Must I Confess Before Communion

Official answer 2026-08-22

The warning you read is real, but what it warns about is probably not what you think. It appears in Paul letter to Corinth, and the context is very specific: they were dividing into factions at the gathering, with the wealthy eating and drinking their fill first while the poor arrived to nothing. Paul says such meetings do more harm than good. Unworthily refers to that — turning the Lord table into an occasion for humiliating a brother. So the warning is aimed at people who divide and despise others, not at people who feel inadequate. That distinction matters, because it is routinely read backwards: the most humble and self-critical people stay away, while those who should hear it feel nothing. What about examine yourself? That line is genuinely there. Examination is good and is commanded, but its purpose is to bring you honestly, not to make you qualify first. There is a directional point here: communion is not a reward for those already clean but provision for those who need it. If only the sinless could come, the table would stay empty permanently. Practically: be quiet for a moment beforehand and name what you know to God. You do not need an exhaustive audit. If something is unresolved between you and another believer, that is the item most worth dealing with first — which is exactly the passage point. And do not stay away long-term because you feel unworthy; that inverts the meaning of the thing. One caution: if someone uses this passage to frighten people, or to screen who may approach the table, they have left behind what Paul was writing it for.