1st. The Romanists make the condition of salvation to be union with and obedience to the church, and, consequently, admit all to the sacraments who express their desire to conform and obey. " No one," however, "conscious of mortal sin, and having an opportunity of recurring to a confessor, however contrite he may
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deem himself, is to approach the holy eucharist, until he is puri- fied by sacramental confession." — Coun. Trent, sess. 13, canon 11. The Lutherans agree with them in admitting all who conform to the external requirements of the church.
2d. High Church prelatists, and others who regard the sacra- ments as in themselves effective means of grace, maintain that even those who, knowing themselves to be destitute of the fruits of the Spirit, nevertheless have speculative faith in the gospel, and are free from scandal, and desire to come, should be ad- mitted.
3d. The faith and practice of all the evangelical churches is that the communion is designed only for believers, and therefore, that a credible profession of faith and obedience should be re- quired of every applicant. (1.) The Baptist churches denying altogether the right of infant church membership, receive all ap- plicants for the communion as from the world, and therefore demand positive evidences of the new birth of all. (2.) All the Pedobaptist churches, maintaining that all children baptized in infancy are already members of the church, distinguish between the admission of the children of the church to the communion, and the admission de novo to the church of the unbaptized alien from the world. With regard to the former, the presumption is that they should come to the Lord's table when they arrive at u years of discretion, if they be free from scandal, appear to be sober and steady, and to have sufficient knowledge to discern the Lord's body." In the case of the unbaptized worldling, the pre- sumption is that they are aliens until they bring a credible pro- fession of a change.
21. How may it be proved that the Lord's supper is not de- signed for the unrenewed ?
It can, of course, be designed only for those who are spirit- ually qualified to do in reality what every recipient of the sacra- ment does in form, and professedly. But this ordinance is essen- tially—
1st. A profession of Christ.
2d. A solemn covenant to accept Christ and his gospel, and to fulfill the conditions of discipleship.
3d. An act of spiritual communion with Christ.
CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION. 515
The qualifications for acceptable communion, therefore, are such knowledge, and such a spiritual condition as shall enable the recipient intelligently and honestly to discern in the emblems the Lord's body as sacrificed for sin, to contract with him the gospel covenant, and to hold fellowship with him through the Spirit.
22. What have the church and its officers a right to require of those tvhom they admit to the Lord's supper ?
" The officers of the church are the judges of the qualifications of those to be admitted to sealing ordinances." " And those so admitted shall be examined as to their knowledge and piety." — Direct, for Worsh., Chap. IX. As God has not endowed any of these officers with the power of reading the heart, it follows that the qualifications of which they are the judges are simply those of competent knowledge, purity of life, and credible profession of faith. It is their duty to examine the applicant as to his knowl- edge, to watch and inquire concerning his walk and conversation, to set before him faithfully the inward spiritual qualifications re- quisite for acceptable communion, and to hear his profession of that spiritual faith and purpose. The responsibility of the act then rests upon the individual professor, and not upon the ses- sion, who are never to be understood as passing judgment upon, or as indorsing the validity of his evidences.
23. What is the difference between the Presbyterian and the Congregational churches upon this point ?
There exists a difference between the traditionary views and practice of these two bodies of Christians with respect to the abil- ity, the right, and the duty of church officers, of forming and affirming a positive official judgment upon the inward spiritual character of applicants for church privileges. The Congregation- alists understand by " credible profession" the positive evidence- of a religious experience which satisfies the official judges of the gracious state of the applicant. The Presbyterians understand by that phrase only an intelligent profession of true spiritual: faith in Christ, which is not contradicted by the life.
Dr. Candlish, in the Edinburgh Witness, June 8th, 1848, says, " The principle (of communion), as it is notorious that the
516 THE lord's supper.