1 Corinthians 11:27-32
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. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
There are consequences to our sin. Although this may feel like punishment, it is actually an act of love, for the purpose of the consequence is to save us from more serious problems. In discussing the problem of taking communion too lightly, Paul says "When we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world" (verse 32). Note that the purpose of being disciplined is to rescue us from an even worse fate, of being "condemned along with the world". We may complain about the consequences we face for our sins, but the fact is that if those consequences convince us to change our ways, then we should be thankful that we have been saved from continuing down the wrong path.
Lord, I know from experience that left to my own devices I would end up in a bad place. So thank you for Your discipline and help me to learn from your guidance.
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. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
There are consequences to our sin. Although this may feel like punishment, it is actually an act of love, for the purpose of the consequence is to save us from more serious problems. In discussing the problem of taking communion too lightly, Paul says "When we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world" (verse 32). Note that the purpose of being disciplined is to rescue us from an even worse fate, of being "condemned along with the world". We may complain about the consequences we face for our sins, but the fact is that if those consequences convince us to change our ways, then we should be thankful that we have been saved from continuing down the wrong path.
Lord, I know from experience that left to my own devices I would end up in a bad place. So thank you for Your discipline and help me to learn from your guidance.