Dear Friends,
Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32
Years ago, I stood before a black-robed priest who was berating me for bringing up Jesus Christ in a secular court. "Look here, young man, you keep your religion out of this. If you want to preach, you can go to church on Sunday morning. But right now you're in a secular court and you have certain secular duties which you have failed to perform."
Was
he right? As Christians, do we wear different hats? Do we wear the
"secular hat" when it comes to driving, or shopping, or working? But
then when it comes to worshiping God, we put on our "religious hat"
and "go to church?"
How much of our lives are we obligated to perform as secular creatures? How much is left over for serving Christ? Can we be both Secular and Christian?
Let's look at the words. "Secular" is one idea. "Christian" is another. When you put them together, you are combining opposites. It is an impossibility. It is like "hot ice." "Hot ice" is an oxymoron. "Secular Christian" is an oxymoron. You cannot be both secular and Christian.
Before we go any further, let's look at the meaning of some words and phrases. Think about the phrase, "Let's go to church." Everybody uses it. "Are you ready to go to Church?" "Put on your best clothes and let's go to Church."
People use the word "church" as if it were some kind of place or location where God is worshiped. They forget that we are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16) and that the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 7:48).
Let's see a definition of the true Church:
The Church is Christ's Body with Jesus Christ as the Head. However, without any members, Jesus remains in the heavens. When the members come together for His purpose, they form His Body known as the Church.
See what nonsense it is to say, "Let's go to church?" We are the Church. We are that body. We are already there. For the Church is within us.
The definition goes on. The building is not necessarily the Church. The building may be property of the Church but it is not the Church. The Body is made up of individuals, the `called out' members.
Can you imagine how ridiculous it would be to say, "Let's go to State?" Why don't we say that? Why don't we think of the State as a special building with echo chambers where the State gods are worshiped?
The reason is that people have not been deceived into thinking of the State as a building. They have been told that the State is made up of the body politic. It is a body of people who have come together for common purpose. The State's head is the governor, not Jesus Christ. That is what makes the state secular. Secular is without Christ.
Paul Revere, Pastor