Thoughts For The Lord's Table

Well, first let me say that it is my blessing and an answer to many years of prayer to be part

!

And made a commitment years ago to begin looking for the man that we would call our senior pastor

elect.

And I am thankful that Pastor Scheer is among us.

And I want you to know that it was not an accident that he was tasked with preaching for the first

five weeks of his public ministry here.

I do want you to know that he is not going to be sitting in the back office snacking on bonbons

for the next 12 weeks as I preach.

We are tasking him with the responsibility of going to Lafayette to Faith Baptist, actually

Faith Ministries now.

And he and his bride are going to be leaving at 4 o'clock in the morning.

That's fairly early for an average person.

And they're going to be driving there and spending pretty much from 9 o'clock in the morning

till 9 o'clock at night in extensive and very, very demanding counseling training.

There's a reason for that.

We believe that the answers to our deepest needs are theological.

And we are fully committed to investing our energy and our resources in preparing the man

that will be the preacher and leader of this fellowship with the Word of God in a very careful

and deliberate way for his future ministry here.

He is going to spend essentially two and a half days in doing that task.

Probably part of that time will just be in the practical matter of recovering from the arduous process

and getting back in flow.

So I want you to be in prayer for him every day

and for the developing ministry that God is giving him here and that we share together.

Now I come to something I like to say.

Open your Bibles.

Where are you going?

Romans chapter 8 verse 1.

Romans 8:1

It is hard for me to stand before the Lord's table and the elements

and not be tempted to go to 1 Corinthians.

You know, that's kind of almost a default button for our study in advance of the Lord's table.

But I want us to look in a larger context this morning.

Understand that what the Scriptures calls us to

is that when we come to take these elements,

we are not doing something that has salvific benefit.

In other words, you don't get points in heaven for taking communion.

If there's anything that we probably should ponder it,

it is this, that you can take communion and cause yourself harm.

And I will talk about that briefly before we come to the Lord's table later this morning.

But what we do when we take the elements,

when we take the bread and the cup,

what we are doing is, first of all,

we are obeying the explicit instructions of our Savior,

He having said to us,

do this in remembrance of me.

So for one, we are obeying.

And there's value in that.

But secondly, what we are doing is we are taking the time

to think carefully about what the Lord Jesus has done in saving us.

And let me tell you,

every single one of us that are here this morning

that are sitting up and drawing breath

are really in one of two camps.

You are here as a person who,

by the grace and ministry of the Word of God

and by the power of the Spirit,

have come to the place where you know the Lord Jesus Christ

as your personal Savior.

Or you are here,

at this moment,

still deceived by the enemy,

not understanding the horrible,

frightening reality

of the depth of sin of your soul

and still misdirected

and believing that everything is okay.

And I would plead with you

that even as we open the Word of God

and think about what the Scriptures have to say

regarding the status

or the position that I am in as a believer

and you as a believer are in,

that if you're here today

and don't know Christ as your Savior,

that the winsome appeal of the gospel

would bring you to the point of believing

that you have no hope apart

from casting yourself

upon the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ

who died in your place

and offers salvation

to all who come and repent and believe.

We're looking at a passage this morning

that gives to us

a reminder of the benefit of our salvation.

What is it that I receive

as a matter of salvation?

What happens?

Interestingly,

this last week,

I had an opportunity

on two different occasions

to have lengthy conversation

with a young man

in regarding the matter of faith.

It started out fairly innocuously

on my lawn

as the individual coming through

and ended up in conversation

and the subsequent statement,

we were talking about faith

and I made the statement to him

that there are really only

two religions in the world.

And he said,

I've never heard that before.

I said, well,

there's one religion

that proposes

that you can work your way

towards improvement

and ultimately come to the point

where you are accepted by God

on the basis

of all the good things

that you've done.

And here we are

standing on my little piece of grass

and he says,

that's right.

I thought,

wow,

okay,

golden opportunity.

He says,

you're right.

Yeah,

that's it.

I said,

well,

there is another way

and that is

that God recognizing

our absolute inability

to save ourselves

and our moral bankruptcy

in the darkness.

I really got kind of fired up

at that point

in case you're wondering.

I wanted it to be clear

to the poor guy

that nobody can save themselves.

