Open communion
A 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.
Also called: open Table
What it means
Churches with open communion invite all who are present, or all who say they love Jesus, to take the bread and cup, often without asking about baptism, church membership, or standing. Many do so out of a desire to be welcoming, and to avoid seeming to judge anyone's heart.
The site distinguishes three practices. Some churches fence the Table through the elders. Some give a verbal warning, inviting believers and urging self-examination, and leave the decision to the individual. Open communion goes further, inviting everyone.
The historic confessions teach that the ignorant and ungodly are unfit to come, and that admitting them is a sin against Christ (WCF 29.8; LBCF 1689 30.8). Paul warns that eating unworthily brings judgment. An open Table may leave unbelievers or the openly unrepentant eating to their own harm, and makes church discipline impossible to apply at the Table. The site displays this as a practice, not a denial of the gospel, but grades it as a weakness.
In Scripture
Eating unworthily makes one guilty of the Lord's body and brings judgment on oneself.
Some in Corinth had become weak and ill because they ate without discerning the body.
The church is not to eat with a so-called brother who is openly immoral.
Believers welcome one another as Christ welcomed them, the welcome open-communion churches seek to show.
Where it comes up
On this site: Lord's Supper
Related terms
Fencing the TableHistoric 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.
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.