Baptism is an initial profession of faith, and the Lord's Table (Communion) is an ongoing, continual, and repeated renewal of faith. Isn’t it dishonest for someone to participate in a renewal of faith, if they've never professed faith in baptism to start with?

Communion is also something of a pledge of renewed trust in Christ and obedience to him (which is one reason why Paul warns against eating or drinking unworthily in 1 Corinthians 1:27). But it would be pretense for someone to take communion when they have not even taken the first step of obedience to Jesus in baptism.

Then there's also the biblical pattern. The sequence is always baptism first, followed by communion. So in Acts 2, for example, it is only those baptized and added to the church in verse 41 who participate in the breaking of bread in verse 42. In 1 Corinthians, when Paul talks at length about communion (in chapter 11), the assumption from earlier in the letter (chapter 1) is that he is writing to baptized Christians. There are no examples in Acts or the Epistles of unbaptized people taking communion.


Add to this the witness of the church through the ages. While historic creeds and confessions don't settle the matter (Scripture does that!), they do give us some clear benchmarks for understanding how the church has historically understood doctrine. And from what I can tell, the majority of churches have either taught or assumed that baptism should precede communion. Of course, there are significant disagreements about the mode and timing of baptism – but almost all agree that baptism, however it is understood, must come first.

Stating it this way is helpful for a couple of reasons.

1. It's helpful to parents.

First of all, it’s a helpful reminder for parents that their kids should be baptized before taking communion.

2. It's helpful for non-Christians.

It’s also helpful for seekers and non-Christians who need a concrete way of discerning whether they are really converted Christians or not. Of course, being baptized itself doesn't make someone a Christian or necessarily prove they are. But making a public profession under the authority of a local church who affirms the reality of someone's conversion is an important step and a good safeguard against self-deception.

Baptism and Communion: Making the Gospel Visible
Finally, let’s never forget that both baptism and the Lord’s Table are given by the Lord to make the gospel visible to the church and the world.

Baptism points to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It’s a dramatic reenactment of the humiliation and exaltation of our Lord that signifies our union with him through faith. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3). Baptism publicly declares that what is true of Christ is also true of all who trust in him. His story is our story; in his death, we also died, and through his resurrection, we receive life made new.


The Lord’s Table, likewise, “proclaims the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). When we eat the broken bread and drink the fruit of the vine, we taste and see that the crucified and risen Savior is gracious and good. We embody our faith through the everyday acts of eating and drinking, showing that just as we depend on bread for physical nourishment and strength, we also trust in Christ and his finished work alone for salvation, spiritual life, and strength.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-terms/why-only-baptized-christians-should-take-communion.html%3famp=1

Not in the Church of England it's not. There, every one is welcome to sup at the Lord's table, even if you are an atheist or a Hindu or Muslim or Buddhist or whatever, so long as you want it and walk to the table to get it. And if you can't walk to the table to get it they'll bring it to your seat or even your home.

They are inclusive like that, and would never allow themselves to get in the way of the miracle the body and blood of Christ might do if it enters into you.