The Church of Christ (VI)

So What Should We be Looking for?
Last time we listened to Article 28 of the Belgic Confession where we were told that there is no salvation outside of the true church and that “all men are in duty bound to join and unite themselves with it…”[1] Real Christians are to submit to the doctrine and discipline of the church and to bow their necks under the yoke of Christ.[2] Article 28 ends with these words, “Therefore all those who separate themselves from the same, or do not join themselves to it, act contrary to the ordinance of God.”[3]
That being the case, Article 28 begs the question: So what should I be looking for when I look for a local church? Or, If I’m in a local church that does not correspond to a true, biblical church, how do I begin investigating where I should be? To many, these are not important questions. As I’ve pointed out before, the modern, 21st century Christian is more concerned to have his or her needs—real or perceived—met. Precious little time and attention is given to whether the preaching is biblical, the liturgy is according to Scripture, or whether what is sung has any significant biblical content. Article 29 deals precisely with “The Marks of the True Church, and Wherein She Differs From the False Church.” It might appear to be an oddity that the B.C. even pauses to ponder the possibility of “the False Church.” What? We watch TV evangelicalism almost totally unreflectively and uncritically. Does it ever occur to us that the congregation down the street that our teenager dearly loves might be a false church? How should we go about determining this important matter? How much have we investigated what is being taught in the youth groups? What kinds of materials are being used? What is the theology behind the material?
“Oh, there’s no theology being taught,” you say. “Our congregation doesn’t believe in teaching doctrine or theology.”
Of course, that’s the biggest lie of all. Every congregation from 1960s hangover and druggie feel good congregation of Anne Lamott to the computer generated people listening to Bob Schuller with a southern accent, Joel Osteen, have a definite theology. Most are not willing to share it with you because they would prefer to play their cards close to their chests. Here is how it works in the practice: Intuitively they know that if they actually told you what they believe even the most muddleheaded minds in the congregation would probably strongly object. Therefore, they just give it to you in bits and pieces and know that you probably won’t ever connect the dots.
Is our only concern that our teenagers are happy or that our wife likes the feminized atmosphere where we attend?
Please don’t get me wrong: I am not opting for a macho-church. At the same time, I am also not suggesting that I’d rather have a church that caters to women and leaves the men on the periphery. It is true, however, that a number of churches today have never extricated themselves from the feminization of the church that took root in the Second Great Awakening with Finney and friends. There was a time when the Church looked like the Church and not some second-rate, vain attempt at a night club. The B.C. hearkens back to such a time in history. So at the risk of offending the megas and Emergents—and a lot of other people—I want to walk you through what Article 29 relates to us. Even if you reject what de Brès wrote, I’m asking you to reflect on what he says and ask yourself if it is biblical and if it makes sense. If it does, then I’m asking you to consider how you might put this into practice for yourself, and, if you have them, your wife/husband and children.

Diligence and Circumspection
Article 29 opens with these words: “We believe that we ought diligently and circumspectly to discern from the Word of God which is the true Church, since all sects which are in the world assume to themselves the name of the Church.”[4] In other words, the first thing required of any serious Christian is both diligence and circumspection in dealing with what Scripture teaches about God’s Church. This might take a little while. Diligence and circumspection are not instant commodities. They require…well, diligence and circumspection. To put it in school categories, they require that we do our biblical homework. There is a presupposition in this article of the confession that people are acquainted with the truths of the Bible. Keep in mind that this was written in 1561 during the time of the Reformation and those who were attending Protestant churches had only recently had the scriptures in the vernacular. De Brès’ thrust then is this: get a Bible, read it and study it diligently and circumspectly, and become familiar with its contents. Remember: the Roman Catholic Church kept its members ignorant of biblical truth and told them that Scripture was too hard for them. By keeping them unacquainted with Scripture the Roman Catholic Church could play all its superstitious and unbiblical games. The church folk in the Middle Ages had an excuse: they couldn’t read Latin and there were no Bibles available. Now things are quite different. Don’t you keep yourself in the dark!
The Reformers were not fearful of being compared to other churches. In fact, they both welcomed and encouraged interaction with their congregations and a searching of Scripture. Why was that? In part, it was due to the fact that the Reformers themselves delved deeply into Scripture and were convinced that anyone looking for a truly biblical Christian congregation would know the difference. In fact, the last sentence of Article 29 reads: “These two Churches are easily known and distinguished from each other.”[5] In the 21st century, however, our powers of biblical discernment are substantially diminished and, as often as not, if you question someone’s church choice they want to know what all the fuss is about.
It is precisely our study of the Bible that provides us with the necessary insights not only to ascertain how God wants to be worshiped (few today ask that question) and what a true, faithful congregation of Jesus Christ looks like. Again, in our society, it almost invariably boils down to preference and entertainment value. We might also add that what many modern Christians are seeking is a sermon that doesn’t threaten them, tell them that they need to change their lives and lifestyles to a holier standard, and that they are sinners in need of the only true Savior, Jesus Christ, but rather one that is nice. This way, men can remain bored out of their minds but thankful that their wives are blissfully happy and not bugging them about being real spiritual leaders in their homes. Besides, if men ever did decide to lead, it would not be in the saccharine way and in the dulcet tones that they hear in church on Sunday. More on this in a moment.

