Can Young Children Examine Themselves?

As you know, it is our practice to welcome young baptized children to the Lord’s Supper under the authority of the elders. This practice is called paedocommunion or young child communion. And in this we hold a minority position in the modern Reformed Church. There is evidence that the early church practiced this, but as the Roman Catholic church became more confused and superstitious about the sacraments, the Protestant Reformers largely saw child communion as part of that superstition. 

Most Reformed and presbyterian denominations require baptized children to wait and make some kind profession of faith at an older age before coming to the Lord’s Supper. Their central argument is taken from 1 Cor. 11 where Paul warns against eating and drinking unworthily and becoming guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. It says that a man ought to examine himself as he partakes of the bread and wine, otherwise he may eat and drink damnation, if he does not discern the Lord’s body. 

These are very serious warnings, and so we can appreciate why some would say that children should wait to make sure they are eating and drinking in a worthy manner. However, in context, the particular abuses that Paul is addressing are people who are getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper and others who are forming factions and excluding others. We do believe that children must be taught to understand that this is not just some kind of snack in the middle of church, and they must come in faith believing that this bread and wine represents the death of Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and that they have been made part of Christ’s body. But if you can discipline your child and teach him to pray and confess his sins, then there is no reason why we should doubt that young children can examine themselves and so come in a worthy manner. 

Finally, the warnings in Scripture generally run in the other direction regarding children. Jesus warns adults against excluding them, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. And so one of the most important ways we discern the Lord’s Body is by welcoming the littlest members of His body into full fellowship with us at this table. So come and welcome to Jesus Christ. 

Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash