How to Identify a Cult Text: 1 Peter 3:15-16 15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. Before we get into cults, I think it is very important that we understand what Biblical Christianity is. Since our first Core Value at Lakeside is, The Scriptures Alone Are the Only Truth that means we must follow it with everything we are. That means we must search seriously, and very carefully for the meaning of the Bible. We must do this with without any cultural bias and understand that the Bible never changes. It is timeless. It is true and universally authoritative. Why? Because it contains the very words of God! 1 Timothy 3:14-17 (NIV) 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. So, if the Bible is true, and we are to live according to it, that settles it. If anyone comes to us preaching a Gospel that disagrees with the Scripture (keep in mind that is assuming no cultural bias which requires study; 2 Timothy 2:15) and they claim to be Christian, they are misguided at best, at worst they could be part of a cult. How can we tell the difference between a misguided Christian and a cult? Definition of a Christian cult: 1. A group of people polarized around someone s (usually a very outspoken and charismatic leader) interpretation of the Bible and characterized by major deviations from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of Christian faith, particularly the fact that God became man in Jesus Christ. - Dr. Walter Martin (The Rise of Cults) 2. An religious movement which claims the backing of Christ or the Bible, but distorts the central message of Christianity by: 1) An additional revelation. 2) Displacing a fundamental tenet of faith with a secondary matter. - Dr. Gordon Lewis (Confronting the Cults)
3. The difference between a cult and a world religion is that world religions do not claim to be Christian. Cults claim to be Christian, even using Christian terms, yet when you investigate they deny the cardinal doctrines of Christianity. They do this four ways: + Addition of new revelations to the Word of God. (To the 66 books of the Bible) - Subtraction from the deity of Christ. (Subtract from the Triune God) X Multiplication of the works necessary for salvation. Division of loyalties from God and the historic (original apostles) church because their group is the only way to salvation. This is why within denominations we can have disagreements on secondary issues and still be considered Biblical Christians. However, when a secondary issue becomes primary, we risk veering off course. Cults specifically focus on secondary issues, or unclear texts in the Scripture. They claim point to a special revelation only their leader, or the readers their Scriptures receive. With these special revelations you can become a better Christian because they are corrections of misunderstood, corrupted, or mistranslated texts. These corrective Scriptures were unknown to the church up until they were discovered or revealed to their leader by God or the Holy Spirit Himself. Unfortunately, they are deceived, and ultimately presenting a different Gospel than the Apostles left us. Jude 1:2-3 (NIV) Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a licence for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. This text speaks directly to the fact that there is only one faith entrusted to the saints ONCE FOR ALL. It does not need revision, addition, or amendments. That being the faith handed down from Jesus to the Apostles, and the Apostles to the church. It is that faith that we are to contend for (always be prepared to give an answer). Jude also talks about those who try to make changes to the faith to suit their own needs and desires, he calls them godless. It is very important that we understand this. People from these cults will try and confuse us by using terms they know we respect, but the key is they redefine them, and try to convince us that the apostles original message was corrupted, and that we need their special revelation to correct this corruption. We learned at an earlier date that it is impossible for the Catholic Church or any other organization to have corrupted the Scriptures because too many ancient manuscripts are in existence today. That corruption would be easy to find. Last week we referred to this as The
New Testament Chain of Custody. These groups will try and convince us they are good people, and they do good deeds, and that they believe we are good people, and that their special revelation will help all Christians. The problem is, they are NOT CHRISTIANS. They are deceived and godless people. They are on their way to hell unless they deny their false Gospel and turn to the Jesus described in the Scriptures. Galatians 1:6-8 (NIV) I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles--only James, the Lord's brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie. Paul uses very strong language here and makes an incredibly important point. First, he says that this Gospel is the only Gospel. There is no other, and if another is presented it is false and worthy of damnation, regardless of the messenger. Second, he points out that this Gospel was given to Him directly from Jesus Christ Himself. Third, he reconciles this Gospel to be the same Gospel preached by Peter even though he did not receive it from Peter. So if the Gospel he preaches is the same Gospel Peter preached then it is confirmed even further there is only one Gospel the Apostles received from Jesus. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!! Common terms do not mean common belief. For example the term Christ takes on very different meaning for cults. They try and claim it is the same Jesus, but their Jesus is very different. Last week we covered who Christ claimed to be, and how he backed it up not only with miracles but by resurrecting from the dead and
ascending into heaven right before everyone s eyes! The Jesus of Christian Cults looks very different than the Biblical Jesus. The person of Jesus being the key figure in Christianity makes the understanding of Him and who He is critical. The Jesus of Jehovah s Witness Jesus is the logos which is a god. They even go as far as to change the opening of the Gospel of John which says, In the beginning was God, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. They change it to, The word was a God. Jesus lived as a spirit before He came to earth; He was the first created being of God the father. He is the first and only Son God created by Himself. All other sons (humans) were created by Jesus (pre-human). Jesus was resurrected, a divine spirit creature, not in human flesh. (2 John 1:7) Jesus returned in 1914, expelled Satan from Heaven. This is an invisible return not in human form. He is currently restoring the Kingdom of Jehovah God on earth. The Jehovah s Witnesses deny Jesus as part of the Godhead. (Colossians 2:8-9) In fact, they consider the Triune God to be nonsense and unreasonable. The Jesus of Latter Day Saints (also Mormons) In order to grasp the Jesus of Mormonism, we have to understand their concept of God. They believe: God is the Almighty Ruler of the universe. He made the moon, the stars, and the sun. He organized this world and gave it form, motion, and life. He filled the air and the water with living things. He covered the hills and plains with all kinds of animal life. He gave us day and night, summer and winter, seedtime and harvest. God is the Supreme Being in whom we believe and whom we worship. He is all-powerful and all-knowing, and He is full of love, mercy, charity, and compassion. He is the Author of the plan for our happiness. Sounds pretty good so far, right? That is how the enemy works; he gives to a portion of truth that covers the lie hiding underneath. After this things get a little weird. Founder Joseph Smith taught that God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! Mormons are taught that, as man now is, God once was; As God now is man may be. In other words, God was a man like us, and through his hard work, sacrifice, and effort became the supreme ruler of the Universe. We too, can become Gods, just not the supreme God, because we are His sons. (Joseph Smith, History of the Church) Mormons are taught that we are God s spirit children, we were begotten by him in heaven and awaited bodies. They believe even Jesus was the FIRST (not only) begotten of the father. In fact, even Lucifer is a son of God.
They believe that God called a council of all of his spirit sons for advice on how to fix the problem of sin on the earth. Jesus and Lucifer both presented plans and Jesus plan was accepted, while Lucifer s was rejected. Furious with the father s decision, Lucifer rebelled and led a mutiny to thwart Jesus plan. We too can become like God. We are on earth to do good deeds so that one day we, like God, will have glory, dominion, and power. We will be gods ourselves. Mormons basically believe Jesus is no more divine than we could be. In fact, God himself is no more divine than we could be. He is our father, who along with his wife (godmother) conceived us so we can t overthrow him, but we can become like him. Jesus is unique because He is the firstborn (eldest brother) and his plan for salvation was accepted therefore making him our savior. Other terms cults will use to convince us we are the same are Christian, only begotten son, salvation, heaven, Holy Spirit, Gospel and many more. But the Apostle Paul warns us that although they try to convince us they are righteous and the same as us, they are actually messengers of Satan and pushing his lies. Remember this for something to be true, it must be COMPLETELY true, if it contains even a small mistruth it is now a lie! Cults try to cover a lie with truth by using these common terms. Remember this, they have not come up with this on their own, they are deceived by the master deceiver. 2 Corinthians 11:15 (NIV) 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. We really don t need to study every cult and their definition of Biblical terms. To see if they are preaching the true Gospel of the Apostles, we only need to look for these four things. + Addition to the books of the Bible Fundamental Truth it attacks: The Scriptures Inspired Verses: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Deut. 4:2; Proverbs 30:5-6; Galatians 1:8 1) Re-opening of the canon/authority of original apostles. (The Bible does not contain all inspired teachings 2) Overriding of the corrective ability of the Bible. (Corrective revelations given by God.) 3) They undermine the infallibility, authenticity, or sufficiency of the Bible. 4) New revelation/interpretation by a prophet or leader. 5) These new writings correct, or are above Scripture in authority.
6) These revelations have been hidden from the historic church. 7) The leader/writings are needed in order to properly understand the Bible. (wrongly translated) If anything is contradictory to Scripture, it is wrong. If anything is the same as Scripture, it is unnecessary. If anything goes beyond Scripture, it has no authority. Dr. Curtis Crenshaw. What about the gifts of the Spirit, don t Pentecostals believe they are equal with Scripture? The purpose of the gifts of the Spirit is not to go beyond Scripture, or reiterate the same thing as Scripture; but to confirm Scripture through POWER, to show that God is alive inside of our religious rites. That is what separates Christianity from all other religions. We already know that the Spirit of God will NEVER contradict Scripture! Major Christian Cults that add to the Bible: Jehovah s Witness Founded by Charles Taze Russell. Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the divine plan in studying the Bible by itself, but we see, also, that if anyone lays the 'Scripture Studies' aside, even after he has used them, after he has become familiar with them, after he has read them for ten years - if he then lays them aside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience shows that within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he had merely read the 'Scripture Studies' with their references, and had not read a page of the Bible, as such, he would be in the light at the end of the two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures." Zion s Watchtower later renamed The Watchtower, Sep. 15, 1910, p. 298. Jehovah s Witness Inspired Writings or Canon: The Watchtower Society, Awake!, and the New World Translation Latter Day Saints/Mormons Founded by Joseph Smith. "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." I spoke personally with an elder, and they believe the Bible over time has been changed and mistranslated, largely by the Catholic Church. It has many errors that can only be corrected by their divine writings. It is no longer sufficient for faith and practice. We can come to know God through them but more is needed. Modern day prophets have writings that are corrective and equal to Scripture. So these additional revelations are latter day restorations of the true Gospel which correct all the areas the Bible either doesn t cover, or has been mistranslated due to misunderstanding.
