HOW TO IDENTIFY A CULT

How Do We Identify a Cult?
Provided by Kurt Van Gorden of Jude 3 Missions
PO Box 780, Victorville, CA 92393-0780
(A Jude 3 Missions study outline, by Kurt Van Gorden)

Introduction: The Bible encourages believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to be of sound doctrine (Titus 1:9; 2:1). Not all people, however, will listen to sound doctrine. They will do the opposite and follow false teachers. Many of these false teachers have started cults as faction of a larger world religion. The Apostle Paul warns us that some people willingly exchange the truth of God for a lie (Rom. 1:25). Just because something sounds right does not mean it is from God. Proverbs 16:25 tells us that the way that seems right unto man is the way of death. Jesus provided the only true way of salvation through his shed blood and resurrection from the dead (1 Cor. 15:1-3).

I. In our modern society we have literally thousands of cults that are built upon man-made doctrines. These come from various backgrounds, but our studies at Jude 3 Missions have shown us that these groups can be mainly categorized into three groups: Eastern Cults, Western Cults, and New Age Cults.
A We begin with a workable definition of a cult. A cult is a group of people basing their beliefs upon one person’s interpretation of God, life, and the hereafter, which always denies the basic doctrines of Christianity as taught from the Bible.
1. Cults, then, are break-off sects of major world religions.
2. Cults normally claim to be the true form of that religion, such as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Christian Scientists all claim that they represent true Christianity to the exclusion of all others. The Hare Krishna’s and TMers will claim they are the true representation of Hinduism, to the exclusion of others.
B. We also distinguish between cults, world religions, and Christianity.
1. We do not classify Christianity as a world religion per se. All religions are man’s effort to please a god. In Christianity God reached down to man, through the work of Jesus Christ, and reconciled the world unto himself (2 Cor. 5:19).
a. All religions are man’s work for salvation or its equivalent.
b. In Christianity it was God’s work that saved us, not man’s work. We were bought with a price through the blood of the Son (1 Cor. 6:20).
c. The only time the word “religion” was used in the New Testament concerning Christianity is found in James 1:26-27. Here James is contrasting phony rituals with genuine actions that testify of our faith.
d. We use the word “relationship” instead of religion to describe Christianity. The work was done by Christ, which makes salvation the free gift of God (Eph. 2:8).
2. World religions, as they are known today, were so classified resulting from comparative religion studies of the nineteenth century. Listed in most books on world religions are the following: Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shintoism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.
a. We define religion as “man’s devoted expression toward his understanding of a greater being.”
b. All the religions of the world have no saving power according to Jesus. They are thieves and robbers, false messiahs, and false prophets (John 10:1-8; Matt. 24: 3-5, 11, 24).
c. The cults of these religions do not improve their situation before God. The are still based upon a false and unbiblical foundation.
C. Although the word “cult” is not used in the Bible, our definition is the same as what the Apostle Paul outlined in 2 Corinthians 11:4.
1. Another Jesus. “Another” is the Greek word allos, meaning “another besides the original (indicating numeric difference).” The other Jesus is any Jesus “whom we did not preach.” To be genuinely saved we must believe in the same Jesus preached by the Apostles, because “another Jesus” will not suffice.
2. A different Spirit. “Different” is the Greek word heteros, meaning “one that is the opposite of the original (often generic difference).” To be saved we must have the true Holy Spirit whom the Church received.
3. A different gospel. heteros is the word for different. The opposite of the true gospel, in fact, a gospel of works that has no saving power. To be saved we must believe the true gospel message, not a counterfeit.
4. Our definition of a cult is in agreement with St. Paul. Cults have another Jesus, which is a counterfeit, a different Spirit other than the Holy Spirit, and a different gospel, which lacks salvation by God’s grace.
II. The distinction between classes of cults.
A. Western Cults are developed in western thought and normally claim to be the true extension of Christianity. They will use the Bible as one of their main texts and Jesus Christ as one of their main persons. Some familiar western cults are the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, Unity School of Christianity, the Unification Church, Unitarians, The Way International, and Christadelphians.
