Who Should Be Admitted to the Lord’s Supper? 4 Views
Davy Ellison outlines four views on who should be permitted to take communion. He then lands on one particular view.
You don’t want to be internet famous
‘Anyone can do it. Even you. Even me. And many people do. There are people that you’ve only ever heard of—literally the only reason—is because they play to the algorithm. Some have built massive online platforms, podcasts, and social followings. Others have mega-selling books. They got what they wanted. Or what they think they wanted.’
Rest: A Dirty Word
‘We know what the Bible says. We know that it applies to others. We can see the need for rest in those around us as their attitudes reflect Martha’s bad day. But all too often, we cannot see the issue in ourselves.’
Don’t Change What You Believe Just Because People Are Bad
‘When someone talks about why they’ve changed their convictions about something, they increasingly refer to negative experiences more often than persuasive arguments. Just in the last few months, I’ve seen prominent figures change denominations and talk more about the unkind or foolish people in their old tradition than about the new biblical evidence pushing them toward new convictions about baptism or polity.’
Why Mormonism and Christianity Are Not the Same
I don’t know many Christians who think this, but I’ve certainly met a few unbelievers and a number of Mormons who are adamant Mormonism stands in the historic Christian tradition. This one (rightly) says they don’t.
If God Meant Everybody, why did he say Neighbour?
‘In Leviticus 19:18, God commands his people to “love your neighbour as yourself”. Jesus called this the second greatest commandment, after loving God himself (Mark 12:28-31). When a religious leader asked him to clarify, “who is my neighbour?” Jesus used the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate that your “neighbour” could be anybody—even strangers, foreigners, and natural enemies. This raises a question: if God meant for us to love everyone, why didn’t he say that in the first place?’
From the archive: But it worked out for me!
‘It is never wise, nor right, to use our experience and place it above the expressed Word of God. If God has spoken in his Word, we are foolish if we insist that our experience (and our reasoning from that experience) can in any way overturn the clearer word we have in scripture. The moment the logic of ‘but it worked out for me’ rears its head, we are dealing with someone who is not so concerned with God’s Word as they are of justifying their own sin.’