What is the Point of Remembering?
Notes
Transcript
One of the primary purposes of the Lord’s supper is to remember Christ.
English Standard Version Chapter 11
This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
English Standard Version Chapter 11
This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
What is the point of all of this? Why is Jesus so concerned for us to remember his sacrificial death on the cross? My aim this morning is to draw the attention of our hearts to the answer of this question. Let’s begin by asking a series of other questions together.
I. What should we remember when we come to the Lord’s table?
I. What should we remember when we come to the Lord’s table?
There are many things we can remember and they are right to remember, but this morning I want to draw our attention to the primary thing I believe the Lord wants us to remember, and that is his death on the cross.
I want us to remember our Lord’s death on the cross in terms of our justification.
“Our salvation, from start to finish, is based upon God’s promise, and not upon our performance.” Myron Houghton
We see this idea first hand in the biblical teaching of justification.
What is justification? “Just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned.”
Justification is, “defined as a change in God’s records in which all our sins are forgiven, and the righteousness of Christ is credited to us.” Myron Houghton
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Who is in need of justification? ALL- all need to be justified for all have sinned! And what is the idea of sin? We have all fallen short of the glory of God. For anyone who doubts that they are a sinner, it is clear to me that they do not understand nor do they value nor do they stand in reverential awe of the GLORY of God!
But, the Bible is very clear- all have sinned- therefore, all are in need of justification. We are justified by God’s grace as a gift- through the redemption (payment made to buy us out of the slave-market of sin), and it is through Christ Jesus.
What is the means of our justification?
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
We are only justified through his blood- by the means of the blood of Christ. There is no other way to be justified other than by the blood of Jesus Christ!
What exactly is involved in justification? And how does one become justified?
4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
You cannot work to become justified! Why not? Because Romans 3.24 states quite plainly that we are justified by God’s grace as a gift. If you work for something it is not longer a gift but a wage. And what does Scripture say about the wages of sinful man?
Rom 6:23- the wages of sin is death! If you insist on trying to earn justification and work for it- through good works, through prayer, through giving money to charities, through bible reading, through church attendance- then God will give you, not the gift of justification, but the wages of your sin- which is death!
But, my wages are not all sin- some might say! You are wrong! You are being blinded by Satan lest you should see the light of the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible is very clear about man’s righteousness.
Isaiah the prophet tells us- “All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags” in the sight of God.
Jeremiah the prophet says much the same thing, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Works only produce wages- and the only wages we deserve is eternal damnation in hell.
Now, notice the way one becomes justified.
5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
Who does God justify? God justifies the one that does not work! This one comes to God spiritually poor and needy and he realizes that he has nothing to offer God- if he is to be saved God is the one who has to do it- all of it. All this one does is believes in Him who justifies the ungodly. And pay close attention to that word- ungodly! God does not justify the godly- why would he? There would be no need- no- God justifies the ungodly! Is that how you see yourself? As ungodly? With righteousness that is nothing but filthy polluted rags in God’s eyes? As one who is desperately sick and in need of being made well and whole of all the disease of his sin? God justifies the ungodly! How? The faith of the ungodly is counted as righteousness. That is justification! It is for the one who believes but does not work- it is for the one who has faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross- on Christ’s blood and on Christ’s righteousness.
These are the primary benefits of justification- and what I want to call us all to remember these things this morning as we partake of the Lord’s supper.
First- we must remember the righteousness of Jesus Christ- symbolized for us in the bread.
6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
This is what happens to the one who is justified through faith- God counts righteousness apart from works. Think about that! God changes your records- he counts to you righteousness. Whose righteousness? Not your own that is certain! Why? Because he counts righteousness to you apart from works. And if it is apart or separate from your works it cannot be your righteousness. Whose righteousness is it? It is the very righteousness of Christ- and by faith God clothes you with it, He puts it on the one who believes, that is who has faith- God puts, as it were, a robe of righteousness on you that is Christ’s very own righteousness. And by faith your records are changed. You are not yet practically changed, but in God’s record book, the moment you put your faith in Christ, God sees you as righteous. Because by faith you have been robed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
What made this righteousness available to us? It was the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This is the first benefit of justification- that we become the righteousness of God in Christ through his death. And when you partake of the bread this morning I want you to remember, to think deeply about, to dwell on the fact that you have become the very righteousness of God in Christ- God’s record book has been forever changed. You are no longer ungodly in God’s books- you are righteous- and all because of your Savior- the Lord Jesus Christ! Do this in remembrance of Him!
Second- we must remember that our sins have been forgiven, they have been blotted out by the blood of Christ- this is symbolized for us in the juice.
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Oh how happy is the man whose lawless deeds- his sins- are forgiven! Whose sins are covered! Oh how happy is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. You want to know true happiness, true joy? Then know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your sins are forgiven and covered! Know that the Lord will never count against you your sin! How can I know that? You must be justified! You must by faith receive God’s free gift of justification. The one who has been justified has been forever forgiven of their sin. Not because of their own works, but because of the blood of Jesus Christ! God does not count the sins of the one who has been justified against them. Why not? Because of the death of our Lord! God took the blood of Jesus and he blotted out the record of your sins and he will never again count the debt of your sin against you. Your account has been paid in full. You are forgiven! Your sins are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ!
This is the second benefit of justification- your sins are blotted out by the blood of Christ through his death on the cross. And when you partake of the juice this morning I want you to remember, to think deeply about, to dwell on the fact that your sins are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ and that God will never again count them against you. God’s record book has been forever changed. You have no more debt to pay- you are forgiven- and all because of your Savior- the Lord Jesus Christ- Do this in remembrance of Him!
