I invite you to turn with me to Galatians chapter 1, Galatians 1, and we read this in connection with our Confession of Faith, Belgic Confession of Faith, article 29, found on the beginning at the bottom of page 83 in the back of the Psalter hymnal, article 29. We've been considering, we've had a little break now, but before that we've been considering the articles of the Confession that deal with the church. And this one as well has the title, The Marks of the True Church and Wherein It Differs from the False Church. If you think about it, that very title can be troubling. It can be troubling to many people in our day, even many evangelical Christians. It can label us, by confessing this, as being somewhat judgmental. And in a sense that's true, and that's because the Word of God is judgmental with regard to the true and the false church. We read together Galatians chapter 1. Hear now the Word of God. Paul, an apostle, sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead, and all the brothers with me, to the churches in Galatia. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different Gospel, which is really no Gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned. As we have already said, so now I say again, if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned. Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it. Rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles, only James, the Lord's brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie. Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report, the man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy. And they praised God because of me. Let's bow together, asking the Spirit of God for His blessing upon this message this morning. Father, indeed, we come before You as weak vessels, those who need to be strengthened by Your Holy Spirit, those who have a need to have our hearts illumined by Your Holy Spirit. And Father, we pray that You would do that, that You would open our hearts, that we might receive this, Your Word, that You would bless the preaching of Your Word. Be with him who brings it, O Lord. He is weak, but you are strong. He is in need of your guidance and your strength and your wisdom. And we, as those who hear, are in need of having our ears opened. And Father, may you bless this, your word and this scripture to us. And may we give you all the praise and the honor and the glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen. Beloved in Christ the Lord, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe you've heard that expression. In one sense, that means that each one of us will see things and we will interpret those things according to how we see them. For example, to one, a majestic waterfall like the Niagara Falls might be the most awesome sight to behold. But to another, that same falls might be no more spectacular than the water we saw flooding over the Lake Hodges Dam a few months ago. Hard to imagine, but it could be that way. You see, we often see things through rose-colored glasses of our own making. We determine whether something is good or bad, whether it's pretty or ugly, whether it's wonderful or average, or whether something is right or wrong. And the same thing happens with the church. Now, Article 29 closes with these words. These two churches, the true and the false church, these two churches are easily known and distinguished from each other. The problem is that man tends to apply the same standard, beauty is in the eye of the beholder to the visible churches. And no matter what church one may be a member of or may be attending, if that one judges that church according to what that one thinks or according to the way that one feels, they will see that church as a true church every single time. The sad truth is Satan, that great imitator, has always stayed busy imitating the real church too with all kinds of groups trying to draw true Christian believers away from the body of Christ. And indeed, we praise God for His assurance that no one can snatch us out of His hand. Yet, beloved, we must recognize the true church. We're told in Ephesians 5 that Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word and to present her to Himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. That's the truth. of the church of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ has only one body. He has only one holy congregation. And in some of the previous articles, as you recall, we have considered the truth that His body is gathered throughout history, from the beginning to the end of time, and from all places. And His body appears throughout this world in churches of local congregations. And we have considered that it is our duty to join the true church. And, beloved, in the midst of a world of sin and imitators, we are told that we can recognize the true church if we apply the Bible's tests of what really makes a church a true church. Because only when you judge a church by what God says the church is, will it be unmistakable, and will the true church and the false church, as the article says, be easily distinguished. This article of the Confession, summarizing the clear teaching of Scripture, directs us in a clear way so that even the boys and girls can have some understanding of recognizing the church as she comes to expression, as she is made visible. It's a bit of a long article, but we're going to read it together. Found at the bottom of page 83. Article 29. 