What is Participating in the Lord's Supper Unworthily
1 Corinthians 11:27-30 - "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."
At first glance, it seems that unworthy here is for the unsaved. Actually no. This is talking about the Christian attitude towards the Lord's supper that it must not be taken lightly even if Christians cannot lose their salvation because it's once a believer, always a believer (1 John 2:19). However this can actually refer to these things:
The Greek used for "unworthy" here is AXIOUS meaning disrespectful and irreverent. In the dictionary, it can also mean as "inappropriate for one's condition or station". That is doing things unworthy of being a Christian. Some Christians are serving God, bearing fruit but not with all their hearts. Some Christians have fallen into some compromise like Lot, Samson, Solomon and Jehoshaphat did. For example, a Christian may be dating a non-Christian when that is forbidden (Ephesians 5:11). Or another, Christian males may be secretly watching stuff they shouldn't be watching and the list can go on.
The Greek word used for "damnation" here is "krima "or judgment. In the dictionary, it can also mean as, "to condemn vigorously or often irascibly for failure" That's where krima is used. That is whenever a Christian takes light of the Lord's supper and is not living a clean life, they are actually bringing in judgment into themselves. God is not a bit happy whenever Christians live a half-hearted service. Although they are saved and are manifesting fruits of being saved, however there are still certain sins that need to be dealt with if they expect to be effective for God's cause. They are therefore bringing in judgment into their physical welfare whenever they take light the Lord's supper.
Sleep in here does not refer to merely sleeping but rather DEATH. Christians are asleep in their death until they are awakened during the Blessed Hope. Jesus called the dead girl to be but asleep because she was a believer. Christians who don't participate the Lord's supper irreverently may end up being called home to the Lord earlier than expected as to avoid contaminating the Church's performance on Earth. However they are still saved BUT they have less reward for their inconsistent service.