One of my fundamental goals as a pastor is to lead people through a self-examination process. A significant vehicle for this is communion. Yeshua presented that precious teaching at the last supper. Yes, teaching! Many may take communion and not even understand the relevance behind the reminder it brings us as Christians because they have not understood their role. When Yeshua stated, “do this in remembrance of Me,” what did He mean? A remembrance that HE was here? That’s part of it, but He is the Word sent in the flesh (John 1:14). There is more! Far more than many understand about this precious practice. Before I move on, I want to give you the definition of ‘remembrance’ from the Greek word ‘anamnesis.’ It means a recalling. The expanded definition states, “an active, properly, deliberated recollection where one appreciates the effects (intended results) of what happened.” Further, recall is remembering what has been learned or experienced. It means more than something we do monthly on the Lord’s day. If you are not teaching people the need for a deeper dive into the Christian life, the communion service is grossly understated, leading to abuse. Easton’s Bible Dictionary (n.d) states that a primary aspect of communion is “to signify, seal, and apply all the benefits of the new covenant to believers. In this ordinance, Christ ratifies His promises to His people, and they on their part solemnly consecrate (dedicated to a sacred purpose) themselves to Him and His full service.” So, it means more than the physical act of taking on the bread and wine, representing His sacrifice for us. We are required to embrace the consecration of His grace toward us with reverence. In this, you examine yourselves to see whether you are of the faith (2 Corinthians 15:3). I’m not surprised that self-examination suffers in the church today. In many churches I’ve attended and witnessed through the charismatic, prosperous, and emergent church movements currently popular among many, people still live sinful lives openly. They do not clearly understand how important it is to self-examine. I’m also not surprised that people may say they are not sure they’re saved or doubt their Christianity. When encountered, I believe many pastors and church parishioners may say the following: “Sure you are! You attend church every week. You have your Bible, and you attend prayer service.” Riding right across their doubts and dismissing them (Mac Arthur, 2017). We need to stop doing this! It does nothing to address the issue related to the importance of self-examination. We need to tell the truth and inform people that perhaps they are not Christians. Maybe you haven’t done the work required to uphold your life’s consecrated process of salvation. There will undoubtedly be a pattern there if that is the case. Bad fruit indicates an invalid Christian experience. Self-examination suffers due to people not being adequately taught the text so that maturity in the things of Christ reigns in their lives. It’s problematic for those taking communion in error and their thought processes regarding doubts about their salvation. “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless you fail the test” (2 Corinthians 13:5).Brother Anthony