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. But we speak not here of hypocrites, who are mixed in the church with the good, yet are not of the church, though externally in it. But we say that the body and communion of the true church must be distinguished from all sects that call themselves the church. The marks by which the true church is known are these. If the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein, if it 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. With respect to those who are members of the church, they may be known by the marks of Christians, namely by faith. And when, having received Jesus Christ, the only Savior, they avoid sin, follow after righteousness, love the true God and their neighbor, neither turn aside to the right or left, and crucify the flesh with the works thereof. But this is not to be understood as if there did not remain in them great infirmities, but they fight against them through the Spirit all the days of their lives, continually taking their refuge in the blood, death, passion, and obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom they have remission of sins through faith in Him. As for the false church, it ascribes more power and authority to itself and its ordinances than to the Word of God, and will not submit itself to the yoke of Christ. Neither does it administer the sacraments as appointed by Christ in His Word, but adds to and takes from them as it thinks proper. It relies more upon men than upon Christ and persecutes those who live holily according to the Word of God and rebuke it for its errors, covetousness, and idolatry. Again, these two churches are easily known and distinguished from each other. Beloved, once again, we are called to join the true church. And as we look around and as we consider the countless number of churches in our own city, in our own state, country, world, and groups that call themselves church, we can't help but to ask, which one? You see, our hope is built upon what Christ is doing and will do with His church as we read in Ephesians 5. And only when ours is a fellowship in a Christ-approved congregation can we have right and proper assurance that He works His saving grace in our lives. Because God gives His means of grace only to His true church. But this means, of course, that not all visible churches are approved by Jesus Christ. Now, that's a dangerous comment, isn't it? If you believe that, if you profess that, you're not going to be very popular by the world and even by many evangelical Christians, but it's true. Not all visible churches are approved by Jesus Christ. And it's for that reason, beloved, that we have an unmistakable need to recognize the true church. We've said before that there are different usages for the term church. The church is spoken of as the building. Even as the worship service, we're going to church. And the idea is we're going to worship. And of course, as we've been considering, congregation. The church is a congregation. Article 29 is clearly talking about the visible church on this earth, in this life, a religious organization. And we must make clear, as this article does, that we're not talking about perfect churches or about the individuals that make up a congregation. First of all, a true church is not made up of perfect people. A minister once said to a group of believers hoping to begin a new church, He said, remember, this church that you plan to begin is perfect, will be perfect until you join. Until you join. And that's true of each and every one of us. True Christian believers are sinners saved by grace, but they in and of themselves don't make a church a true church. But on the flip side, neither do hypocrites keep a church necessarily from being a true church. But we speak not here of hypocrites who are mixed in the church with the good, yet are not of the church, though externally in it. Hypocrite Christians, boys and girls, are what we might call veneer Christians. That means that what you see on the outside covers up the truth of what's on the inside. The outside isn't the truth. What's on the inside is the truth. For example, you might see a beautiful oak desk. And it looks like it's made of solid oak, but it might really be oak veneer. It's really made of a cheaper wood, a lighter wood, a weaker wood. And it has a thin skin of oak on the outside, or maybe even a sticky contact paper with an oak wood grain finish. It's not oak. Looks like it, but it's not. Or think of an old rusty car. You can put a fresh coat of paint over a rusty finish and you can make it look brand new, at least for a little while. But that fresh coat of paint does not change the truth about what's under that new paint. The Bible is clear that there are hypocrites in the church. There are weeds mixed in with the wheat, which we hope to consider tonight, the Lord willing. There are believers and unbelievers who sit together in church Sunday after Sunday and you can't tell the difference maybe that makes us uneasy even at this very moment but speaking of this Paul says in 2 Timothy 2 verse 20 in a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay not only the solid oak but the oak veneer some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble or as another translation says some for honor and some for dishonor But they're in the same house. Beloved, the issue here with this article of the Confession is not true Christian believers versus hypocrites. Again, the Bible considers that, for example, in the parable that we will consider tonight. But the issue here is true churches versus false churches. And now, of course, we know that there are many branches of the one body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and these branches go by varying and various names in our time. But there are also groups of people that call themselves a church, but they are not the true church. And the confession calls these sects. And we should think of a sect as a group that follows and promotes a false teaching. And there are so many different ones in our days. Some easy to distinguish, some not so easy. But there are so many different ones in our day that we need to apply the proper test to see where the true church really is. And of the many groups that use the name church but are not really the church, there are some who use the name church for income tax or property tax purposes. In other words, because of the governmental benefits that come along with the name. But they don't really believe anything that comes out of the Bible. Others who think they are the true church