Closed Communion is the scriptural practice of communing only with those who share the apostles’ doctrine. St. Luke writes in Acts 2:42 that the saints “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” In Matthew 28:20 Jesus commands Christians “to observe all things that I have commanded you,” not some of the things He has taught. Closed Communion means that Communion is to be refused a person who belongs to a church or church body that doesn’t hold to the apostolic doctrine, all things Jesus taught, in its entirety.
The Lutheran Confessions attest to this practice. Philip Melanchthon writes in the Augsburg Confession, “For none are admitted except they be first examined” (AC XXIV.6). He explains this examination further in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XV, when he writes “With us many use the Lord’s Supper [willingly and without constraint] every Lord’s Day, but after having been first instructed, examined [whether they know and understand anything of the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments], and absolved” (Ap XV.40). In Article XXIV of the Apology Melanchthon describes the Lutheran’s practice of giving people the sacrament “after they have been examined and absolved” (XXIV.1) and “after having first been instructed and examined” (XXIV.49). Lutherans historically have required that instruction and examination in the Christian doctrine precede admission to the Lord’s Supper.
Open Communion, on the other hand, is the practice of welcoming people to the Lord’s Supper regardless of whether or not they hold to the apostolic doctrine in its entirety. Open Communion can be practiced in varying degrees. Sometimes open Communion is blatantly promoted, as when a church says “Everyone is welcome at the Lord’s Table.” Other times open Communion is cloaked under the inclusion of certain requirements which fall short of sharing the apostolic teaching, Christ’s doctrine in all things.
Closed Communion is the official, “on-paper” practice of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Despite this being the Biblical, historic, and official position of the Missouri Synod, open Communion is widespread. Here are a few examples of open Communion throughout the LCMS. Each of these are from church’s websites. Each of them was accessed on March 15, 2018.
Communion is a special meal for all confessing and believing Christians. As Lutheran Christians we believe Christ’s body and blood are truly present, and in this meal we receive the forgiveness of our sins and power for Christian living. If you are in true repentance and have faith in these words, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” we urge you to participate.[1]
This church only requires communicants to be “confessing and believing Christians” who “are in repentance and have faith in these words, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” This opens Communion to anyone claiming to be a Christian, regardless of what they actually believe and confess.
Here’s another example:
As I commune as a Child of God, I examine myself and understand that I am a sinner. I tell God that I am sorry for the wrong that I have done and I believe that Jesus forgives me. As I approach the Lord’s Table, I will receive, in this Holy Sacrament, the real presence of Christ’s Body in the bread and His Blood in the wine. If there are concerns or questions, please see Pastor before taking communion.[2]
All that is required at this church is that the communicant understand he is a sinner, and that Jesus forgives them, and a belief in the real presence of Christ in the Sacrament. Other than that, the communicant can believe whatever he/she wants to believe. This “check box” mentality is common in the Missouri Synod. Generally, one must confess themselves to be a Christian, a sinner, belief in the real presence, and the desire to amend one’s sinful life. This doesn’t sound like open communion but it is because it’s still not participation based on a communion of belief in the Apostles’ doctrine.
Here is another example:
We offer the Lord’s Supper each weekend for those who have been baptized, and who also have been catechized in the Lutheran church. Please speak with our pastor if you have any questions or concerns about the Lord’s Supper or any other aspect of our worship life together.[3]
This statement sounds better than the previous examples, but it still misses the mark. This congregation requires that a person be baptized and catechized in the Lutheran church. It doesn’t say which Lutheran church. LCMS? ELCA? WELS/ELS? It also doesn’t require that the communicant actually belong to a congregation in fellowship—“in communion”—with that congregation. There are many who are baptized and who were confirmed in a Lutheran Church years ago but have since left it for a heterodox church. They no longer share the apostolic doctrine because they now attend a church that does not teach the apostolic doctrine in its entirety. This looks like closed Communion but it’s not because it does not require the communicant to currently confess the apostles’ doctrine in all things.
These are examples of individual congregations that practice open Communion to varying degrees. But we also have an example of entire districts of the Synod embracing open Communion. In May 1997, Florida-Georgia District of the LCMS in Convention approved A Declaration of Eucharistic Understanding and Practice (DEUP). This document stated that there should be no denominational requirement of baptized Christians who desire to receive the body and blood of Christ offered in the Lord’s Supper.
In 1998 at the convention of synod there were 30 overtures to synod regarding the DEUP. Most of these overtures sought to reaffirm the Synod’s official practice of closed Communion. Five overtures supported the open Communion in the Florida-Georgia district. In fact, the Northwest District of the LCMS submitted an overture in favor of the DEUP. The Northwest District’s resolution said: “A practice congruent with Scripture and the Confessions calls for the Sacrament to be shared with baptized Christians who repent of their sins, believe the real presence, and sincerely intend to amend their sinful lives.”[4]
The 1998 Synodical convention passed Resolution 3-06A which declared the Declaration of Eucharistic Understanding and Practice (DEUP) null and void. However, the Missouri Synod in convention never required the pastors and congregations of Florida-Georgia District, or the Northwest District, to repent of their unscriptural practice and reasons for that practice. Nor did the synod in convention require the DEUP and resolutions supporting it be rescinded by those districts. The 1998 Synod in Convention simply nullified the Florida-Georgia District’s action.
The story of the Declaration of Eucharistic Understanding and Practice (DEUP) demonstrates that open Communion is not a minute problem which is only found in a few LCMS congregations. Entire districts of the synod have normalized a practice which is contrary to Holy Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and the bylaws of the synod to which they are members. This situation also demonstrates the Missouri Synod’s unwillingness to discipline pastors and districts when they tolerate and even publicly promote teachings and practices that are contrary to Scripture and its confession of the faith.
[1] http://www.stjohnsorange.org/about-us/what-we-believe/
[2] https://mychurchwebsite.s3.amazonaws.com/c3727/2018-03-11fourth_sunday_in_lentdoc.pdf
[3] http://orlutheran.org/worship/
[4] The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, “Overture 3-04: To Reevaluate Holy Communion Practice”,” To the Ends of the Earth: Convention Workbook, Sixtieth Regular Confession, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Wichita, KS, July 11-17, 1998. (St. Louis, Concordia, 1998), 154.
