Close Communion. A WELS perspective.

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Studeclunker

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There has been considerable mud slung around this sub-forum lately concerning the differences between WELS and LMCS. Some of this mud, I am very ashamed to say, has been my fault. For that I appologise to my WELS brothers and sisters.

The following document was provided to me by Pastor Brian Pechman of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church (WELS) in Redding CA. He's a young fellow and one of the best conservative pastors I've ever encountered. It's taken from an address the Pastor made.

THIS THREAD IS NOT OPEN TO DEBATE, PLEASE.

I just thought everyone might enjoy this. Seeing that the fellow is the same age as one of my children, his views expressed herein give me considerable hope for the congregation of believers coming up behind my own... belligerent, generation.

This is a long document and I had to break it up. Also, the font might be a bit small for old codgers like me, that too was done because of it's length. I didn't however, edit the contents or text itself in any way.


.
 
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Studeclunker

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What Fellowship
Can Light
Have with
Darkness?





A Look at Close Communion in the Church of the First Four Centuries













Presented to the Dakota/Montana Spring Pastors’ Conference
April 20-21, 2004 at the Howard Johnson Hotel, Canmore, Alberta
By Pastor Brian Pechman, Abundant Life Lutheran Church, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada



What Fellowship Can Light Have with Darkness?



Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what does righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? –


2 Corinthians 6:14


What fellowship can light have with darkness? These are the words of the Apostle Paul to his “problem child” – the congregation at Corinth. The believers at Corinth are a case study for believers of every age. Like the Israelites who had been touched by God’s grace and like you and I – at times – who have been touched by God’s grace, there is a temptation to take the grace of God lightly. The first letter to the Corinthians unveils one unhappy sin after another – adultery, a case of incest, drunkenness, lawsuits, choosing favourites among their pastors, and a whole parade of foolishness masquerading as freedom in the grace of God. First Corinthians gives the proper response for any faithful pastor – Paul rebukes, admonishes, corrects and teaches in righteousness.
The congregation was also being infiltrated by false teachers who laid the charge at Paul’s feet of being a loveless pastor for being heavy-handed and actually telling them that what they were doing not in keeping with a life that had been touched by the grace of God. To top that off, those false teachers charged Paul with being less than worthy of being an apostle. Very frankly, matter-of-factly the congregation is told that the truth cannot be mixed with error. They have no company together. Light has no fellowship with darkness. Nor does darkness have any fellowship with light.
What fellowship can light have with darkness? Ah, the beauty of the rhetorical question! Without aimless ponderings the Corinthians knew the answer to that question. The answer, of course, is nothing. You will find no darkness where there is light. No darkness! You will find no light where there is darkness. No light! These words of the Apostle Paul form the perfect underpinning of our look at close communion in the early Christian church. They were words that were quoted by many of those Christians to uphold their unequivocal practice of close communion. They are words that should be kept at the ready by us as we hold up the Biblical and the early Christian church teaching of close communion.


Terminology 101

One of the many things that sets the Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod apart from other church bodies is its communion practice. It is no secret that most church bodies – Catholic, Reformed, even Lutheran – practice some form of “open communion.” That is, they allow people of other denominations and fellowships to share altar fellowship with them. Because of what many popular churches teach concerning the Lord’s Supper – the bread and wine simply being symbols – you will also find many of them opening communion to even the smallest of tikes. Of course, this is after they have made their decision to accept Jesus into their lives!
Our Wisconsin Synod still practices “close” or “closed communion,” admitting only those who share the same faith and belief in all of the truths of God’s Word. Both terms, “close” and “closed” commonly are applied to this practice. The term “closed” stresses that the communion is “closed” to those outside our fellowship. The term “close” stresses that those who are one in faith enter into this intimate fellowship in communion.
Placing those terms side by side it is notable that one can be seen as a positive term and one as a negative. Using the term “closed” communion suggests a negative connotation such as, “You aren’t allowed to come to communion” and “This is not for you.” When the reality is: it is for them after they have been taught in accordance with God’s Word the truths of communion and confess that they hold to the same truths both of communion and the rest of Scripture as do the others gathered to receive Holy Communion. The term “close” communion uniquely captures the sphere of both close, intimate communion with our Lord and Saviour and close, intimate communion with our fellow believers around the Lord’s Table. Since we will always want to put the truths of God’s Word into the positive, for our discussion here we will use the term close communion.
 
