THE LORD'S SUPPER AND ITS PARTICIPANTS
L.D. 30
Scripture: Hebrews 9:24-28; I Corinthians 11:17-34 Lord's Day 30 brings to a conclusion the Catechism's consideration of the Lord's Supper. We have seen that the Lord's Supper is a blessed ordinance established by Christ for His Church, by which our salvation is signified and sealed to us through faith as we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ our Savior. By this means of grace we are brought into the fellowship of God's covenant life, to sit at feast with Him in Christ Jesus. Last Lord's Day morning we considered what takes place when we eat and drink the bread and wine of the communion table. We partake of a spiritual feast, eating not the physical body and blood of Christ, but nonetheless partaking of His body and blood spiritually, with the mouth of faith. We saw that Christ is indeed the true meat and drink unto life eternal. But for whom is this true? That is the question that remains. For whom is the Lord's Supper instituted? So today we will consider the proper participants in this spiritual feast. But before we do that, the Catechism introduces one more question concerning the difference between the biblical institution of the Holy Supper, and what the Roman Catholic Church celebrates in her mass.This eightieth question and answer was not in the first edition of the Heidelberg Catechism. It wasn't until the third edition that it was inserted in the complete form as we have it. That wasn't a long time after the first edition; less than two years. But it was an addition to the original Catechism, the only addition, I might add. The reason is found in the developments of church history. Let me explain a moment.
In the years following the break with Roman Catholicism by the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church held a Council meeting in Trent, a city in northern Italy. That Council of Trent began in December of 1545 and, with several interruptions, was not complete until December of 1563. From a doctrinal point of view it remains the most important Council in the history of Roman Catholicism, and clearly fixed her distinctive doctrine and practice over against the Protestant Churches. The doctrinal decisions of the Council were divided into decrees, which contain the positive statement of Romish doctrinal positions, and brief canons, which condemn the dissenting Protestant doctrines with a sharp anathema, i.e., let them be accursed. And I want you to understand clearly, those positions of Rome have not changed at all. There have been many changes in the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries and especially in recent decades. But don't be deceived, Rome's doctrinal positions have not changed at all, and there have been no concessions whatsoever to Protestant Christianity. The recent movement toward some kind of union has involved concession solely on the part of an apostatizing Protestantism. But the Council of Trent stated Romish doctrine with clarity and precision. There is no mistaking where she stands.
As I said, that Council was concluded in December 1563, a little more than a year after the Heidelberg Catechism was first written. Upon seeing the decisions of Trent, Elector Frederick III of the German Palatinate, who had commissioned the writing of the Heidelberg Catechism by Ursinus and Olevianus, instructed that an article be written and inserted as a solemn protest against the idolatry of Rome as seen in their doctrine of the mass. That is why Article 80 is included as it is, written by the same authors, Zacharius Ursinus and Casper Olevianus, and later adopted with the entire Catechism by most of the Reformed Churches as their official confessional stand. And so, although Article 80 doesn't fit very logically with the other two questions of this Lord's Day, we treat this Lord's Day together, under the theme:
THE LORD'S SUPPER AND ITS PARTICIPANTS
I. A FINISHED SACRIFICE
II. BELIEVING PARTAKERS
III. A NECESSARY DEFENSE
THE REFORMED FAITH, TRUE BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY, MUST OBJECT STRENUOUSLY TO THE MASS OF ROMAN CATHOLICISM.
Our Catechism summarizes the teaching of the mass when it says, "the mass teaches that the living and dead have not the pardon of sins through the sufferings of Christ, unless Christ is also daily offered for them by the priests; and further, that Christ is bodily under the form of bread and wine, and therefore is to be worshipped in them." When you understand that of the mass, then you can see that the following language of the Catechism is none too severe, when it says, "that the mass, at bottom, is nothing else than a denial of the one sacrifice and sufferings of Jesus Christ, and an accursed idolatry." Strong language, to be sure; but true nonetheless. Let's consider it.
