Interpreting Communion and Scriptures Unworthily

Transubstantiation and 1 Corinthians 11:27

Regarding "whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord,” a Roman Catholic asks, "How can eating something that isn't Jesus's body make us guilty of a crime against Jesus's body?" 

His assumption is that the bread and wine (or grape juice) must become the literal flesh and blood of Christ in order for taking communion unworthily to be a sin against Christ's flesh and blood.

First, a rhetorical question not founded on logical analysis is not an argument, it is merely a whiny protest. Never accept a question as a substitute for logic.

Second (I can't believe I have to explain this!), when you insult a symbol, you insult the thing it represents.

"Mama" is a word that symbolizes a person, and if I insult "Yo mama...," I insult your mother and may receive a bloody nose for it. There's no question that insulting the symbol insults the thing symbolized. Likewise, if you insult the symbols of Christ's body and blood, you insult Christ's body and blood.

The childishly literal person might object that desecrating a symbol does not physically desecrate its antitype. Irrelevant. In the spiritual dimensions that God occupies, the thought is as real as the physical, so presumptuous sacrilege toward a symbol of Christ's body or blood constitutes a real crime against Christ's body or blood.

You will find dozens of nations wherein insulting the symbols of the state, rulers, or dominant religion can earn you the death penalty. How much more, if you desecrate a symbol of Savior God?

You don't have to be a grammar nazi or to impose Catholic superstition upon the words for the verse to make sense. Just let it say what it says. Unworthily eating symbols of Jesus's body or blood is a crime against Jesus's body.

And unworthily interpreting the scriptures is a crime against the Spirit Who inspired them.


Since I first posted this on Facebook, I cannot claim copyright. I will trust anyone who copies it to give credit where credit is due.

Sin In the Spiritual Realm

People think they will be accountable only for their actions. They act surprised when you tell them that lust and hatred are adultery and murder in the heart, respectively. Yet everyone can finish the quote, "Man looks on the outward appearance, but...."

God is Spirit, so He observes not only the physical dimensions, but also the spiritual dimensions. Our thoughts are events in the spirit dimensions; so to God, they are just as real as our physical actions. "But I didn't lie get out of trouble." Too late, you already did it in your heart.

If you caught yourself before you blasphemed, you still thought it before you pronounced it. God heard that thought. If you pouted because somebody else got something you thought you deserved, you committed covetousness, and God saw. If you wanted to take it, God saw that mental theft.

You might think, "If God will judge me for thinking it, I'd might as well do it." But that will merely give God a second crime to judge, plus a victim that you hurt. Do yourself a favor. If you are not going to entrust your soul to Christ, at least try not to further stoke the fires of your future pit in hell by carrying out the misdeeds that you think up.

Think not within yourself, "but I mean well." God has seen all the times you didn't mean well. Repent of your self righteousness and entrust your soul to Christ today.

The Beatitudes

From a question on Quora:

What does Matthew 5:1-12 mean?

When I read the question and the passage, I thought, “This covers too much ground. Just leave a comment that the questioner should ask about a particular verse.” Besides, to my shallow understanding, they seemed to be on the squishy, non-masculine side of doctrine.

But then I realized that outlining the passage might help the reader, and it might help me to give a useful, high-level explanation. This study has helped me instead as I recognize a depth of challenge and doctrine that I have not seen before. I hope it helps you, too.

First, I’ll quote from the (currently) best word-for-word translation, the New American Standard Version (Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation).

It should go without saying that the passage comprises the Beatitudes, the opening portion of what’s called the Sermon on the Mount.

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Here’s how I would outline and explain it.

1. Introduction, verses 1-2.
   
   Jesus had begun his ministry. To authenticate his exceptional claims about his authority, message, and identity, he had healed “all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics.”
   
   Partly to see the miracles, and partly to hear or jeer his message, “large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.” That would be an area roughly 160 miles, north to south, by 50 miles wide, so the crowds numbered possibly in the tens of thousands.
   
   At this point, Jesus found a place on a hillside that formed a natural amphitheater with good acoustics and settled down to teach “the Sermon on the Mount.”
   
   
2. The Hearts of the Blessed, verses 3–6.
   
   As in many cultures in all ages, the people thought that those who were rich, proud, happy, strong, and forceful were favored by God. Jesus began His message with a shocking, counter intuitive message: Those favored by God are not the people blessed with success, wealth, and power, but those with broken spirits, humility, grief, restraint, and unfulfilled desire to be holy — not just outside, but inside, as well. They would see heaven, be comforted and satisfied, and in the resurrection, inherit the earth and its wealth. (Compare 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.)
   
   
3. Relationships of the Blessed, verses 7–9.
   
   Jesus describes three relational attributes of people whom God favors. It can be said that, whereas grace is giving good that is undeserved, mercy is withholding evil that is deserved. The merciful person withholds cross words, resentments, and revenge. Later, Jesus clarifies this in his teachings on forgiveness and leaving vengeance to God.
   
   Many outwardly good people think their actions make them good, but God does not merely observe the material world. He observes the spiritual dimensions of the world, too, which means that to Him, our thoughts and attitudes are just as “real” as our actions. “Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
   
   Are you pure in heart? Jesus taught that hating without just cause is murder, and looking at someone (other than your spouse) with lust is adultery. You can expand each of the Ten Commandments in similar fashion. Withholding the truth is false witness. Wanting to take something that’s not yours is stealing. Pouting because you "deserve" a thing you cannot have is coveting. Giving higher priority to anything than you give to God is idolatry. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” condemns more than it comforts!
   
