Communion Fellowship: Thesis X

“Holy Communion is also a mark of confession of the faith and doctrine of those with whom one celebrates it. Therefore the admission of members of heterodox fellowships to the celebration of Communion within the Lutheran church is in conflict with:
1. Christ’s institution
2. The commanded unity of the church in faith and corresponding confession;
3. Our love for the one to whom the Sacrament is administered;
4. Our love for our own fellow believers, especially the weak, who by this action would be given grievous offense;
5. The command not to become participants in the sins and errors of others” (C.F.W. Walther, “Communion Fellowship” in Essays for the Church: Volume I [St. Louis: Concordia, 1992], 220).