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  Question 81: Who may partake of the Lord's Table? Answer: Those who detest their sins, believe that their sins are forgiven and their wickedness is covered by Christ's suffering and death, and desire to live a better life by strengthening their faith. But hypocrites and the unrepentant will eat and drink judgment upon themselves. Those who believe that they died with Jesus and were resurrected with him can participate in the Eucharist because they are participants in the New Covenant. Those who do not participate in the New Covenant cannot participate in the Eucharist. Those who participate in the New Covenant are freed from sin and, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, receive resurrection life from heaven. Those who believe in resurrection after physical death have never received resurrection life in the present. Jesus' death on the cross was not only to resolve the problem of sin, but also to grant resurrection life. Resurrection signifies a return to the ki...

  Question 80: How does the Holy Communion differ from the Roman Catholic Mass? Answer: The Holy Communion declares that our sins are completely forgiven through the eternal atonement of Jesus Christ, offered once for all on the cross. It also declares that the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ, who is at the right hand of the Father in heaven and is worshipped by us. However, the Mass teaches that forgiveness of sins cannot be obtained through Christ's suffering on the cross unless the body of Christ is offered daily by priests for the living and the dead. It also teaches that the body of Christ is present in the form of bread and wine, where Christ is worshipped. Therefore, the Mass fundamentally denies the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ and is an accursed idolatry. The declaration that "our sins are completely forgiven through the eternal atonement of Jesus Christ, offered once for all on the cross" is not made in the Eucharist, but in the rite of baptism. Baptism inv...

  Question 79: Why, then, did Christ call the bread his body and the cup his blood, or the new covenant in his blood?  And why does the Apostle Paul call the Lord's Supper a "real participation (direct eating and drinking)" in the body and blood of Christ? Answer: There is sufficient reason for this. Christ wants to teach us that just as bread and wine nourish our bodily life, so his crucified body and shed blood truly nourish our souls to eternal life. But more importantly, he wants to assure us that, just as we actually receive and eat these holy symbols in remembrance of him, so we too, through the work of the Holy Spirit, participate in the Lord's real body and blood by this visible sign and pledge. He also counts his sufferings and obedience as our own, as if we had personally suffered and paid the penalty for our sins. Matthew 26:26-28 “ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘ Take, eat; thi...

  Question 78: Are the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ? Answer: No. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into the blood of Christ and does not itself wash away sins, but is merely a symbol and assurance given by God, so the bread of the Lord's Supper, although it is called the body of Christ in the nature and terminology of the sacrament, is not changed into the real body of Christ. The bread symbolizes the body of Jesus Christ. Breaking the bread represents his death on the cross, and eating the bread symbolizes receiving the resurrected body. The wine symbolizes Jesus' blood and the water of life. The pouring of the cup symbolizes Jesus' shed atoning blood, and the lifting of the cup symbolizes the cup of blessing, symbolizing the unity of the bride and groom. Therefore, this cup becomes the water of eternal life that enters the kingdom of God. Matthew 26:29, "But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from...

  Question 76: What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and drink his shed blood? Answer: It means to accept with a believing heart all the sufferings and death of Christ and, through faith, obtain forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Moreover, it means that we are united to Christ's blessed body through the Holy Spirit who dwells in Christ and in us. So, although the Lord is in heaven and we are on earth, our bodies are the Lord's flesh and bone. Thus, just as each part of our body is governed by one soul, so we too, governed by one Spirit, live forever. "Eating the crucified body of Christ and drinking his shed blood" means that believers are united with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This unity means believing that believers have also accomplished the same work as Jesus Christ. First, the death on the cross included Jesus Christ's suffering, physical death, burial, and descent into hell, a fate that the saints also experienced. ...

  (7) Isaac and Mount Moriah Genesis 22:1-2 “ After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘ Abraham! ’ And he said, ‘ Here I am. ’ Then the LORD said, ‘ Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. ’” God wanted to test Abraham. What was this test? It had to do with Beersheba. The well symbolized the promise, and Christ, the embodiment of that promise, symbolized it. Exodus 15:25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he tested them. Exodus 16:4 tells us why this test is being conducted: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'See, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out and gather a certain amount each day, so that I may test them to see whether they will wa...