Cults
This week we talked about cults. It was an introduction to cults and in the next few weeks we’ll do a more in depth study of some of different ones.
The word “cult” comes from the Latin word for worship. Basically a cult is defined as “a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious”. Really anything that opposes the normal biblical view. It is not meant to be an insulting word but a way to categorize something different the biblical Christianity. Some of cults, for example the Mormons, might even call biblical Christianity a cult. The Jews call early Christianity a cult because of their differing views.
One of the characteristics of a cult is that it always surrounds itself around a specific person or that person’s misinterpretation of the Bible (ex. Joseph Smith with the Mormons). Besides being focuses around a leader or person’s interpretation, there are 5 things that you can look for doctrinally in a cult.
They reject the Trinity. They do not believe that Jesus is God. They either lower him down to humanity’s level or will raise themselves up to the same status as Jesus.
Belief that all Christians churches are wrong and they have the only truth.
They believe the bible, but will distort it to fit their viewpoint of man, God, Holy Spirit, Heaven and hell, salvation, and many other doctrines.
They deny that people are saved by faith alone. There is always works involved. Haven’t we seen that through all the religions we’ve studied so far?
They are skillful at using Christian words and doctrines, but with a twist. They’ll use the same words but they will not mean the same thing.
The first thing to do to identify cults is to know true Christianity. The bible tells us to test all things (1 Thess. 5:21). A guy that once worked for the Secret Service in the counterfeit division was asked “how, with all theses different types of fake bill going around, do you figure out which ones are not real?” He responded with, “To spot the fake ones all you have to do is know the real one”. If we know God’s word, when something comes along that teaches a different gospel we’ll be able to spot it.
Our Visit
We had a great visit. We visited a family that came to our “Trunk or Treat” that we put on at the school. The family had a young boy in the 4K class at the school. We talked with the wife. The husband was in bed, he’d had a few shot for a back problem earlier in the day. We did have a good conversation talking about our Sunday School class and Church. We asked the “Key Question”, “In your opinion, what do you understand that it takes for a person to go to heaven” She gave, what seemed to be a faith answer, but added a little to it. To be safe, I shared the gospel with her. We continued to talk a little more and prayed with her before we left.
When we got back to the car, we realized we were 1 hour late getting back to the church. It was worth it we had a great visit and Joanna clicked well with her. Ashley, the other young lady we brought with us, bonded great with the son. Well she played video games with him anyway.
Prayer Request
This week we talked about cults. It was an introduction to cults and in the next few weeks we’ll do a more in depth study of some of different ones.
The word “cult” comes from the Latin word for worship. Basically a cult is defined as “a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious”. Really anything that opposes the normal biblical view. It is not meant to be an insulting word but a way to categorize something different the biblical Christianity. Some of cults, for example the Mormons, might even call biblical Christianity a cult. The Jews call early Christianity a cult because of their differing views.
One of the characteristics of a cult is that it always surrounds itself around a specific person or that person’s misinterpretation of the Bible (ex. Joseph Smith with the Mormons). Besides being focuses around a leader or person’s interpretation, there are 5 things that you can look for doctrinally in a cult.
They reject the Trinity. They do not believe that Jesus is God. They either lower him down to humanity’s level or will raise themselves up to the same status as Jesus.
Belief that all Christians churches are wrong and they have the only truth.
They believe the bible, but will distort it to fit their viewpoint of man, God, Holy Spirit, Heaven and hell, salvation, and many other doctrines.
They deny that people are saved by faith alone. There is always works involved. Haven’t we seen that through all the religions we’ve studied so far?
They are skillful at using Christian words and doctrines, but with a twist. They’ll use the same words but they will not mean the same thing.
The first thing to do to identify cults is to know true Christianity. The bible tells us to test all things (1 Thess. 5:21). A guy that once worked for the Secret Service in the counterfeit division was asked “how, with all theses different types of fake bill going around, do you figure out which ones are not real?” He responded with, “To spot the fake ones all you have to do is know the real one”. If we know God’s word, when something comes along that teaches a different gospel we’ll be able to spot it.
Our Visit
We had a great visit. We visited a family that came to our “Trunk or Treat” that we put on at the school. The family had a young boy in the 4K class at the school. We talked with the wife. The husband was in bed, he’d had a few shot for a back problem earlier in the day. We did have a good conversation talking about our Sunday School class and Church. We asked the “Key Question”, “In your opinion, what do you understand that it takes for a person to go to heaven” She gave, what seemed to be a faith answer, but added a little to it. To be safe, I shared the gospel with her. We continued to talk a little more and prayed with her before we left.
When we got back to the car, we realized we were 1 hour late getting back to the church. It was worth it we had a great visit and Joanna clicked well with her. Ashley, the other young lady we brought with us, bonded great with the son. Well she played video games with him anyway.
Prayer Request
Pray for this family that they find a church home that can minister to their needs. Both of them have bad back and are taking treatments for the problem. Pray for our ministries, both here and PMBS AIT in the Philippines.
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