paedocommunion

To You & Your Children

by Ben Zornes · May 9, 2023

As you raise your children in a congregation that communes baptized children from their early days, you ought to be aware of a few things. Your kids are growing up in a setting where this is normal. This position is, admittedly, a bit in the minority when it comes to broader scope of the Christian landscape.

This being the case, we ought to make sure we understand, from Scripture, why we believe our baptized children should come along to this table. Simultaneously, we ought not give our opponents ammo for discrediting our position by falling into the very pitfalls which they warn us of. It does no good to tout how important it is to view our children as members of the covenant and then have them grow into damnable fools, heretics, and scallawags.

Scripture tells us that Israel’s feasts were familial & didactic. At Passover, a child of the family was tasked with asking the question “What do you mean by this service (Ex. 12:26)?” The early church is described as breaking the bread together in households (Acts 2:46, 20:7). To exclude children would be to break with Scriptural precedent. Scripture doesn’t withhold the Supper from any except for the lazy man who won’t provide for his family or the excommunicated.

The simple theological argument is this. If you place the sign of covenant inclusion upon them, why withhold the sign of covenant partaking from them? All who belong to Christ, should receive Christ.

Now for the warning. This meal is a blessing. But blessings received in unbelief turn into curses. Bread received without evangelical faith becomes stone. Wine received without true trust in God’s promises becomes cyanide. The Almighty Christ offers Himself to you here. So young & old, parents & children, saints one & all: trust that all You need is all that Christ is.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…

Sheep Bleating At the Shepherds

by Ben Zornes · May 17, 2022

One of the doctrinal conclusions which comes from a covenant theology, is that all who’ve been united with Christ in baptism should partake of Christ here in His Supper. All in Christ, should eat of Christ. Which explains why baptized children aren’t kept from the Lord’s table. But affirming a doctrine isn’t enough. We must put it into practice circumspectly.

This is why we’ve sought to cultivate a culture within our congregation where baptized children are welcome to begin partaking of the Supper as soon as they are able. When a baptized infant starts giving mom & dad a quizzical look which says, “What gives?” as the basket of bread goes past them each week, what we call “a teachable moment” has arrived. By welcoming or withholding, the child is being taught. They’re either being taught that they’re “in” or “out.”

Which is why parents should, as soon as their infant is no longer sleeping through the sermon, alert the elders that the child is capable of partaking along with all the other saints. Let me quickly add an important point of doctrine which parents should keep in mind when this juncture comes. Parents shouldn’t think of themselves as the arbiters of when a child is “ready.” Fathers & mothers aren’t notifying the elders of a decision which the parents made. Rather, they’re ensuring the elders’ don’t overlook a covenant member.

The Word lays out the duties assigned to specific governments. The elders are the “stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:11).” It isn’t the father’s duty to fence the table. That’s the duty of the elders. So parents, when you draw the attention of the elders to the fact that your baptized child is now capable of partaking, think of yourself as fellow sheep, bleating at the shepherds, to not neglect feeding the littlest lambs.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ…

The Door and The Table

by Ben Zornes · Mar 8, 2021

You’ll have noticed that we not only practice infant baptism, we also welcome those baptized children to the Lord’s table. Israel’s example warns us of the dangers of covenant presumption. So, we must not neglect to teach, early and often, what these sacraments mean, and, more importantly, how to receive them rightly. In explaining these great mysteries to our children, we’re to take expansive theological glories, and put them in half-pint sized terms.

The image of a family home assists in explaining these sacraments. If you’re not in the family, you aren’t welcome to burst in and plunder the fridge. That’s called trespassin’. You must be invited in through the door. That door is baptism. The door is the only entrance into God’s household.

Once in the house, the most important piece of furniture is the table around which the family feasts. The table is this Supper. This is the family meal of God the Father with His children. Those who are welcomed through the door of Christ, are then freely welcomed at the table of Christ.

While many in the Reformed tradition agree with us as to the scriptural foundation for baptizing infants, they make those children wait in line for 13-18 years at the spiritual equivalent of the DMV before being welcomed to eat at the table. But even a child can see the problem with that practice. Haven’t I come through the door? Then shouldn’t I come to the table?

After all, here’s the meaning of these sacraments. Jesus is the only doorway to fellowship with God. Don’t stay out on the porch. He invites all who hear His voice to come in and dine with Him. Once inside, don’t act like a beggar hoping for scraps. Come joyfully in faith to this feast. For that is how we are to receive these sacraments. We receive them by believing that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the door, and Jesus is the table.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus…