Wheat and Chaff

The visible Church is now a ‘mixed’ body. Believers and unbelievers, holy and unholy, converted and unconverted, are now mingled in every congregation, and often sit side by side. It passes the power of man to separate them. False profession is often so like true; and grace is often so weak and feeble, that, in many cases, the right discernment of character is an impossibility. The wheat and the chaff will continue together until the Lord returns.

J.C. Ryle's "Commentary on the Gospels" - Luke 3: 15-20