You can turn with me in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4. I'll try to preach loud enough to overwhelm that little beeping sound we hear. Ephesians chapter 4, we will read from verse 1, down to verse 16. I'm going to draw our attention to the first part of verse 14 in particular. But I do want to say, just in case you think I'm preaching a little differently than normal, that this will not so much be an exegetical sermon on this particular text so much, but that we will be developing a topic and theme throughout, which is that of communicant membership in the church. But I want to draw your attention to this passage, and I want you to notice the importance of the body of Christ, and especially of officers in the church and elders in the church, to help us not to remain children in our faith. Ephesians chapter four, we'll begin our reading at verse one, read down to verse 16, but especially take notice of verse 14. Ephesians 4, beginning at verse 1. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, he says, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. Now this, he ascended, what does it mean but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effect of working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself love. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God abides forever. One of the greatest blessings that we get to experience as a church family here at Grace and Truth, and for that matter any church family that has little children, is the pitter-patter of little feet running around all over the place. Now, we don't necessarily like that all of the time, and especially not during a worship service, but nonetheless, the sounds of covenant children all around us is a tremendous blessing. I think that about half of the membership of our church is made up of covenant children who have not yet become communicant members and profess their faith in Christ. And all of our children are a blessing. They are a precious gift from God's hand. To have children in the home, in the church, to raise and train children, to rear and disciple them within the church is one of God's great means of evangelism and of extending the borders of his kingdom on the earth. but raising and training them and teaching them is also a great and awesome responsibility. Our little children and our children who are not so little will eventually enter the eternal state. If they live long enough, they will grow up and they will become men and women. And no matter how long they live, they will enter into the eternal state. And they will experience either an eternity in hell or an eternity in heaven. That is the destination. One of those two places, there is no other option, even for the offspring of the godly. And I ask you, what will become of our children? Where will your child go? Children, where would you go right now if you were to die? To be given life is to be given life for God's sake, children, and not your own. It is to be given life that is to be lived in service to Him, to worship Him, to know Him, to love Him. That is your greatest purpose, and that is your greatest goal in this life, as it is for all of us. But I say the raising of our children is an awesome responsibility. For to simply have covenant children does not mean that their salvation is automatically secure, but rather that the obligations and responsibilities laid upon them are only all that much greater, although the privileges and opportunities laid before them are greater as well. Oh, the blessings, the blessings that come from being a covenant child. But in light of all this, it's important that we have a biblical understanding, not only of the status of our children and of their relationship to the church, but also of the way that the children are to enjoy these privileges according to Christ's appointment. What is the best and most faithful way that the training of our children and the means of grace can be used for their edification and blessing and ultimately for their salvation? And I am speaking in particular here about the sacraments that Christ has given to his church. On the one hand, on one end of the spectrum, we have those in the church who say that children should not even be allowed to become members until they are older and profess faith in Christ and then are baptized and given the privilege of partaking of the Lord's Supper. But then on the other hand, at the other end of the spectrum, we have those who say that not only should children of believers be considered members of the church and baptized, but also to be able to take communion at the earliest age that it is possible for them to do so. These are two ends of the spectrum that are generally within the realms of Reformed Orthodoxy, although I would argue that actually in both ends, they are departing from the historic Reformed Christian faith. But generally speaking, they can be considered true believers and hold, for sure, hold these opinions. And so I ask again, what is the status of the children in the church? And what track should we take when it comes to their involvement in the church's ordinances? What is their role? What is their status? And what privileges should they be given? And at what age? These are important questions to ask and to answer. As these are the means of grace that Christ himself has appointed for the purpose of blessing his people and nurturing his people, that he may bring them safely home to himself. And those sacraments themselves do not save, they are of eternal consequence and of eternal value. And so, as always, we must plead, each and every one of us, to know what does God, what would God have us to know about this? What would he have us to believe? So that we do not fall into error. What saith the scripture with regard to these things? Well, there's only so much that one could fit into a sermon when seeking to answer these questions. And that was one of the