The Roman Catholic error as regards the Lord’s Supper is in seeing it as a reoccurrence of Christ’s sacrifice for sin. In that respect, they come to an altar, not a table. That view leads to treating these elements as a means of appeasing God. You take the Supper to avoid God’s anger. The problem with that take is that Jesus instituted this sacrament at a meal in the warmth of an upper room, not at the altar for burnt offerings.
In terms of Israel’s sacrificial system, this isn’t a sin offering before us, it’s a peace offering. We don’t take this sacrament to appease God, but because God has already been appeased. Christ’s blood covers your sin, so that you might enjoy a feast of His presence in His presence. This Sacrament isn’t the means of atoning our sins, it is the blessing purchased by Christ’s atonement. Your sins have already been washed away, consumed in the fire, and now you are invited to sanctify and celebrate the name of Yahweh. In the peace offering, the worshipper partook of a portion of the offered animal. It was a shared meal of gratitude, not a ceremony to cover guilt.
But as a peace offering, we should ask what is it that is ascending to God? The answer is that we’re told that in our worship we are to be living sacrifices (Rom. 1:1-2). Since in this Supper we hold forth the token of our union with Christ, it follows that in Christ, we are the offering, we are the sacrifice. In Christ the true Sin Offering our guilt is washed away, in Christ the true Peace Offering we ascend to the Father as a pleasing aroma. The glory displayed here is God delighting in us, as we delight in Him.
So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…
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