The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

Week 11: Chapter X — The Sacrament of Living

Read Chapter X of The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. Primary Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31; John 4:23-24; Colossians 3:17.

Tozer's final chapter tears down the wall between the sacred and the secular — and invites us into a life where every act, however humble, can be an act of worship. This is where all the previous chapters arrive.

Discussion Questions

8 questions

1.Tozer identifies the sacred-secular divide as "one of the greatest hindrances to internal peace" for Christians. Describe the divide in your own words. Do you experience your life as divided between "religious" time and "ordinary" time? What does that feel like?

2.He says Jesus "knew no divided life" — He did "always the things that please" the Father, with no distinction between act and act. What does it mean to say that Jesus never performed a non-sacred act? How does the incarnation itself disprove the idea that the physical is inherently unspiritual?

3.Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 to do *all* things — including eating and drinking — to the glory of God. Tozer says: "If these lowly animal acts can be so performed as to honor God, then it becomes difficult to conceive of one that cannot." Do you believe this? What would it look like for your most mundane daily tasks — commuting, cooking, working — to be genuinely offered to God?

a.What does it mean to perform an act *to the glory of God* — is it about what you do or why and how you do it?

b.Tozer says: "It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is *why* he does it. The motive is everything." Do you agree?

4.He traces the sacred-secular divide historically through the tabernacle, the temple, Christ's tearing of the veil, Paul's declaration of all things clean, and the gradual re-introduction of the old distinctions in church history. What does this historical arc tell us about how the human heart tends to drift toward external religion even after being freed from it?

5.Tozer extends the sacred-secular error to *places* — the idea that certain buildings or locations are inherently more holy than others. He cites John 4:21-23 and says that under Christ, worship is "in spirit and in truth" with no location inherently more sacred than another. Does this feel liberating or disorienting to you? What would it mean to carry the sanctuary with you?

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Closing Prayer

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Lord, we would trust You completely. We would be altogether Yours. We want constantly to be aware of Your overshadowing Presence and to hear Your speaking Voice in every room, every task, every moment. We long to live so fully in the Spirit that all our thoughts may be as sweet incense ascending to You and every act of our life an act of worship. Cleanse the intent of our hearts with the unspeakable gift of Your grace, that we may perfectly love You and worthily praise You. Through the merits of Jesus Christ Your Son. Amen.

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