totally deny the vital doctrines and teachings of Scripture. They would deny that they deny them, but they do. Many deny that Jesus Christ is the natural Son of God. It's unfathomable. They deny the virgin birth. He must just have been another man, a good one, a good example. But He's not God. They deny that He is the only way of salvation. Again, they deny the virgin birth. They deny the resurrection. They deny the reality of hell and many other doctrines of Scripture. truth of Scripture. But this problem is not new to our day and it wasn't even new with the Protestant Reformation. Paul makes it clear in his letter to the Galatians that there were imitators, there were challengers to the true church. And the unmistakable teaching of Scripture throughout is that we must and we can see the difference between that which is true and that which is false. And why is this so important? Because apart from the true church, Apart from the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no salvation. And because the false church wants nothing to do with the true body of Christ. We know that Christ reforms His church, but the devil, Satan has been having a field day using pride and prejudice and passion throughout history to make division within the church. We know, as the Bible teaches us, that the gates of hell will not prevail, It cannot prevail against Christ's church. But it has become harder and harder to know where is the Bible-believing church that is the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But that's the key, isn't it? The Bible. We have been given the unfailing standard for recognizing the true church, and that is the very Word of God. For those of you who read Table Talk faithfully, you saw in Friday's devotion a short definition of authority. The right to impose obligation. The Bible is authoritative. Authoritative for our faith and practice. We are obligated to believe and obey the Word of God. And the truth is, since so many call themselves the real and true church, unfortunately, we cannot rely on the name on the sign out front. We cannot rely on the name by which a congregation presents itself. Appearance won't do either. It's not simply preaching and singing and collecting and offering and even administering the sacraments. But is all of it according to the Word of God? And the Word of God, without fail, tells the truth about whether a church is a true church or whether it is a false church. Again, Article 29 begins, we believe that we ought diligently and circumspectly to discern from the Word of God, which is the true church. In other words, we are called to diligently and zealously look for the answers only in Scripture. And then our search is to be done very carefully with precision. And this is important because the devil never stops trying to obscure or cover up or fog the real truth of the Word of God. But by God's grace, we believe and we confess that the Bible is reliable, that it's trustworthy, that it is without error. In Article 5 of the same confession, we confess that we believe without any doubt all things contained in the Holy Scriptures. And this includes what the Bible says about the church. In our theological and confessional language, we speak of the marks of the true church. Now, these are not the same as the attributes or the characteristics of that one body, that one congregation. Those attributes, again, being unity, holiness, apostolicity, catholicity, and even indestructibility. But these marks, now, that the confession is talking about, are what the Bible says happens in a true church. How does a true church function? According to these marks. These marks or standards or criteria come only from Scripture. You see, it's not the church herself that determines if she is true, but Scripture. The office bearers, the elders of this church, for example, don't take it upon themselves to determine what makes a church a church. That's what's been happening. Relativism in the church too. What fits us is good for us. It may not fit another congregation, but what fits them is good for them. But the office bearers must look at what the Bible says. And beloved, when they see the biblical marks functioning here, then they and we as a congregation must thank the Lord for His blessing and be comforted that His true church is found here in this place. What are the marks of the true church? First paragraph, top of page 84 again. The marks by which the true church is known are these. If the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein, if it maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ, if church discipline is exercised in punishing of sin. See, beloved, not only is the Word of God the only unfailing standard for recognizing the true church, but it is also the only standard that flows from, that is to flow from the true church. The church is called to be loyal to the Word of God alone in her preaching and teaching. And notice that the first mark is not just preaching from the Bible. So many claim to do that. But the church is to preach the pure doctrine of the Gospel. And this is not simply to be practiced by the preacher. But the church in her leadership oversees, safeguards, protects and demands preaching which passes on the Gospel faithfully, not subtracting anything, not adding anything, not contradicting anything. But you know, it even goes beyond the leadership. It goes to you. The believer in the pew. We are called to be the Bereans of Acts to study the Word of God. you need to make sure that your preachers preach the truth. And that is to be your desire. And that's why Paul also says so clearly in Galatians 1, beginning at verse 6, I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned. Then he goes on, I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it. Rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. There is only one truth and that is the truth as it has been handed down by God Himself through our Lord Jesus Christ. And then, of course, it's easy to see that