The Laymanship

Introduction

The “Laymanship“ is a term to describe all those who are in the position of being a church member, but they are also not in any church office (being that of the office Pastor/Elder (Overseer) or the office of Deacon).

In this article, we will explore what it means to be a layman, and the obligations/responsibilities, and the common misconceptions related to such. For the purposes of this article, we will use the masculine form of the word to include all men (layman/laymen) and women (laywoman/laywomen) who are non-office holding church members.

The Biblical Layman

Being a member of the local church is biblically necessary for the Christian believer, and it is important that all members of the local church know what is expected of them, and what they can expect from others in the local body. At Coram Deo Reformed Baptist Church, those who desire membership will ultimately have to make a “promise“ to our church, and this promise is known as our church’s Membership Covenant document. This document contains a list of things that the prospective member commits to do upon being accepted into the membership of our local church. The main tenants of this promise are:

  • To trust and obey the Word of God

  • To promote and protect the unity of the church

  • To take part in the edification of the church

  • To be faithful kingdom witnesses

  • To unite as soon as possible with another church of like faith and commitment to God’s Word (if their worldly circumstances requires them to leave from the area of our local church)

As you read through the Membership Covenant, you will find all of the specific things that are committed to below those main tenants. The other thing you can find are the associated Scripture References, which are numbered throughout the text, and listed at the very end of the document. We would encourage anyone wanting to become a member, or wanting to refresh their minds to the biblical realities of their holding to of church membership, to review each of these commitments and study the referenced scriptural passages that support why we as a church body have and require such a membership covenant.

Misconceptions

There can be several common misconceptions related to the idea of the laymanship. One of the major common misconceptions (especially among those who have prior experience with religions like Roman Catholicism, among several others) is that non-office holding church members are not priests. The universal priesthood of all believers is an important doctrine of the Christian faith, and rejecting such goes against the plain teachings found in 1 Peter 2:9, and wrongly distorts or misrepresents the roles/responsibilities of church membership and the realities of participation in church life.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

- 1 Peter 2:9

Throughout this verse, Peter is corporately referencing the Christian believer in the usage of “you“. These are the implications of this verse for each and every Christian believer:

  • YOU are a chosen race

  • YOU are a royal priesthood

  • YOU are a holy nation

  • YOU are a people that are possessed by God alone

  • YOU were called out of the darkness into God’s marvelous light, so that YOU will proclaim His greatness

It is so very clear that by this, Peter is teaching us Christians that similar to what is found in the Old Testament (how there were set apart people within the covenant people of God for certain priestly duties under the Old Covenant), that now in the New Covenant, each and every one of us Christian believers are “priests“ who have a Great High Priest, who is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Some who do not properly understand the other offices, or this doctrine of universal priesthood, may fall into the error that it is “solely the Pastor’s job to do the work of gospel ministry” and that the layperson is not required (or not fit) to share and proclaim the excellencies of the God who has sovereignly called us.

To conclude, we should be reminded that even though there are some who are called to offices within the church, that this does not somehow create a “higher class“ of Christian believers compared to the layman, or affect the biblical reality of our universal priesthood as believers (including the the layman). or affect the biblical responsibilities and the expectations (of labor in the gospel ministry) of the layman.