May one who doubteth of his being in Christ, or of his due preparation, come to the Lord's supper?
One who doubteth of his being in Christ, or of his due preparation to the sacrament of the Lord's supper, may have true interest in Christ, though he be not yet assured thereof;1 and in God's account hath it, if he be duly affected with the apprehension of the want of it,2 and unfeignedly desires to be found in Christ,3 and to depart from iniquity:4 in which case (because promises are made, and this sacrament is appointed, for the relief even of weak and doubting Christians)5 he is to bewail his unbelief,6 and labor to have his doubts resolved;7 and, so doing, he may and ought to come to the Lord's supper, that he may be further strengthened.8
Scripture proofs
The Westminster Assembly's proof texts (KJV). The bracketed numbers in the answer above mark the clause each set of references supports; expand a row to read the verses.
1 Isa. 1:10; 1 John 5:13; Ps. 88; Ps. 77:1–12; Jonah 2:4, 7
Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
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Ps. 77:1 I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
Ps. 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.
Ps. 77:3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
Ps. 77:4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
Ps. 77:5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
Ps. 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
Ps. 77:7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
Ps. 77:8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?
Ps. 77:9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
Ps. 77:10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.
Ps. 77:11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
Ps. 77:12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
Jonah 2:4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
Jonah 2:7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
2 Isa. 54:7–10; Matt. 5:3–4; Ps. 31:22; Ps. 73:13, 22–23
Isa. 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa. 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
Isa. 54:9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
Isa. 54:10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
Matt. 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
Ps. 73:13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.
Ps. 73:22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
Ps. 73:23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
3 Phil. 3:8–9; Ps. 10:17; Ps. 42:1–2, 5, 11
Phil. 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Phil. 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
Ps. 42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
Ps. 42:2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
Ps. 42:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
Ps. 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
4 2 Tim. 2:19; Isa. 1:10; Ps. 66:18–20
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
Ps. 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
Ps. 66:19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Ps. 66:20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
5 Isa. 40:11, 29, 31; Matt. 11:28; Matt. 12:20; Matt. 26:28
Isa. 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Isa. 40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Isa. 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
6 Mark 9:24
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
7 Acts 2:37, Acts 16:30
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Acts 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
8 Rom. 4:11; 1 Cor. 11:28
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
This doctrine across the Standards
Where the Confession and the Westminster Shorter Catechism treat the same matter, so the question can be studied alongside its parallel statements.
In the Westminster Confession
XXIX.1 Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of his body and blood, …
Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of his body and blood, called the Lord's Supper, to be observed in his Church, unto the end of the world; for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of himself in his death, the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto him; and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other, as members of his mystical body.
→ XXIX.1 · Of the Lord's SupperXXIX.2 In this sacrament Christ is not offered up to his Father, nor any real sacrifice made at all …
In this sacrament Christ is not offered up to his Father, nor any real sacrifice made at all for remission of sins of the quick or dead, but only a commemoration of that one offering up of himself, by himself, upon the cross, once for all, and a spiritual oblation of all possible praise unto God for the same; so that the Popish sacrifice of the mass, as they call it, is most abominably injurious to Christ's one only sacrifice, the alone propitiation for all the sins of the elect.
→ XXIX.2 · Of the Lord's SupperXXIX.3 The Lord Jesus hath, in this ordinance, appointed his ministers to declare his word of institution to the …
The Lord Jesus hath, in this ordinance, appointed his ministers to declare his word of institution to the people, to pray, and bless the elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common to an holy use; and to take and break the bread, to take the cup, and (they communicating also themselves) to give both to the communicants; but to none who are not then present in the congregation.
→ XXIX.3 · Of the Lord's SupperXXIX.4 Private masses, or receiving this sacrament by a priest, or any other, alone; as likewise the denial of …
Private masses, or receiving this sacrament by a priest, or any other, alone; as likewise the denial of the cup to the people; worshipping the elements, the lifting them up, or carrying them about for adoration, and the reserving them for any pretended religious use, are all contrary to the nature of this sacrament, and to the institution of Christ.
→ XXIX.4 · Of the Lord's SupperXXIX.5 The outward elements in this sacrament, duly set apart to the uses ordained by Christ, have such relation …
The outward elements in this sacrament, duly set apart to the uses ordained by Christ, have such relation to him crucified, as that truly, yet sacramentally only, they are sometimes called by the name of the things they represent, to wit, the body and blood of Christ; albeit, in substance and nature, they still remain truly, and only, bread and wine, as they were before.
→ XXIX.5 · Of the Lord's SupperXXIX.6 That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine, into the substance of Christ's …
That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine, into the substance of Christ's body and blood (commonly called transubstantiation) by consecration of a priest, or by any other way, is repugnant, not to Scripture alone, but even to common sense and reason; overthroweth the nature of the sacrament; and hath been, and is the cause of manifold superstitions, yea, of gross idolatries.
→ XXIX.6 · Of the Lord's SupperXXIX.7 Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this sacrament, do then also inwardly by faith, really …
Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this sacrament, do then also inwardly by faith, really and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally, but spiritually, receive and feed upon Christ crucified, and all benefits of his death: the body and blood of Christ being then not corporally or carnally in, with, or under the bread and wine; yet as really, but spiritually, present to the faith of believers in that ordinance, as the elements themselves are, to their outward senses.
→ XXIX.7 · Of the Lord's SupperXXIX.8 Although ignorant and wicked men receive the outward elements in this sacrament, yet they receive not the thing …
Although ignorant and wicked men receive the outward elements in this sacrament, yet they receive not the thing signified thereby; but by their unworthy coming thereunto are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, to their own damnation. Wherefore all ignorant and ungodly persons, as they are unfit to enjoy communion with him, so are they unworthy of the Lord's table, and can not, without great sin against Christ, while they remain such, partake of these holy mysteries, or be admitted thereunto.
→ XXIX.8 · Of the Lord's SupperIn the Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q.96 What is the Lord's Supper?
The Lord's Supper is a sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ's appointment, his death is showed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment, and growth in grace.
→ Open Q.96Q.97 What is required for the worthy receiving of the Lord's Supper?
It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord's Supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord's body, of their faith to feed upon him, of their repentance, love, and new obedience; lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves.
→ Open Q.97