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Studeclunker

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And the Bible Says…

Any discussion on close communion, whether in the church of the first four centuries or in our present day church, can only begin in one place. The Bible carries more weight and trumps anything that we find in traditions or in church history. While historical evidence for the practice of close communion may be very beneficial in setting a precedent it can never take the place of Biblical evidence. If the early church proclaimed and we proclaim that the Bible teaches close communion we need to know upon what biblical basis we lay those claims.
In the eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul shares with us: “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:23-29).
From this the Lord teaches us four realms of exclusion when it comes to his Supper. First, we learn to exclude impenitent sinners. The Corinthians, had they examined themselves correctly, would have seen their sin, felt sorry for it, trusted Christ for forgiveness and tried to lead a better life. Certainly, this was a leading reason why Paul wrote this letter. He did not want them to come under God’s judgment (v.29). If Paul could demand that they “expel the wicked man from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:13) who was involved in the sad sin of incest, he most certainly would have urged them to exclude from the Lord’s Supper those who continued to show impenitence after dealing with them in this letter.
The second realm of exclusion is those who do not know or refuse to believe the “real presence” in the Lord’s Supper. What Paul had learned straight from the Lord about his Supper, he taught the Corinthians. But it seems as if they had violated the true meaning of this supper. If they had understood and believed that they actually were receiving the precious body and blood of Christ, they would not have acted the way they did (v.27,29). The Lord’s Supper is intended for Christians who have been instructed and believe the true meaning of it.
The third realm of exclusion is those who do not know or refuse to properly prepare themselves for partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Paul urged the Corinthians to examine themselves before they partake of the meal (v.28). A person is properly prepared to receive the Lord’s Supper when they know without a doubt how far short of the glory of God they have fallen and they trust and believe these words: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
We also learn a fourth realm of exclusion: we are to exclude those who do not share the same faith. In this section of Scripture this is implied rather than explicit. A purpose for Paul writing this book was so there would be no divisions in the church. He wanted unity of doctrine and practice. He wanted the proclamation of the Lord’s death by the Corinthian Christians use of the Lord’s Supper to be a true confession of faith. They had made it extremely unclear and vague. Merely eating and drinking would not proclaim the Lord’s death. But with the right understanding of the Lord’s Supper and the right partaking of that same Supper, it would.
From the accounts in the Gospels (Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-20), we learn to practice close communion. These accounts share with us the institution of the Lord’s Supper. You will immediately note that Christ begins with a select group of Christians, his disciples, whom he had been teaching and training for three years. Jesus had many disciples, perhaps hundreds and hundreds, but only eleven received the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is not intended for everyone like the gospel, or baptism. The Lord’s Supper is intended only for certain Christians. Not even the owner of the house in which it was instituted, although known to Christ, was invited. Even Judas was excused before the sacrament was given. You and I must conclude that Jesus, the all-knowing Son of God, knew that these eleven were well prepared to receive his body and blood in the sacrament. His very own words that evening must have given them faith to believe in the real presence. In that upper room in Jerusalem there was a oneness of faith and doctrine. Jesus’ command to “do this” was a directive not only to them but to the church until the end of time.
Outside of the accounts of the Lord’s Supper there are still more points of Scripture that are related to our discussion of close communion. “Do not give to dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces” (Matthew 7:6). The truths of the Bible, including the gospel and the sacraments, should not be given to those who, like dogs, attack every effort to uphold them or who, like pigs, could care less that they ground the pearls of truth into the mud. By the practice of close communion we strive to make sure that God’s remarkable, miraculous gift of himself to us in this sacrament remains exactly that – a remarkable, miraculous gift.
“But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. With such a man do not even eat” (1 Corinthians 5:11). These are not real brothers; they only profess themselves to be brothers. They openly sin – against better knowledge. The Corinthians were to steer clear of these kind of characters, not to associate with them, not even to eat with them. It certainly follows that they were not to partake of the Lord’s Supper with them. The practice of close communion excludes those who may want to colour themselves Christian, but by their life show their true colours. Certainly, what is true of open sin is also true of open false doctrine.
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us” (2 Thessalonians 3:6). This is not a withdrawal of all contact but a withholding of close fellowship. These are members of the same church, who, after repeated attempts to change (1 Thessalonians 4:11,12; 5:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:11,12) are still trying to live without working. They are not to be expelled yet but to have their consciences pricked by the action of the congregation. They are to be refused such privileges as participation in the Lord’s Supper and the usual agape meals, until they demonstrate that they truly are spiritual brothers and repentant sinners. This the writers have on the authority of Jesus Christ himself. The practice of close communion includes the exclusion of impenitent sinners even within a congregation as a form of church discipline.
“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them” (Romans 16:17). Paul is warning the Roman Christians to keep their eyes open for believers who are errorists and teach falsely. They are equipped to do this because they know the true doctrine taught to them. All an errorist does is divide the unity of faith and fracture the body of Christ which the Holy Spirit works to build up. Once detected, they were to completely cut off all religious ties, otherwise it could prove to be a death trap. This urging is demonstrated convincingly as it follows on a long list of who the believers were to greet for Paul with a holy kiss. The practice of close communion recognizes errorists within the visible church and deals with them by excluding them from taking the Lord’s Supper.


