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The Great Divide

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

Many Christians have this Greek mindset that sees and separates their worlds into sacred and secular. If you are doing Christian ministry or mission work, you are a sacred or full-time Christian. If you are not, then you are secular. There is this great division of sacred and secular Christians - full-time service and part-time service.

However this line is erroneously drawn basing on the wrong parameters. The Hebraic mindset is different. Regardless of their occupations, all Jews are to worship God and obey His commandments! They are to observe their Sabbaths and the Feasts of the LORD. Godly Jews believe in the Lord and obey His commandments, and secular Jews simply do not.

The line between sacred and secular Christians should also be the same. The dividing factors are between holy living and unholy living; righteousness and unrighteousness; kingdom and non-kingdom. All Christians have the same Bible as their Christian leaders working in churches and missions; not one verse more or one commandment less. We are to worship God and obey Him regardless of race, language or occupation. Our Lord requires all of us to live a godly life by presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Him, which is our spiritual act of worship (Rom 12:1).

A Christian working in a church or ministry can be in a spiritual place and yet do unspiritual tasks. They can be unrighteous and unholy before the Lord. A very good example is that of the sons of Eli (1 Sam 2:22-25). They were the priests in the Temple. Besides other bad reports, they were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. They despised the LORD and were killed by Him.

On the contrary, a Christian businessman or a working professional can be in a secular place and yet do spiritual tasks. They can be righteous and holy before the Lord, doing business God's way. Abraham was a businessman, very rich in livestock, silver and gold (Gen 13:1-5). He was very wealthy, with sheep and cattle and many servants. In the eyes of God, Abraham was righteous on the basis that he believed God. Another case was King David. He reigned for 40 years. Yet God said that David was a man after His own heart, and he did everything that God wanted him to do (Acts 13:22).

Joseph was a Prime Minister serving the Pharaoh. He was serving the LORD full-time in the Egyptian palace. Daniel was the same case serving the LORD full-time in the Babylonian palace. They were effectively doing what the LORD had called them to do. Nothing short of His glory!

God is omnipresent. To say that God only works in the churches and Christian organisations is a false spirituality of the highest kind. This is boxing God up and limiting His authority. The earth belongs to God! Everything in all the world is His! (Psalm 24:1). God cannot be boxed. Very often, God speaks outside His Holy Place, the Tabernacle.

Jesus chose His disciples from the marketplaces. Andrew, Peter, John and James were fishermen (Mark 1:16-19). Matthew was a tax collector (Matthew 9:9). None of His twelve were from the Temple or the synagogues. They were ordinary people having secular occupations. Jesus is still calling men and women in the marketplaces to become His disciples. He desires to build His kingdom of love among the peoples.

Our God is awesome. He has many occupations:

  • Master Designer as He designed the universe.
  • Master Creator as He created the universe.
  • Master Architect as He built heaven and earth.
  • Master Landscaper as He mapped out the lands and seas.
  • Master Zoologist as He created the animals.
  • Master of Oceanography as He created the sea creatures and living things.
  • Master of Cattle and Land as He created the lambs, cows and goats.
  • Master Gardener as He created the trees and the plants.
  • Master of Medicine and Healthcare as He healed all diseases.
  • Prince of Peace as He restored peace and order.
  • Chief Justice as He gave His laws, precepts and statutes.
  • Master, King and Lord as He rules and reigns in righteousness.
  • And so on.

All the activities and works of the Lord are holy and honorable not subjected to our dividing line of sacred and secular. This elevation of the sacred above the secular is known as the Catholic Distortion. Instead of being called to be the servants of the Lord serving God and the peoples, the Church was then seeking power to rule over the common people. By placing a clear distinction between sacred and secular, the common people saw themselves as second class. The Bible was not made available to them. Nobody could read the Holy Scriptures nor interpret them without the religious priests. The Church then went into The Dark Age of self deception.

All of us are full-time Christians not on the basis of our occupations but on the basis of our faith. We are to live a holy life, walking worthy in obedience and humility. Our Lord requires all of us to know Him. Our highest calling is to bow down and worship Him, and not to serve Him in a church or Christian ministry. God seeks for a person who is righteous and willing to be still and know that He is God.

The job of the church or namely the fivefold ministers (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. This work of the ministry is basically the works of service to serve God and the peoples. A teacher teaches, a nurse nurses, a fisherman fishes, a farmer farms and a pastor pastors..and so on.

This is all about seeking God's kingdom and His righteousness. God's kingdom consists of:

  • A King Who rules and reigns in righteousness
  • Law and order - His precepts and statutes
  • Economy, trades and businesses
  • Public Services for education, development, defence, finance, health, etc.
  • A temple - a place of worship

Nehemiah built the walls of Jerusalem and Ezra built the Temple. Both of them were doing the works of the LORD. The city walls had to be rebuilt so that the people could return to settle there, to rebuild their life, homes and economy, and to worship in the Temple of God. To neglect the city walls would be detrimental. The enemies would invade and destroy the inhabitants and everything therein inclusive of their Temple. The city walls were as important as the walls of the Temple.

I am hereby not putting the marketplace ministry above the church. I am saying that both are important, and both need to serve one another in love! We need to see each other as equal in the Lord. In fact, we need to esteem one other better than ourselves. We are called the Body of Christ, the Church without walls in the midst of the peoples. The Church is His people, built with living stones and not dead concrete!

The true line we need to draw is love. Are we serving others in love? Are we serving others in righteousness, in humility and in justice? Are we doing to others what we want others to do to us? Are we loving them?

I am seeing this great dividing wall being broken down as all the saints of God break forth in joy and glory as all of us arise and shine for Jesus wherever we go and in whatever we do.

Written on:
8 March 2004