Christian Work of Laymen.
LAYMEN, not less than ministers, are called to labor for Christ. While the church is intended to supply a home for the people of God, promoting Christian fellowship, and at the same time extending aid and succor to us in our weakness, it is designed to be a channel for individual work. The true idea of the church is that which represents it as a complex whole, each individual portion of which has a distinct sphere of labor, all combining to effect the evangelization of men. Every member should contribute to this result by holiness of life, by a godly example, and by direct, positive, and personal daily effort. There is no less obligation resting on each member of the church than on the minister of the gospel, to promote by personal activity the interests of the Redeemer’s kingdom. No professor of religion should expect the church to carry him to Heaven, but he should add to the spiritual power of the church by his godly life, and should swell the activities of the church through his direct personal work.