Koinonia of 1 Corinthians 10

There is one more section of Scripture that relates to a discussion on close communion. It is this section that directs our understanding of koinonia. Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker give the various meanings of koinonia:
“1. association, communion, fellowship, close relationship; 2. generosity, fellow-feeling, altruism; 3. sign of fellowship, proof of brotherly unity, even gift contribution; 4. participation, sharing in something.”[1]
In 1 Corinthians 10 the Lord recorded for us: “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation (koinonia) in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation (koinonia) in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake (koinonia) of the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:16,17). The understanding of koinonia grows out of 1 Corinthians 10:16,17. Not only do individuals actually participate in the very body and blood of Christ when they eat and drink the bread and the wine, but they are bound together and become one with each other. Along with Paul, Irenaeus clearly understands koinonia as partaking of the body and blood of Christ. Theologically, the Sacrament was also always understood as binding its participants together.[2]
There are two spheres to the koinonia of 1 Corinthians 10. Koinonia as partaking, which is first individual, is clearly understandable, but by its very nature the second sphere also becomes clearly understandable – the many become one. Those who participate in the eating of the bread which is the body of Christ, are together the body of Christ. We are together as a unit drawn into the body of Christ and represent the body of Christ. As we are made one spiritually by the Holy Spirit, so we are made one body by partaking in the sacrament of the body of Christ.
This has dramatic implications in close communion. Since the body of Christ cannot have fissions and fractures in it, how is it possible that those of differing confessions can commune together at the Lord’s Table? If those who participate in the body of Christ are drawn into the body of Christ and become one, how can it be admissible to commune those who share a different understanding of the truth of God’s Word? It is neither possible nor admissible – for the body of Christ is not divided but is one.
We eat one bread and by that eating, we become one body. The practice of close communion is an expression of that oneness and a protection of that oneness.
 
