My Covenant View, Theological Hoops

Many in the Reformed camp have set up theological hoops for all those wishing to partake of the Lord’s Supper. Hoops that are based on the traditions of men and not on the Word of God.

We say that someone should have a certain level of “maturity” in the realm of theological knowledge before they come to the Table. A child could not possibly partake of the Lord’s Supper because they don’t really understand that Jesus Christ died for them as their substitute. They don’t really understand that Jesus rose literally, physically from the dead.

Interestingly enough, neither did any of those who partook of the first Lord’s Table. None of the disciples really understand that what Jesus was about to do. None of them really understood that Jesus was about to suffer and die as their substitute and was going to raise from the dead in three days. If they did, then they would never have forsaken Him. And yet they all did forsake Him, and one even betrayed Him. And Jesus knowing their ignorance and future unbelief and disobedience allowed them all to partake of the supper.

And yet God has promised that He will be a God to us and to our children. And instead of taking God at His word and feeding His children with His food, at His table, we distrust God’s promises, and use the excuse of our children’s “possible” future unbelief and rebellion to keep them from the table. Jesus feeds His followers “knowing” their sins, and we keep God’s children from the table “not knowing” if our children will forsake Him.

What is wrong with this picture?

There is more.

We starve God’s little ones, keeping them from the “spiritual” nourishment that is to strengthen them in their faith, and then when they grow to act as we treat them [as hypocrites, rebellious, and unbelieving] we say to ourselves it is a good thing we didn’t feed them because look how they turned out to be. It would be like a man making his children work on his farm but not feeding them. Finally when the children died of starvation the farmer says to himself “it was a good thing I didn’t waste food on them because, in the end, they died and it would have gone to waste”.