In the first place, the mass is a denial of the one finished sacrifice of Jesus Christ. At the basis of this whole Romish conception of the Lord's Supper and the mass lies their error of transubstantiation. That false doctrine leads to these other errors. According to their conception, at the word of the priest in consecrating the elements, those signs of bread and wine are changed into the physical body and blood of Christ. Therefore Christ is there, again physically, to be offered as a sacrifice for sins. And that sacrifice is essential unto salvation. So essential is it, that Rome has priests. That is why Rome speaks not of the communion table, as do we when we speak of this table, even of the table of the covenant, as I referred to it in connection with Lord's Day 28; but Rome speaks of the altar. Rome calls its people to the altar. And through the church, that is, through the priest, Christ is offered even continually as a sacrifice for the sins of the people. That is necessary, according to Rome.
Now, don't be deceived by them. If you were to ask a member of the Romish clergy, "Do you believe that Christ alone saves His people," he will say, "Sure; of course." If you were to ask him, "Do you believe that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is sufficient for the atonement of sins," he will answer, "We most certainly do." That is why you have to listen to the complete explanation which they give. They say and teach emphatically, even in their official confessions, that unless the sacrifice of Christ is repeatedly offered in the mass, the atonement of Christ cannot be applied to the sinner. And therefore for you, for the people of God, even for the dead, to receive the forgiveness of sins, it is necessary that the priest repeatedly offer Christ in an unbloody sacrifice in the mass. There only do you have the application of the forgiveness of sins. The mass is said for the living and for the dead, for those who come to the altar to receive the host, and for those that are in purgatory. That is the repeated sacrifice of Christ offered in Roman Catholicism.
In the second place, the mass is called by our Heidelberg Catechism "an accursed idolatry." That is strong language indeed. The Roman Catholic Church will most ardently deny this. Of course. And you can understand even how they can deny this. If you grant that in the words of consecration the elements are changed—not spiritually, but physically into the body and blood of Christ; if you grant that, then you have Christ, the physical Christ before you on the altar. Then of course you may worship him. That is why, until they have seen the error of transubstantiation, they cannot possibly see their idolatry. But idolatry is exactly what it is. For they worship not Christ, but the signs.
That is evident even from Old Testament history. You remember when Moses was in the Mount, receiving from the hand of God the two tables of the law, the people were at the base of the Mount worshipping the golden calf which Aaron had made. Now the people of Israel and Aaron certainly did not mean to worship that golden calf as such. Of course not. They were not so foolish. But they looked upon that golden calf as the very embodiment of God, the image or representation of Jehovah. That is evident. For they said, "Behold thy God which has delivered you out of the land of Egypt." That is exactly what the priest does when he offers Christ on the altar. "Behold the Christ that delivered you from your sin." That is the same thing. And that is an accursed idolatry.
Now I have said repeatedly that we must understand these things, not that we might gloat over against those who are in the bondage of Roman Catholicism. We have nothing for which to boast. And if anything we ought to be deeply humbled by the place God has given us in His Church which is established not upon tradition but upon the teachings of His Holy Scriptures. But we must understand the errors of Roman Catholicism. Their errors in many ways are very attractive. We must not imagine that we are through dealing with the Romish Church. The Roman Catholic Church is still the biggest and most powerful church in what is called Christendom. When it comes to that which is called Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church is still the largest church by far in the world today. But its attraction is to be found exactly in its carnality.
It is so easy to make religion something merely outward. That is exactly what we want by nature, i.e., according to our sinful nature. It is so easy to eat bread and drink wine and to have the impression that by eating and drinking we are saved. That is easy. It is easy to think that just by coming to church occasionally and observing some outward elements of religion, all is well. That's easy. And so there are multitudes who want just such an easy religion. If only we can go to heaven someday by doing a few outwardly religious things now—that's a good insurance policy for the everlasting state, isn't it. Rome presents an easy religion. It really is. It's a religion of outward observances. So long as one is baptized, so long as he doesn't commit any gross sins, mortal sins, so long as he attends the mass occasionally and partakes of the bread and wine of the Eucharist, grace is received.
There is an appeal to such a religion. To us too. We are no different, you know. If we can ignore the call to repentance issued in the gospel, if we can set aside that continual call to holiness before the Lord, if we can somehow shove aside that call to faith in Christ, and the command to love God and one another; if we can set those things aside for a religion of mere outward observances—especially if our whole family is involved in the same religion, that is a nice insurance policy for heaven. The trouble is, it is idolatry. It is cursed by God.
