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Publisher's Description: "But let a man examine himself" is a phrase that we may have heard of from 1 Corinthians 11 where man is to ask himself if he is right and meet to come and partake in the Lord's supper. But another question that is often asked is at what age is it okay for a child to partake in the Lord's supper. This book takes a constructive look at the doctrine of paedo-communion as defined: "as the admittance of a covenant child to the Lord's Supper on the basis of his descent from at least one professing Christian parent." Looking at this doctrine, these essays will provide food for thought across the various disciplines such as Biblical, Theological, historical and pastoral. It will be a guide as you seek to explore this key pastoral issue.
224 Pages
Published November 2011
About the Author(s): Ligon Duncan, PhD, is the General Editor, and is the Senior Minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church (PCA), Jackson, Mississippi. He is now Adjunct Professor of Theology at the Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS), where he was formerly the John R. Richardson Professor of Systematic Theology. He is Convener of the Twin Lakes Fellowship, a Council Member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Chairman of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and Secretary of the Board of Belhaven College.
Guy Waters is Associate Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson and has a particular interest in the letters and the theology of Paul. He is a teaching elder in the Mississippi presbytery.
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“For those who believe that the children of believers are covenanted members of the church, and eligible to be baptized, the issue of children’s participation in the Lord’s Supper can be a difficult one. If they may be admitted to one ordinance, why not to the other? This timely and useful book not only answers that question definitively and persuasively, it also explores much more besides: the relationship between Passover and Lord’s Supper, the theological, confessional and liturgical implications of the sacraments, and the place of children in the covenant of grace. This is a careful guide around a difficult subject, full of pastoral insight and biblical teaching.”
- Iain D. Campbell, Minister, Point Free Church of Scotland, Isle of Lewis
“Pastors and elders are shepherds of the hearts and souls of their people. Parents are shepherds of the hearts and souls of their children. All shepherds have a significant stake in this consideration of whether covenant children should participate in the Lord’s Supper prior to making their own public profession of faith. Are shepherds hurting the children by keeping them from coming to Christ if they keep them from participating in the Supper or are they helping and protecting the children by pointing them to Christ before they participate in the Supper? I believe the latter and I am grateful for this careful Biblical consideration of the issue.”
- Robert C. (Ric) Cannada, Jr., Chancellor and CEO, Reformed Theological Seminary
“The present and persistent debate within the Reformed community over paedocommunion, as the editors of this volume note, presents both challenge and opportunity. It is a challenge because long held convictions are called into question, and the bases for making this challenge are fundamentally exegetical and theological. It is an opportunity because we are called back to the foundations of our confessions and traditions, to examine the Scriptures afresh, to insure that we handle accurately the word of truth, and shepherd the flock of the Lord as we should. These essays meet the challenge at the high level it demands and deserves, so that those who dig into this debate will find themselves renewed in both faith and practice.”
- Mark E. Ross, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Columbia campus of Erskine Theological Seminary, Director of the Institute for Reformed Worship
“Like an unending case of the “terrible two’s,” infant communion advocacy stubbornly persists in many Reformed churches. Finally we have a single resource to counter the scope of exegetical, biblico-theological, historical, systematic, and practical arguments proffered by paedocommunion proponents. Honest, persuasive, yet irenic, this compilation of essays puts to bed infant communion’s errant theologizing and exposes the ecclesio-logically hazardous results of its practice. But the authors have done much more than polemicize. They have served a positively edifying and nourishing meal for the Church on the theology and practice of the Lord’s Table. I heartily recommend partaking in Children and the Lord’s Supper.”
- David B. Garner, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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