rrfranks
Puritan Board Freshman
Last Sunday as our congregation was preparing to partake of the Lord's Supper I was fencing the table and as I normally do I mentioned that the table is open to all who profess faith in Christ and are communing members in good standing in an evangelical church. After the service one of our church members was challenged by a visitor as to why church membership is a requirement for participation in the Lord's Supper. The church member sent a note to me and said,
I could not find any scriptural evidence of requirement to being a member of a church to partake... We understand the importance of qualifying the individual and their relationship. But we need to see the passage that this interpretation is coming from. I know books can be written on this topic, however a consolidated response is all that is needed.
I guess I struggle to be a concise thinker and am tempted to address all sorts of related topics (i.e. church membership, hermeneutics, etc). So I am wondering if anyone here has already addressed this topic before in a way that is concise & consolidated.
I could not find any scriptural evidence of requirement to being a member of a church to partake... We understand the importance of qualifying the individual and their relationship. But we need to see the passage that this interpretation is coming from. I know books can be written on this topic, however a consolidated response is all that is needed.
I guess I struggle to be a concise thinker and am tempted to address all sorts of related topics (i.e. church membership, hermeneutics, etc). So I am wondering if anyone here has already addressed this topic before in a way that is concise & consolidated.
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