An Important Distinction
De Brès makes a necessary and important distinction at this point in Article 29. He reminds us that he’s not speaking about the hypocrites that make every covenant community a “mixed bag.” He comprehends the concept of the tares among the wheat; the difference between a “lamb” and a “goat.” There is, he insists, a distinction between being externally in the Church and yet not of it.[6] This is a necessary point to ponder, especially for the modern Christian. The Church of Christ is not a more or less loosely connected aggregate of people who just “happen” to be there. They are gathered around the Word of God by the Holy Spirit and given the mandate—in the midst of their diversity—to be one in Christ. It will not do merely to be “pasted” on to a local congregation in a Nestorian-like fashion. Christians are, rather, to be active and integral parts of “the body and communion.”
Here is de Brès’ more complete definition: “but we say that the body and communion of the true Church must be distinguished from all sects who call themselves the Church.” He is making a plea for Christian discernment to be able to judge what is true, right, and pleasing to God and what is a mere counterfeit. Not to possess these faculties of discernment might very well spell disaster for you and your family. And yet, this is one of the begetting sins of the modern Church. Few are concerned with scriptural doctrine and its application; other matters occupy them. There are even some pastors who openly ridicule biblical doctrine and tell their congregants that they don’t need to bother and/or busy themselves with doctrine because it is a waste of time and only causes dissension.
Is it any wonder that many modern Christians have a spiritual I.Q. that is barely in the single digits? It’s shameful when a disproportionately large percentage of Christians cannot tell you what the Ten Commandments are, cannot tell you where to find them, and cannot tell you about foundational, fundamental doctrines of the faith. What is all the more disconcerting is that these folks wear their blatant lack of knowledge and discernment as a badge of honor and look down their noses at other Christians who refuse to join their ranks. The call here is, however, for a biblically discerning mind and heart. These remarks must be taken seriously if we do not want to leave ourselves and those God has entrusted into our care in the lurch.

The Marks of the Church
In order to facilitate our search, de Brès provides us—albeit in summary and outline form—with a list of the "marks" or "notes" of the Church so that we can get a handle on what we’re looking for. He writes, “The marks by which the true Church is known are these: if the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein; if she maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ; if church discipline is exercised in punishing of sin; in short, if all things are managed according to the pure Word of God, all things contrary thereto rejected, and Jesus Christ acknowledged as the only Head of the Church. Hereby the true Church may certainly be known, from which no man has a right to separate himself.”[7]
The wording here is both simple and yet highly profound. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to get a good flavor of what Christians ought to be looking for in a local congregation. Of course, the caveat is that the Christian must be armed with adequate discernment and Christian maturity to be able to check on the purity of the doctrine being preached. That is to say, he ought to have a “Berean” attitude, i.e., “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (cf. Acts 17:11). In order to perform such a necessary procedure the modern Christian is going to have to put away his or her copy of The Message and trade it in for a good translation of the Word of God. Then they are going to have to resolve to make a detailed, systematic, and regular study of the Bible coupled with prayer for illumination.
From that study—always being and becoming a student of the Word—our skills of discernment are to be trained and honed so that we discover what the will of God is, “what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). Allow me a word to the women here. If your husband begins such an undertaking, let him proceed; don’t hinder him. If you want him to lead then let him lead and be prepared to follow his leadership. I mention this because there is such a tendency in our overly feminized churches for women to “run the show” from behind the scenes. I have known wives who have actually given their husbands leather bound copies of The Message. That is not a good idea. The Message is a paraphrase and a bad one at that. I have also known women who clamored for their husbands to start acting like spiritual leaders, which is a good thing. Once their husbands started down that path, however, and started looking for a new and better, more biblical church the wife suddenly realized that she was no longer calling the shots and she dug in her heels. Once hubby decided to attend a local church where there was more meat and less fluff, where there was more of a balance between masculinity and femininity, the wife insisted on leaving and getting back to her comfort zone.
Wives, if this is you—or close to you—don’t carp that your husband won’t lead you. Just be honest and say that your husband tried to lead you but that you let him know in no uncertain terms who really wears the pants in your family. Here is the cardinal point: Every Christian needs the pure preaching of the Word of God in his or her life. This is the means of grace God has instituted for the instruction and encouragement of his people. So in your search for a church home, this question must be foremost in your thoughts and minds: Does this church truly preach the Bible? There is a lot today that passes for preaching that isn’t. Preaching is not a fireside chat; it is not an informal discussion; and it is not a mode of entertainment and sunshine peddling. That is not the meaning of the New Testament word for preaching. It is proclamation with a particular content. It is not a string of anecdotes, a Christian variation on the latest political or pop-psychology book or TV show, or the fad du jour. It is the preaching of Christ and God’s will for our lives. This is the first thing we must look for. Now go out and do it.

[1] Joel Beeke & Sinclair Ferguson (eds.), Reformed Confessions Harmonized, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999), p. 190.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid., 192.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid., 193. Italics mine.
[6] Cf. Matt. 13:22-25; 2 Tim. 2:16-20; Rom. 9:6.
[7] Beeke & Ferguson, RCH, 192-193.