This is what you should remember as you come to the Lord’s table this morning. Let me offer this caution as well. If you are not a Christian- if you have never been born again and justified through faith alone in Jesus Christ- then the Lord’s supper is not for you. How can you remember properly the body of Christ and the blood of Christ if you have no part in them? We are waned in Scripture not to partake of the Lord’s supper in an unworthy manner.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
So if you do not know Christ this morning we do not invite you to partake with us in the Lord’s supper. However, we do invite you to put your faith in Jesus Christ and be saved! God is offering you His salvation as a free gift in Jesus Christ and all you have to do to receive it is repent from your sin and believe in Jesus Christ alone to save you from your sin. Would you be willing to receive Christ today?
The warning also extends to believers as well this morning. Believer, it is possible for you to partake of the bread and drink the cup in an unworthy manner. That is why we are spending so much time thinking deeply on the sacrifice of Christ- so that we will partake with love in our hearts and hearts that willing seek to obey our Lord.
This leads us to our second major question this morning- not only what should we remember, but
II. Why should we take so much care to remember Jesus’ death when we come to the Lords’ Table?
II. Why should we take so much care to remember Jesus’ death when we come to the Lords’ Table?
Again, there are many reasons why we should take so much care, but I want to highlight one very import reasons from Hebrews 10.
Here the author of Hebrews is highlighting the comparison of the OT believer under law and the NT believer under grace. Most people think this is a contrast, but I think it is a comparison. Again, my thinking being helped by Myron Houghton:
“I call this a comparison rather than a contrast because the Old Testament believer and the New Testament believer both had salvation benefits, but a different awareness of them.”
“The writer compared the benefits of salvation of which an Old Testament believer was aware and the benefits of salvation of which we should be aware as New Testament believers.” Myron Houghton
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
The OT law was only a shadow of the reality which is Christ. The OT sacrifices could never make the believer perfect- and the OT believer was aware of this fact.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
OT sacrifices could not remove the consciousness of sins. Because, every year they had to offer those same sacrifices over and over again- they could never stop the offering- so there was always an awareness a consciousness of sins.
3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
In fact- in the sacrifices themselves there was a reminder of sins every year. However, OT saints still had precious promises by God.
30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.
So the saints in the Old Testament were aware that they has been cleansed from sins; but they also were constantly reminded by those same sacrifices that there sins could not be covered forever. Next year they would have to come back and offer the same sacrifices over again. Why?
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
This was their awareness of salvation benefits. How about the New Testament believer? What is our awareness of salvation benefits?
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
We have been sanctified, made holy, made perfect in the eyes of God! How? Through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL!
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
That means that Christ’s sacrifice actually takes away all our sin! Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice once-for-all perfected all those who believe! What does that mean in terms of our awareness? What does know this blessed truth make us aware of in Christ?
V. 2- We no longer have any consciousness of our sins in Christ! We have been once for sanctified in Christ, we have been once for all perfected in Christ.
V. 3- There is no longer any reminder of sins. When we come to the Lord’s table and we look on the cross- the only reminder we have is that in Jesus all our sins have been forgiven forever!
And notice with me the final awareness of the benefit of salvation
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
The Holy Spirit- in the heart of a believer bears witness t our hearts and to our minds-
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
And what does the Holy Spirit bear witness to in our hearts?
17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
When we “Do this in remembrance of Him” guess what comes to our minds or what should come to our minds? I have NO MORE CONSCIOUSNESS of my sin- I don’t fear the judgement of God for my sin. There is not a yearly reminder of my sin, instead there is a constant reminder that my sins are totally covered totally forgiven. AND, the Holy Spirit bears witness within our hearts- he speaks to our souls and he assures us of this blessed truth- “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more!”
“This is not divine amnesia! Rather, it is a solemn promise never to mention our sins again.” Myron Houghton
That ought to make your heart explode with joy! When you come to the cross, when you come to the Lord’s table and you remember the body and the blood of Christ- what should come to your mind is this- no more consciousness of sins, no more yearly reminder of sins- only a solemn promise to your soul by the Holy Spirit- where God whispers to your heart- “I will remember you sins and your lawless deeds no more!”
So, why should we take so much care to remember Jesus’ death when we come to the Lords’ Table?
Because when you remember his death- and because you have been justified- God whispers in your heart- I will remember your sins and your lawless deeds no more- that ought to cause you to love God more and more and more. That ought to cause you to go to God in just a few moments when we partake of the elements and say, “Thank you God, thank you, thank you so much for giving me my salvation! For taking away all my sin and giving me Christ’s righteousness. I am eternally secure in Christ because of your grace- Praise God- you deserve all my worship- you deserve all my praise.
And when we leave here that ought to motivate you for obedience! The Christian life is not about following the law, being under the law. Instead, you offer God your joyful obedience because you love Him. Your heart should be so full of love that you can’t wait to obey Christ!
17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
You don’t have to fear God’s wrath any longer! Your sins have been fully forgiven in Christ. Obeying God does not give us any more favor with God that we already posses. Our favor with God is ours because of Christ. This stimulates us to actually love God! And out of love we willingly obey. That is why we remember. That is why we observe the Lord’s supper together, and why we will keep doing it until Jesus comes. Because we need to be constantly reminded and stimulated to love Jesus more and more.
Prayer-
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Hymn-
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Hymn-
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.