No Excuse I Corinthians 11:29

29For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.



Here we find the Apostle Paul speaking about taking the Lord's Supper. Listen to what Paul writes in the preceding verses, "26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."

People ask the question, "How often should we observe the Lord's Supper?" The Bible does not say. What the Bible does say is, when you do take the Lord's Supper, make sure that you take it in the right spirit.

For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and does not honor the Lord's body or His sacrifice for him, that person brings judgment on himself. Paul goes on to say that this is why some are weak and sick and some have even died. How you and I come to the Lord's Table is important. It is not to be done in an unworthy manner without possible consequences.

What does Paul mean when he talks about an "unworthy manner"? How are we to come to the Lord's Table to take the Lord's Supper? Some would take this passage to mean that we must be saved to partake. This is an obvious pre-requisite. However, Paul is speaking to Christians so I think he means more than just being saved.

To come to the table in a worthy manner is to come into the presence of the Lord with a repentant heart and a forgiven spirit. Our relationship with the Lord needs to be what it ought to be. Our relationship with one another ought to be what it is supposed to be. Our lives need to be lived, as they ought to be lived.

A disobedient spirit causes problems that cause our lives to suffer. Disobedience limits God's ability to take care of us, as He would like to. There is no excuse for us to come to the Lord's Supper and not look inward and examine our spiritual relationship with the Lord.

There is no excuse for us to begin a day or end a day without taking a spiritual inventory of our life and our relationship with the Lord on a daily basis. Ask God to examine your heart today and see if there is any thing that is unpleasing to Him and if there is, ask Him for the strength to make that right! You will be blessed by doing so.