The faithful practice of closed Communion is challenged in our day both culturally and ecclesiastically. As Western culture careens down a path of individualism and autonomy, the privatization of faith leads many to regard participation in the Sacrament as a matter of personal entitlement.

But the issue of admission to the Lord's Supper is neither a matter of personal entitlement nor based on notions of being a welcoming and affirming church. Rather, it entails questions regarding both the nature of the Sacrament and of the character of the Church.

The essays brought together in Closed Communion? Admission to the Lord's Supper in Biblical Lutheran Perspective are both old and new. Taken together, they bear testimony to a common Lutheran conviction and serve to assist both pastors and laity in understanding the biblical and confessional basis for closed Communion.