problems I had in forming this sermon. I had to keep rewriting things because I just had so much information. It could turn into a series of sermons very easily. So this will not be a sermon on the doctrine of baptism per se, nor on the doctrine of the Lord's Supper per se, although we will certainly deal with those doctrines, but rather we simply want to look at the biblical model set before us in scripture and give us the big picture in regard to the status of children in the church and how and when the means of grace should be applied to them. Ultimately, this is intended to be a sermon on what we call communicant membership in the church, and on whether the Presbyterian model is indeed the biblical model, or whether it is just a nice idea, an option among the many options that we could pick. And so, in many ways, this is a sermon for the children and to the children. And though these are some rich doctrinal truths that may be a little hard for you to fully grasp your minds around, I want you children to pay attention and to be thinking about these things as we deal with them. But even though it's a children about them, it remains a sermon for us all. when we consider the obligation that we are under as parents and as a church family to see to it that our covenant children are raised and trained in the faith well? This is a sermon for us all and that we all need to be growing spiritually and be growing into maturity. None of us is to remain a child in the faith. And as we will see, there certainly can be adults who are children in the faith, but the goal of all of us is always growth. And therefore the exhortation I give to the children, I give to us all, don't remain a child. don't remain a child. Now, while it is good for children to be children, remain children for a time, we don't want to remain one. So I would like to begin our study of this topic by looking with you first at the status of children in God's covenant arrangement overall, and then we will turn our attention to the relationship of children to the Lord's Supper in particular. So you guys ready? Here we go. God has always, always, always, always, always, always included the children of believers into his covenant and into his church. They have always been considered a part of the people of God and as members, not bystanders, not spectators, but members along with the adults. Stephen in Acts 7 38 in his speech to the Sanhedrin referred to the Israelites when they were in the wilderness as the Ecclesia. That is the New Testament word for church that we see all over the place. The church or the congregation in the wilderness. And I want to read to you from Deuteronomy 29, verses 10 through 12, what God, through the mouth of Moses, said to his church. I quote Deuteronomy 29, beginning of verse 10. Listen. All of you stand today before the Lord your God, your leaders, and your tribes, and your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, and your little ones, and your wives." Notice, and your little ones, and your wives. Now listen. Also the stranger who is in your camp, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water, that you may enter into covenant. You and your children, your little ones may enter into covenant with the Lord your God and into his oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today. Now you may say, well, how can the little child make or swear an oath and make these promises? The parents do it for them as they are younger. And then it is expected that when they are older, that they would agree and they would then affirm that for themselves. But the children of believing parents were always received into God's covenant. And as such, they received the mark of the covenant, or the sign of the covenant, that they belonged to God's people. It's really quite simple if you actually begin at Genesis and not at Matthew. If you read through, you can see this. In the days of Abraham, before the days of Moses, and before the passage we read in Deuteronomy, we see the sign of the covenant, the sign of initiation into God's covenant, given to God's people, and God specifically mentions giving the covenant sign of circumcision to the male children. The males in the Old Testament economy, and especially the fathers, represented the females. In the New Covenant economy, the mark of the covenant is expanded and given to females as well. But for the time being, it was only given to the males. No female was circumcised and no female partook of the Passover as I hope to show you, but they were represented by the men. And in this, God was teaching his people the importance of covenant and federal headship and representation. But circumcision was what marked God's people as distinct from the rest of the world. And in Genesis 17.10, God said to Abraham, every male child among you shall be circumcised. And later, Paul says in Romans 4.11 that the sign of circumcision, even in Abraham's day, was considered to be a seal of the righteousness that comes by faith. In other words, a seal of salvation itself, a salvation that is obtained by faith. And you may say to me, well, I understand how Abraham could receive the seal of the sign of salvation, because he believed. But how can an eight day old infant receive a sign and a seal of salvation, of faith, when that child hasn't even exercised faith yet? Well, that's a good question for you to take up with God himself, because God commanded Abraham to give the sign to the children. But it's to teach us that God doesn't save individuals. He doesn't work with just individuals. He works with families, and he brings salvation to families, and he often saves the children of believing parents. You see, God works by representation. He works by means of covenant, and a covenant in Scripture, by its very nature, is not individualistic. It never is. It always works by representation. And the New Testament makes it abundantly clear, abundantly