St. Paul tells us that we must not eat and drink from the table of the new testament unworthily. He uses the word several times, but remember the context of his warning.
The Corinthians were guilty of divisions in the church, drunkenness, sexual immorality, and greed. Paul tells them that such sins, unrepented, were inconsistent with the Table. The biblical solution to this inconsistency, always, is to repent of the sin and come to the Table. We think that an acceptable way to resolve the problem is to stay away from the Table and keep the sin. Make no mistake – unrepented sin and participation at this Table are fundamentally inconsistent. But we do not want to fence the Table – we want the Table to fence us, and keep us from the sin. Do not let sin keep you from the Table; seek to have the Table keep you from the sin.
It is as grievous a sin to refrain from the Table unworthily as it is to partake unworthily. In both cases, the sin is the same kind of thing – contemptuous ingratitude. One man eats, not recognizing or discerning the communion with Christ. Another man refrains from eating, not recognizing the obligation to commune with Christ. It is ingratitude to snatch something without saying thank you. It is also ingratitude to refuse such a gift, purchased at such great expense.
So guard your hearts, discern the body, and come and eat.