Secular and Holy
W. Carl Ketcherside
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One of the greatest accomplishments in the coming of our Lord in the flesh was the eradication of the distinction between the secular and holy. That is one barrier that was knocked into oblivion by the cross. The establishment of the divine-human relationship upon the basis of grace, as opposed to conformity to a written code, so completely transformed existence that it actually produced a new
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Jesus did not come to bring us a new religion. He came to make void "religion" as an approach to the Father. He said "I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly." The only liturgy we have is the liturgy of life. It expresses itself, not in stated acts done in cathedrals or dedicated real estate, but in the sharing of life with the unfortunate as He shared life with all of us in the poverty of spirit caused by sin, and in maintaining purity in our contact with the world. On this the scripture is very plain. "Pure and unalloyed devoutness in God's view is to care for the orphan and widow in their affliction and to keep oneself unsullied by the world." If that is what devoutness is in God's view it is what it should be in my view, it I intend to please God.
In Christ there are no holy days, no holy places and no holy things. All of these belong to the era of law by which no man in the flesh can be justified. There never has been a law given and there never can be a law given in the form of a written code by which one can become guiltless. The fault is not in the nature of law but in the nature of man in the flesh. Grace does not change days, places and things, but people. Thus, in Christ, there are only holy people, and they are holy because they belong to God. They have been bought with a price and they are not their own.
God has no sanctuary upon this earth except a consecrated human heart. So long as men speak reverently of "our sanctuary" in reference to a place where light filters through stained-glass windows and men come to "perform acts of worship" they are still living B.C. lives in an A.D. world. The reason they speak that way is because they think that way, and their language is as wrong as their thoughts. The "language of Ashdod" betokens that we have lived too long as exiles and captives in a sectarian world. That is why we still act as if Jesus had never come.
There are no holy days for the Christian for the simple reason that there are no unholy days. There are no holy places for the simple reason that everywhere a Christian is, that place is consecrated. It is consecrated not because of where it is, or because of words spoken by priestly men, but because of who is there. If the presence of the Spirit of God sanctifies a place, and it does, then wherever I go is sanctified for me because His Spirit abides in me. If it was not holy before I arrived it will be when I get there. I do not go up to the house of God. I am the house of God. I do not visit a temple. I am a temple of the living God.
It is a little silly to talk about "five acts of worship," which is why the sacred scriptures never use such an expression. Worship is the bowing down of my spirit, the prostration of my heart, the utter denial and abnegation of my self, in the presence of my God. Every act I do in Christ Jesus and in reverence to Him is an act of worship. The word worship in none of its forms, and it has a number of them, is ever applied to anything we do when we assemble on the first day of the week. That is not because what we then do is not worship, but for the reason that everything else we do is also worship.
When Paul wrote to the saints at Colossae who were all hung-up on festivals, new moons, sabbaths, fasting and asceticism, he said, "Whatever you do by word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by him." I accept that just like it is. I am tired of running that "whatever" through institutional meat-grinders until you have it chewed up and pulverized so it will fit into some institutional patty-mould. I am tired of whittling and scraping it down so thin you can see through it. I am going to accept that "whatever" as big as God made it, and I intend, with the help of the Spirit to make every act and word of my life one of worship, adoration and praise, even if those around me do not see the connection. My father is interested in everything I do, and I am interested in everything He said!