Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
Someone might correct me, but I don't see anything in the NT about determining whether a certain gathering of Christians is "a true church" or not... This thought of needing to decide which groups are churches and which aren't seems artificial.
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The only discussion I remember was from the Matthew 18 story of a sinning brother; a delineation was presumed between "2 or 3" and "tell it to the church". I think that is possibly due to a mis-reading of the Greek. The singular/plural there is not so really so clear.
Of course my memory is poor, but in my time that was presented as a kind of linchpin verse. You could be "in a group" but not "in the church". There may well have been other verses used, but I don't recall.