Part 3A: Forgiveness?
Finding our forgiveness here,
We in turn forgive all wrongs.
Although the blood of Jesus forgives us of our sins, and we are remembering the blood shed for us when we drink the cup, “here” as in “the act of taking the bread and the cup is where we have forgiveness of sins” - is part of Catholic doctrine, but also the doctrine of other Christian groups as well. The Catholic Church teaches that a person conscious of having committed a mortal sin must confess it before he or she receives Holy Communion (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1457).
In fact, Catholicism also teaches that receiving communion without confession first is not only taking it “unworthily”(in their definition), but is also a grave sin and blasphemy. One must go to confession first and receive absolution (forgiveness - from a priest) before receiving Communion.
The Catholic encyclopedia says this about the sacrament of penance:
Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins…As an outward sign, it comprises the actions of the penitent in presenting himself to the priest… and the actions of the priest in pronouncing absolution - the confession is made not in the secrecy of the penitent's heart nor to a layman as friend and advocate, nor to a representative of human authority, but to a duly ordained priest with requisite jurisdiction and with the "power of the keys", i.e., the power to forgive sins which Christ granted to His Church.
As described in this article on the catholic view of the eucharist (bread and cup) entitled “The Eucharist and the Forgiveness of Sins”, the author, Father Michael Van Sloun, explains more below:
“One of the greatest blessings and least known facts about the Eucharist is that, in the reception of holy Communion, a person’s venial sins are forgiven. The Eucharist is one of four sacraments that imparts the forgiveness of sins.
The teaching that sins are forgiven in the reception of the Eucharist is reaffirmed in other writings and the words of the liturgy.
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) [said] “No other sacrament has greater healing power; through it sins are purged away.”
Preface I of the Most Holy Eucharist in the Roman Missal says, “As we drink his blood that was poured out for us, we are washed clean.”
“Eucharistic discipline” is a technical phrase used to describe the regulations and practices by which an individual or group prepares themselves for the taking of the bread and cup (eucharist), you can read more on Wikipedia in the link above about what is practiced by individual Christian groups and denominations (Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, etc), such as as times of fasting, restrictions on sexual activity, repentance and confession.
Additionally, a priest, bishop or other ordained person will declare the confessor’s sins are forgiven and then they are allowed to partake. but again, we have no records of the New Testament church or writers practicing this.
Also note that Jesus never said or authorized that a priest or any special person needed to withhold or distribute the bread or cup to anyone who desired to participate - this is also an invention and authorization outside the authority of Scripture.
Did Jesus or any of the New Testament writers say that when we take the cup that our sins are forgiven? I have not come across any passage that says so, nor do any of the above verses mention anything about forgiveness of sins in descriptions or instructions about the eating of the bread and drinking of the cup.
1 Corinthians 11:26 above states that “as often we drink the cup, we proclaim his death” - not that our sins are washed clean when we drink the cup. How does the Bible say we are washed clean and kept clean?
“And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” Acts 22:16
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have communion (koinonia) with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:7,9 (this scripture does not indicate a necessary “when” or “where” that confession must be done)
So according to Scripture, the statement that “we find our forgiveness here” in the physical act of taking the bread and the cup is a teaching of men - and not a teaching of Jesus or any of his disciples.
Come Share the Lord: Part 3B: We Forgive?
Finding our forgiveness here,
We in turn forgive all wrongs.
Although the scriptures do teach us that we are to forgive others when they sin against us, there are no instructions that we should forgive others during the time we take the bread and cup.
“If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:15
Of course there is never a wrong time to forgive someone or consider how much we have been forgiven of and strive to be forgiving people - but it is not a commandment that we do so at any specific time as these song lyrics seem to suggest.
In the link above referring to Eucharistic discipline, the Presbyterian church practices forgiveness of others as a preparation for taking the bread and cup. (Some denominational commentaries refer to how Matthew 5:24-25 does say to leave your gift at the altar and be reconciled to your brother if he has something against you, but this is not specifically referring to the time we take the bread and the cup, and the church building is not the same as the Jewish temple, as some teach - there is no alter of sacrifice). Two verses earlier, Jesus says if anyone is angry with his brother, he is liable to judgement. So although there’s never a bad time to be reconciled to a brother or let go of anger, Jesus did not give us instructions that this was the specific time for it.
Another thought I had was that when we eat and drink in remembrance of him, it’s not just the death he died, but the life he lived. Did he forgive others? Yes, even as he was being crucified. Is that something we can remember? Yes, along with many other things about his life and death. But again, we see no commandment about forgiveness.
I can also think of another verse that might play into this idea. In the verse mentioned above, in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, it talks about eating and drinking in "unworthy manner".
The word there translated as "unworthy" only occurs in these 2 verses. The word it is taken from, and spelled almost exactly like, only occurs one other time in the particular way, with the "un" attached to the word "axios" (worthy) in the following verse.
"Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" 1 Corinthians 6:2
About half of the English translations use the word "incompetent" or "not competent" in the verse above and I think this fits the meaning of the selected passage better. After all, what is Paul trying to say to the Corinthian church in verses 17-33? He wants them to do what they are doing competently (i.e. mindfully, consciously) - not incompetently or un-consciously or zoned out. To wait for each other. To remember what they are doing and why they are doing it.
Also, the concept of WORTH here is what gets many confused, I think. Doing it worthily means taking it and remembering the worth or value of it. It has nothing to do with your own worth, because WHO (honestly, in their own mind) could justify themselves as being worthy to take of the bread and cup? It's not about your worth. Jesus died on behalf of all of us, every single human being.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us". Romans 5:8
Many people are not sure what "an unworthy manner" means, and scramble to examine themselves, (i.e. beat themselves up for all the dumb things they've done lately, feel insecure about if they're worthy or not, try to remember if they sinned over the week, confess all those sins, (essentially 'dot all their "i's" and cross all their "t's") before the communion plate comes around) and try not to drop it or spill it or make sure kids don't drop/spill/grab it.
Is that what Paul is saying? If he wanted people to confess their sins at that specific moment - or if it was a teaching or commandment of Jesus, why didn't he include that?
In the picture above, where the section heading says "Examine Yourself" (by the way section headings are added in and not in the Greek text), I think a better heading would be "Make a Distinction". The Greek word translated as "discern" in verse 29 means "to make a distinction, to distinguish, discriminate, to decide.
So another way of looking at it is this: examine/distinguish *IN YOUR OWN MIND/ YOURSELF* what you are doing. Examine *IN YOUR OWN MIND/ YOURSELF* why you are doing what you are doing and what it means. As in, when you look down at the bread you are about to eat, remember / think to yourself / be consciously aware: this isn't just any bread that you are eating - it represents the body of Jesus that he gave for you. When you look down at the cup in your hand that you are about to drink, remember / think to yourself / be consciously aware: this isn't just any grape juice - it represents the blood that Jesus shed for you.
Otherwise it's just something to eat or drink with no significance. How many times have you mindlessly eaten something while watching TV and didn't notice how much you had eaten until it was all gone? This is not the time to be mindless of what we are eating.
(I also think there's an aspect of fellowship in it, the people you share the bread and cup with aren't just any people, they are part of Christ's body too, and he is the head of all of us. Perhaps that is why Paul tells them/us to wait for each other - look around, look at the body, remember that you are brothers and sisters, each parts of the body of Christ, working together.)
So overall, concerning forgiveness, we have no record of the writers of the New Testament letters commanding or teaching forgiving others specifically in the moments before or during the eating of the bread and drinking of the cup. Please leave a comment or question below! Thanks for reading!
Comments