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NASB | Luke 1:77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 1:77 To give His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, |
Subject: While the Preacher Preaches |
Bible Note: Dear Ed, Thank you for your comments. Here are a few of my own: Piety tends to have a negative connotation in my mind from the historic context. Pietism arose among German Lutherans in the late 17th century and on into the 18th century. I suppose that it might have even had its roots amongst Roman Catholics. The Lutherans were making an effort to return Protestantism to a kind of practical piety rather than doctrine. Hence the concern: When piety is not rooted in doctrine, it becomes experientialism. On the other hand, if our doctrine fails to lead to a doxological life, then we have something that has only affected our heads and not our hearts. That, too, ends up leaving us in quagmire. I think that when our consideration of living a pious life begins in earnest, it is good to think about our approach to the sacraments -- for it is in the broader context of our lives in the church from which our piety arises. The idea of strict memorialism can, I think, leave us with the idea that communion is unimportant. At the church that I am now attending, communion is practiced on a monthly basis. The week before communion Sunday, the pastor calls us all to prepare ourselves in the coming week for communion. I thought a lot about how one ought to prepare. How is this done? What does it look like? Here is what I concluded: 1. Approach communion with holy fear, when we partake we are actually approaching God. 2. Recognize that in communion we are in God's holy presence. 3. Search the heart to be certain that we are not treasuring iniquity in our hearts. Deal with it! 4. Turn to God with genuine humility and affection. 5. Remember and be fully persuaded that God appointed this sacrament. 6. Share in the bread and wine according to God's will, with all that that entails. 7. Always heed the deceit that no preparation is needed. This is certainly not an exhaustive list. However, I think that it addresses the most essential aspects of preparation for communion. Of course, we can only be prepared through God's grace by way of the power of the Holy Spirit. So after communion, I take some time to examine how worthily I performed it. If I find that I did well, I offer thanksgiving to the Lord for His enablement. If I find that I did poorly, I confess, and ask for His forgiveness, and for the grace needed to do better next time. Bayly deals with this so well. God is gracious to have given us his instruction, and drawing our attention to it now. Thank you for your thoughts, Ed. Sorry if I have been too long-winded. In Him, Doc |