We Are Laity

It was the German theologian Kristoff Blumehardt who once said, “First a human being must become a Christian, then a Christian must become a human being.” That second step, he suggested, is often missing.

What did he mean? He wanted to capture the truth that when a person finds Christ, they are born again. They step into a new humanity. But it is not enough simply to say, “I am saved, I belong to Jesus.” The gospel calls us to more. It calls us not only to belong to Christ but to live fully as Christ’s people in the world.

Blumehardt was pointing to what we might call a second conversion. Not only do we become Christians, but we must become truly human in Christ—living faithfully, compassionately, and purposefully in everyday life.

This means being a Christian is not an escape from the world into the walls of the church. It is not about retreating into a private religious life. It is about carrying the gospel, with all its healing power, into the places where people actually live—the workplace, the classroom, the neighborhood, the marketplace, the kitchen, the street.

And yet, many people of faith still feel this is the pastor’s job, not theirs. They say, “That’s why we have clergy. That’s why we hire professionals. My life is already full—family, work, obligations. Surely God doesn’t expect me to be a minister too.”

But here is the question I want us to wrestle with this morning: what does the Bible say about the role of the laity? What does it mean to be God’s people, chosen and called in Christ?

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The Scriptural Foundation

I invite you to open with me to 1 Peter 2:1–10. This passage paints one of the clearest pictures of who we are in Christ:

> “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For in Scripture it says:

See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and,

A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Here is the heart of it: You are a chosen people. You are a royal priesthood. You are God’s own possession, called to declare His wonderful works.

This is not said only to pastors. This is not reserved for missionaries or clergy. This is said to the whole church. Every believer. All of us together.

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Three Stories of Everyday Ministry

To make this practical, let me share three stories of how ordinary believers lived out this calling.

1. The Secretary

A businessman visited a Christian college one graduation day. He had one request. Bluntly he said, “I am here to hire a Christian secretary.”

He explained, “I don’t mind if she makes a typing mistake or two. I don’t mind if she isn’t the fastest at shorthand. But I am looking for a Christian secretary.”

Why? Over the years he had hired many secretaries. But the most recent one, a believer, had changed the entire atmosphere of his office. She didn’t preach sermons to him. She didn’t argue theology. But in her presence, he found himself unable to curse or swear the way he once did. Her quiet influence, her faithful work, her spirit of grace touched his life. Now that she was leaving, he wanted another secretary just like her.

That is laity in ministry. That is a royal priesthood at work in the marketplace.

2. The Farmer

Another story. A biochemist named Peter worked in a major city, earning a good salary with all the benefits of modern life. But eventually, he and his wife grew weary of the noise, the pace, the emptiness of it all. They longed for something simpler. They moved to a small town, bought a little property, and set out to live a quieter life.