   The ultimate peacemaker is the one who seeks reconciliation with God and then, after finding redemption, seeks to reconcile others to God. Does this describe you? It doesn’t describe me. Not often, anyway. Through the Cross, God offers mercy and grace, so we can be redeemed from lack of perfection, but this takes us back to the beginning: Blessed are the poor in spirit who mourn their faults and hunger for the righteousness that only God can give. Finding that peace, they shall be called the sons and daughters of God.
   
   
4. Suffering of the Blessed, vs. 10–11.
   
   Faith in God may have a price. Faith involves commitment to delayed gratification. Faithfulness and holiness do not always lead to material blessings in this world. They often lead to friction, slander, insults, and even to physical suffering. Throughout history, and even today, declaring faith in Jesus can bring death at the end of horrible torture. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just read the headlines at Persecution.org  or Open Doors USA.
   
   Jesus himself suffered. He knew his torture and death would achieve a higher purpose of redeeming us from sins. Being God in human form, He lived a perfect life. Having lived a perfect life, He did not come under judgment and could therefore take our place in judgment. Taking our place in judgment, God freed Himself to love without violating justice. Thus, He redeems us so we can be reborn as God’s children and as brothers and sisters of Christ himself. And God authenticated and rewarded Christ's achievement by raising Him from the dead.
   
   If we become Christ’s servants and family, we should not be surprised if the world treats us the same way it treated him. It can serve many higher purposes. The following examples can all be demonstrated from history. 

• It can test and build our character. 
• Our suffering shows the sincerity of our faith to the world and draws people to the One so great that we would die for Him.  
• It demonstrates the adequacy of God’s love and grace even in the worst earthly circumstances. 
• It demonstrates our love to the One who remolds us from within. 

The Beatitudes turned ancient thinking upside down then, and they turn worldly wisdom upside down today. On the surface, they are beautiful and reassure the humble. Dig a little deeper and they set high goals for us. But dig deep, and you will find impossible challenges that ought to utterly humble us and drive us to surrender to God’s provision of redemption. 

Since I also posted this as an anser on Quora.com, I cannot copyright it. However, I hope you will not plagiarize it and, if quoting it, will give credit where credit is due.

How to Get Spotless Garments

From a question on Quora

What did the Bible mean when it said "Only those that their garment was without impurity will see Jesus"?

Our first challenge is to determine what passage in the Bible the question refers to. It has me stumped. It sounds like a paraphrase from memory of a sermon. The closest Bible wording would come from Hebrews 12:14, Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

However, the quote states biblical principles using the Bible's symbolic language.

Clothes, in this sense, symbolize your history of thoughts and actions. Impurity symbolizes sin. For example, save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh (Jude 1:23). The garment polluted by the flesh represents the lifestyle and trappings of a worldly, carnal lifestyle. For example, the “party animal” may seem “cool,” but charisma, popularity, and pleasure can be deadly moral traps.

Another form of polluted garment is the life of self-righteous hypocrites. "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments (Matthew 23:5). Phylacteries are small leather boxes containing Hebrew texts, worn by Jewish men. The tassels were white to symbolize purity, with a blue thread symbolizing heaven. Some wore over-sized tassels to draw attention, as though it made them holier than thou, like the priests who wear elegant robes or backwards collars. The point is that they dressed to impress other people when they went to synagogue rather than presenting themselves humbly before God.

Many miss the warning that God is so holy that nobody can defile His presence without being cleansed of their guilt. We think of the Beatitudes as rules for peace and beauty, but the passage includes this razor-edged gem: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8)

People think the Ten Commandments were given so we could make ourselves holy. However, they are just the summary of 613 commandments in the Old Testament. Their most important purpose is to show us that none of us are pure in heart because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).

Obeying the Ten Commandments is profitable, but it cannot make us righteous. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). For all of us have become like one who is unclean [ceremonially defiled or diseased], And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away (Isaiah 64:6). If we understand that, then we can understand that the Law has become our tutor unto Christ, so that we may be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24) instead of trying to be justified by deeds or heritage.

The Bible uses two metaphors for how we can have clean clothes, that is, be freed from our guilt.

The first metaphor is being washed in the blood of the Lamb. In Old Testament Israel, animals were sacrificed to temporarily cover sin. The sacrifice of an animal was a substitute for punishment of the sinner. The animals symbolized Messiah Jesus whose sacrifice would permanently remove guilt. He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [Christ] (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we place our faith in Christ, God credits our punishment to Jesus’s death on the cross and credits Jesus’s righteousness to us.

You can find this language in the first epistle (letter) of the apostle John: if we walk in the Light as He Himself [Christ] is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Another place is in Revelation: These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).

Whereas the first metaphor focuses on sins being washed away, the second metaphor emphasizes the substitution. I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed… (Revelation 3:18).

The command to “buy” in a spiritual sense confuses many. They think the “price” is sacraments and good deeds, but the price of God’s grace is the opposite. It is free. Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost (Isaiah 55:1). The price is our pride.

We must come to God in utter, desperate humility. Grace means “gift,” and a gift cannot be earned. To offer God our efforts, the efforts of others, or our heritage as a price of grace is to insult the Giver. Note that the symbolic purchase of gold makes you rich; but if you had something to buy it with, you would already have been rich. Pride is the reason it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man — or a religious man — to enter the kingdom of God (Luke 18:25). When you let go of pride and exchange your need for God’s grace, He makes you spiritually rich.

Also note that the transaction has to actually take place. We cannot simply agree with the exchange intellectually or desire it without understanding. The mind, heart, and soul must motivate an act of the will.

Summary

The quote is not from the Bible. It does summarize biblical principles using biblical symbolism. Clean garments represent the righteousness of God the Son. God credits this righteousness to those who let go of any merit of their own and trust in, and only in, Christ and the price He paid for our sins on the cross.



Since I already posted the bulk of this on Quora, I can't copyright it. But I trust that if you use it, you will give credit where Credit is due.