There are two dangers we face whenever we come to the Lord’s table. The first danger is that we will feel that we are not worthy to be here. And the second danger is that we will feel that we are worthy. The first danger is the sin of despair. The second danger is the sin of presumption. Those who are guilty of the sin of despair are sometimes new Christians—people new to the faith and new to the church. Or they are people who have been away from God for a long while and now are coming back to him. Or they may be Christians who struggle with doubt or fear or discouragement and feel that they are therefore somehow disqualified from taking communion. On the other hand, the people who are guilty of the sin of presumption are almost always the very best people in the church. They are the people who know the Bible, who know the gospel, who know the grace of God. They are the ones who’ve been in the church almost from the day they were born.For those who are guilty of the sin of despair, the real problem is that their memory is too good. When they come to the Lord’s Table, a thousand images rise up in the mind. A thousand dim events from the past come back to haunt them. All the skeletons of all the locked closets of the past come rattling out and their voices cry out, “You are not worthy. You are not worthy. You are not good enough to come to the table of the Lord.” And so there is that feeling on the inside that when the time comes they ought to pass the elements by because they are simply not ready, not good enough for something as sacred as the Lord’s Supper. On the other hand, the people who believe they are worthy commit the sin of presumption. Their problem is that their memory is not good enough. They take pride in the fact that they are active in the church and that they do the work of the Lord and that they are visible and easy to spot on Sunday. They are very righteous people. They are very good people. They do not think about their sins very much for they know their sins are forgiven. So, we have two dangers that face us whenever we come to the Lord’s Table—despair and presumption. Let me say right up front that of those two sins, presumption is by far the more dangerous sin to commit. If you are under a weight of sin and if you feel you are not worthy, then I am sure that you are very much aware of that right now. You feel the weight of sin and that weight makes you feel unworthy. But if you are guilty of the sin of presumption, almost certainly you are not aware of it at all. We are all Sinners. We must admit this and repent.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:53:03 +0000
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