Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: The Need for Theological Education Reform

Seems as if a basic premise of this article is flawed by a misunderstanding of the priesthood of believers. The author argues that it means believers should “view their workplace as a place for worship and mission.” While I don’t disagree that believers should do their work to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31) and be witnesses in the world (John 17:15-18), this isn’t rooted in the priesthood of believers. If so, then OT saints had no obligation to live this way? More importantly, 1 Peter 2:5 ties it to forming a “spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” OT = physical Temple with service in it limited to the priests. NT = spiritual temple (cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21) with all believers gifted for and called to service in it (cf. Eph 2:10; 4:12-16; 1 Pet 4:10-11). My simplified way of thinking of it = access to God through Christ alone (1 Tim 2:5; Heb 7:24-25) and ability to serve Christ within the new temple (cf. 1 Cor 3:10-15; 1 Pet 4:10-11).

There are better ways to speak of the importance of a believer’s work and role in society than to desacralize church life and broaden the concept of mission to mean anything you do for God in this world.