No one may share the eucharist with us unless they believe that what we teach is true, unless they are washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of sins, and unless they live in accordance with the principles given us by Christ. We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a human being of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilate for their nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: “Do this in memory of me. This is my body.” In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: “This is my blood.” The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

—Justin Martyr (ca. mid-second century), First Apology, 6

Justin’s rationale for placing restrictions on who may participate in the holy Eucharist destroys any argument for allowing the so-called “communion of the unbaptized.” Notice here the central role of faith. Those who partake of Christ’s Body and Blood must be believers and their faith leads them to have been baptized. It is faith that leads people to the Table. It is faith that consumes the elements, believing them to be the Real Presence of Jesus himself. It is faith that allows our Lord to be Present to us, strengthening us in our weaknesses.

Second, notice the authoritative role of Christ in this passage. Justin is concerned that they preserve the tradition handed down to them from the Lord himself through his apostles. Given that in Christ we have the privilege of becoming adopted children of God, this is not unlike preserving cherished family traditions. Justin is reminding us here of one of our most sacred and cherished traditions as the household of God.

This is why the rationale of hospitality is a bad idea for allowing unbaptized and/or unbelieving people to take communion. It simply does not make sense for an unbeliever to want to partake of the bread and the wine. If a person does not believe in Jesus, what would be the point of coming to the Table? Communion is a means of grace which perforce relies on faith. Everyone is invited to a saving faith in Jesus which will grant them access to his Table. Until that time, we can show unbelievers hospitality in a number of other ways, but not at our Lord’s Table, not until their eyes of faith have been opened and they believe the bread and the wine to be the sacraments they are: outward and visible signs of inward and invisible realities. Offering unbelievers or the unbaptized communion on the basis of hospitality completely misses this critical point.

As Justin points out, partaking of the Eucharist should be a regular part of our salvation story. It is a time to literally feed on our Lord Jesus so that he can work within us to remind us of our faith and hope that is in him. What a wondrous and glorious gift! Thanks be to God!