Mark chapter 14. Mark chapter 14. We'll be entering into verse 22, going down to verse 26. While they were eating, he took some bread after a blessing. He broke it and gave it to them and said, take it. This is my body." When he had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it to them that they all drank from it. He said to them, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, we'll never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Lord willing, we'll be back on track with the Lord's Supper following the schedule of the fifth Sunday, like we did in previous months. But today we've come to observe the Lord's Supper, the conclusion of this sermon. Today I want to look at the subject of a biblical look at the qualifications for communion, a biblical look at the qualifications for communion or the Lord's Supper. Every Baptist church, every Baptist church that's around, every Baptist church in history has has, what you might say, had some qualification, or some may even use the term, fenced the table in some way, shape, or form. No one has had a truly open communion insofar as opening it up to anyone and everyone. At the very bare minimum, even the most liberal of Baptist churches fenced the table to at least, to at least guarding it. so that only saved people would come and partake of the Lord's supper. But there is more to it than that. And today we want to look at those qualifications. I know for many of us, this is, this is a, uh, kind of a repeat or a reminder only. But for others, this may be something that you've not thought of before, especially if you're tuning in or listening. Sometimes when people learn that we're having the Lord's Supper, they say, oh, well, when do we get to have it in their visitor? Well, hold on. Let's talk about this. there are qualifications that a person has to meet in order to partake of the Lord's Supper. These are biblical qualifications that we want to look at. The first one that we want to When we talk about this, and by the way, the common term, and I'll throw this out here, the common term that we use is that we practice closed communion, closed communion. A lot of people kind of, their spine stiffens at that term, and they might get kind of upset at that. I hope by the end of this, you'll understand that these are biblical qualifications. We're not trying to be mean-spirited about this, but this is the Lord's table. This is the Lord's supper, and there are biblical qualifications that we must look at and consider when it comes to this. This is why, this is why, by the way, whenever we observe the Lord's Supper, we don't put a big old advertisement out on the internet, say, hey, we're having the Lord's Supper, and everybody's invited. But on the flip side, if we're having a meal afterwards, like if we're having a fellowship dinner, or if Liam made brownies or something like that, we'll put an advertisement out for that, say, everybody's welcome, come have some brownies, come have some, pork or something of that nature. There's a difference. Why? Because that's my table, my meal. I can invite anybody and everybody there, but this is the Lord's table. There are qualifications, and not everybody is qualified. There's certain qualifications that must be met for that. Now, if we have visitors, they're welcome to sit and watch, and we've certainly had that before. But not everybody can drink of the wine and eat of the bread. And so the first qualification, which I've mentioned, is the spiritual qualification. In order to partake of the Lord's Supper, a person does need to be saved. This is baseline. The unsaved have no right to the supper at all. Physical food is of no use to a physically dead person. So it is with the Lord's Supper. It's of no use to those who are spiritually dead. And so Ephesians chapter two, you're with me there for just a moment. Let me explain what I mean. Ephesians chapter two. Verse one, when Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus, he said it, and you were dead in your transgressions and sins. He says, and you were dead in your transgressions and sins. Verse five, he says, and when we were dead and our transgressions made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved. and raised us up with Him, seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And so a person who is without Christ is dead in their sins and transgressions. They're dead. And so a person who is lost is considered dead, spiritually speaking. A dead man, who is dead physically, can't be expected to come to family dinner, can't be expected to come to sit down at the meal, at your table, no matter how much you wanted to, and so it is when it comes to Lord's Supper. A dead man, a dead man who maybe, maybe you think a lot of him, maybe you, maybe he attends the services all the time, whatever it may be, but we cannot We cannot, should not, he ought not, he is not qualified to come to the Lord's Supper. There is no, and there is no good that can come, there is no good that can come that there's no salvation to be found in the ordinances and and the Lord's Supper is one of the ordinances of the church and there's no salvation to be found in that there's no saving grace to be found therein so it is not for him to partake in it and in Matthew chapter 26 in Matthew chapter 26 and verse 29 When Jesus sat down with the disciples there in that supper there, he said, but I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. And there was that expectation that Jesus would someday be with them in the kingdom. There cannot be that expectation for those who are lost. They will not be there in Matthew chapter 26. There's no expectation of that. Those who are lost will not be with Jesus again. And nowhere in the Bible do you find any lost men partaking of the supper. Nowhere in the Bible do you find anywhere that it was given to the lost for any reason. And so, those who say, yes, only those who are saved can participate of the, can come to the table, they've got one qualification right. That is correct. But what are the other qualifications? Because