OVER AGAINST THE ERROR OF ROME, WE POINT TO THE AUTHORITATIVE SCRIPTURE WHICH TEACHES THAT CHRIST'S SACRIFICE WAS ONCE OFFERED AND COMPLETELY ACCOMPLISHED ITS PURPOSE.
Faith in Christ makes us partakers of that one finished sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As the writer to the Hebrews explains very explicitly in Hebrews 9, Christ does not offer Himself often, "as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with the blood of others." Christ doesn't do that. "For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Notice that. He appeared to put away sin by offering Himself once. And as if the truth could stand emphasis, the inspired writer adds in verse 28: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Nor is that the only passage that makes clear that Rome's repeated sacrifice of Christ is wrong. For also in Hebrews 7 Christ is pointed to as the fulfillment of the priesthood. There is no priesthood any longer, except the priesthood of all believers, all who are in Christ. Christ Himself fulfilled the priesthood. Listen to Hebrews 7:26,27: "For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself."
And the forgiveness of Christ is received only through faith. The sacraments imply faith. Whether you speak of baptism or the Lord's Supper, the sacraments are means of grace. But that grace is not for all. Because grace is not in things. It isn't in the water of baptism either, nor the bread and wine of the Lord's table. Grace is not in things. That the sacraments are means of grace implies faith. The sacraments are means of grace for believers, no one else. That is true of preaching too. The preaching ministers grace to the hearers. But not to all hearers. It ministers grace to those who are alive spiritually. The same is true with the sacraments. The Holy Spirit ministers grace to the people of God, to believers, by means. The Lord's Supper testifies to us, to us who believe, that we have a full pardon of all sin by the only sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which He Himself has once accomplished on the cross; and that we by the Holy Spirit are ingrafted into Christ. Which means, (and that brings us into our second point), that we must approach the Lord's table as proper partakers of that holy supper.
WE MAY SAY, IN THE FIRST PLACE, THAT THE SUPPER HAS BEEN INSTITUTED FOR SINCERE BELIEVERS.
The Catechism emphasizes that there are some who may not partake of the holy sacrament. The Lord's Supper is not instituted for those who by confession and life declare themselves unbelieving and ungodly. Certainly the elders have a calling, as we must consider briefly in our third point, to prevent such from profaning the sacrament. But there are others who may not partake.
The Supper is not open to hypocrites. Oh, there will be such who do partake. They do so to their own condemnation. But the Lord's Supper is not open to them. They have no right to partake. But you and I have no recourse, if they partake in hypocrisy. That is because we do not know who are hypocrites. Hypocrites are those who outwardly appear to be people of God, and who confess that they are the people of God, but who are not. Herman Hoeksema put it very pointedly one time when he said, "A hypocrite is a man whom God uses outwardly to adorn His Church, and then throws him into hell." But as long as that person remains a hypocrite, you and I can't detect him. We may sometimes have a very uncomfortable feeling that someone is a hypocrite, because of the way that person manifests himself or herself and because that person's life is full of contradiction when it comes to what Scripture reveals about the life of a true believer. But unless a man finally rejects the truth and apostatizes from the faith, we must be very careful not to call one a hypocrite. Hypocrites are not merely sinful believers. Hypocrites are ungodly!
A hypocrite hides behind a mask, a religious mask. He knows all the right terms. He can speak the correct language. He can speak of being saved by Christ, of having his sins forgiven. But there is no love for God, no love for His truth, no fear of God, no striving for holiness. His Christianity is only a mask. And as long as there is no suffering and no persecution connected with being a member of the Church, a hypocrite can stay hidden behind that mask. But although you and I cannot detect him, the Word of God itself uncovers that man's mask to his own conscience. The preaching of that Word, as the keys of the kingdom, shuts the door of heaven to such a man. The Word provokes him; does not comfort him. And when such a man in his brazen hardness of heart partakes of the Lord's Supper, he eats and drinks judgment to himself, trampling the blood of Christ under foot. And the judgment that he receives in the Lord's Supper is the judgment that is always executed by God in the ministry of the Word and sacraments—the hardening of the heart. Where the Word does not save and comfort, it hardens. The Lord's Supper, as a means of grace, is closed to the hypocrite.