clear from passages like Colossians 2, 11, and 12, and many others, that baptism now replaces circumcision, because they both symbolize the same thing in the everlasting covenant of grace. Samuel Miller said this, circumcision was the ordinance which marked or publicly ratified entrance into the visible family of God. So does baptism. Circumcision was an emblem of moral cleansing and purity. So is baptism. circumcision, as all grant, has been discontinued. And now baptism occupies the same place, means the same thing, seals the same covenant, and is a pledge of the same spiritual blessings. And if you compare the meaning and significance of circumcision and baptism, you will see that And so children are to be baptized. And that's why we find household baptism after household baptism after household baptism mentioned in the New Testament, in the book of Acts, especially we see that. Now, it's very important to understand that covenant children do not become members of the church by means of baptism. Rather, they are baptized because they already are members. They are members by virtue of their birth into a believing household, just as children are members of the United States by virtue of their birth in that nation. But baptism, among other things, publicly ratifies entrance into the visible church. And our covenant children are fully members of the church. They're not partially members. They're not halfway members. They are members. Those of you children in this room who have parents who have professed faith and are members of the church, you are members. You are members of this body. You are members of this church. You are little disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a privilege and what a blessing it is to be a member of the church. Now just as circumcision was replaced by baptism, so also was the Passover replaced by the Lord's Supper. There are several passages which indicate this, but one obvious reason we know that this was the case is that Jesus instituted, purposefully instituted, the Lord's Supper at the time of the Passover. Not any other feast, not the Feast of Tabernacles, etc., but at Passover. And just one other indicator of this is that the Lord's Supper, as we know, commemorates Christ's sacrificial death on the cross, and that is exactly what the Passover pointed forward to. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5-7, for indeed, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. And he spoke that in reference to those who would commune at the Lord's table. But he says, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Now, since we see the continuity of the Old and New Testaments to be so important in many factors, but in relationship to circumcision and baptism, we also would presume that there is a close association between the Passover and the Lord's Supper and how it was to be observed in the Old Testament. We know that baby boys were circumcised, but what about the children's admission to the Passover? And so the question we need to ask is, were the children allowed to partake of the Passover? And if not initially as children, then when? Well, I think it is conclusive According to scripture, and secondarily according to the testimony of history and historical practice and rabbinic writings outside the scriptures, that those circumcised Hebrew males did not partake of the Passover until they had reached their teenage years. and until they reached a level of maturity that they could understand what the Passover meant. And I'd like to show you in Exodus chapter 12, and you could turn with me for a moment because we're going to be there for just a couple of minutes. In Exodus chapter 12, there's some very important things that are said at the time of the institution of the Passover itself. In Exodus 12, we have the institution of the Passover and the regulations for how it was to be observed. And we have to bear in mind that this was not an ordinary meal. There were very specific directions for how this sacred meal was to be eaten. This was not the family gathering around the dinner table to eat whatever they wanted, you know, like maybe some steak and some corn on the cob and salad and a baked potato. That's kind of what I think of when I think of a really good meal. Oh, we need to have the roasted lamb is also on the side. We don't want to forget about the roasted lamb because that's what we're required to eat. No! This was specifically a religious meal. Like the Lord's Supper, it was a unique meal, so to speak, set aside for a unique occasion with specific food that was to be eaten. If you look at verse 11, we are given an indication that the Passover meal was only eaten by grown men. Look at verse 11 of Exodus 12. And thus you shall eat it, with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. This is how it was to be eaten. Now, were the women and children supposed to eat this meal with a staff in their hands and the little one, you know, exactly, did they all have that? The implication is highly unlikely, you see. Then look at verses 24 through 27. Here we see the children's involvement in this ordinance and asking questions about it as something that was to be expected of them and is a very important part of their maturing in their understanding of the meaning of this meal. And note that this was a stipulation for future generations how this meal was to be observed. But look at verse 24. