"We cannot, like God, look into hearts to see who are the true believers. We can only go by what we hear people say they believe. That is why, broadly speaking, the Church includes all those who assemble around Word and Sacrament, that is, all who say they believe in Jesus Christ as our one and only Lord and Savior from sin because He died and rose for us. This is the Church we are able to see-- the community of the baptized gathered around the Word of God and the Table of the Lord-- everyone who participates outwardly in the life of the congregation. Here both believers and hypocrites are all mixed together.
In the narrow sense, the Church includes only believers in Jesus. It is a fellowship of faith and of the Holy Spirit working in our hearts by the Word of God. Only God can see the heart. -- Lutheranism 101
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