The 4 Rs of Christianity

I am going to be brief tonight, but I feel this is necessary as we prepare to observe the Lord’s Supper.

There are two ordinances in the Baptist church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Both ordinances are very important, and both are done in obedience. Observing the Lord’s Supper is not some casual, lighthearted religious exercise.

When we observe the Lord’s Supper, we are doing so in remembrance of what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us, and observing the Lord’s Supper casually or unworthily is very, very dangerous.

1 Corinthians 11:30 “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”

What are we to do before observing the Lord’s Supper?

1. Remember.

1 Corinthians 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”

When we observe the Lord’s Supper, our thoughts should be solely focused upon what Jesus Christ did for us at Calvary.

1 Corinthians 15:3 “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,”

The perfect, sinless Jesus Christ became my sin on the Cross to die for me so I could experience God’s grace and mercy. Jesus Christ stepped out of glory to become me, to die for me.

When I observe the Lord’s Supper, I am to focus on the death of Jesus Christ, His blood, His broken, scarred body, and the grace and mercy of God that makes this observance possible.

2. Renew.

1 Corinthians 11:28 “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

I am telling you this is a serious moment. We are about to observe what the disciples observed with Jesus Christ on earth right before He was arrested. It is an observance that Christians have observed reverently for almost 2,000 years, and you are to take it and treat it as seriously as 11 of the 12 disciples did, and if you do not, you cannot use me as an alibi because I am warning you.

Before you observe the Lord’s Supper, you are to examine yourself, and when Paul says that he means that we humbly submitting ourselves to inspection by the Holy Spirit, and we are to acknowledge what the Holy Spirit points out.

If you have sin in your life, the Holy Spirit will reveal it to you, and before you observe the Lord’s Supper, you are to take care of that sin unless you want to be guilty of observing it unworthily.

Now, dear friend, you know if you have sin in your life, and if you can brazenly participate in this observance without getting your sin taken care of then you have earned what God might do to you, and that includes holding onto a grudge or hard feelings that you may have toward a brother or sister in the fellowship.

Do not hold onto that and share in the cup too. You are not being sincere. If you have hard feelings toward someone, do not participate. If you are harboring sin in the body, do not participate. That is the definition of participating unworthily, and if you do participate, you are testing fate, the same fate that the Corinthians experienced.

1 Corinthians 11:30–31 “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”

3. Repent.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We renew ourselves through confession and repentance and sometimes we cannot experience renewal until we go to our brothers and sisters asking forgiveness. UH-OH!!!!

When you confess a sin to God, to be forgiven, you must repent of that sin which means you are to turn completely from that sin whatever it may be. Many Christians confess, but they do not experience forgiveness because they do not repent.

If that describes you, get that taken care of before you participate in this observance.

God wants you to confess your sin. He did not send Jesus to die for you for you to live in sin, but He expects your repentance in exchange for forgiveness. Now, I am talking about a Christian because a lost person cannot repent until that lost person is saved.

Church after church goes through service after service without any Christians ever publicly repenting or without publicly laying whatever the sin may be on the altar handing it over to God forever, and we wonder why the church is so weak.

4. Resist.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

The Holy Spirit makes it possible for you to resist the temptation to sin, and as I have studied this verse more deeply, yes it is talking about any sin that may popup, but I believe that it is specifically talking about those sins that consistently attack or tempt us.

A Christian can overcome anything through the Holy Spirit, and a Christian can do anything through Christ who strengthens him or her according to Philippians 4:13.

Let me tell you this.

The Christian life is a journey of remembering, repenting, renewing, and resisting. Those things lead to sanctification on our spiritual journey. Embrace the journey.

This goes without saying, but the Lord’s Supper is reserved for those who are saved. Even in the first observance, the Lord sent out Judas before the observance was completed.

If you are not saved, let me tell you what Jesus did for you. The perfect Son of God died for you on the Cross, and He was resurrected on the 3rd day. All you have to do is admit that you are a sinner, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, confess your belief, which you do by coming forth and proclaiming to the world that you believe in Jesus.

We are going to have a couple of moments of silence with eyes closed and heads bowed. If you are saved, I want you to examine yourself, and if there is someone here that you need to go to and ask forgiveness, you need to do it now, and dear brother or sister, if someone comes to you asking for forgiveness, you are to forgive that person as Christ forgave you.

If you are lost, will you come publicly to confess Jesus CHrist before we observe the Lord’s Supper so you can observe it with us.