Sacraments

Jesus admitted little children into His presence, embracing and blessing them saying, “For such is the kingdom of God.”

Children, by baptism, are solemnly received into the bosom of the visible Church, distinguished from the world and united with believers. All who are baptized in the name of Christ, renounce and are bound to fight against the devil, the world, and the flesh.

They are federally holy before baptism and therefore are they baptized. The inward grace and virtue of baptism are not tied to the very moment of time when one is baptized—the fruit and power of it reach to the whole course of life, and outward baptism is not so necessary that without it an infant is in danger of damnation.

By virtue of being children of believing parents they are, because of God’s covenant ordinance, made members of the church, but this not sufficient to make them continue members of the Church. When they have reached the age of discretion, they become subject to obligations of the covenant: faith, repentance, and obedience. They then make a public confession of their faith in Christ, or become covenant breakers, and subject to the discipline of the Church.

All who are present during baptisms are to look to their own baptism and repent of their sins against their covenant with God, to stir up their faith, to improve and make right use of their baptism, and of the covenant sealed between God and their soul.

For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto Him. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you. Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your house.
— Acts 2.39; Genesis 17.7; Acts 16.31

Here are five considerations that are necessary and helpful to make when assessing your child’s readiness for Communion:

1. Interest/Desire

Does your child express an interest in and desire for the Table? When he or she sees you receive the elements, do they express interest in what is happening or a desire to join you? This is one of the reasons we want our children in corporate worship, to have their appetite whet for the things of the Lord, that the Spirit would be at work in their hearts to give them a hunger for spiritual nourishment, even when they don’t fully understand what is happening.

2. Corporate Worship

As a follow-up to the first question, does your child regularly attend corporate worship? Corporate worship is where the sacraments (Baptism and Communion) are practiced. A child is not ready to partake of the Communion Table if they are not ready to participate in the context in which the sacrament is offered.

3. Understanding of the Sacrament

Is your child able to talk about what the sacrament of Communion represents, what the elements point to, and why we take it? We want our children to be able to express a basic knowledge of what the sacrament of Communion represents. They do not have to come to this on their own, in fact, they cannot. As parents, teach them the things of our holy religion – the elements, wine and bread, represent Christ’s sacrifice for our sins on the cross. The meal points us towards the holy, heavenly feast to come when all of Christ’s people are gathered together to celebrate His final victory and as He claims a people for His own possession. There are many rich truths of our faith and promises of the gospel that the Lord’s Table teaches us. The preaching of God’s word is the gospel given out in words, but the sacraments are the gospel offered in pictures and touch – children especially learn through what they can see and feel, so don’t miss the teaching opportunity Communion provides! The Communicants Class will also cover these things with your children, but their understanding can start in the pews or at home with you.

4. Faith

Does your child profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? The Westminster Shorter Catechism #86 helps us by answering the question, What is faith in Jesus Christ? Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation, as He is offered to us in the gospel. Does your child profess to be a sinner, needing God’s forgiveness, and finding their hope of forgiveness in the only place it can be found – in the perfect life, sacrificial death on the cross, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ?

5. Repentance

Do you see evidence of repentance in your child’s life? Repentance is the other side of faith. Faith and repentance always go together. True faith will always be accompanied by repentance of sin. The Westminster Shorter Catechism helps us again. Question #87 asks, What is repentance unto life? Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience. Does your child ever turn from sin? Does he or she express sadness or remorse when caught in sin, not just because of the consequences you might give, but because he or she feels the weight of sin in their heart and wants to be free of it? Some children are quick to repent when caught in wrongdoing and have very soft, sensitive hearts to this. Other children may take longer to get there. They may at first defend themselves, bemoan the consequences, and refuse to acknowledge the wrongdoing. However, do they eventually come back desiring and seeking forgiveness, taking comfort in knowing forgiveness can be found in Christ? If so, you can rejoice and be assured, the Spirit is at work!

As you look for evidence of desire, understanding, faith, and repentance in your child’s life, you should not expect to see all of these things clearly all the time. Consider your own walk with the Lord and ask yourself if you have days where your faith and understanding of the gospel are less clear than others! Our children are just like us, sinners who will battle with sin and unbelief their whole lives. We ultimately do not want to point to a child’s actions or behaviors to affirm their faith, but instead look for evidence of the Spirit’s work in them. We know it requires the Spirit to confess Jesus as Savior and King and to have remorse for sin and turn from sin to the Lord. When we see evidence of this in a child’s life, even in small ways, we give thanks to the Lord for his saving work and trust in His faithfulness to complete that work over a lifetime. Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” For our children who do make a credible profession of faith, our Communicants process is a way for the Church to affirm and strengthen that child’s faith, so that the child can hear his or her church saying back to them, “Yes, we see that you believe in Jesus, and we agree that there is evidence of His faithfulness at work in your life.” It is a joyful and meaningful affirmation that a child should be able to look back on throughout his or her life as an encouragement and a responsibility to continue in that faith.

For a covenant child who is not yet ready to profess faith, we offer this encouragement to parents and children:

• Trust in God’s Faithfulness. It is God’s work alone that brings about faith in a sinner’s heart. If a child is even asking questions about God or wants to know and understand more about Him, then God is at work in the life of that child! The Lord is faithful to reveal Himself in different times and in different ways to His people, so we can trust Him to bring about saving faith in His perfect timing for our children.
• Recall God’s Promises. Covenant children have a special status with the Lord. The child of just one believing parent is holy and set apart in God’s sight (1 Corinthians 7:13-15). As a child’s baptism represents, our covenant children have been included in the visible people of God, which is a great privilege. The Lord’s favor and love are evident in that He has blessed a covenant child with being brought up with abundant access to His means of grace – the preaching of His word, prayer, witnessing the sacraments, and participating in the fellowship of other believers. The Lord is seeking our covenant children!
• Teach your children to seek the Lord. At the same time, God calls us to seek Him. Isaiah 55:6 commands, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” Our job as parents and the church is to impress upon our children the importance of seeking the Lord where He has promised to be found – in His Word, through Prayer and gathering with His Church. We will do well to continue to put the means of grace before our children and trust Him to do the saving work in their hearts that only He can do.

Let your children see you trusting their lives to God and hoping in His promises for their salvation. Give them time and space to make a profession of faith when they are ready to do so. Look in faith for their salvation, as you do for your own, to the only Savior of sinners, Jesus Christ. Our God is faithful, and He will surely do it.

“He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24