And so we're kind of

working our way into this

and I said,

you know,

and God sent

his son down

to help us

because we can't

save ourselves.

He got this quizzical look

on his face like,

what?

Really?

Anyway,

we had opportunity then

on Thursday

to spend four hours

after supper

talking very carefully

about the fact

of salvation

through the finished work

of Christ

and not through

our own good efforts.

At the heart

of the mistaken view

that we can save ourselves

by our own works

is a failed appreciation

for what sin really is.

Sin is far more

terrible,

far more devastating,

far more absolutely destructive

than we might imagine.

salvation.

And so when we take

the passage

there in Romans

Romans 8:1

chapter 8

verse 1

and hold on to it

this morning briefly,

I want you to understand

that what we are looking at

is one of many statements

that explain to us

the incredible benefit

that we have

in salvation.

And as you take

these elements

this morning,

there are many different things

that you could say

to yourself

and it would be appropriate.

And I encourage you,

don't just kind of sit,

go through the motions.

It is inappropriate

to take the bread

and take the cup

and just do this

as a routine.

Do you follow that?

It's something

that when you do it

you should consciously

and deliberately

think deeply

and carefully

about what Christ

has done

in saving you.

And so one of the things

that I would propose

to you

is that when you take

the bread

and when you take

the cup

that you may want

to remind yourself

there is now therefore

no condemnation

to them who are

in Christ Jesus.

As you think about

this passage

let me kind of lay

some background

by helping you understand

that because

we are in Christ

as believers

there's a wide variety

of things

that we enjoy.

For one,

Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1:6

verse 6

and I'm just going

to make reference

to several of these things

and I would encourage you

you may want to note

these in your Bible

and look at them later

and I would plead with you

think carefully

think deeply

about what you have received

in your salvation.

Don't just kind of

alright, alright

I've got another 40 minutes

hold my breath

I'll get to the other side here.

We are accepted

in the beloved.

In 1 Peter chapter 2

1 Peter 2:9

verse 9

it says that we are

delivered from darkness

into his marvelous light.

In Colossians chapter 2

Colossians 2:14

verse 14

it says that he has

canceled our sin

and nailed that statement

of debt

to the cross.

It is a public

declaration

that our debt

has been satisfied

by the Lord Jesus Christ.

In John chapter 14

John 14:3

verse 3

it tells us

that because of salvation

he has made heaven

our eternal home.

2 Corinthians chapter 5

2 Corinthians 5:18

verse 18

says that

he has reconciled us

to God.

Philippians chapter 1

Philippians 1:6

verse 6

says that

he has begun

a good work in us

and he will complete it.

One of the things

that I love

saying to people

who are believers

professing

is that

you don't have to

stay the way you are.

And the reason

I can say that

without hesitation

and with complete confidence

is because of the

clear instruction

and teaching

of scripture

that when God

starts a work

when Christ

begins a work

in me

I will change.

Stop just for a moment

and recognize this.

If you're sitting here

this morning

and you're an individual

that professes

to know the Lord Jesus Christ

you should be able

to look in the rear view mirror

and see indicators

that you're not the same

as you used to be.

I would tell you this

if you can't see

that evidence

it might not be

inappropriate

for you to stop

and ask yourself

a fair question

is well

am I really saved?

Maybe I've learned

the vocabulary

I know the hymns

I can recite

some of the verses

because I went to Awana

but is there really

the evidence

of change?

We're going to look

carefully at

Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:1

verse 1

and I want you

to underline it

in your Bible

if it's not already

underlined

because it is

a foundational verse

in one sense

you could say

that Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:1

verse 1

is a summary verse

of one of the most

by the way

you know that

whatever passage

I'm preaching

happens to be

the best one

for the day

right?

And Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:1

verse 1

is kind of the summary

of the entire argument

of Romans

up to this point.

Romans begins

by making it clear

that we stand

justly condemned

before a holy God.

Romans also goes on

to explain

that salvation

comes through faith

in the Lord Jesus

Christ alone.

Romans also continues

to explain

the issue

of our

identification

and our

connection

with the Lord Jesus

Christ

and the incredible

blessings

that we have

in Him.

and then

before Paul

eventually

shifts over

to address

the issue

of the sovereignty

of God

in chapter 9,

10, and 11

he takes

chapter 8

to press together

the theological

truth

of our salvation

and he puts it

at the very beginning.

