| Gordon H. Clark correctly states,
"Then too, the universal church is invisible because it does not coincide with the membership rolls of the several visible churches. Some people whose names are on the rolls are not Christians; and some Christians are not members of any visible church. The word church itself (ecclesia) is derived from the verb to call or to call out. It refers to the called, the chosen, the elect. The catholic Church then is the aggregate of all whom God has predestined to eternal life."
(What Do Presbyterians Believe, Chapter 25, page 219)
Clark continues,
"The invisible Church, or more accurately a part of it, becomes the visible church as those who confess Christ, together with their children, are organized into congregations."
(Ibid., page 220)
Let the invisible Church be (A)
Let the visible church be (B)
Notice,
some (A) is not (B)
and
some (B) is not (A)
Also,
All (A) who profess the true faith is (B) (regardless if they have joined a local church or not)
However,
Some (B) is not (A) (regardless if they have joined a local church or not)
A person's assurance should not be based upon being a member of (B), but one can know if they are a member of (A)--if they believe the Gospel (Acts 13:48).
So again, our Justification is not based upon being a member of (B). Judas was a member of (B) and it did him no good. Because (B) is not part of our basis for Justification, we can refuse to join, or even depart from, local congregations, presbyteries, or even entire denominiations claiming to be part of (B), but actually are not. Luther is the example I used above, but one could easily leave or refuse to join any OPC/PCA church which supports Federal Vision as well. Finally, no one has to submit to local church authority when it departs from Scripture Alone. One can even be excommunicated and still be a member of (A). Luther is also an example of this.
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Monty L. Collier
Last edited by Red Beetle; 04-09-2008 at 12:17 PM.
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