Belgic Confession- Article 29: The Marks of the True Church pt.5

Article 29: The Marks of the True ChurchWe believe that we ought to discerndiligently and very carefully,by the Word of God,what is the true church—for all sects in the world todayclaim for themselves the name of “the church.”We are not speaking here of the company of hypocriteswho are mixed among the good in the churchand who nonetheless are not part of it,even though they are physically there.But we are speaking of distinguishingthe body and fellowship of the true churchfrom all sects that call themselves “the church.”The true church can be recognizedif it has the following marks:The church engages in the pure preachingof the gospel;it makes use of the pure administration of the sacramentsas Christ instituted them;it practices church disciplinefor correcting faults.In short, it governs itselfaccording to the pure Word of God,rejecting all things contrary to itand holding Jesus Christ as the only Head.By these marks one can be assuredof recognizing the true church—and no one ought to be separated from it.As for those who can belong to the church,we can recognize them by the distinguishing marks of Christians:namely by faith,and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness,once they have received the one and only Savior,Jesus Christ.They love the true God and their neighbors,without turning to the right or left,and they crucify the flesh and its works.Though great weakness remains in them,they fight against itby the Spiritall the days of their lives,appealing constantlyto the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus,in whom they have forgiveness of their sins,through faith in him.As for the false church,it assigns more authority to itself and its ordinancesthan to the Word of God;it does not want to subject itselfto the yoke of Christ;it does not administer the sacramentsas Christ commanded in his Word;it rather adds to them or subtracts from themas it pleases;it bases itself on humans,more than on Jesus Christ;it persecutes thosewho live holy lives according to the Word of Godand who rebuke it for its faults, greed, and idolatry.These two churchesare easy to recognizeand thus to distinguishfrom each other.For more information about this group, please visit their website at reformationboise.com. Every weekday at 3:30 am and 7:30 am you can listen to The Gospel for Life on KSPD 94.5 FM and 790 AM Boise's Solid Talk in the Treasure Valley,  Idaho, USA.If you have a question, comment, or even a topic suggestion for the Pastors, you can email them.  If you enjoy The Gospel for Life, please give us a rating and leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. That helps us a lot!Phone: (208) 991-3526E-mail: [email protected] website:  https://www.790kspd.com/gospel-for-life/to donate on line https://www.reformationboise.com/donate