It is not just a future hour when God will judge those who don’t obey Him. He threatens discipline any time people take His Table for granted.
I don’t bring it up each Lord’s Day, but the word of the Lord through Paul always applies. Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:27). To profane means to treat with disrespect. If we do not examine, then we may be eating and drinking judgment on ourselves (verse 30).
In Revelation 14 the “wine” that the world drinks, wine which they thought would be delightful, turned out to be a cup of judgment. In a similar way, professing Christians drink their own discipline if they try to keep sin in their mouths at the same time.
What is also to be remembered, however, is the blessing promised when we eat and drink, honestly and humbly. The Lord’s Supper is serious, but it is not a gauntlet. Bread can choke you, or feed you. Wine will deaden your heart, or gladden it. It isn’t just what we’re trying to avoid, but what we get to receive.
This meal is a reminder of what we deserved: death. But it is also a reminder of what awaits those who die in the Lord: a feast. There is rejoicing in Him. There is rest in Him. Do this in remembrance of His first coming, and until He comes again.