Welcome Visitors--Come and Eat and Drink Judgment Upon Yourselves!

According to a recent post on ChristianityToday.com, Jack Hayford actually recommends that we invite non-Christians to the Lord's Table to make them feel welcome and so that we do not exclude them from anything in the worship service. 

This is utterly remarkable in light of Paul's very clear warning not to do this in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32.

"Welcome visitors!  Come to the Lord's Table without discerning Christ's body, and then get sick and possibly die . . ."  

Reformed Christians "fence" the table because of Paul's exhortation.

_________________________

A less traditional means we use to encourage commitment is the Lord's Supper. We invite all the people to gather around the Lord's Table and partake in small groups. We believe it is the Lord's Table we are invited to, the Lord is doing the inviting, and no one is excluded. To us that means unbelievers are invited, as well.

We explain clearly, of course, what we are doing, and what an unbeliever is doing by partaking: making a commitment to Christ. We stress the gravity of the event to reflect the serious nature of faith in Christ.

At the same time, we want people to know that they are welcome. For example, I might say, "If you are visiting with us today, you are not only welcome to participate, you are urged to. If you were at my house and it came dinnertime, I wouldn't leave you sitting in the other room while I went to the dining room. And if you said, 'Well, I'm not really hungry,' I'd say, 'Come in and sit with us anyway.' Now, as we come to the Lord's Table, join us. And when the bread is served, take a portion."

To read the rest of the article, Click here: Including Non-Christians in Christian Worship - BuildingChurchLeaders.com

__________________________

While Reformed churches could learn a thing or two from others about how to be friendly and how to better welcome visitors to our churches, this is not exactly the way to do this, bringing them under God's judgment.

(h.t.--Click here: Slice of Laodicea)

Comments

[Jim Vellenga]

Reading things like that make me wonder where popular evangelicalism is going. Not to say this is new. I seem to remember that Solomon Stoddard did something similar with the Lord's Supper back in late sixteen/early seventeen hundreds.

[Tim Etherington]

Sounds like Solomon Stoddard's reasons. Sort of. But not quite.

[Mike Ratliff]

John Calvin got in trouble by refusing to do this very thing. It nearly came to violence when he refused access to the table to non-confessors.

Jonathan Edwards had to leave his church for the same reason.

I believe these two men's stand along with Paul's should be are standard here.

[pilgrim]

And Jonathan Edwards was not well received in rejecting what his grandfather did.

In light of scripture--blatant scripture at that--it is wrong and dnagerous to invite non Christians to partake.

It also sends the wrong message in that they may miss distinctions between believer & non believer.

While at a human level we are all the same-there are things different between the two, and as the credit card commercials said-"Memebership has its priveleges"

[Peggy Velis]

I was a memeber of COTW (Church on the Way, Van Nuys) for nearly 7 years. One of the worst abuses of the Lord's Supper - and frankly the thing that got me to leave the church -- was when we were instructed to pour the juice down our throats and imagine we were pouring the blood of Christ down the throat of Satan (to silence His accusations I suppose).

I wouldn't do it- (even as an Evangelical it creeped me out) and I was rebuked by an elder. It made me mad. That was in my Evangelical days -- but I'm even madder now that I know how sacred and holy the real presence of Christ is. I do not miss COTW. I do not want to be there when the ground opens!

[Mike Ratliff]

Peggy, how awful! I am convinced that there are going to be multitudes of people in that flock of goats on Jesus left who thought their religiosity was their ticket to Heaven. I wonder if we will be in a position to witness that when He tells them, "Depart from me, for I never knew you!"

[JPS]

It was not until after I partook of the Lord's supper at a fenced table that I was able to understand the true significance of the Lord's supper.

[Jeff A.]

The sacraments become meaningless as the Word becomes meaningless. You can't reach this point without a rejection on some level of Scripture's authority.