SYMBOLS
Judaism, with its temple, priests, and rituals, was replete with symbolism. Christianity deals more with reality. Religions that purport to be Christian have invented a host of rituals unknown to the New Testament, but true, biblical Christianity is quite short on symbolism. There are, however, a few symbolic things that Christians are commanded to observe. Like all other symbols, these are both precious and dangerous.
One thinks first of the Lord's Supper, where literal bread and wine are partaken of as symbols of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. The early Christians apparently observed the Lord's Supper, referred to as "breaking bread," on the first day, the resurrection day, of each week. Some references suggest they did it every day (although it is not always easy to distinguish the breaking of bread service from the common meal, also referred to as breaking bread). Some have mistaken the symbolism for the reality, imagining that when Jesus said, "This is My body," He meant it literally, and have inappropriately invested the service with a significance far beyond the symbolic. Others have gone to the opposite extreme, no doubt out of an understandable fear of the danger of its losing its true significance, and have relegated the service to something to be observed only a few times a year.
What a delightful thing it is for believers to gather together to remember the Lord in His death by breaking the bread and drinking the cup. As nothing else, it calls out our affections for the Lord and results in true worship. But the Scriptures themselves warn of the dangers of this symbolic act. "Therefore whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ... For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body" (1 Corinthians 11:27, 29). What is it to eat and drink in an unworthy manner? One example might be the Lord Jesus' words in His Sermon on the Mount, "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar [similar in principle to worshiping the Lord in the Lord's Supper], and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:24-25). What is meant by "not discerning the Lord's body"? Is it not to fall into the trap of observing the symbol without any appreciation of the precious truth of which the bread and wine are a picture?
Baptism is another one of Christianity's few symbols. Here is a rite loaded with significance, as one who has professed to believe the gospel is buried under the water, a picture of his death with Christ, and emerges, a symbol of the resurrection life in Christ that he is embarking on. What an appropriate way for the new believer to begin his Christian life! But the key word with respect to baptism is professed The conscientious baptizer is responsible to be sure only that the candidate has made an intelligent profession of faith in Christ, has clearly understood the gospel and claims to have accepted it. How real the profession is, only the Lord and the one making it really know. Who knows how many baptized empty professors of Christ are in hell today, awaiting their resurrection of judgment?
It is a serious thing to profess Christ in baptism. In many places where it is a crime to be a Christian, persecution only begins when one publicly confesses Christ in baptism. In this country, where Christianity is accepted, there is little or no social or political stigma connected with the rite. If one subsequently renounces the faith he once professed, we tend to simply class him with other unbelievers. But, as one has said, with God there is no such thing as an empty profession; He holds the professor accountable for the position he has taken as a believer. The book of Hebrews, which deals with apostasy, makes clear the solemn consequences of renouncing a faith once professed. So, like the other symbols of Christianity, baptism is precious, but dangerous if taken lightly.
There is one more Christian symbol we might mention: the woman's head covering. Although widely disregarded, this is a beautiful outward sign of a sister's submission to the principle of divine headship. Far from implying inferiority, the woman's covered head is the symbol of her willing submission to the order of male headship established by God in creation. The woman who wears a head covering with an intelligent sense of its significance is acquiescing to God's order. She is making a beautiful statement to a culture that despises authority and seems bent on eliminating Scriptural and natural distinctions between men and women. Because of what it stands for, the head covering is strongly rejected by our society, and in most quarters a woman would be bold to wear one. On the other hand, in those few places where it is accepted, the symbol is fraught with the same dangers as any other. How easy it is to wear it simply because others are. How dishonoring to God it would be for a domineering wife, for example, to deceitfully cover her head as the symbol of a submission she has completely rejected!
May these thoughts stimulate earnest conviction on the part of God's people with respect to the few symbols that the New Testament has preserved for us to observe.
Norman E. Roberts, 8710 Cheltenham Ave., Wyndmoor, PA 19038-7124, USA, Dec. 2003