The same is true concerning the insincere. The Catechism makes a distinction between hypocrites on the one hand, and such as turn not to God with sincere hearts, on the other hand. It is possible that a child of God be insincere for a time. It is possible that a child of God come to the table with insincerity because of a certain sin that he doesn't want to let go of, or because of a temporary misplaced love for the world and the things of the world that he is unable to give up. That is possible. It is possible to approach God in our sins, and attempt to obtain the forgiveness of sins. But that is insincere. And he also eats and drinks judgment to himself as long as he is in that state. And when one insincerely partakes of the Lord's Supper, laying claim to the forgiveness that is in Christ Jesus, while continuing in sin, his faith is weakened. Oh yes, if this insincere one is a child of God, God will convert him or her. He will issue His powerful call to repentance through the Word, and influence the sinner by His Spirit, so that the sinner turns from his evil ways. But the Lord's Supper is not for those who are insincere. The Lord's Supper is for sincere believers.
AND THOSE SINCERE BELIEVERS ARE IDENTIFIED, SO THAT AS WE EXAMINE OURSELVES, THERE CAN BE NO MISTAKING THE SIGNS OF WHETHER WE BELONG.
In the first place, sincere believers are "those who are truly sorrowful for their sins." Notice, the Lord's Supper is not for those who are perfect. The sincere believer is not one who is perfect. After all, Christ came not to save the righteous, but to bring sinners to repentance. The Lord's Supper was instituted for sinners. But it is given for sinners who are truly sorrowful for their sins. Are you truly sorry for your sins? You can know that. Such sorrow is not merely a sorrow that comes from being caught. It isn't a sorrow that comes because you have been called to account by someone. It isn't a sorrow that comes merely because of the effects that your sins have upon others. It isn't merely a matter of "feeling bad." When you are truly sorry for your sins, you are sorry because of the great offense you have committed against God. It is a sorrow because of the breach you have cut in the relationship between you and your chief Friend, the Holy One Who has saved you. Sorrow for the offense against God, the God Whom you love—that is true sorrow for sin. That must be our sorrow, if we are to partake of the Lord's Supper to our spiritual benefit.
In the second place, a sincere believer not only knows the need for forgiveness, but trusts that his own sins are forgiven him for the sake of Christ. We need that forgiveness. Surely we need that forgiveness! Our sins rise up against us, prevailing day by day. So we know the same experience as the psalmist. We cry to God, not as a matter of custom or superstition, but out of our heart-felt need, as a matter of spiritual hunger and thirst, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" If you do that, then you are ready to partake of the Lord's Supper. And so complete is that sacrifice of Christ and the forgiveness of sins, that even our remaining infirmities are covered by that death of our Savior. We need not daily to offer Christ for the forgiveness of sins. We desire rather to offer ourselves in thankfulness to God for this great salvation He has given us in Christ!
For that reason, thirdly, sincere believers "also earnestly desire to have their faith more and more strengthened, and their lives more holy." This stands to reason. The one who is truly sorry for his sins, who seeks after God, who sees the forgiveness that is only in Christ's perfect sacrifice and shed blood, is one who also wants to be sanctified. He fervently desires to be pleasing in God's sight! That is also inevitable. This is an inseparable part of the life of the Christian, and therefore of the proper partaker of the Lord's Supper. That is a matter of sincere Christianity. The insincere person will continue to walk in bitterness and enmity toward his neighbor. But the sincere believer knows the calling of love, and fervently seeks that way, finding it impossible to partake of the holy sacrament when walking in hatred and sin. The sincere believer knows his own weaknesses and sins, and desires to have his faith more and more strengthened, and his life more holy. And coming to the table in that way, you can partake of the Lord's Supper with the spiritual fruit that your faith is indeed strengthened, and you receive the assurance that you are a partaker of Christ's life.
WHILE Q & A 81 DEALS WITH THAT WHICH CANNOT BE OBSERVED, BUT BY THE WORD EXPOSES WHAT IS IN THE HEART, Q & A 82 SPEAKS TO THAT WHICH CAN BE OBSERVED WITHIN THE CHURCH.
