When Not to Take Communion

When I was growing up, I did not like going to church. For a young boy in a rural town, church was boring, long, and filled with old, stodgy people singing old, stodgy songs. I would have rather been playing and watching football. However, there was one Sunday out of every month in which I did look forward to church—the first Sunday.

The first Sunday was communion Sunday. The mothers (older woman) of the church would dress in all white. The pastor would wear his white robe. The communion table, normally bare, would be draped in a white cloth under which was clearly the communionware containing the bread and the wine.

I was impressed with the ceremony involved and the care taken in preparing the table. There was care in handling and distributing the elements. The deacons wore white gloves and the trays were passed between them with a deliberate orchestration of movements and reverence. I really enjoyed the anticipation and celebration of the Lord’s Table. Unfortunately, for all the care taken with the elements of the table, similar care was not taken by the participants, those receiving the table.

Contrary to some assumptions, the Lord’s Table is not for everyone. It is a blessed sacrament, like baptism, given to the church as a sign of God’s faithfulness to His promises and an assurance in the heart of the one to whom the promises are given. With this in mind, we should understand that there are at least two groups of people who should be discouraged from partaking at the Lord’s Table, namely, the unconverted and the unrepentant. Keep reading