Christ who was buried and was raised from the dead on the third day and now lives to make good every promise to sinners that is recorded in this book go to Christ get beyond the church get beyond the church get beyond rituals get beyond sacraments get beyond praying prayers and have dealings with the living Christ in the plenitude of his grace and saving power let us pray our Father we thank you for your word that it is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our pathway and we pray that these practical exhortations brought to your people this morning may be written upon all of our hearts by your grace and that you will bring them to our remembrance again and again and that this blessed simple ordinance of the supper of remembrance would continue to be a means of grace under the blessing of the Holy Spirit in the life of this assembly

67:40 protect and preserve that ordinance from anything and everything that would profane it to the hindering or to the damnation of our lives and to the destruction of our souls grant oh God that the gospel which it reflects will remain pure in its proclamation in this place even until the coming of Christ hear us we plead watch over us take us safely to our homes bless our afternoon hours and may we be gathered together tonight in your will and purpose with your blessing upon us hear us we plead in Jesus name Amen Amen