Scripture-rooted guidance for honest next steps with Jesus
Choose the clearest next step
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Jesus took bread, broke it, and said: "Do this in remembrance of me." Communion is a memorial — a congregational proclamation of the Lord's death until He comes again.
Communion next step
Jesus established the Lord's Supper on the night of His betrayal and commanded His followers to observe it in remembrance of Him. Communion is not a ritual that delivers grace automatically. It is not a secondary ordinance meant for committed insiders only. It is a memorial ordinance — a regular, commanded, congregational act by which believers proclaim the Lord's death until He comes again.
Foundation
Jesus did not say 'do this to receive grace infused through the elements.' He said, 'Do this in remembrance of me' (Luke 22:19). The Lord's Supper is a proclamation and a memorial — a visible enactment of the gospel, not a channel through which saving or sustaining grace is mechanically transmitted. Every time the bread is broken and the cup is taken, the church announces that Christ died for sinners and is coming again.
Clarifier
Roman Catholic and some other traditions teach that the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Christ (transubstantiation), and that grace is infused through the act of receiving them. This is not the biblical or AG position. The elements of communion are symbols of Christ's body and blood, not a re-sacrifice or a mechanical channel of saving grace. Christ is spiritually present with His people at the Table — not physically present in or as the elements.
Next route
Communion is one of the two ordinances Jesus gave His church — the other is baptism. Both belong in an ongoing, church-rooted life of discipleship. Choose the next route that helps these practices become embedded in the community and formation they were always meant to accompany.
Communion anchor
Anchor Scripture
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Foundation
Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 11:27–29 is sobering: whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on themselves. This is not an invitation to stay away from the Table forever if you are a struggling believer. It is a call to honest self-examination before participating — confessing known sin, examining your heart, and coming with genuine faith and reverence rather than carelessly or hypocritically.
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus took bread, broke it, and said, 'This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' He took the cup and said, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' Communion — the Lord's Supper — is not a sacrament that mechanically dispenses Grace through the elements. It is a memorial, an act of proclamation, and a congregational practice. It belongs in the regular rhythm of church life and in the prepared, self-examining heart of every believer who participates.
“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”
Before you approach the table
Paul's warning in 1 Corinthians 11 is not meant to keep believers away from the table in perpetual self-doubt. It is a call to self-examination — to come to the Lord's Supper consciously, deliberately, and with a heart that has not dismissed its own sin before approaching the bread and cup.
Three foundations
These foundations establish the biblical basis for what communion is, how to participate rightly, and why it belongs in the gathered church rather than individual practice.
Foundation 1
Jesus did not say 'do this to receive grace infused through the elements.' He said, 'Do this in remembrance of me' (Luke 22:19). The Lord's Supper is a proclamation and a memorial — a visible enactment of the gospel, not a channel through which saving or sustaining grace is mechanically transmitted. Every time the bread is broken and the cup is taken, the church announces that Christ died for sinners and is coming again.
Foundation 2
Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 11:27–29 is sobering: whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on themselves. This is not an invitation to stay away from the Table forever if you are a struggling believer. It is a call to honest self-examination before participating — confessing known sin, examining your heart, and coming with genuine faith and reverence rather than carelessly or hypocritically.
Foundation 3
The Lord's Supper in the New Testament is always a congregational practice. It was not a private spiritual ritual done at home alone — it was the meal the church shared together as an assembly, proclaiming Christ's death as a unified body. Participating in communion in isolation loses the communal dimension Christ built into the ordinance from the beginning.
Important clarifiers
These clarifiers name major theological errors about communion — from transubstantiation to treating the table as a private devotional act — so you can recognize and correctly position Scripture's teaching.
Roman Catholic and some other traditions teach that the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Christ (transubstantiation), and that grace is infused through the act of receiving them. This is not the biblical or AG position. The elements of communion are symbols of Christ's body and blood, not a re-sacrifice or a mechanical channel of saving grace. Christ is spiritually present with His people at the Table — not physically present in or as the elements.
Paul's warning about taking communion unworthily is often misread as 'do not participate unless you are spiritually excellent.' The actual instruction is: examine yourself, confess what needs to be confessed, come in genuine faith. The person who stays away from the Table permanently because of imperfection has misunderstood the gospel the Table is meant to proclaim. Come prepared, come honestly, come in faith — not in fear.
The New Testament does not legislate weekly, monthly, or quarterly communion. The practice in Acts 2:42 and 1 Corinthians suggests regular, communal participation. Most healthy churches observe communion regularly — weekly or monthly — as part of their gathered worship. Let your church's rhythm set your participation rhythm, and do not treat it as optional or occasional when the community is observing it.
Questions people often have
These are the most common honest questions about who may take communion, how often, and under what circumstances.
Before taking communion, take a few quiet minutes to honestly ask yourself: Am I in unrepentant sin? Is there a relationship estrangement I have refused to address? Am I treating this as a mere formality or am I genuinely remembering what Christ did at the cross? Confess what the Spirit surfaces. Receive the forgiveness Christ has already secured. Then participate with gratitude and awareness.
While some Christians practice a private communion in seasons of travel, illness, or extraordinary circumstance, taking communion outside of the gathered church should be the exception, not the norm. The Lord's Supper carries a proclamatory, communal dimension that cannot be fully realized alone. If you are isolated from a church community, let that reality itself be a prompt to move toward one rather than a reason to privatize a practice Jesus rooted in gathered worship.
Do not abstain — examine and confess. Paul's warning is against eating and drinking without discernment, not against eating and drinking while imperfect. Confess the sin you are aware of, come in genuine faith, and receive what Christ offers. If you are persistently, deliberately participating while living in unrepentant rebellion you intend to continue, that is the situation the warning addresses — not the struggling, confessing believer who comes honestly and hungrily.
A pastoral encouragement
Every time you take communion, you are announcing something: that Jesus Christ died for sin, that His body was broken and His blood poured out for you specifically, and that you are waiting with expectation for His return. You are not earning anything by participating. You are not proving your worth. You are remembering, proclaiming, and receiving in faith.
If you are not yet participating in communion regularly, make that a prayer item this week. Ask your church leadership when and how the congregation observes it, and commit to participating the next time it is offered. Do not keep treating the Table as optional — Jesus said 'do this.'
After you understand communion
Communion is one of the two ordinances Jesus gave His church — the other is baptism. Both belong in an ongoing, church-rooted life of discipleship. Choose the next route that helps these practices become embedded in the community and formation they were always meant to accompany.
If baptism is still a pending step
Baptism and communion are the two ordinances Christ gave His church. If you understand communion well but have not yet been baptized as a believer, the baptism guide is the most natural next step in your obedience.
Start the baptism guideIf church community is still needed
Communion in the New Testament is always a congregational practice. If you are not yet planted in a local church where you can participate regularly, the church guide is the most urgent next page.
Start the church guideIf deeper formation is the next move
Baptism and communion are foundational practices of discipleship. The going-deeper path builds on that foundation into the mature, full-orbed discipleship that these ordinances were always meant to be part of.
Continue in going deeper