How many of you know

that when you're outlining

you want to make

your main point

pretty clear?

That's what Paul does

in Romans 8, 1.

There is now therefore

no condemnation

to them

who are in Christ Jesus.

So what do we enjoy?

What is it

that is our benefit

and blessing

in this statement

there is now therefore

no condemnation

in Christ Jesus?

The word now

tells us

that

where we are today

is different

than where we were

once in our past.

That our present state

is different

than our background

and where we used

to be.

We once stood

condemned

we are not

condemned

now.

Several weeks ago

I actually was

watching a documentary

about the Texas

penal system

and there

how many of you

knew that Texas

executes about

more than anybody

else does?

How's that

for a statement?

Texas kills

lots of people

for their own

death row.

And there was

this documentary

about what it was

like to be on

death row.

One of the things

that I was really

struck by

is A

nobody on death

row deserves

to be there.

I remember

discipling a guy

who was a dentist

in the prison

system here in Ohio

and he told me

that one of the

interesting things

he discovered

is that

every single

one of the people

he had ever

worked on

in prison

didn't deserve

to be there.

They were innocent

innocent and

unjustly

imprisoned.

And here I

have this

opportunity to

watch this

and here are

all these people

and the first

thing they said

is I don't

deserve to die.

I don't deserve

execution.

I mean it is

true that I

beat my girlfriend

and her little

four year old baby

to death

with a baseball

bat but that

really wasn't

me.

That was someone

else that was

in my body

at the moment.

Well let's

execute the guy

who did that.

We'll let the

other guy go

free.

And so here I

am watching

this extended

conversation of

what it's like

to be on

death row

in Texas.

And one of

the things

that I was

struck by

is that

every single

individual on

death row

keeps a

running

tab on

how many

days he has

left to

his execution.

every single

person.

The reality

of condemnation,

the reality

of eventual

execution

in the minds

of those who

stand condemned

and judged

at least in

Texas was so

significant that

every man kept

a tab in his

room of I

have X

number of

days left.

Can I tell

you that

Satan has

deceived the

vast majority

of people in

this world that

they have no

thought of what

their eventual

state is like?

None.

And yet for

us who are

Christians who

have come to

faith, we

first of all

were convicted,

listen to me

carefully, we

were convicted

of the absolute

darkness of our

heart and the

just penalty for

our sins before

a holy God and

we were drawn to

faith by the

burden of the

darkness of our

heart.

Isn't that right?

There is no

path to the

cross that does

not include,

first of all,

some conviction of

the darkness of

your soul.

And as you look

at this passage,

we find that

now we who know

Christ are in a

different condition.

Why is that?

Because we're not

condemned.

I want you to

recognize that that

word condemned is a

word that is not

just talking about,

well, you know,

there's a case built

against you.

It is actually

talking about the

information actually

being heard and

handled, judgment

then being brought

and practically all

you're waiting for,

the condemned man,

is only waiting for

execution.

How many of you

recognize that as

believers we can't

get away with what

unbelievers can?

Did everybody heard me

say that?

Okay.

How many of you

tried as believers to

get away with what

unbelievers can get

away with?

You ever tried that?

The reason we can't

get away with what

unbelievers can get

away with is because

we are His children and

He's very interested in

our growing to be more

like Him.

Furthermore, in

dealing with the

unbeliever, God's

incredible mercy is

giving them time to

repent.

But that doesn't

eliminate the reality

that they stand

condemned before a

holy God.

And as it says here,

that individual who is

condemned is only

practically waiting for

the day of execution.

That's a burden.

That's a burden that in

the Texas penitentiary

weighs on the

individual who's waiting

for that day of

judgment.

And if you're sitting

here this morning and

you do not know

Christ, I want you to

know the reality of

eternity is that the

day of judgment is

coming.

What it says in

Hebrews chapter 9 is

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

this, it's appointed

unto man once to die

and then to get a do

over.

No, no, no, no.

It's appointed unto man

once to die and after

that the judgment.

The day of penalty is

coming.

The day of execution.

