Fencing the Table
Historic orthodoxy
The elders' guarding of the Lord's Supper, so that it is received by baptized believers in good standing in a true church, and not by the openly unrepentant or unbelieving.
Also called: fencing the Lord's Table, fence the Table, fenced Table, close communion, closed communion
What it means
Paul warns that whoever eats and drinks unworthily is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and tells each person to examine himself. He also tells the church not even to eat with a so-called brother who lives in open sin. So the church has always guarded the Table: warning the impenitent away and admitting those who profess Christ and are under the care of a church.
In practice, churches that fence the Table explain before the Supper who is invited, often believers who are baptized and are communicant members of a gospel-preaching church, and the elders oversee admission. Some practise "close" communion, admitting visitors from like-minded churches; a few practise "closed" communion, admitting only their own members.
Both the Westminster and 1689 confessions teach that "ignorant and ungodly persons" are unfit to come to the Table and cannot be admitted without great sin against Christ. Fencing is therefore not unkindness; it protects the honour of Christ and the souls of those who might eat in judgment.
In Scripture
Eating or drinking in an unworthy manner makes one guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
Each one must examine himself before he eats, discerning the body.
The church is not to eat with a professing brother who lives in open, unrepentant sin.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.
Where it comes up
Confessions: WCF 29.8; LBCF 1689 30.8; WLC Q173
On this site: Lord's Supper
Related terms
Open communionA view held among orthodox Christians
The practice of inviting to the Lord's Supper anyone present who wishes to come, with little or no guarding by the elders.
Church disciplineHistoric orthodoxy
The church's loving correction of members and officers who persist in serious sin or false teaching, aimed at their repentance, the purity of the church, and the honour of Christ.
Church membershipHistoric orthodoxy
The formal, mutual commitment by which a Christian joins a particular local church, submits to its elders, and takes responsibility for its other members.