LDS Scriptural Canon: Canonized scriptures in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. These attack the sufficiency of the Scripture. The truth that God has given us all the revelation we need in order to correctly serve Him. _ Subtraction from the Trinity Fundamental Truth it attacks: The One true God/Trinity Verses: John 1:1-3,14; Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:6-11 1) Denies the exclusive deity of one or more members of the Godhead. 2) Jehovah s Witnesses claim that God is the Almighty God, while Jesus is just mighty god. a. Jehovah created Jesus. b. Jesus was the Archangel Michael. c. He gave up his godlike characteristics to become Jesus. d. He was a perfect man. e. After dying on the cross, his humanity was annihilated. f. He was raised an immortal spirit and is again the Archangel Michael. 3) Mormons believe the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct gods. a. They believe God the Father was once a man who attained his status by his deeds. b. Men are also able to become Gods. c. Jesus is the brother of Lucifer, and presented a better plan of salvation to God the Father, so he was chosen to redeem the world. d. Jesus is the literally Son of God. X Mormon Plan of Salvation: Multiply the requirements for salvation
1. Confess your sins to the Father. 2. It is the atonement of Christ alone that saves us, not works. Sounds good so far yes? Here is where the problems start. 1. Pre-earth life - This is where we are taught the principles and commandments that would lead to salvation. - The Father knew we could only progress so much without bodies, so in order to become more like him he gave us bodies. 2. Earth life. - We are given a veil to obscure our memory of our pre-earth life. - We have to overcome trials, sin, and mortality by: a) Confessing our sins to the Father. b) Accepting the atonement of Christ alone that saves us, not works. c) We must live good lives, and prove obedient to the commandments. 3. Resurrection life. - There are three degrees of glory. a) Celestial Kingdom (highest level) Reserved for those who have lived up to ALL the required ordinances/covenants during their earth life. b) Terrestrial Kingdom Reserved for those who lived an acceptable life, but were blinded by the craftiness of men. c) Telestial Kingdom (lowest level) Those that did not receive the Gospel, nor the testimony of Jesus. They will be servants of God but they will not have access to Him. Divides from the historic Church. 1. Divides salvation from being found in Christ to their church. 2. Divides loyalty of followers from other Christians to their leaders. 3. Divides from historic Christianity, calling it corrupt. 4. Divides loyalties of followers from even God himself, to their movement. Mormonism:
Remember to Mormon s, the Christian Church and Bible are so corrupt, it is no longer the true Church. To correct this, we need the revelations of Joseph Smith, and the current apostles in order to be part of the true latter day church. Jehovah s Witness: The Jehovah s Witnesses believe the original message of the Apostles was lost because of mistranslation/misunderstanding; they have their own translation of the Bible (New World Translation), the Watchtower, and other pamphlets they claim are equally authoritative and inspired. We need these additional revelations to complete or understand the message of the original apostles. Conclusion: This teaching today is based from my personal study, and the work of The Apologetics Group led by Eric Holmberg. Their website www.theapologeticsgroup.com has very affordable and very useful resources. Their DVD Marks of a Cult is where I got the mathematical symbol format of this study. It is phenomenal! Another great resource is Kingdom of the Cults, a book by the late apologist Walter Martin. Again, this book is thorough and incredible in the study of Cults and how they differ from Biblical Christianity. Today I only focused on Jehovah s Witness, and Mormons, but there are dozens of Christian Cults out there that all have the same traits of this study today, I simply focused on two that are most active in this area. The reason cults exist today is because the Christian church has done a poor job at studying to show yourself approved and always being ready to give an answer for the hope that you have. It seems that Christians and unfortunately many Christian leaders are unable to clearly declare who Jesus is, what He did, and what the core doctrines of Scripture are. In a day and age where truth is under attack like never before we need a clear understanding of what we believe and why we believe it! Walter Martin said it best in his book, The cults have capitalized upon the failure of the Christian Church to understand their (own) teachings and to develop a workable methodology both to evangelize and refute cult adherents. Within the theological structure of the cults there is considerable truth, all of which, it might be added, is drawn from biblical sources, but so diluted with human error as to be more deadly than complete falsehood. The Kingdom of the Cults, p. 24 This is why we are so emphatic about Christian Education for students, and the continual training of teachers at Lakeside. This must be taken seriously because those deceived by cults are not only well studied in their own belief systems, but many of them know our belief system better than we do. Without continued study we too can be deceived!