The True and the False Church ... Once Again

There has been some discussion about Article 29 of the Belgic Confession, and how we should understand and apply what we confess there about the true and the false church. These terms seem to create a great deal of misunderstanding in the minds of many Christians today. People are actually offended if someone says, The church to which I belong is the true church of Jesus Christ. Some of the misunderstandings may make people wonder whether these terms are even relevant anymore. How should we understand and use the terms "true church" and "false church" today?

Church Order: ''Love organized and spelled out''

Sometimes it seems that our idea of church unity bears a frightening similarity to the world's idea of marital unity. Just as the world has exchanged the glory and the wonder of true marriage for an altered and impoverished substitute, maybe we have exchanged the glory and the wonder of true church unity for some sentimental and vague substitute. The federative relationship does bear similarity to marriage, at least in some of its aspects.