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever, verse 26, and it shall be when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service? That you shall say it is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the children of Israel and Egypt when he struck the Egyptians and delivered our households. Now notice that the children do not say, what is this that we are doing? And I've actually heard a minister who is a paedo-communionist quote it as if the child said, what is this that we are doing? But that's not what the text says. The child says, what is this that you are doing? Help me to understand this better. Explain this to me. What is this unique meal all about? But then also notice toward the end of this chapter what it says, which is perhaps the most significant portion of this text in regard to this subject. Beginning at verse 44, look at verse 44. But every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. You see, only those who were circumcised could eat of it. And the women were not circumcised. Look at verse 48. this is a key verse, and when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised and then let him come near and keep it. You see that? Let all his males be circumcised and then let them, no, let him come near and keep it clear distinction between the adult males and the children clear crystal clear you had to be circumcised to partake of the Passover and you had to be old enough you had to be a mature man and really I think in scripture when you study Hebrew the idea is there the ability to start growing a beard Okay, you've gone through puberty, you're maturing into manhood, then you are able to start partaking of the Passover. Now, there is so much more that could be said about this and about how only the adult males were required to keep the Passover throughout the Old Testament era and so forth. That doesn't mean that women and children couldn't come along, but there's no indication whatsoever that women and children ever partook of the Passover, not one shred of evidence. But needless to say that according to scripture, and according to rabbinic writings, only mature men who had gone through puberty were ever allowed to partake of the Passover. Why is it that Jesus took the Passover only with his disciples? If this is a family meal, and we're including the family in God's covenant, why are not the wives and their children present? because only the adult males partook of the Passover. But not only did they have to be mature males, at least entering into their teenage years, they also had to be faithfully instructed and indoctrinated in the faith. This harkens back to what we read in Exodus 12, where we see the Hebrew boy asking these questions. Then they would be examined and questioned by the elders before they would be allowed to partake of the Passover. And this is exactly what we see happening in the case of our Lord Jesus Christ when he was a boy. And Luke is very clear about this in the second chapter of his gospel account. And I want us to turn to Luke chapter 2 next, because we'll spend a couple of moments there as well. We've looked at this passage a little bit before, but I want us to look at it again. In Luke chapter 2, I want to read verses 41 through 50, and then comment on it as we go along. Luke chapter 2, beginning at verse 41. His parents went to Jerusalem. Notice it says, his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. So there's a distinction between the parents and the boy Jesus. And when he was 12 years old, Then, you see, then it says they, and when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. This is how it was done. This is what God had instituted. These boys needed to come to an age of maturity before they could begin to partake of Now, let's go on. When they had finished the days as they returned, the boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. Now, Jesus lingering is not him being lazy and wandering around. Well, as we'll see, he's being obedient to what his father wants him to do. And Joseph and his mother did not know it, but supposing him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem seeking him. Now, so it was, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. Sounds a lot like Exodus 12, doesn't it? And all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. Not only is he asking questions, but he is giving answers. So when they saw him, they were amazed. And his mother said to him, son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously. And he said to them, why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my father's business? But they did not understand the statement which he spoke to them." Luke is being very clear. He's being very deliberate. Whenever it talks about Jesus being about his father's business, it's not just something he just decided to do for the fun of it. This is something that was required in the law of God for him to fulfill as our mediator, you see. He is fulfilling those obligations of being taught, of what we would call catechizing, which is a way of instructing by means of questions and answers, you see. Even the Lord Jesus went through this before he partook of the Passover. So you see, Jesus was requiring the fulfillment of the Old Testament, according to Exodus 12. It was the custom of Jesus's day, as it says in our text, that Jewish boys at the age of 12 be examined by the teachers of Israel to ask questions and then to also answer questions. This is, like I said, a process that looks a lot like what we call catechizing today. But then historically, the following year at the age of 13, around the time of puberty, around the time when a boy begins to become a man, he then was admitted to the Passover meal. There's so many quotes I could give you, but I'll give you one. In a Talmudic tract called Nida, it says this, quote, when a child is 12 years old and one day his oaths are tested, When he is 13 years old and a day, they are valid. See, this is common Hebrew practice. This is where the whole idea of the Jewish bar mitzvah comes from. Have you ever heard of that? Bar mitzvah is Aramaic for son of the law. That is, the young man is now being held more responsible as a mature male to that law that he has been instructed in. And he was held more accountable, you see, because now he was entering into maturity. He was beginning to enter into manhood. Now nowhere in the New Testament do we see this idea