Question 13: Why don’t you use any symbolic items in your services such as holy water, incense, or candles?

Answer: We do not use symbolic items in our services (holy water, candels, incense, images of saints, etc.) because they are not scriptural. For centuries, the Catholic Church has allowed and encouraged its members to seek blessing and spiritual help through special rituals or symbolic items. This has occurred to the point that there is now belief that these items hold some sort of “power” to bring about blessing, sanctification, answer to prayer, etc. This is simply not true! Holiness and blessing do not come through religious rituals, images, symbolic items, holy shrines, etc. If we desire to be made holy before God, to be sanctified, to be blessed, we must receive it in the biblical way. The Bible says –

• We are sanctified through the sacrifice of Christ: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10)
• We are sanctified through the Word of God: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)

We are sanctified in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (I Corinthians 6:11)