there is more. There is more. And when we restrict it further, we're doing so because of these reasons. There is also the baptism qualification. No unbaptized saint, no person who has never been baptized may partake of the Lord's Supper. In the Scriptures, baptism comes before the Lord's Supper. In the New Testament, we find in John 1, in verse 6, there was a man, having been sent from God, whose name was John, and he came. and he was baptizing. So baptism came before the Lord's Supper. That's how it is in the scriptures. But also, also, the first men who partook of the supper, they were baptized men. They were men who had been baptized. They had been baptized of John. Furthermore in Matthew In the book of Matthew chapter Chapter 28 We have the great commission that's given in Matthew chapter 28. verses 16 through 20. It says, But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated, When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came up and spake to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So we see Jesus commissioned his church, and the commission is this, to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them. So baptism comes first, and then the Lord's Supper. You say, well, I don't see that here. Well, no, you don't see it there in black and white or red, if you've got a red letter edition. You do see it insofar as it's there teaching them to keep, or teaching them to observe, depending on the translation you've got, all that I commanded you. That's where the Lord's Supper falls in. Baptism, then the Lord's Supper. And so, One of the requirements, one of the qualifications for communion, one of the qualifications for the Lord's Supper is that you've got to be baptized. You've got to be a baptized member of the church. And that is the next thing you want to look at is the church membership qualification. You see? You've got to be You've got to be saved, you've got to be baptized, but you've also got to be a member of the church. And the question is, what church are you a member of? What church are you a member of? We at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, we're going to be observing the Lord's Supper, we're going to be partaking of the bread, the wine, and if someone were here with us who was a member of another church, they could say, well, I'm saved, and I'm baptized, and I'm a member of a church. If they're not a member of this church, of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, they do not qualify, they are not able, we would not invite them to have the bread and the wine with us. Nor would we expect another church to invite us to have the Lord's Supper with them if we were at their church during the time when they are having the Lord's Supper. Over in Matthew chapter 26, Matthew chapter 26 verses 20 through 30. Now, when the evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the 12 disciples. And as they were eating, he said, truly, I say to you that one of you will betray me. Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to him, surely not I, Lord. He answered and said, he who dipped his hand with me in the bowl, one who betray me. the son of man is going just as written of him but woe to that man to whom the son of man is betrayed will have been good for that man if he had not been born and Judas who was betraying him answered and said surely not I Rabbi Jesus said to him you yourself said it now while they were eating Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, he broke it, giving it to the disciples. He said, take, eat, this is my body. And when he had taken a cup, giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, a drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you, my father's kingdom. We notice in this text that even though in the gospels there were many people who followed him, there were multitudes, there were people, we notice that he only met with his church. There was a limited amount of people that he met with on that day. Furthermore, in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 11, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Verses 18 through 20, from the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you. And in part, I believe it for there must also be factions among you so that those who are approved must become evident among you. Therefore, when you meet together in the same place is not to eat the Lord's supper. So. Paul was writing to a specific church, and he says, when you come together as a church. This idea of restricted or closed communion is implied in these words. When you come together. Now, he didn't say, when we come together. He said, when you come together. Now, obviously the church at Corinth had some issues and he's addressing that, but when he's writing about the Lord's Supper, he says, when you come together, well, someone might say, well, yeah, he's rebuking them. Okay, well, if you keep you keep reading on down in verse 26 he says for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes And so, it's a specific church ordinance. This was given for the church at Corinth. Paul was an outsider. He didn't say, for as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup. No, no. Paul wasn't a member of Corinth. Did Paul not take the North Supper ever? I believe he did, but not with Corinth. You see, not with Corinth. That's not the only qualification to consider. Being a saved, baptized member of the Lord's Church, there's also, excuse me, there's also the holiness question. Not only, Are you a member of the church, but are you a member of the church in good standing? Over in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, and I bring this up because there's sometimes confusion over this verse, over this passage. But let's look at this in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 9 through 13. I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. Do not at all mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with the idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. Now I'm writing to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler, not even to eat with such a mind. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Are you not to judge those who are within the church? those who are outside God will judge. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves." So when Paul gives this list, and it's not intended to be a complete list by the way, when he gives this list and he says, don't even eat with them, he's not saying you can't go down to McDonald's and have a Big Mac and a fry. or a Coke, he's saying you don't have the Lord's Supper with one who has been disciplined, who's been excluded from the church. This is what he's saying. They're outside of the church, they're not to have the Lord's Supper with you. Can they come and attend the service? Absolutely, they can. as long as they behave themselves and don't cause disorder and all that sort of thing. But he's saying, he's saying that there are qualifications and They must be a member in good standing. So when he says, don't eat with them, that's what he means. They're not able to be partakers of the Lord's supper if they're not a member in good standing. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, he goes on with this. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 14 through 22, of course, we've been going through Paul's letter to the church at Corinth, but look what he says here. In chapter 10, verses 14 through 22. Therefore, my beloved, fleeing from idolatry, I speak as to prudent people. You judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Look at the nation of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices sharing in shares in the altar? What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to become shares in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord in the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord in the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We're stronger than he. And so in this, he says, you know, we're not to drink the devil's cup through the week and then come in on Sunday to partake of the Lord's supper. And that's what he's saying here, provoking the Lord to anger, much like Israel did when they worshiped idols and other gods. All this, of course, in the context of the things that were going on with Corinth. We've seen some of that as we've gone through this letter. Now, we think about this. Some churches say, oh, well, we just open it up to anybody who's a saved, baptized member of any church, and they'll say it like this, but it's a church ordinance. And to do so is to misunderstand the authority that is given to the church. Somebody gets excluded from a church down the road, and they show up here, and they say, oh, yes, I'm a good member and good standing, blah, blah, blah. How do we know? How do we know that person? We don't. We have no clue. Only a church can regulate who's able to partake and who is not. The Bible is the final authority. We have no say over what's going on down the road or what's happening at a church in some other state and so on and so forth. We don't know these things. But then, as we think about this, we think about the qualifications. Only a church has the authority to maintain who's a member and who isn't. All of those things, the Lord's Supper is to be observed in the exact manner the scriptures teach. The church of Corinth was observing the supper like as if it was a meal. Someone said truth is stranger than fiction. We read this and we see what was going on there. It's really hard to believe that any church would actually allow these things to happen. But in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, In verse 21, it says, for in your eating, each one takes his own supper first, one is hungry and another is drunk. They were making it into a meal, not even looking out for each other. One person was getting full, someone else was hungry, one person was even getting drunk off of the wine, and all these things were happening. There were divisions. In verse 27, It says, therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must test himself. In so doing, he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Remember, for years and years and years, there was a lot of confusion, because in the King James, the translation said something about taking it unworthily. There were a lot of people, a lot of good saints that were confused over that. They said, well, I don't want to take it unworthily. I'm not worthy to take the supper, but that's not what's being said here. And I'm glad that this translation says what it does, because this brings out in the Greek, it says, Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner. It's talking about the action, not the actor. You see, if we're talking about us, none of us are worthy. We're made worthy through Jesus Christ. But what was going on was the church at Corinth, they were making this into a meal. Some of them were making it into old times buffet. Alcohol and all. And it was serious. In fact, so serious that the apostle and rebukes them. And he says, verse 29, for he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself. If he does not judge the body rightly for this reason, many among you are weak and sick and a number of you sleep. A number of you are dead. So the qualification The last one that we want to look at is that we must never treat it as a common meal. We must understand what this is about, and this is about Jesus Christ. We don't want to take it so far as to think like the Catholics do, that it literally is the blood and body of Jesus. but let us never take it too far of the other, the other direction and think of it like a common meal. And it is certainly an act of worship. Let us, let us take it, take it seriously. It represents The body of the bread representing the body of our Lord. The blood being represented in the wine. So these are the qualifications laid out in the scriptures for communion and why we hold to closed communion, why we fence the table, as some people call it, where we do biblical, scriptural, and for good reason.