Why Do They Confess Christ but Refuse to Join a Church?

Thomas Jefferson once wrote to his friend Benjamin Rush, “I am a Christian, in the only sense he [Jesus] wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence; and believing he never claimed any other.” Was Jefferson’s claim to be a Christian trustworthy? Jefferson highly esteemed the ethics of Jesus Christ, and yet he didn’t believe Jesus Christ was God. How should we think about someone’s confession of...

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I Belong (14): The Fruit of the Gospel in Your Life

We’ve been working our way through Article 29 of the Belgic Confession which gives much encouragement about local churches and our membership in them. Article 29 gives the three marks of the true church—the pure preaching of the gospel, the pure administration of the sacraments, and church discipline—and the says: In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head. By these marks one can be...

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