rescinded at all, that is, of being mature and instructed in the faith before coming to the corresponding practice and observance of the Lord's Supper. In fact, what the New Testament has to say about the Lord's Supper only strengthens the idea that covenant children must first be old enough and mature enough and knowledgeable enough to be able to examine themselves and discern the Lord's body in order to be able to partake in a worthy manner. We looked at that verse last week, didn't we? What it means to partake in a worthy manner. But a person is no longer to be a child in their thinking and level of maturity and behavior when it comes to partaking of the Lord's Supper. Now, the New Testament scriptures actually speak a great deal about our growing in maturity, about our not being children, spiritually speaking, anymore. We finally get to that passage we read earlier, but you noticed that in that passage in Ephesians chapter four, and particularly in verse 14, how the apostle Paul urges all those in the church to be children no longer. He writes, quote, that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro about, carried about with every wind of doctrine. And the context there serves to show us how important are the officers and the elders of the church in relation to this. If you look closely at Ephesians chapter four and you read through that, you see the unity of the church at the beginning, right? One faith, one hope, one baptism. Then we see the diversity. Then we see the gifts given to the church. And we see the officers in the church. apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, and how they are given to instruct the church to help them not to become children, not to be children anymore. And that's why the elders and the session are to have a very active role in discipling our young people and examining them before they partake of communion. Now the word for children in verse 14 is the word nepios. It can be translated as infant, or babe, or child, or little child, depending on the context, and can refer to literally a physical infant or child. But it can also, and is actually more often as it is here, used in the New Testament with respect to those who are spiritually immature. And I think there is a correspondence in general between physical immaturity and maturity, and spiritual immaturity and maturity. It's not always consistent, but we should see a general progression, and I think that is the ideal, and I think that's God's plan for us, is that we grow physically and mature physically. We're also, as covenant children, to be growing and maturing spiritually. But this word for child is often used in reference to those who are spiritually immature. It refers to those who are simple-minded or unlearned or one who is immature in the faith. But interestingly, I want you to follow the train of thought here. The same word is also used by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3. The first three verses, listen, he writes this. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual, but as to carnal, as to nepios, as to babes, as to infants, as to little children in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able, for you are still carnal." Now think about that. Here is this word that refers to those who are immature in the faith. Then it's used of the believers at Corinth, and Paul says, you are like little children. You're acting like little children. And then lo and behold, what do we see happens in 1 Corinthians 11? People are weak, sick, and dying because they're like little children. You see, the Lord's Supper is not for little children. And that does not mean that our little children can't be godly. But I think you're seeing how I'm drawing this connection and how I'm making the point here. You see, all throughout scripture, the Lord's Supper is for those who are more mature in their faith. Not perfect, far from it, but have matured to a certain extent. Therefore, for all of these reasons and so many more that I could give you, I believe that our practice, the historic Reformed and Presbyterian practice of baptizing our covenant children shortly after their birth and then waiting until those children are old enough and mature enough to understand the Christian faith and to demonstrate an adherence to Christian doctrine and a life begun to be lived out consistent with that doctrine is requisite first. This is the right path. This is the biblical way. And this is what the Christian church has historically referred to as communicant membership. Because it is then that a covenant child is admitted to the sacrament of communion, communicant communion. Communicant membership takes place when a covenant child, after having been sufficiently instructed in the faith, then makes a public profession of that faith and takes ownership of that covenant of salvation for him or herself. Now, as I said earlier, we know that in the New Covenant era, that the girls, the women, the young ladies are then involved in that, right? Because circumcision, which was relegated only to the boys, now being replaced by baptism, we see baptism applied to Lydia, right? If we didn't have that example, we could be in a quandary. And if we have to have a direct command about who can partake of communion, there's no example of women. You see how inference is so important to establishing doctrine. We infer that because now the sign of the covenant is given to women, now they also can partake of the Lord's supper when they are mature enough as well. Now, this whole paradigm does not mean that coveted children weren't believers before the time they professed faith. They could have been born from above at two years of age or before that even. But it indicates that they have matured enough to the point where they are able to intelligibly profess their faith. Now, clearly, Paul's son in the faith, Timothy, did this at some point. We know that Timothy