The Lord's Supper

By David Rodriguez

In his latest book, The Lord's Supper: What It Is and What It's Not, David Rodriguez examines some of the claims for the Eucharist celebration, such as Administering grace, Providing eternal life,Imparting forgiveness of sins,Furnishing the presence of Christ,Repeating the sacrifice of Christ. We also explore the different traditions regarding t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leavitt Peak Press
• Release date: Aug 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781962363006

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The

Lord’s Supper

What It Is and What It’s Not

David Rodriguez

Copyright 2023 by David Rodriguez

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotation in a book review.

ISBN 978-1-961017-99-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-962363-00-6 (Ebook)

Inquiries and Book Orders should be addressed to:

Leavitt Peak Press

17901 Pioneer Blvd Ste L #298, Artesia, California 90701

Phone #: [phone]

This book is dedicated to the members of my church, Christian Fellowship, who encourage me in my writing, the students at Koinonia Bible College who challenge me to dig deeper into God’s word, and my colleagues at the Therapon Institute, who have imparted so much into me.

Contents

Chapter 1:  The Passover Meal

Chapter 2:  The Lord’s Supper

Chapter 3:  What is the Eucharist?

Chapter 4:  What is a Sacrament?

Chapter 5:  Five Types of Doctrine

Chapter 6:  The Doctrine of Real Presence

Chapter 7:  Do the Sacraments Impart Grace?

Chapter 8:  Does the Eucharist Impart Eternal Life?

Chapter 9:  Is Christ Sacrificed in the Eucharist?

Chapter 10:  Misusing the Lord’s Supper

Chapter 11:  Guarding the Table

Chapter 12:  Practical Considerations

Preface

The first churches I attended as a child were of the old-line Pentecostal variety. There was a lot of emotionalism in the services but not very much in-depth Bible study or theological inquiry. We witnessed a lot of shouting and loud praying, but little in the way of systematic training in Scripture. I do remember participating in Communion services where they served grape juice and crackers but without much emphasis on the theological ramifications of the practice. It was just something we did on certain Sundays with the understanding that we were doing it to commemorate what Jesus had done for us on the cross.

I fell away from the faith as a teenager and spent six years living as I wished until, at age twenty, I had a genuine conversion experience and came back to the Lord, leaving behind the hippie lifestyle I had fallen into. Before long, I began to engage in Christian ministry such as evangelism, teaching Sunday school, and becoming a youth leader in my nondenominational church. It was then that I began to interact with people from different Christian denominations and traditions, usually in the context of some sort of religious debate. One of the issues I soon became aware of was the importance some religious groups place on the act of observing Communion, which they referred to as receiving the Eucharist. Their understanding of this ordinance was that it was far greater than the simple memorial that I had always believed it to be. I was told that the Eucharist imparted grace, secured forgiveness of sins, and even procured eternal life for those who received it in the proper church, from the proper authority, and with the proper understanding.

Those who evangelize in America find that most people they want to reach consider themselves Christians already, albeit, maybe not practicing their faith. It is interesting to hear the reasons they consider themselves to be right with God. Since most people living in my home city of New Orleans have a Catholic background, they tend to base their claim to salvation on their Catholicism and their attendance at mass, even if their lifestyles are not in line with what is expected of a practicing Christian. As one who had been radically set free from an ungodly lifestyle and set on a much better path, I considered their religious activity to be a hindrance to, rather than a path toward, true faith in Jesus Christ.

As time went on I became increasingly involved in ministry, leading home Bible studies, teaching in small, local Bible colleges, and preaching on the radio. In 1986, I founded my current church, Christian Fellowship and in 1991, with a group of local pastors, I founded Koinonia Bible College. From time to time, I still encountered individuals who had certain beliefs about Communion that I did not consider biblical, but not very often. That would change in 2015 when, somehow, I found myself in an Orthodox chat room. I have no idea how I arrived there, but I soon became aware of the importance they placed on the Eucharist and the powers they ascribed to receiving it. I knew next to nothing about Orthodoxy, other than having visited one of their churches in Jerusalem in 2008. I remember seeing the icons, hearing the chants, and smelling the smoke from the incense that had darkened the ceiling. I found it strange and noted it was like some of the Catholic churches I had visited.

I soon migrated to two or three other Internet sites where Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants regularly discuss theology. Most of these exchanges are very confrontational, if not outright hostile. It was on these sites that I learned much more about Catholicism and, in particular, Orthodoxy. I discovered that these two groups were originally one church that divided in 1054 AD. It is fascinating to me to watch them argue over who left whom, as both groups claim that the other departed from them. They both also claim to be the only true church established by Jesus. But, having been one church for so long, they share many of the same doctrines, particularly regarding the Eucharist. I developed the arguments I will be laying out in this book as my response to some of their claims regarding the benefits of receiving the Eucharist. I thank my ideological opponents for driving me to five years of research on this topic, even though some of them have been less than charitable toward me. As we learn from the account of Cain and Abel, and as I have learned from experience, nothing makes a religious person angrier than to be told that his or her religion is wrong.

This book may upset some people because it will seem to them an attack on one of their most cherished religious beliefs. It is not my purpose to offend, but we need to understand that all over the world people have deeply held religious beliefs which they are not only willing to die for but, in some cases, to kill for. Sincerity is no guarantee of truthfulness. We must all be willing to examine what we were taught in the light of reason and evidence. I am hoping this book will lead many to such an undertaking.

Introduction

Why are there so many different Christian denominations when we all have basically the same Bible? True, some Bibles include a few extra books, and some groups may use different versions of Scripture, but this hardly explains that tremendous diversity of doctrine and practice we see throughout Christendom. Most of these differences are not the result of different Bibles or different versions. Much of the disagreement is not over what the Bible says, it is over what the Bible means. Most Christians would agree that the words of Scripture are true and authoritative but will divide over the meaning of those authoritative words.

We must understand the difference between Scripture and theology. Scripture is what is written. Theology, which is a necessary endeavor, is the meaning of what is written. It is important to know the difference between theology and Scripture (which some seem to believe are the same) because we only have the promise of inspiration