If Jesus says, “Take,
eat; this is my body” and “
Drink of it, all of you; for
this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins,” then why say it does not matter if it transubstantiates or not?
Because my salvation doesn’t depend on it. My salvation depends solely on whether I believe in Christ. Whether when faced with the reality of Jesus, did I choose to follow Him?
What if it is does transubstantiate? What would you do?
Nothing. If it does, it does. What more would I do? It doesn’t change Who God is for me or what He’s done for me.
When you receive the bread during communion are your sins forgiven?
Is this question asking if my sins are forgiven before I take communion or as a result of taking communion? If I don’t feel that I am right with the Lord, I don’t partake in communion. But I don’t believe that taking communion brings forgiveness. Forgiveness comes from God when I ask for it with a contrite heart. When I know that we are taking communion, I generally use that occasion to seek His forgiveness in honor of His sacrifice that made the forgiveness available for me.
Did it matter to Jesus? If it didn’t why would He say, “truly, truly, I say to you, unless you** eat** the flesh of the Son of man and
drink his blood, you have no life in you he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life?” (John 6: 53-54) Have you eaten His flesh and drank His blood? Scripture says very clearly what could happen if you don’t.
As I noted above, the context of John 6 is post-feeding the 5000. He used the occasion to make His point about needing something more than food and drink. “Eat” and “drink” are calls for people to embrace Who He said He was and to believe in Him. Those Who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
You quoted one of my favorite scripture passages, “those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me.” David, what part of “take,
eat; this is my body” and “d
rink … **this is my blood” **is a suggestion? Did Jesus command us or not? If we do not follow these commands can we go against scripture and say we truly love Jesus?
No part of that is a suggestion, but it is a command to believe not to eat and drink in the literal sense. I don’t see how that is going against Scripture. The command about communion is to remember. Remember the sacrifice. Do this. Take communion as a remembrance of the sacrifice I am about to make for you.
If there is no transubstantiation, then would the old covenant be greater than the new? The manna for the Egyptians came from heaven; the manna Protestants eat comes from the church secretary.
Let’s not be overly dramatic. The hosts that priests use are purchased just as any other communion wafers can be purchased in a Family Christian Bookstore. They are ceremonially blessed by a priest, but they are the same type of wafer.
The new covenant was not signed at the Last Supper. It was signed on Easter Sunday when the stone rolled away, and Heaven forever triumphed over Hell. The blood with which the new covenant was signed was shed on Good Friday. I became a beneficiary of that new covenant the moment I accepted Christ as the Son of God who died for the forgiveness of my sins – forgiveness that I cannot achieve or earn on my own. A forgiveness that is made available to me in full upon my acceptance of Christ – not in incremental amounts each time that I take communion.
Finally, did you realize that scripture directly or indirectly supports everything the Catholic Church teaches on the holy Eucharist? Can a Protestant say the same?
Yes, a Protestant can. I think I’ve been relying on Scripture for what I’m saying.
I see how scriptures say it does matter to Jesus; therefore, it matters to me. As for me and my house we are going to eat His body and drink His blood. Come join us.
If “it” is communion, I agree 100%. If “it” is transubstantiation, I don’t agree. I encourage you to continue to take communion every Mass.
My brother, Dave, please take courage and see how scripture supports what the Catholic Church really teaches.
I do see where the doctrine comes from. I just don’t agree, and that disagreement does not jeopardize my relationship with Christ.
May the Good Shepherd lead to you the bread of life.
He already has! Thanks for the encouragement!
God
Well, I can’t say I received the most effective Catechesis when I was younger. I learned the history side of the Church in my religion classes at school (Loyola High), and my faith I really put an effort toward learning it in more recent years(with much help from my gf and her family, they are awesome!). I kinda thought about it starting sophomore year, and finally began to more actively pursue my faith at the beginning of this school year. It just took reading, prayer, and reflection. Thanks again.