Hindered From Partaking

Darkness to Light: Part 23

Growing up, the Sundays we had Communion, the service was always long and grueling. For a young child, there were many aspects of the service I didn’t understand. Like, why did two of the elders get up and stand on either side of the communion table? Why did some people take so long after the invitation was given to go up? Why didn’t everyone, or at least mostly everyone, go up the table? Why did they all look so unhappy?

Brief side note for clarity: My child hood church had their communion at a table at the front of church, where the bread and the wine were passed out to the communicants that came from the pews and sat around it. I actually like this approach but I understand in very large churches it would make it difficult to serve the elements that way.

Looking Back

As I reminisce about my childhood church and the different aspects of its worship style. I can and do appreciate much of them. Like their appreciation for singing the Psalms, their faithful preaching through the Heidelberg Catechism year in and year out, and their desire to dress and act in a holy manner when in God’s house. Much of this is lacking in many Christian churches today.

But some aspects cause concern. I do not write this to harp on them or anyone else who does these in their church. I write simply to help those who have little faith or who are struggling with assurance work through their doubts and to rest fully on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s Supper and Profession of Faith

When the Lord first began His work in my life, attending the Lord’s Supper after becoming a professing member really scared me. Growing up, I knew that typically once you became a certain age, you went to a “Confession of Faith” class(es) and when complete, you did a public confession in front of the whole church. But what I saw was that most who took that class and “confessed their faith” still did not attend the Lord’s Supper. It was not as in many of our churches today, where the person has faith and desires to publicly profess it to the church and thus be invited to partake of communion. Going back to me being afraid of taking communion, I knew my heart was not right with God. I knew I did not have faith in Christ at that time; I was drowning in doubts and fears of deceiving myself. But through that, the gracious Lord worked through those doubts and fears and brought me to a place of repentance and faith in Christ. When it came time for my first communion, I was still a bit nervous, but I could not stay away; I could not deny the workings of the Lord had done in my life, the changes He had wrought, and the desires He had changed. It was a great blessing, and my assurance grew!

“My Assurance Grew”

For this is the main purpose of the Lord’s Supper, for the building of the assurance of believers. Because, as Lord’s Day 28 states, we proclaim we believe in the death and resurrection of Christ every time we participate in the meal.

75.Q.

How does the Lord’s supper signify and seal to you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his gifts?

Answer:

In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup in remembrance of him.

With this command he gave these promises: ¹

First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely was his body offered for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross.

Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the minister and taste with my mouth the bread and the cup of the Lord as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely does he himself nourish and refresh my soul to everlasting life with his crucified body and shed blood.

Some Are Still Hindered

I truly believe that many in my childhood church should attend the Lord’s Supper, but don’t because of the fear placed on them by the minister who typically seems to press heavily on the “eating and drinking judgment to themselves”. They fear the “visit” from the elders after they attend their first communion; they fear they won’t say the right things to them and that they will be told to abstain for a while. Some may just think they have not yet attained a special level of holiness to attend, they haven’t come to know their sins enough yet.

A few notes of clarity:

I would like to add that self-examination is vitally important when it comes to the Lord’s Supper as well. I am certainly not advocating that everyone in Church should partake just because they are there. A true Christian will examine himself and, yes, find himself sinful and yet, as the form states, “daily strives with the weakness of our faith and the evil lusts of our flesh” cannot stay away from the table of his Lord.

And yes, all those who profess no faith and are living in open habitual sin should not attend.

I will also point out that often the self-examination is preached… dare I say too much… leaving many to gaze ever at their sin and not look up to Christ, who is a willing Savior.

Dear reader, if this is you, please read with me this excerpt from the Form for the Administration of the Lord’s Supper

So the form goes through a whole list of sins that if people are openly participating in, they should not participate in the Lord’s Supper, but please read this next part slowly and carefully:

All these, while they continue in such sins, shall abstain from this meat (which Christ hath ordained only for the faithful), lest their judgement and condemnation be made the heavier.

But this is not designed (dearly beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord), to deject the contrite hearts of the faithful, as if none might come to the supper of the Lord but those who are without sin; for we do not come to this supper to testify thereby that we are perfect and righteous in ourselves, but on the contrary, considering that we seek our life out of ourselves in Jesus Christ, we acknowledge that we lie in the midst of death; therefor nothwithstanding we feel many infirmities and miseries in ourselves, as namely that we have not perfect faith, and that we do not give ourselves to serve God with that zeal as we are bound, but have daily to strive with the weakness of our faith and the evil lusts of our flesh; yet, since we are (by the grace of the Holy Spirit) sorry for these weaknesses, earnestly desirous to fight against your unbelief and to live according to all the commandments of God; therefore we rest assured that no sin or infirmity which still remaineth against our will in us can hinder us from being received of God in mercy, and from being made worthy partakers of this heavenly meat and drink. ¹

Did you notice those key points? We don’t attend to say we are without sin or that we have it all together and have perfect faith. We attend because we strive to combat these sins every day. We cannot deny the work that God has done in our hearts, and it would be a greater sin if we stayed away from the table.

Dear reader, let this be an encouragement to you. If you cannot deny the work the Lord is doing in your life, do not stay away from the Lord’s table. Go up with joy and humility, and gratefulness. Do not let the fear of man hinder you from receiving the bread and wine of assurance from heaven.

Go out and live boldly for Christ!

Let us understand, therefore, that this Sacrament is a medicine for poor, spiritually sick people…And since we see only bread and wine, yet we do not doubt that he accomplishes spiritually in our souls all that he demonstrates to us outwardly through these visible signs, namely, that he is the heavenly bread that feeds and nourishes us for eternal life. So let us be grateful for the infinite goodness of our Saviour, who spreads out all his riches and goods on this table to distribute them to us.”

-John Calvin

1. 1912 Psalter p. 137 Form for the Administration of the Lord’s Supper (in the back)