was a covenant child, but he eventually reached the age and level of maturity where he publicly professed his faith before many witnesses. Now, this verse is one we looked at before, and I preached a whole sermon on it when we talked about membership, but let me remind you of what Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6.12. fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called, and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. And we talked about that word confess, homo legal, homo legal, excuse me. And that word means to actually make promises, to make oaths. He publicly confesses and professes and vows and promises to serve the Lord. Not just a mere profession, not just saying, I'm a Christian. This is what I promise to do. That's what homologeo means. And I could take you to other places that demonstrate that, but we don't have the time. Timothy didn't do this when he was two years old or five years old. He did this publicly in the congregation when he was older, when he was mature enough to make such a confession and such promises before God. And this model also corresponds well with the nature of the sacraments themselves. As we have said before, baptism is the sacrament of regeneration, symbolizing the work of the spirit alone in which the person is entirely passive. The Lord's Supper is the sacrament of conversion in which the person is actively involved in turning from sin onto righteousness and understands what it means to turn from and repent of sin. Regeneration happens only once, but conversion, which entails repentance and a turning from sin back to God, happens again and again. And that is why we take the Lord's Supper repeatedly. But in baptism, the recipient is passive. In the Lord's Supper, the participant is active. Now, we know at what age the Jewish boys took the Passover. We've looked at that. But at what age is it appropriate for our covenant children to become communicant members? Well, I think that for sure, on the basis of Christ's own example with the Passover meal, in my own opinion and in the opinion of many, many others, I think that they should be at least 13 years of age. And when we consider that in Jesus's day, a 13 year old was typically mature enough or pretty close to being mature enough to actually pursue marriage, it's probably wise to have some of our children be older than that. And I think that the maturity level and the level of knowledge and understanding is different for each young person. Some 12-year-olds I have met are very mature, and there are 20-year-olds who act like they are 10. For that matter, there are 60-year-olds who act like they are 10. But I think that in general, somewhere between the ages of 13 and 18 or 19 is a good goal at which we should aim. But I think that Paul's words at the end of 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 11 are very appropriate and helpful here. And here you'll see why I initially was gonna have us read 1 Corinthians 13 as our other scripture reading. But in 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 11, Paul says this, when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. This is a good litmus test in general. Now, as I've said, we all have more growing up to do. and more maturing to do in the faith. None of us are spiritually mature as we ought to be, but we want to see our covenant children beginning to put away childish things. We want to see them growing into manhood and into womanhood. We want to see them intelligibly and responsibly living out the Christian faith, not perfectly, but fairly consistently. We want to see them having their own private devotions with the Lord without always being told to do it, right? Reading their Bibles, praying on their own. Why would a covenant child want to be able to come and commune at the table when they have no desire to commune with Him apart from the table? You see, they go hand in hand. And we want to see them having a good grasp on the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. And obviously elders, just like they were involved in the Passover, should be involved in the Lord's supper, determining who is ready. You know, the Westminster Assembly, actually, when they gathered and convened, they actually came up with eight points of doctrines that they thought that a young person should understand before they would partake of the Lord's Supper. And I won't go through all of those points, but allow me to just kind of summarize them briefly in my own words. They should understand creation and the fall of man into sin. They should understand that God is triune, that Christ is God. They should understand and be able to articulate what is Christ's work of redemption and what is the message of the gospel. They should understand that they are saved by faith in Christ alone, and what true saving faith is, and what they are saved from, and what is awaiting every human being in eternity, whether for believers or unbelievers. They should understand the eternal state. They should know God's law and what is required of them to live a holy and godly life. They should understand what it means to struggle against sin and to repent of sin. They should have an understanding of the sacraments and what they symbolize and how they are a means of grace and what the bread and wine represent and so forth. All of this, all of this is involved in really being able to discern the Lord's body in the elements of bread and wine. It's not, I mean, we're saved simply by faith, but there's a lot to the faith. And there's a lot more to discerning the Lord's body in the elements than we might first think. But you realize, you can think about how all of this plays a part into discerning the Lord's body. And this is why catechizing our children in the Christian faith is so important. I think it's excellent and great for our covenant children to memorize the whole catechism. But I don't want to