Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

If a woman claims to be the bride of the king, goes about clad in purple robes, and counterfeits every external splendor of the king's bride, in the opinion of many she could be considered the bride of the king.  But when they go back to the certificate of the marriage covenant, it will then become clear that she is not the true bride.  In the same way, though an apostate church may claim to be the true bride of Christ and may shine with outward splendor, still the certificate of the heavenly betrothal made in faith, that is, the Holy Scriptures, reveals that that is not the true church.  In connection with this, Augustine calls Scripture "the marriage certificate of this Bride." -- Blessed Johann Gerhard, On the Church, p. 264.