04-09-2008, 08:45 AM
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Speaking of the Westminster Confession of Faith, it has this to say about membership in the visible church: WCF 25.2. The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the Gospel (not confined to one nation as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion;b and of their children:c and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ,d the house and family of God,e out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.f
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Beetle  From The Blog:
If Cyprian and the Belgic Confession are correct, and “outside of the church there is no salvation” then these floating, nominal Christians are placing themselves in spiritual jeopardy."
First of all, let's be clear. The Belgic Confession of Faith does NOT teach that one has to be a member of a local particular church or they are in danger of going to hell. Justification is NOT based upon membership in a local church. This is Roman Catholicism, not Calvinism.
Justification is ONLY based upon the active and passive obedience of Christ imputed to the elect. The fact that we do not read about the necessity of local church membership in Article 23 of the Belgic Confession Of Faith only demonstrates that R. Scott Clark has misunderstood Articles 27-29.
You might hear the pope make such an absurd claim when he visits the U.S., but you will not find this view in Chapter 11 of the Westminster Confession of Faith. | |