After having made a careful scrutiny of his life in relationship to the Lord, let the believer approach the table of the Lord with joyful thankfulness for all that the crucified Saviour means to him.

 Before taking part in the Lord’s Supper the believer should prayerfully and carefully review his experience as a Christian, and make certain that he is ready to receive the blessings that participation in this ordinance provides for all who are in right relationship with God. He may well ask himself whether day by day he has an experience of death to sin and new birth to the Lord, whether he is gaining in the battle against besetting sins, and whether his attitude toward other men is right. Words, thoughts, and deeds should be inspected, as well as habits of personal devotion; indeed, everything that has a bearing on progress toward the attainment of a character that reflects the image of Jesus (see 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 6:4). Whereas self-examination and the putting away of everything that is contrary to the mind of God is an exercise in which the Christian must engage every day (see Luke 9:23; 1 Cor. 15:31; 7T 252), the Lord’s Supper represents a special occasion for public declaration of new resolves. For the function of the ordinance of foot washing in aiding the believer to attain to the requisite experience of preparedness see on John 13:4-17.