I have been reminded of late about the massive misunderstanding that most Christians have regarding the nature of the church.  One common fallacy of which I have recently encountered has massive implications for the way one lives and behaves.  It is routinely propagated that one must behave in a particularly pious way “at church.”  “Put on your Sunday best,” someone might say.  Others balk at a pastor’s knowledge of popular media or his reference to popular culture while teaching.  They say that it has no place “at church.”  The manifestations of this Biblical mistake are never ending.

Ultimately some would have you believe that certain physical space is sacred and other physical space is secular.  Like Moses and the burning bush, when you step onto the church’s property you are “on holy ground.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The reality of the New Testament is that believers are the ones who are holy, by means of the blood of Christ (1 Cor 3:16–17; 1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16).  The church is not a building (Eph 2:11–22) but a people.

On the one hand, what you do and say with the church should not be disconnected from what you do and say by yourself.  Granted, the purpose of a church meeting together is different than when you are alone—mutual edification can only occur with others.  However, there should be little difference in the manner of my living when I am with other believers and when I am by myself.  If what I wear throughout the week is not appropriate for “church” then it is not appropriate for the grocery store.  You might not want to wear a baseball uniform or pajamas to church (different purpose) but neither must you wear a specific “church uniform.”  If God does not require a suit to go the baseball game then he does not require one when I gather with other believers.  This thinking should extend to what I watch on television and the content of my conversation.  As far as I can tell, the Biblical definition of sacred and secular is purely an inward category.  Holiness is a function of our calling from God, not our location (Eph 1:4; Col 3:12; 1 Pet 1:15).