The Lord’s Supper

Berean Baptist on July 15, 2019

The Lord’s Supper is a solemn occasion which we labor to maintain through its observance as a sanctified, holy remembrance of our Lord. The Lord’s Supper was given as a memorial ordinance to remind the church of Christ’s death. It is to be observed until He returns to receive the church to Himself. The Bible does not tell us how often we should observe the Supper, only that we should do it. The timing is left for individual churches to decide.

            From my fifty-eight years of experience as a Christian, I have reached the conclusion the Supper should not be observed too often to the point it begins to lose its special sense of significance. Though we may claim it is always special, we note that members’ frequent absences to attend its observance obviates their claims. We must confess that reducing the frequency will do as the adage says, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

            For years, our church celebrated the Supper at the begging of each month and was usually little more than an extra function tacked on at the end of the service. I believed we should change this and reduce the frequency to the beginning of each quarter. This enabled us to separate it from the other services and to concentrate on the Supper as our main theme. Does this mean there are no other times we speak of the Lord’s death? Certainly not, for every sermon in every service will find its way to the cross, and all preaching is tied to Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.

            Some years ago, I had an encounter with a Christian couple who claimed their church was very disappointing in its celebration of this blessed memorial. Their complaint was that in their two-year membership in the church, the Supper had not been observed. The excuse according to the pastor was the church was not ready for it. He did not believe the church was spiritual enough to satisfy the Lord that they were worthy to take of His body and blood. This is very unfortunate for every child of God has been made worthy by the blood of the Lamb. Our sins are forgiven, and we stand in the righteousness of Christ, not in the merits of our supposed earned holiness. This is not to say there are no restrictions. We are clearly told not to tempt the Lord, and we should not come to His table with unconfessed sins.

            Confession of sin does not require penance as taught by Catholicism. Therefore, there is no time lapse between repentance and forgiveness. As soon as we repent, we are ready for fellowship. This interdicts the pastor’s objection. It is removed with a singular encouragement—a plea for the people to repent. When this is done, the Supper may proceed. The faithful are blessed, and if some will not repent, they are judged by God and not by man.

            After observing our night of the Supper, after the prayers and the singing of hymns; after the message preached from the word; after the visuals of breaking bread and pouring cups; after witnessing the members united and partaking of the elements, the visiting couple were saddened for the blessings they had missed.

            I encourage all members of Berean to be here and not miss our few opportunities each year when we place our focus entirely on this ordinance. Our practice is not intended to be critical of churches and their frequency of observing the ordinance.  We do what is best for this body to solidify the solemnity of the occasion.

                                                            Pastor V. Mark Smith

Confession Is Good for the Soul

Berean Baptist on August 1, 2016

Psalm 51

There are few places in scripture that in such a small space are as rich in theological content as Psalm 51. I wish we had time to study this in-depth to bring out all of the important truths found therein. This is a great psalm for Christians who are hurting over sin and need to be restored to fellowship with God. We need to look no further than this place to see deep contrition in action as David confessed his sins. David’s despair was not because he thought there was no hope, but because there is hope even though he knew his sins had deeply offended God.

Consider the circumstances of this psalm. This was written right after David was confronted by Nathan the prophet over his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah. None of us can think of sins that are much worse, and we certainly do not associate them with born again believers. Is it possible to be forgiven of sins of this magnitude? David believed it was because of the boundless depths of God’s mercy. David’s reaction to the gut wrenching rebuke of Nathan is the same as it should be for any Christian guilty of sin. He did not deny the sin but owned it and asked God to cleanse him from it. The way he asks is a remarkable exercise in humility unparalleled in any other place of scripture.

The theological greatness of this psalm is seen in places like verse 5: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  This is recognition of total depravity that says all are sinners with no goodness to claim before God. It is hard for anyone to argue we become sinners upon the commission of our first sin when David says he was born in sin.

Another great truth is brought to light in verses 7 and 10. God’s free grace justifies from sin. We notice David did not ask for penance. He asked for forgiveness. Nothing David could do could make up for his sin. All he could do was throw himself on the mercy and grace of God for no one conceived in sin has anything to offer. The decision to justify is God’s alone and the ability to create a clean heart is not earned as a reward of good deeds. It should be plainly evident that conceived in sin precludes any such notion of forgiveness as a reward.

A third great truth is the security of the believer found in verse 11: “Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.” This is not asked as if David stood in jeopardy of this happening, but is the assurance it could not. Many other psalms and other places of scripture would make no sense if there is no assurance of unconditional forgiveness. David came to God to confess for this very reason. He knew God would forgive and restore him to his former closeness of fellowship with Him. David called upon God confirming what he knew to be true about God’s faithfulness.

These are the kinds of things we should remember when we sin and are ashamed of what we have done. If we truly understand the nature of sin and the affront it is to God, we would also understand we cannot wait until we commit the “big” one to come in confession. However, as surely as we know God forgave David of these horrible acts, He will forgive us from the daily transgressions that are part of our sinful condition. In the model prayer, Jesus taught confession and repentance as daily exercises. He said, “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts…” Provision and forgiveness are both the daily activities of God.

In the course of my ministry, I have spoken with many Christians despondent over their sins. God does not want us to live in despair. He saved us to glorify Him and we cannot do it in the misery of overburdened hearts. If we confess our sins He is always faithful and just to forgive them. David was the living proof of this spiritual principle.

Pastor V. Mark Smith