Holy Things and the Bughman Chart
September 17, 2007
Dear Friends,
Many years ago, I was visiting a brother and went to get something to drink. I grabbed a cup from the cupboard and was about to fill it with water when the brother asked me to use another cup. The cup I had grabbed was the cup they used for the wine at Sunday memorial service. The brother explained that this cup was holy and not to be used for anything other than its designated use to which I complied. This incident raised a question in my mind that still lingers – do we have holy items today? For example, is the table on which we put the bread and the wine on Sunday any more holy than any other table? Depending on who you talk to, you will get a wide array of answers.
Of course, we all know that holy items existed in the days of the tabernacle and the temple. For example, we read in 1Kings 8:4: “And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.” Yet, it seems that these holy items of the Old Covenant were typical of the holy items in the New Covenant – us! Once we are sanctified in Christ, we are the holy vessels and need to treat ourselves accordingly. Now that the type of holy vessels has been replaced with the reality, the idea of holy items (other than believers) seems out of place to me.
By way of another example, my ecclesia has been blessed with our own building. To my way of thinking it is just a building. If we met in a warehouse, our worship would be no less holy than it is in our own ecclesial hall. Our building is simply a tool. If we cleared out the seats and used the main room for basketball for inner city youth to help keep them out of trouble during the week that would seem like a reasonable use to me. It would be putting our “tool” to use for the Lord. To others in my ecclesia, however, it would be a sacrilege like playing basketball in Solomon’s Temple.
These situations are not uncommon. When one views something as a tool and another person views it as holy, conflict naturally results. It is best in these cases, in my opinion, to try and be as sensitive as we can to those who see these things as holy. Unfortunately, I don’t always follow my own advice.
A few years ago I wrote a TFTW about a chart that hangs in our ecclesia painted by Bro. Bughman, now asleep in the Lord, suggesting that there was a better way to depict man’s journey back to the Garden of Eden. To my way of thinking, it was simply a tool and as such was open to reinterpretation. The intent of the article was meant to highlight the reconciliation that takes place between God and men when a person believes and is baptized. The positional ramifications of Adam’s transgression are removed while the physical ramifications (mortality, proneness to sin) remain. The chart was simply a prop to make that point as the chart shows, in my opinion, brethren still unreconciled to God because they remain outside of the Garden (metaphorically-speaking) after baptism.
This Thought created somewhat of a firestorm in that I was accused of attacking a dead brother (the furthest thing from my mind). I was accused of teaching we are immortal now, teaching “eternal security” (once saved, always saved) and so on. These false accusations continue to this day.
I am sorry that I offended so many people with that series. I really am. The reason that I offended so many is evident in one of the chief accusations–that I “desecrated” the chart. In order to desecrate something, that thing has to achieve holy status first. This is, in my opinion, what is behind all of that which followed. To many people the chart is holy and I trampled all over it. So, again, I apologize. It was an insensitive albeit unintentional misstep on my part. I had no idea people viewed the chart as holy.
Perhaps the best advice (and our last comment) we can give on this issue of whether things are holy is from the writings of the Apostle Paul:
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (Rom. 14:5,6,13,19 NIV)
Have a great week,