Understood is the truth that you and I are called to judge what we see. We cannot judge the heart. We cannot make judgment concerning the eternal welfare of another. We leave those things in the hands of God, Who alone sees and knows all things. But we are called to judge, yes indeed. We are called to be discerning Christians, distinguishing between good and evil. That is evident from what Jesus says in Matthew 7:15-20, for example. "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." Beware of them, Christ says. How do we do that? "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." And so He goes on to point out: "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."
Oh yes, you and I must be discerning Christians, judging between good and evil. We must do that with respect to that which we observe in persons. That is certainly the point of Jesus' words. That is exactly the idea when the Catechism calls our attention to the necessity that the Church, by her members first of all, and then through her elders, exercise Christian discipline, when necessary. More attention will be given to that subject in Lord's Day 31. But those who show themselves disobedient to the Word of God, those who lead offensive lives, rejecting the truth of the Scriptures and the precepts of God, must be kept from the table of the Lord. That is true because the Church stands corporately responsible for the confession and lives of its members. And that especially comes to focus in the Lord's Supper, where the Church's unity is confessed by those who partake.
We partake as one body. And when God's covenant is profaned by one, His wrath is kindled against the whole congregation! That was evident in Corinth, as Paul wrote in I Corinthians 11. We read that record of the institution of the Lord's Supper whenever we administer the sacrament. But there is an historical setting to what Paul writes. The Church at Corinth had been guilty of profaning the Lord's Supper! The congregation had allowed sinners to come to the table without regard to repentance. And when Paul writes, "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinking unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body," he immediately follows by pointing to their own situation as a congregation. "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." Notice that. He doesn't say, If only each man would judge himself as an individual. That also is true. But "if we would judge ourselves." There must be a certain watchfulness for one another. That is part of the communion of saints. And where that is not done, the whole congregation comes under the judgment of God. We must come as one, therefore, or those who would breach the fellowship by their sinful walk must be excluded.
HOW IS THE OVERSIGHT OF THE CHURCH EXERCISED?
Many churches just say, "Come." Even in many Reformed and Presbyterian Churches, you will find a general invitation to partake of the Lord's Supper when the sacrament is administered. All confessing Christians are welcomed to the table. The responsibility for their partaking and for their life is left entirely to them. But that individualistic invitation is not the Reformed conception. The Reformed faith always views the Church organically. The Reformed faith, therefore, emphasizes the unity of believers in the fellowship of the Lord's table. That unity is to be under the oversight of the elders ordained and instituted by Christ.
That unity is a unity in the truth, first of all. That is seen already in our confessions of faith. When we come to years of discretion, and confess our faith as members of the Church, we confess before God and the entire congregation our unity in the faith. So in our own Protestant Reformed Churches the question is asked, "Whether you acknowledge the doctrine contained in the Old and New Testaments and in the Articles of the Christian faith and taught here in this Christian Church to be the true and complete doctrine of salvation?" To that we answer with a heart-felt, "Yes." That is the entire basis for our unity as a congregation—the truth of the gospel as taught here in this Christian Church. If we don't believe that, if we don't agree with that, we will detract from the unity of the Church. We will bring schism to the table of the covenant. That is why the elders must be certain that those who will approach the Lord's table with us are one in the faith. That doesn't mean that we declare anathema over people who go to other churches. But in our own congregation we are called to preserve the truth. We don't issue a general invitation to all, without examining their spiritual state and condition first of all. Because the unity expressed in the Lord's Supper must not be breached, neither by impenitent sinners, nor by those who are not one with us in the faith.
But the way to the table is always open to those who show themselves men and women of faith, who are truly sorrowful for their sins, who trust that Christ has forgiven us by the one sacrifice of Himself on the cross, and who earnestly desire to have their faith strengthened and their lives more holy. So we who are sinners saved by grace go to the cross together. And there we find joyful fellowship in the life which is ours in Christ Jesus. That is communion, the blessed sacrament of the Lord's Supper, a means of grace to all you who believe. Amen.
Preached: Randolph PRC 6/1/97 (am)
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