The problem in Corinth wasn’t unconfessed private sins but corporate behavior that contradicted the gospel.
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The congregation moved forward to receive the bread and wine, but I stayed in my seat. While other church members received the elements, I felt paralyzed, replaying my sins from the previous week.
Moments earlier, the pastor had told the congregation that if we had any unresolved sin, we should abstain from the Lord’s Supper. Taking my pastor’s warning seriously, I sat and examined my heart, trying to decide if I should take and eat, or if I was so unworthy that doing so would bring God’s judgment (1 Cor. 11:29). In that moment, the table felt less like a feast of grace and more like a test I wasn’t sure I could pass.