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Studeclunker

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A Fire Wall


It is certainly obvious that there are divisions in the visible church, but since when have these divisions existed? Hans Asmusin stated “the division at the Lord’s Table as we have it today has a history of four hundred years.” The statement suggests that divisions in the church arose at the time of the Reformation. But this is more than a slip of a year or two. Half a millennium before the Reformation there was division between the Western Church and the Orthodox Church of the East. And a thousand years before that there was division in the early Christian church with the Monophysites and the Nestorians. The divisions in the church did not begin with the Reformation. From the beginning the church suffered such divisions. Since the days of the apostles, the church has faced the question of how these divisions affect altar fellowship.[3]
Much like modern day computers contain firewalls to protect themselves from attacks through the internet, the early Christian church had in place its own firewall to protect their church and altar fellowship. In the days of the apostles they had the strong and unwavering authority of their position as ones sent by the Lord that ended all disputes in the church. But with the passing of the apostles, the discord and division grew not less but greater. The early church inquired as to what decisions the apostles had already made and sought direction from them as crisis arose. This led to the establishment of a firewall which had authority in areas of fellowship. The church’s firewall consisted of three lines of defense: the episcopate, the canon of the New Testament, and the Rule of Faith. These were the three strong firewalls which were expected to prevent divisions in the church in the future.
Ignatius, Cyprian, and many others, in the middle of the third century, directed every Christian to his or her bishop. This was all well and good as long as the bishops held to the apostolic teachings as they were handed down from Christ. But it was often true that bishops proved themselves “faulty pillars.” If the unity of the church rested on the bishops and apostolic succession, it rested rather insecurely. The first layer of the early church’s firewall wasn’t much of a failsafe.
It is different with the second firewall of the New Testament canon. Here it is not the successors of the apostles but they themselves who speak, more exactly the Lord himself who speaks. What we find here addressed to the church stands sure for all time. To this we can add the canon of the Old Testament since they stand together as a unit. Divisions can consequently only be overcome by continually going back to this authority. The difficulty is found in that heretics also find plenty of use for the Scriptures. Tertullian records that they base themselves upon it. Things haven’t changed much in two thousand years, have they? Exactly as today. The early church drew the conclusion from this that they must distinguish between the Holy Scriptures and what men have made out of it. It is typical that all parties will claim to be following the Word. This thought is prevalent in churches today, so simply heading back to the Word has not in fact prevented divisions. The second firewall of the early Christian church has been compromised.
There remains one final firewall that the early Christian church erected to safeguard its unity, the Rule of Faith. What exactly the writers of the second and third century understood by this term is disputed. It will be easiest for us to understand it as the baptismal creeds that were found in the early church. These creeds provided a right and true exposition of the teaching of Scripture. So the Rule of Faith naturally wanted to be understood and recognized as teachings of confessions. This Rule of Faith is no different then the “I believe” or “We believe” that we rise to confess at most of our worship services. The Rule of Faith was a witness and the early church never forgot this. They very clearly understood that dogma is confession and vice versa. It was this last firewall that was the early church’s greatest failsafe. By what a person held to be true, the church could grasp and handle their confession.

Validity vs. Integrity

Here is the key thing to understand about the early Christian church and its communion practices – for them it was always a case of validity versus integrity. The early church followed a very strict and narrow practice when it came to fellowship. They unequivocally practiced close communion. The integrity of the fellowship depends on the integrity of all its members.
Elert tells us: “The gathering for worship in the early church was not a public, but closed assembly, while the celebration of the Eucharist was reserved for the saints with the utmost strictness.”[4] There was a strict limitation of participation that was clearly evident at the end of the apostolic age. It was common place that when the communion portion of the service began, all those who were not communicant members of the church were ushered out – this included both baptized children and catechumens. This influence was not the keeping of secrecy but the keeping of unholy people from what is holy in accordance with the Old Testament understanding of holiness. The Didache offers a nugget on this: “Let no one eat and drink of your Eucharist except those baptized in the name of the Lord; for here the word of the Lord applies ‘Give not that which is holy to dogs.’”
When it came to communion in the early church it was always about validity versus integrity. The question was not about the validity of others’ communion but whether heretics and schismatics may be admitted to the universal Holy Communion. The question was never about validity, because naturally every church claimed validity for its sacrament. It was only about integrity. This was so because the early church still had a vital understanding of communion as koinonia. Is it in harmony with the koinonia of the body of Christ that Christians who are not at one should go to Holy Communion together? By being partakers of the body of Christ in the Supper we become one body with Christ. The partakers become “one body and one spirit.” Accordingly, there may be nothing separating or dividing them, for that which divides does nothing but injure the koinonia and do injury to the body of Christ. This principle applied to all personal dissensions. The celebration of the sacrament together is the seal of the most complete and personal relationship between human beings. To share communion in the case of personal divisions would also be to injure the integrity of the koinonia. For this reason the early church required that all such divisions be corrected before partaking of the Lord’s Supper. It was the integrity of the sacrament over and above the validity of the sacrament.
The principle was universally recognized in the early church, that fellowship at the altar was possible only where there was confessional unity. There was also universal recognition of the basic principle that inadmissible altar fellowship injures the integrity of church fellowship. The practice in our modern day and modern denominations of admitting anybody “as a guest” to the sacrament in a church of differing confession, so that people may commune to and fro, here and there in spite of the absence of full church fellowship was unknown and unthinkable in the early church.
This principle was comprehended and practiced by the laypeople of the early church. If their pastor or bishop gave communion to a person who was not in fellowship on the basis of his confession, their pastor, by that act, excluded himself from their fellowship. He is guilty of injuring the integrity of the whole. Where a person communes and whom a person communes is his confession.
Perpetual care was and is needed to preserve the integrity of altar fellowship. Christians have the obligation to confess everything that Jesus taught (Matthew 28:20; John 8:3-32). The Lord’s Supper is the most intimate form of church fellowship. Those who eat the same loaf are one body in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17). A person who communes in a church, without speaking a word, proclaims that he assents to everything that church confesses and teaches. The converse is also true. It is the duty of Christians to avoid false prophets (Matthew 7:15-20). False teaching has no right or place in the church. Christians are bound to mark and avoid those who cause divisions and the obstacles that are contrary to the doctrine that they have learned (Romans 16:17; Galatians 1:8-9). Welcoming false teachers as Christian brothers makes a person co-responsible for their error (2 John 10-11). In the words of Elert: “So long as there is anything that divides them, they may not communicate together. Any disunity carried into the celebration of the Communion does injury to the body of Christ.”[5]
 