preaching the pure gospel is really foundational for the other two marks, isn't it? Because if the truth isn't preached, it won't be practiced, will it? It won't be practiced in the sacraments or in discipline. These three are intimately united. The church is called to maintain the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ. As instituted by Christ. Our Lord gave us two sacraments, the Lord's Supper and Holy Baptism, not seven, as the Catholic Church says. And in the Bible, beloved, He has told us how they are to be administered and to whom they are to be administered and what they mean. And we are blessed in this church with detailed forms in the back of our Psalter hymnal written, authored by godly men which take the teaching of Scripture to aid us, to help us in administering the sacraments as our Lord taught us. And the third mark is that church discipline be exercised in punishing sin. God calls His church a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. What an awesome description. What a wonderful way to be seen in the eyes of God. And as visible churches here on this earth, we have the responsibility to maintain in as much as we are given the strength of God to maintain the purity of the church. The church fails to declare God's praises and to live up to her calling when sin goes unpunished in her midst. Now discipline we know even in our homes is meant for correction. And if the church fails to call people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, they forfeit the name church. And if the church fails to discipline known sin, public sin, she is saying that she knows better than God how to deal with sin. The Bible is clear that the church is not to put up with unrepentant sin. 1 Corinthians 5 verse 13 says, Expel the wicked man from among you. 2 Thessalonians 3, verses 6 and 14, there we read, In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you receive from us. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him in order that he may feel ashamed. And notice again the harsh words Paul has for those who preach a different gospel, a false gospel. He says it twice, let him be eternally condemned. Beloved, God takes His church seriously. And that's why the Confession rightly sums up these three marks when it says, 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. God takes His church seriously, and in essence He says to you and me, you take me seriously too. We may not tolerate, not even with reservation, we may not tolerate anything that goes against God's Word. It must be rejected. We know that our head, the head of the church, Jesus Christ, He walked and talked with sinners, and many in our day have abused that and say that Christians must be tolerant of others and accept their differences. Again, relativism. But you see, our head, Jesus Christ, never tolerated and accepted the sin of those in His presence. He said, go and sin no more. Go and no longer commit adultery. Go and no longer cheat your neighbor. Go and no longer live as a homosexual. But not only do these marks identify the true church, They also identify the false church when these marks are not present. In fact, the very opposite is found. Boys and girls, the false church is like a fake coin or like artificial hair. To the visible eye, it might even look real, but it's not. It's counterfeit. It's artificial. It's unfaithful. It's worth nothing with a false teaching, a false witness, and false evidence simply dangerous for the soul. This is not to say, though, that the false church has no form of preaching or no administration of sacraments or exercise of discipline in some way. It may have all of these. The problem is that it's not Christ on the throne of that church. But man, in a false church, the church's teaching and the church's rulers are superior with the final word. Now, we know that this confession was written at the time of the Reformation against the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. And this is what the Reformers saw in that church. As for the false church, it ascribes more power and authority to itself and its ordinances than to the Word of God, and will not submit itself to the yoke of Christ. Neither does it administer the sacraments as appointed by Christ in His Word, but adds to and takes from them as it thinks proper. It relies more upon men than upon Christ and persecutes those who live holily according to the Word of God and rebuke it. Those who rebuke the false church for its errors, covetousness, and idolatry. You see, there is discipline there. But the discipline is carried out against true believers. The deciding factor is whether or not the church will bow before the Word of God. It's not error, it's not sin and shortcoming that makes the church false. Praise God that it's not because those things are found in every true church. Believe it or not, here too. A church demonstrates that it is false when it hardens itself in these sins and rejects warnings based on the Word of God and when it suppresses the preaching of the pure gospel. Article 29 also points out one more important detail. When one recognizes the true church by the unfailing standard, then one will also recognize what is found in the true church. True Christian believers. Now again, there are hypocrites in the church, those who claim to believe, those of the near Christians, those who claim to believe but really don't. But there are also true believers by the grace of God who may be known by the marks of Christians. With respect to those who are members of the church, they may be known by the marks of Christians, namely by faith. And when having received Jesus Christ, the only Savior, they avoid sin, follow after righteousness, love the true God and their neighbor, neither turn aside to the right or left, and crucify the flesh with the works thereof. Then it goes on to say, it's not to say that they don't still sin or struggle with sin. They do. We do. But again, we find our hope and we rest upon the solid rock of the Lord Jesus