require that. Some churches have. I don't want to require that because we have many adults who partake who have not done that as well. And I feel like that's an unfair, unequal standard, you see. But I do think they should be familiar with the doctrines that the catechism teaches. And this is why with all of the older children, and you children know who you are, who I have been working with over these last several months, when I work with them, we actually go through the whole Westminster Confession of Faith together. But do you see this congregation? Do you understand? Are you beginning to understand why we don't allow our little children to take communion? Do you see how other churches are lazadazical when it comes to the observance and the protection of the Lord's Supper? So many churches are wishy-washy in terms of their theological understanding, and it is because they have parted from the biblical model that is set before us of catechizing our children on a clear, direct, and straight doctrinal path that they can lay their feet firmly on and say, I believe this, I know, I confess. The Lord's Supper is serious business. People were dying from it. It is for the mature in faith to partake of. And our own constitution reflects this level of maturity when it also states that once you become a Communicant member, you are able to wisely and intelligently vote for those who would serve as officers in the church. All communicate members are given the privilege of voting for elders and pastors and deacons. Some people really want to get their children taking communion early on, but do you really want your five-year-old voting for who will be the next officer? You see, the maturity goes hand in hand. They're seeing that the level of maturity needed to be able to vote is the same level of maturity needed to partake of the Lord's supper. I mean, clearly, you're voting for officers. Are you gonna be able to talk to them about what their doctrines are and what they believe, you see? So, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I don't want you to forget it. The Lord's Supper are for those who are maturing into godly men and women. And it's so good and important. I know we've gone long, we're almost done. This is important stuff. It's so good and important for our children to have this goal in their minds. Not to just float around and say, well, maybe I'll become a Communicant member one day. No, that's not the attitude that we should take. They should think about this. Children, you should anticipate this and work toward this and take ownership of this. Children, don't you wanna be, don't you wanna grow in your faith and be more assured of your salvation? Well, becoming a Communicant member is a wonderful means to strengthen your assurance. Don't you want to profess your faith in Christ and let everyone know that you're a believer, that the faith of my parents is my faith, and that I'm so rooted and grounded in the faith that even if they were to depart from the faith, I will not. You want to say publicly, I'm a believer. I'm a believer. Don't you want to be able to take the Lord's Supper and feast on Christ's body and blood that he's given to the church to strengthen his people in their faith? Children, I said this earlier and I'm going to say it again, don't remain a child. Now, it's great to be a child. I was a child once and it was a lot of fun. It's even more fun to be an adult, especially if you know the Lord and are walking with Him. You won't remain a child your whole life physically, I guarantee you that. But you could remain one spiritually. Don't remain a spiritual child. Rather, grow in your understanding of the truth and the Christian faith. Have a desire to become a communicant member of the church. Say to yourself, I am going to do that one day. I am going to profess my faith in Christ. For the only other option is scary. There's really only two options. You're a covenant child. You've received the mark. You can't change that. And you can either own that and grow in that, or you can allow it to even increase God's curse and condemnation upon your soul for receiving the blessing of being a covenant child and throwing it away. That's the only two options. That's the only two. There are no other. And parents, I want to remind you of your baptismal vows when you presented your children, in that you said that you will help them to read the Bible, to pray, to keep the Lord's day, to understand the nature of the church, the value of its worship and fellowship, and his or her need, his or her need to seek communicant membership in the church. It is a need. And therefore, parents, remember, be like Hannah, who said, Lord, you've given me this child, and now I give him to you. I dedicate him to you. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord, and I will do all that I can to see that he embraces the Lord himself or herself. Don't remain a child. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for our covenant children. What a blessing they are to us. Lord, grab ahold of their hearts. and never let them go. Give them that hunger and thirst for righteousness, to know and want to walk with the Lord all the days of their life. Don't allow the evil one to impede their growth or take them off the straight and narrow path. Oh Lord, work in the hearts of our children. May they love you and serve you all the days of their life. And may each and every one here in this place who is not yet a Communicant member become one and live out that profession with all the heart and soul and mind and strength, with all that is within them. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. I know our service is going just a little bit longer, but we have a wonderful thing that we get to witness today, and that is Alexander Booker becoming a Communicant member. And so I'm going to have Alexander come forward, and I'll ask him the Communicant membership vows.