Question 67 – Which church is the true church?
The answer is very simple – God's church. Many churches and sects claim the right to be the "one and only true church" that was founded by God. In reality, however, there has always been and will always be only one true church – and that is God's "universal" church. When the Lord Jesus speaks of the church, he never says, "My Roman Catholic Church, my evangelical church, my Orthodox church, or my faithful Baptists...". He always and only speaks of the "church". The true church is therefore never the formal religious organization where people attend services. The true church is the people who enter God's kingdom through having their sins forgiven in Jesus Christ, the one they love and follow. God does not have a chosen organization but individuals who are spread throughout various "human" churches in the world.
"But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."' (2 Timothy 2:19)
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:27-28)
Jesus said that one day it will be clearly evident who belongs to him and who has no part with him. Maybe we will be surprised that on the one hand some who we considered to be ideal Christians do not belong to God's people and on the other hand those who were hardly considered to be his at the time will enter his kingdom. The reality is such that true Christians can be found throughout various Christian denominations. This means that there can be people who know and love Jesus in many different Christian churches. It also means that there are others who are Christians only in the formal sense (in name only). Their names may be written in the church membership roll but in God's sight they are not written in the book of life.
This fact poses a question
What is the percentage of true Christians? This depends on the quality of the given church. There can be some congregations where the majority are true believers but others where, for various reasons, the situation is the complete opposite. Healthy bible teaching in a church is an excellent prerequisite for God to work in individuals. Nevertheless, there could be many people who have hardened their hearts and despite the purity of the teaching of God's Word, they are not believers. There are more than a few churches that have much false teaching, yet in spite of this fact, true Christians, those who sincerely trust God, can be found there. These believers are in a more complicated situation and bear much bitter fruit because of the false teaching that they have been exposed to.
Summation
No human institution carrying the name of "church" and representing all of God's people exists. The true church cannot be understood in a formal way but is made up of people who belong to various churches across the spectrum. Membership of the true church cannot be gained by formal membership of any kind of human organization.