How to Prepare for the Lord’s Supper

How do you prepare for the Lord’s Supper? Perhaps even that question seems odd and you’ve never even thought of preparing for it. But given the seriousness with which the New Testament presents it (see 1 Cor. 11), we ought to think carefully about preparing for it. Paul goes so far as to tell the Corinthians that their abuse of the Lord’s Supper is the reason some of them have died (1 Cor. 11:30)!

The Westminster Larger Catechism (171) and the Baptist Catechism (104) both address how we are to approach the Lord’s Supper. They are worth reading and reflecting upon. I suggest three primary questions to ask yourself before partaking of the Lord’s Supper:

First: Am I resting in Jesus Christ for salvation? The Lord’s Supper is not a magical grace dispenser. It is a means of grace as it is received by faith. In it, the same Christ who is presented by words in the gospel is presented by the bread and the cup. The Lord’s Supper is a picture of the gospel: Christ’s body, broken for you; Christ’s blood, shed for you. And so it is of first importance that we come to the table receiving and resting on Christ alone for salvation. It is a contradiction to the very meaning of the ordinance itself to come to celebrate it while trusting in anything other than Jesus Christ.

Second: Am I living in repentance and striving to put off the old man and put on Christ? Martin Luther famously began his 95 Theses thusly, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Yes, we give a time for private and corporate confession before we partake, but the repentance that should characterize our lives is a few moments here or there, but an entire life lived turning away from sin and to Christ. The Supper presents to us Christ, the Passover Lamb, sacrificed for our sins. Therefore, to come to the table while living in unrepentant sin is to cheapen the sacrifice of the Son of God Himself. I love how the third verse of “Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted” gets right at this:

Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great;
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the sacrifice appointed!
See who bears the awful load!
‘Tis the Word, the Lord’s anointed,
Son of man, and Son of God.

Third: Am I reconciled with my brothers and sisters in Christ? In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught that when one comes to worship, if he remembers that a brother has something against him, he needs to go and be reconciled before coming to worship. As Christians, we should not be content to let unresolved conflicts fester beneath the surface. Christ calls us to go be reconciled. Even if you believe you are in the right, even if you think the other person is being ridiculous, the call for Christians is to live at peace with all as much as we can (Rom. 12:18). Now, in some cases this may not happen. Reconciliation requires both parties. But before coming to worship, especially before partaking of the Lord’s Supper which grounds our unity as the one body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:17), we must make ever effort on our part to be reconciled to one another.

One last point, not as a way to prepare, but as a reminder: the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace. It’s not for perfect Christians. In fact, if you were perfect you would not need grace. It is for humble, sinful, followers of Jesus who are striving to put sin to death and follow Him.