For thousands of years people have identified places of worship for their various deities as though their gods were linked or chained to some geographical location.
This idea has become especially clear as I have travelled the Australian outback, visiting numerous sacred sites of the aboriginal peoples. I heard so many of the Dreamtime stories about the supposed formation of particular places, and thus the reasons why they were considered sacred.
Other religions
But this marking of sacred sites is not limited to the Australian Aboriginal people. It is evident amongst many of the indigenous peoples of many countries around the world.
In fact, it has been a practice in many religions to build temples and shrines to their local deities as places of worship where people could go to pay homage to their gods. Many of these temples and shrines have become tourist destinations, such as the Mayan temples of South America and the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Not to mention the many Buddhist and Hindu temples across the rest of Asia.
Christian churches
This idea of a place of worship also entered into the later Christian church even though it did not exist in the early church. There are many churches and cathedrals around the world that have been built where people congregate to supposedly come into the presence of God. Such places are treated as holy and sacred, just as the indigenous, aboriginal, and Asian places of worship are considered sacred by their devotees.
However, there was only ever one building that was called “holy” and the “House of God.” That place was the Temple, built in Jerusalem by Solomon. It was destroyed by the Babylonians and subsequently rebuilt in the time of Nehemiah and Ezra, only to be destroyed again by the Romans in 70 A.D.
True place of worship
But when we read the New Testament scriptures, we gain a very different perspective.
Jesus taught that we do not need a specific place of worship because God is not defined by physical restraints. He cannot be contained in a “temple box” but is everywhere at once. As the scripture says:
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. (Acts chapter 17, verses 24-25)
When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, He stated that in Christianity the forms of worship would change. No longer would it be necessary to go to a “sacred place” in order to worship God.
20. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." 21. Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. 24. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John chapter 4, verses 20-24)
God’s Temple
Now, if God does not live in temples made by man, where does He abide? And if God seeks people who will worship Him in spirit and truth, where should you worship God? Where is His temple now? Again the scripture is clear on this point.
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 16)
We are God’s temple when we believe in the work He has accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As we follow Christ and grow in Him, we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit and we become part of the temple of God.
Where do you worship?
This brings me back to the point of this article; where do you worship?
If God is in you and you are part of the temple of God, then the answer to that question is simple.
Anywhere and everywhere.
We do not need specific places to go to worship God. We can worship Him wherever we are. And the forms of our worship can be carried out anywhere and anytime.
Yes, we should congregate as a church, but we do not need special buildings in which to meet. We can meet in a house, as the early church did, or hire halls, and even stadiums if the church is that big.
It is the way we live our lives that should be a statement of our worship to God. The way we act and speak should represent the praises we give to God for the opportunity He has given us to come to know Him and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Worship is not about a place, nor about a specific time or day for worship. It is about how we live from minute to minute, placing all aspects of our lives before Him.
Since retiring from work, John Lemmon now spends his time teaching, preaching and writing about the word of God, online and offline, answering God's call on him to “Speak to my people.” You can connect with John on Twitter (@JohnBLemmon) or on his website: freegiftfromgod.com/ or listen to his podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-free-gift-from-god-podcast/id1440682375