And as we understand

from the scriptures, the

wages of sin are death.

So I want you to mark

something else in the

passage.

It says, now there is no

condemnation.

That little word no

there actually means not

one or not any.

And the point that it is

making is that there is

not a single charge that

remains against us.

How good is that news?

How good is that news?

Just imagine the guy who

is on death row in Texas

marking on his calendar the

number of days until he is

going to be wheeled into a

room strapped down on a

gurney and have needles

put in his arm and after

that it's gone.

That's what it is.

And suddenly someone comes

in and says, hey, there is

now therefore no

condemnation.

It's over.

You're forgiven.

There's no judgment against

you.

It's appropriate for us to

understand that what the

Bible is telling us is that

there is not a single charge

that remains against the

believer.

I want you to stop and

think about that.

How many of you, if you

would take a moment, can

refresh your memory of some

pretty nasty things you've

done?

Huh?

How many of you, if you

take a moment, can actually

recognize that even though

there are many, many things

you haven't done, that you've

thought the most despicable

and absolutely unholy

thoughts?

A conversation that I had

with the individual about

the issue of working your

way to heaven, the individual

was explaining that because

of his faith, whatever it

was, he was in the process

of just getting better and

better.

And I was pleasantly pleased

to deal with a person that

was just by his own

initiative getting better and

better.

So as we were having this

conversation, I said, well,

let me ask you, since you've

improved this much, do you

ever still have those

absolutely incredible black,

dark, wicked, just vile

thoughts?

I said, you know, I'm almost

68 and I'm still having some

of those, you know?

I was like, do you?

There was this long pause and

he said, well, yeah, I do.

I want you to understand that

if you are depending upon your

own efforts to bring about

your redemption, you're

hopeless.

But if you are relying on the

finished work of Christ who

died for your sins and in your

place, the fact of the matter

is Scripture says this, there

is now therefore no

condemnation.

You are not condemned.

It's appropriate for us in our

daily walk not to go about

sharing all the wickedness that

we were engaged in our past.

And the truth of the matter is

there's not a single individual

here.

We tend to look at other people

and think they've had a pretty

unsullied and spotless life.

But the truth of the matter is

is every one of us in here are

really wretched sinners that have

been saved by grace and we don't

need to tell the stories of our

past.

past.

In fact, when people go around

telling me about how incredibly

wicked and nasty and angry and

bitter and blah, blah, blah, I'm

wondering who they think the hero

in their story is.

Now there's appropriate recognition

of our own frailty.

But I've got to tell you that the

Scriptures encourage us not to make

much of the ugliness of our pasts.

The fact is that the body of Christ

is made up of redeemed and

transformed sinners.

And I love the passage in 1

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

Corinthians chapter 6.

I want you to turn there just for

a moment.

Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

look at verse 9 through 11.

Here's Paul writing to the church

in Corinth.

By the way, just so you know, the

church in Corinth was made up of

people just like you and me.

And Paul writes to the church and

here's what he says.

Do you not know, verse 9, 1

1 Corinthians 6:9

Corinthians chapter 6, verse 9, do

you not know that the unrighteous will

not inherit the kingdom of God?

There is something sadly wrong with

preaching that avoids helping people

understand that sin is profoundly

offensive to God and that the truth

of the gospel is that Christ came to

pay the penalty for sin and those who

come to faith in Christ are not only

forgiven of their sins but also enabled

to not live the way they used to live.

And to teach people that sin is not a

relevant issue and doesn't have

significance in this life in eternity

is to fail miserably at the truth of

the gospel.

The fact of the matter is, is here's

Paul writing to the church at Corinth

filled with people whose pasts were

absolutely marked by their sin.

He says, hey, don't get the idea that

unrighteousness doesn't count because

unrighteousness will not inherit the

kingdom of God.

Don't be deceived.

Neither sexually immoral, nor idolaters,

nor adulterers, nor men who practice

homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the

greedy, nor drunkards, nor revelers,

nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom

of God.

Look at verse 11.

And such were some of you.

Don't you like that?

Don't you like that fact?

That the fact of the matter is, is the

church is made up of all different

kinds of people.

All of us, redeemed by the grace of God,

and every one of us with one kind of

background or another.

