ARTICLE
29

The Marks of the True Church

We believe that we ought to discern diligently and very carefully, by the Word of God, what is the true church—for all sects in the world today claim for themselves the name of the church.1 We are not speaking here of the company of hypocrites who are mixed among the good in the church and who nonetheless are not part of it,2 even though they are physically there. But we are speaking of distinguishing the body and fellowship of the true church from all sects that call themselves the church.

1Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 9:6; 2 Timothy 2:192Matthew 13:24-30,47-50

The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks: The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel;3 it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them;4 it practices church discipline for correcting faults.5 In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God,6 rejecting all things contrary to it7 and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head.8 By these marks one can be assured of recognizing the true church—and no one ought to be separated from it.

3John 8:47; John 10:27; John 17:20; Acts 2:42; Eph. 2:20; Colossians 1:23; 1 Timothy 3:154Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 11:23-265Matthew 18:15-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-156Acts 2:42; Colossians 4:16; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-271 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 Timothy 6:20; Revelation 2:68John 10:4-5,14; Eph. 1:22-23; John 5:23; Colossians 1:18

As for those who can belong to the church, we can recognize them by the distinguishing marks of Christians: namely by faith,9 and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness,10 once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ.11 They love the true God and their neighbors,12 without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works.13 Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives,14 appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus,15 in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him.16

9Eph. 1:13101 John 3:8-1011John 1:12; 1 John 4:2121 John 4:19-2113Gal. 5:2414Romans 7:14-25; Gal. 5:17151 John 1:7-916Acts 13:38-39; Romans 8:1-2

As for the false church, it assigns more authority to itself and its ordinances than to the Word of God; it does not want to subject itself to the yoke of Christ;17 it does not administer the sacraments as Christ commanded in his Word; it rather adds to them or subtracts from them as it pleases; it bases itself on humans, more than on Jesus Christ;18 it persecutes those who live holy lives according to the Word of God19 and who rebuke it for its faults, greed, and idolatry.20

17Acts 4:11,17-18; Colossians 2:8,19; Tit. 1:14182 Thessalonians 2:3-4,8-11; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Timothy 4:3-419John 16:220Revelation 17:3-6; Revelation 18:2-4

These two churches are easy to recognize and thus to distinguish from each other.