Close, Not
Closed
The title of this pamphlet is
not misspelled. We speak of
"Close" Communion (as in close friends) not "closed"
Communion (as in closed doors). To
the limit of our human abilities, we expect all who receive the Lord’s
Supper among us to be "close" to God and to each other in the
Christian faith. This is why we
ask you to study this pamphlet before coming forward for Communion.
Why is this
Done?
Clear Bible teachings cause us to practice close
Communion. We are not trying to be
"better than thou" or to set up man-made rules in the Church.
To explain why we practice close Communion we ask you to consider what
God’s Word says concerning the Lord’s Supper and those who may receive it
properly. As in all matters of
Christian faith and practice the Bible
alone must direct and teach us.
We believe that after reading the Word of God on this vital subject, you
will both understand and agree with us.
Qualifications
for Communicants
The Bible makes it clear that the Lord’s Supper was instituted and is
intended for certain people, and not for others.
God’s requirements for receiving communion may be summarized as
follows:
1. Communicants must be
Christians
--that is, they must be
trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone as Savior from sin and
following Him as the Lord of their lives.
Jesus
gave His Supper for disciples who were to celebrate it in remembrance of Him
and His work of dying on their behalf (
Matthew
26:26-28;
Mark
14:22
-24;
Luke
22:19
-20), and can remember His death and its true meaning as the payment for our
sins and guilt.
2. Communicants must
recognize what they receive here.
This is not just plain wine
and bread--but true body and blood of
Jesus
in communion with the bread and wine (1 Corinthians
10:16
). God is very clear:
Anyone who eats and drinks
without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself
(1 Corinthians
11:29
).
Jesus
demands knowledgeable and believing people.
3. Communicants must examine themselves prior to communing.
Again, the Bible is clear:
Whoever eats the bread or drinks
the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against
the body and blood of the Lord. But
let a man examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup (1
Corinthians
11:27
-28).
Do I see myself as a sinful rebel against God and His will?
Do I acknowledge
Jesus
and receive Him as my Savior and Lord? Do
I truly desire full forgiveness and growth in my faith and life in fellowship
with God? God demands careful
consideration of such questions and an unqualified "yes!" answer
from the heart if I am to come to the Lord’s table.
4. Communicants
must be united in Bible truths and must not willfully cling to false doctrine.
God tells us to
watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way,
contrary to the teaching you have learned.
Keep away from them (Romans
16:17
). It
would be a lack of love if erring people were permitted to wander from the
truth without warning. Communion
is a sign of our unity in
Christ
and His Word (1 Corinthians
10:17
), and if no real unity exists, it
would be wrong to pretend that there is.
A Practice of
Love
What if a person is not a true
believer? What if he or she has
never been told about the true body and blood of
Jesus
in communion with the bread and wine? What
if a person has never been taught how to examine himself or herself?
What if a person strongly disagrees with something our church teaches?
Such a person could be "eating and drinking judgment on
himself." It is the loving
thing to do to take time to speak honestly with that person on this subject.
This is our motive and reason for practicing "Close
Communion." We want to take
every opportunity to make sure that people do not mistakenly, unknowingly or
foolishly take the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner.
An
Illustration
A car is a wonderful thing.
It can do much for you--but it can also destroy you if you don’t treat
it with care. For your own
protection it is required that you have certain minimal instruction and give
reasonable evidence of your ability to handle a car before you are permitted to
drive it.
This is not a matter of depriving you of anything.
It is a matter of showing concern for your welfare.
This is our attitude with regard to sharing in Holy Communion.
Not a new
practice.
Some might think that this is
"new" or "unusual" for Christian congregations, but it is
not new at all. The earliest
congregations of the New Testament era did the same thing.
We have writings of the earliest centuries A.D. which state that those
believers refused Communion to all who were not baptized, all who refused to
repent of sins, and all who were unwilling to forsake false doctrine.
In fact, just about all the major "denominations" of today took
the matter as seriously in the early years of their existence.
Sadly, most of these have lost faithfulness to Scripture in this area--
and this makes our practice seem "unusual" to so many.
But God’s Word has not changed.
We still instruct our children on self-examination and all major Bible
teachings before we allow them to receive Communion.
And we ask all adult newcomers to assure us that they also have been
blessed with the same type of instruction. We
care because souls are involved.
What Do We Ask?
We simply want to know and be
assured that all who receive this Lord’s Supper with us:
•
are trusting
Jesus
alone as their Savior and Lord of their lives;
•
know the truth that
Christ
’s body and blood are received together with the bread and wine;
•
are examining themselves knowledgeably and spiritually prior to
communing;
•
are united with us in Bible truths and are not willfully clinging
to any false teaching.
We hope that we have expressed ourselves clearly.
We have tried to speak the truth in
love (Ephesians
4:15
). Please
do not hesitate to ask us for more information.
We would hate to leave any Bible question unanswered, or any doubts
lingering. this applies not only to
the subject of Close Communion, but also to any other truth that deals with our
relation to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