And here's what he says, but you are

washed, you are sanctified, you were

justified in the name of the Lord Jesus

Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Isn't that encouraging?

When you get to heaven,

the one thing that is going to be your

pleasure and your identification is your

relationship in Christ.

I will go to heaven because of my

relationship with Christ.

I will enjoy eternity because of my

relationship with Christ.

And my past, as ugly and as despicable

as it is, is not the thing that will

identify me in heaven.

In fact, in the court of heaven today,

what it says in the Scripture,

there is now therefore no condemnation to

them who are in Christ Jesus.

I think about the song that Philip

Bliss wrote.

He said this,

My sin, O the bliss of this glorious

thought, my sin not in part but the whole,

is nailed to the cross and I bear it no

more.

I like that.

I like that.

I wonder if you do.

I wonder if this morning as you get ready

to come to these elements, you recognize

that what these elements represent is what

Jesus Christ did to take away all the guilt

and all the shame of your sin.

Can I tell you something?

The remedy for the great discouragements and

depressions of our soul is theological.

It is the fact that in Christ Jesus,

we who have come to faith in his finished work on

the cross now can say without hesitation,

there is now therefore no condemnation.

I want you to recognize that you and I stood in the place of

judgment waiting for our execution and the grace of God found us in that

miserable state and brought us to first of all recognize the darkness and

bankruptcy of our wickedness and then by his grace gave to us complete forgiveness.

Does it get better than that?

No.

I don't know what bearing it has, but I will tell you as I told my wife this

morning that I was going to preach on this verse, I said it's my favorite verse.

She said, no, it's not.

It's mine.

And she said, we were sitting there on the porch.

She said, it's going to be on my tombstone.

Well, I suppose it'll be on mine too.

That's a summary.

Do you understand that?

There is now therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.

So what business does Satan have dragging up all the darkness and bitterness of our past?

None.

None.

Don't entertain that.

It's not of God.

So let's think just for a moment and I will tell you that I am going to deal with this issue

of being in Christ in greater detail at another point.

Sinclair Ferguson said that it is a truth that most believers don't believe.

Interesting way of putting it.

Why are we not condemned?

Simply, as you look at this passage in Romans, it says, there is now therefore no condemnation

to them who are in Christ Jesus.

Hey, listen to me.

You're either here out or you're in.

That's the way it is.

You are either here in a personal relationship with the Lord of glory, the Savior of all mankind,

or you're not.

And Paul, as he is addressing this profound theological truth of the issue of our condemnation before a holy God,

he summarizes the status and the place that we are in with this simple statement of the fact that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

We're not condemned because we're in Christ.

It's amazing how often Paul uses this phrase, in Christ, in the Lord, in Him, over 160 times.

And I'm going to refer again to Sinclair Ferguson.

He said that it may be because Paul recognized this issue of relationship,

and it was driven home in particular when, as an unbeliever, you remember when Stephen preached to the Sanhedrin,

the outcome of Stephen's winsome sermon was, what did they do?

They stoned him.

And who held the coats?

Paul.

Saul.

Later, as he is on the road to Damascus, and he's kind of trudging along with all kinds of intention of putting the hurt on the early church,

along comes Jesus and says, what?

Why are you persecuting me?

What?

The link between Stephen and Jesus was hammered home.

What Paul had done to Stephen had been done actually to Christ.

Why is that?

Because Stephen and Christ in communion and relationship.

And so when you think about this business of being in Christ, what does it really reference?

It is talking about the fact that those who are believers are in a relationship and a union.

I wonder whether that just overwhelms you.

I am in personal relationship with the Lord.

He is in me and I am in him.

We are going to get into that in greater detail later.

But I want you to stop just for a moment this morning and ponder the sweetness of this fact.

The most precious truth is you, by virtue of your salvation, are in communion and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ.

It doesn't get better than that.

It doesn't get better than that.

And so this morning, I'm going to ask the men to come at this time as we come to the table and we will take these elements, the bread and the cup.

I want you to think about this verse and I want you to hang on to it.

And I want it to be something that affects the way you think.

There is now therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus because of what he did on the cross.

You're not condemned.

And what he did on the cross, we remind ourselves of with the bread and the cup.