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Studeclunker

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Close Communion in the Church of the Twenty-first Century


Considering that the early Christian church unequivocally held to the teaching of close communion in their churches and practiced it without exception. It would be proper for us to examine our practices of close communion in the church of the twenty-first century in light of the practices of the Christian church of the first four centuries.

  • The early church would celebrate the service of the Word inviting and including all people – members, non-members, children – holding that the gospel was for everyone, but they had a separate service for communion where only those who were baptized members who had confessed fully doctrinal unity were allowed to be present. What do you make of including the Sacrament as part of our regular worship services? Is it better to have it as part of our worship service or separate? If it is held separate, what would the reasoning be? We would be giving a clear confession to the close communion teaching of the Bible?


  • Elert’s statement at the end of chapter 14 has been used in bulletins as a close communion announcement. “By his partaking of the Sacrament in a church a Christian declares that the confession of that church is his confession. Since a man cannot at the same time hold two differing confessions, he cannot communicate in two churches of differing confessions. If anyone does this nevertheless, he denies his own confession, or has none at all.”[6] Do you think this is a useful announcement for your bulletin? Do you use page inserts on close communion or a few simple sentences? Which is better?


  • In the early church, fellowship was only possible on the basis of confessed faith. A confession of the formulated content of that faith was required by every full member. So the early church had in place a rigorous, high level of careful instruction that was given to their catechumens. Candidates for baptism were tested before given admission as to whether what was taught them was a matter of conviction and whether they were ready to demonstrate what they confessed in a corresponding manner in their life. In the church today, with all of the busy schedules and frenzy of people’s lives, BIC classes seem to be shrinking in their length. Is that a good thing? One step further, is our BIC method a bad compromise – an effort to teach the truth as quickly as possible?

  • We learned that the early church always strove to preserve the integrity of the sacrament no matter what. This striving included dealing with false teachers and heretics, but also dealing with those inside of the church. If a member of yours has any hint of misunderstanding about a truth of God’s Word or false doctrine should you protect the integrity of the body of Christ and withhold the sacrament?

What Fellowship Can Light Have with Darkness?

Returning to the verse from which the theme for this paper on close communion comes. “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what does righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” The rhetorical question answers itself and gives you an encouragement for close communion.
What fellowship can light have with darkness? None. What fellowship do two differing confessions have at the same altar communing in the body of Christ? None.
When you and I review what the Lord himself has taught us in his Word, when you and I learn from the early church, when you and I grasp that there is no fellowship outside of a united confession, when you and I learn to protect the integrity of the sacrament through close communion, then we can be thankful for the close communion that we have with God and with one another at His Table. Then we can be thankful for the true unity and peace that Christ – in his grace – allows us to have.



“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1


Soli Deo Gloria!




BIBLOGRAPHY


Bauer, Walter; Arndt, William; Gingrich, F. Wilbur; and Danker, Frederick. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Brug, John. Selections from the Fathers on Fellowship. Paper.

Concordia Self-Study Bible. New International Version. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1986.

Elert, Werner. Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1966.

Hoencke, Adolf. Evangelical Lutheran Dogmatics. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Northwestern Publishing House, 1999.

Hoffmann, Wilmer. Close Communion, Its Basis and Practice. Paper presented to the South-Central Pastor/Delegate Conference of the South Atlantic District. Decatur, Georgia. October 4, 1983.

Jahn, Curtis. Essays on Church Fellowship. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Northwestern Publishing House, 1996.