Christ. And why are these marks so clearly listed? Well, I think because it's simply not enough to say I'm a member of the church. Many people, our members, have their names on the roles of a church. As Randy now has her name on the role of this church, as a professing member of this church. Many in our day claim to be Christians. But these marks, again, marks that Randy gave testimony to beautifully, these marks are totally foreign to them. Christians are also governed by a standard, and we must know, we can know, if we are living members or not. We'll never be perfect in this life, but these marks help us to do a correct self-examination. These marks are the objective characteristics of a life of faith, and the manifestation of faith in both confession in our walk and in conduct in our talk. And notice how the marks of the true church are united with the marks of a true Christian. As the true church in obedience to her Lord proclaims the pure Gospel, the true Christian, by the grace of God, will respond to that preached Word by faith. Beloved, true preaching will be reflected in your life. We always need to be examining ourselves. Have we learned to know and hate our sin and therefore flee from it and strive to avoid it? Do we desire to follow after the pattern of righteousness revealed in God's Word for the purpose of His glory? Do we love the true God and our neighbor as ourselves and desire to serve God by serving others, by giving ourselves in service for others? Do we desire to serve God with a singleness of heart, Him alone, without any competing forces from the left or the right? And do we strive to crucify the flesh and the works of the flesh? Is the fruit of faith real in your heart? Paul says faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. Do you know where loyal members of the body of Christ are? Loyal members of this body of Christ are here at night. You know, I struggled with whether to talk about this or not. Because I've been criticized for it. And also because it seems in the last four and a half years, every time the Lord sees fit to have me make a comment about the second service at night, in the morning service, We have less attendance at night. Hearts are hardened. But this is the truth. Now, there are legitimate reasons for not being able to come to worship. We all understand that. But loyal members of the body of Christ, of this body of Christ, are here at night. They are here when God's people gather together for worship. Here in this place, we are blessed with good attendance at night. Better than most. But you know what? It's not enough to say that. And that's really not even the point, is it? That has nothing to do with it. We ought to be here. If your soul needs to be fed with the Word of God, and I challenge one of you to say that your soul doesn't need to be fed. If your soul needs to be fed with the Word of God, if you really want to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you ought to be here and will desire to be here and not go the other direction when God offers to you His means of grace in the preaching of His Word and in the administration of the sacraments. The heartbeat of this confession, beloved, is clear and that as God's people must know themselves to be bound to His Word, which is living and sharper than any two-edged sword. And we are not to be bound to adjust when it's convenient or beneficial for us when it suits our purposes, but even when it challenges us and disciplines us and corrects us, even when the truth hurts. Through His Word and Spirit, God preserves, protects, and purifies His people. Apart from His church and His Word and His Christ, there is no hope of salvation. God has blessed this church here in this place to be a true church. I say that confidently. The marks are here by the grace of God. And as elders and deacons and believers in this congregation, it is our responsibility as well in the strength of the Spirit to strive to maintain the truth of the true church here in this place. And may it be our prayer, beloved, that God would keep us as His church living according to His marks and that by His Holy Spirit, each one of us would be a real living member whose prayer, whose life and concern is really for the well-being of the one church of the Lord Jesus Christ that holds the Gospel. And may the marks of true Christians become more and more real for each and every one of us. And through that, May God bless us with greater certainty and assurance of our calling and our election. The true church and true Christians will stand out from the world and all that is false, may we not be embarrassed by that. May we not be embarrassed to be different. But may we rejoice, beloved, that the church is beautiful to her head. The Lord Jesus Christ who beholds her. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You for the blessings that we enjoy here in this place along with so many other congregations spread throughout the world that You have blessed us to be a true church all by Your work, all by Your power, all by Your strength. And Father, we pray that You would indeed continue to bless us here. That in this place we would continue to enjoy the true and faithful preaching of the pure gospel. Be reminded, O Lord, of Your law which condemns us and Your gospel which gives us the only hope that there truly is. As well, that we might also be able to continue to enjoy partaking of the sacraments as instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ. And that we here in this place, the elders, would never be afraid to discipline. To exercise discipline over those who are wayward with the goal of bringing them back, if it be your will. And Father, may it be that we as your people in this place would continue more and more each day to give demonstration of the marks of true Christians. May that be our desire, O Lord. May you bless us with that. And may we honor You as we live for You in all things. Father, hear our prayer for Jesus' sake. In His name alone we pray. Amen.