The Root Supports the Branch

“But the Reformers saw that some such distinction [between visible and invisible Church] was necessary. Without it, men fall readily into the trap of thinking that all that is necessary for salvation is to be in good standing with the visible Church. And because that is something they can readily arrange, they think that all is well with their souls. They start to think that their position on Christ’s tree is eternally secure, and they they, dry twigs, support the root. Such vanity obviously had to be rejected, as the Reformers did” (Mother Kirk, p. 24).