Can kids eat of the sacraments?

[Crazyupstart]

I believe in believers baptism. My wife believes in paedo baptism (baptism of children when they are born). Our children are not yet baptized but my 4 yr. old understands well the meaning of Communion. We eat the bread and drink the wine every week at my church and my four yr. old, Titus, knows that "it helps us remember Jesus body and blood when he died for our sins on the cross, and he rose again!" He answers thus to me every week.

So my question is "Can our children eat the sacraments, understanding their meaning (as a child understands), if they are not yet baptized?"

If not please show me in the scriptures where it is forbidden or where baptism is specifically required for the taking of communion. Or just plain discussion on the topic would be good. :)

[Rey Reynoso]

As far as Scriptures are concerned, the only requirement to take the cup and break the bread is to do it in remembrance of Christ until He returns (1 Cor 11). So yeah.

[Barrett Young]

Crazy,
I am a Presbyterian (i.e. paedobaptist). My daughter is getting baptized this summer. When she gets older, she will want to partake of communion. But being baptized is not a prerequisite that I've ever heard of. Being a believer is.

Once someone has made a profession of faith, they are encouraged to take and eat. Of course, this is left up to the individual conscience. Preachers used to do what was called "fencing the table" before communion, warning those who would eat or drink unworthily. If Christ is not your savior, partaking of communion will result in greater condemnation, I believe. You've tasted the sacrament! You've had a real, subjective picture of Christ's crucifixion, yet you do not trust it for yourself. I would say this should be your only warning towards letting your son take and eat. Keeping him from eating it till then is keeping him from greater judgment.

[Otsukafan]

In the Orthodox Church even infants can partake if they are baptized.

Historically, in the Church you had to be a member of the Church to take communion. Baptism, until the seeker movement, was a requirement for Church membership almost universally.

Roman Catholics, I believe Anglicans and Lutherans wait for confirmation.

[Gina]

I didn't get this from your post so I'll ask- why is it you're waiting to baptize your son?

[David Arnold Carlson]

The arguement from scripture is one of example - belief, with baptism following immediately. Ergo, communion comes after b and b. Tradition (early) I believe is the same.

I do think that any believer who is not baptised has either been poorly discipled or is in some level of disobedience to God.

Of course you could ask where in the bible is it commanded that we share communion every week ;)

[Crazyupstart]

Hey thanks for the responses! To clarify a little more, here's what I'm driving at:

I believe in Baptism after a profession of faith. I think that believers need to show that they believe and not just say it. Therefore: when my 4 year old says he knows who Jesus is and can recite back the first 20 answers to the shorter catechism, and knows the meaning (to remember Christ) of communion but has not made a personal confession of faith do I withhold the bread and the cup? I don't really think that God will pass judgment upon a 4 yr old for "remembering" what He has done for us, as well as a 4 yr old can. I am more inclined to let him partake of the meal even without a "profession" or "baptism" because he knows what (in a small way) he is supposed to be remembering, and he is very respectful of the plate. Can you call that "partaking in an unworthy manner" if you take the verse in context of its original situation and meaning?

I am not confident that I can know for sure when my children are truly believing in Christ in their hearts. Can any of us? So how, other than a profession of faith, will I know when to let him partake of the meal? Do I need even to wait for the profession (and then baptism)? Why not let him partake now if he does it in a "worthy manner?"

BTW: We partake of communion every Sunday because the scripture says, "Do this as often as you gather together..." So to get off on another tangent: We don't partake of the meal on Wednesday nights or other church functions, so is my church a bunch of Hippocrates? How do you draw the line for taking that command literally?

[Gina]

Didn't he do that when he said: "it helps us remember Jesus body and blood when he died for our sins on the cross, and he rose again!" ???

[Moses]

I believe as long as a person, no matter the age, is a born again believer and understands what taking communion is and what it entails then that is all it takes. Yes a believer is to be baptized (sooner-than-later) but that is not a requirement of partaking The Lord's Supper. So I agree with Rey on the scripture he quoted (1 Cor 11).

[Subrosa]

In the Catholic Tradition Holy Communion is taken after both sacraments of baptism and reconciliation (confession), but before confirmation.

The Orthodox do all three at once, but in order of baptism, chrismation (confirmation), then communion. These are all given to infants at the time of baptism.

Subrosa

[Crazyupstart]

So is my son a believer just because he was raised in a Christian home and knows the rhetoric? How am I to know when "belief" is actual and personal? Do I hold off until I know for sure?

I will hold off baptism until I see in his heart a desire for God and an acknowledgment of his sinfulness. Thus "believers baptism" for the bible states over and over, "Believe and be baptized." But it seems dim as to the "believe and partake of the meal" part.

[Barrett Young]

Crazy,
I guess it depends on what your understanding of communion is. If you see it in the Zwinglian sense, then it is merely a remembrance of an event. There is no spiritual aspect to it. But a more reformed view of communion would hold that something actually occurs in communion. For the believer, there is a real taste of what Christ did for us, giving us assurance that as we eat, we are persevering in faith. If an unbeliever eats at the same time, they are eating and drinking to their own judgement (doesn't matter the age). To eat in a worthy manner (in the Protestant sense) means that the eating is combined with faith in Christ for salvation. If you believe your son has that, why are you holding back on the profession and baptism? Overall, I guess it depends what your church's stance is on this.

[Jacob Klinstein]

For personal reasons, my children (ages 10 & 12) have not wanted to pursue baptism. I keep telling them that they should, but that it involves an additional commitment to follow Christ publicly. For the sake of making them value communion as something more than a tasty mid-morning morsel, we have not let them partake because of their hesitancy in getting baptized.