Koehler, Edward W. A. A Summary of Christian Doctrine. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1939.

Mueller, John Theodore. Christian Dogmatics. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1955.

Pieper, Francis. Christian Dogmatics, Volume III. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1953.


[1] Bauer, William; Arndt, William; Gingrich, F. Wilbur; Danker, Frederick W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979. pp. 438-439.

[2] Elert, Werner. Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1966. pp. 26-27.

[3] Elert, p. 44

[4] Elert, p. 76

[5] Elert, p. 180.

[6] Elert, p. 182.
 
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MarkRohfrietsch

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Great post!

East District of LCC will be in convention in a couple of weeks. The Delegates will be (hopefully) re-affirming Closed Communion in an Overture brought by our Circuit. This is happening in light of a couple of Congregations that are practicing open communion using grape juice and leavened bread.

May I share this with my Pastor?

Mark
 
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MarkRohfrietsch

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By all means, Mark, share it with whomever you like.

Thanks!

LCC = Lutheran Church Canada?

Yup.

Is LCC in altar/pulpit fellowship with WELS?

Nope. (What Rev said) But the principles apply to our situation.
 
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Studeclunker

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This is happening in light of a couple of Congregations that are practicing open communion using grape juice and leavened bread.

Oi, Vay!:doh: The pastors of these congregations need to be reminded that they're Lutheran and about Real Presence.
 
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LutheranChick

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Wonderful post, Stude! As the sole (I think!) ELS member here, (in pulpit and altar fellowship with WELS) I thank you for this post. I think I will share with my Vicar and Pastor. Not that they need reminding, but for them to share with people with questions about our practice of close communion.
 
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doulos_tou_kuriou

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If I could simply point one error out on that paper, Judas was never dismissed before communion in all three synoptics:
Luke 22:20-22 In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him."
Mark 14:20-22 "It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." While they were eating Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, "Take it, this is my body."
Matthew 26:25-26 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you." While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, "Take and eat, this is my body."
I don't go to John because as I am sure you already know John does not have the institution of the supper within it, although John 13:30 suggests the same. Just wanted to note that about the paper. But after all, we are all human. A well written paper for the most part.
Pax.
 
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Studeclunker

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Yes, I'd seen that error myself. However, since it isn't my work, I can't in good concience correct it. The document still stands quite well regardless.

Bringing up the subject of Judas and the institution though, wouldn't that bring yet another judgement on him? Poor fellow, he was an essential part of the plan. Jesus had to be betrayed. Jesus had to die in the way he did. Therefore, Judas had to betray him. What a connundrum.
 
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LutheranChick

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Yes, I'd seen that error myself. However, since it isn't my work, I can't in good concience correct it. The document still stands quite well regardless.

Bringing up the subject of Judas and the institution though, wouldn't that bring yet another judgement on him? Poor fellow, he was an essential part of the plan. Jesus had to be betrayed. Jesus had to die in the way he did. Therefore, Judas had to betray him. What a connundrum.
That is true- however, Judas did not have to hang himself. He could have repented and asked for forgiveness.
 
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LutheranHawkeye

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That is true- however, Judas did not have to hang himself. He could have repented and asked for forgiveness.
Do we know that Judas couldn't have hanged himself? Judas did repent when he gave the coins back to the Pharisees. I think that the biblical evidence points to Judas attaining salvation, but I am wrong a lot of the time. What do ya'll think?
 
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doulos_tou_kuriou

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Professor Niedner at Valparaiso University puts forth a very convincing argument that-at least according to Matthew's Gospel-there is sufficient evidence to suggest that Judas was forgiven. I think some of the other gospels and acts looks more sourly at Judas, but I have heard this thesis and it is a pretty good one. And if I might say for us, a comforting one.
 
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DaRev

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John 17:12 strongly suggests that Judas Iscariot was indeed lost. This point is also supported by the Lutheran Confessions in the Apologia XII 8, "If any one should ask why Saul and Judas and similar persons, who were dreadfully contrite, did not obtain grace, the answer was to be taken from faith and according to the Gospel, that Judas did not believe, that he did not support himself by the Gospel and promise of Christ. For faith shows the distinction between the contrition of Judas and of Peter. But the adversaries take their answer from the Law, that Judas did not love God, but feared the punishments."
 
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