B. Eastern Cults are developed as a break-off of some oriental philosophy or religion. They will claim to be the genuine representation of that philosophy or religion. They will claim that they are “in harmony” with Christianity, but in distinction from western cults, they do not use the Bible as their main authority or Jesus Christ as their main figure. Some of the eastern cults are Transcendental Meditation, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the Vedanta Society, Self Realization Fellowship, the Church of Scientology, and the Divine Light Mission.
C. New Age Cults are developed as a homogenization of several religious thoughts. They always involve a technique or ritual that is supposed to awaken an inner consciousness. Most are based upon monism or pantheism, so they are of oriental philosophy in that respect. They blend this with western thought and often scientific expression. They do not use the Bible or Jesus Christ as their central authority. Their goal is two-fold. They believe the “self” must first be transformed and then a global transformation will take place. Admittedly, their techniques differ widely, but they use the slogan “unity in diversity” to say that any technique will work since they are “all on the same mountain.” Occult powers are often a source for New Age writers. Some of the familiar New Age Cults and leaders are Theosophy, Religious Science, the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT), Alice Bailey, Jane Roberts, David Spangler, Fritjof Capra, Benjamin Crème, Shirley MacLaine, and the Rosicrucians.
III. The common marks that identify the cults are single leadership, extra-biblical revelation, altering the Bible, and denial of the central doctrines of the Bible. Let us look at each one of these.
A. Single Leadership. Cults generally focus around the teachings of a single leader, usually the founder or a current successor. This single leader is supposed to have a direct connection to God that the other members do not have. That is what keeps him in his position.
1. Familiar single leaders are Joseph Smith (Mormonism), Charles Taze Russell (Jehovah’s Witnesses), Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Science), L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology), and Sun Myung Moon (Unification).
2. Christianity has one head who is Jesus Christ (Col. 1:18). All pastors and servants in the Church are considered by God to be coequal without distinction of class, race, or sex (Gal. 3:28). Jesus is our only source of truth because He is God incarnate (Matt. 1:23; John 20:28). He is the full and final revelation of God to man (John 1:18; Heb. 1:1-2).
B. Extra-Biblical Revelation. The cults often have books outside of the Bible that are considered equal or superior to its message. Many of these are new revelations for the cults, hence, extra-biblical revelation.
1. Books used by cults that fit this category are the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism), Science and Health with Keys to the Scripture (Christian Science), Watchtower and Awake (Jehovah’s Witnesses), and the Divine Principle (Unification).
2. Christianity upholds the Bible alone as our source of authority for faith and conduct. There is no other revelation needed (2 Tim. 3:16; John 20:31; Rom. 15:4; and 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
C. Alteration of the Bible. The cults often alter the Bible and its message through one of two means: redefining the terms or retranslating the text. Some cults publish their own version of the Bible, others simply publish materials through which the Bible is to be read.
1. Bibles that have been retranslated by cults are the Inspired Version or the Joseph Smith Translation (Mormonism), the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses), and the Aramaic Translation (The Way International). Other cults alter the Bible by redefining the terms. The Christian Scientists take a metaphysical approach to all the biblical terms and make Heaven and Hell only a state of mind. The Unification Church redefines the Second Coming of Christ to mean a second messiah would be born in Korea in 1920.
2. The Bible clearly tells us that those who change the word of God will be judged as liars (Prov. 30:5-6; 2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:6-9).
D. Denial of central doctrines of Christianity as taught from the Bible. All of the cults deny the necessary doctrines that pertain to genuine salvation: The Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, His vicarious atonement, His bodily resurrection, the Person and deity of the Holy Spirit, the sinful nature of mankind, and salvation by grace through faith and not of works.
1. Every cult mentioned in this study denies or changes these essential doctrines of biblical Christianity.
2. The Bible teaches the Trinity (Matt. 28:19; Isa. 43:10), the deity of Jesus Christ (John 1:1; 5:18; 8:58; 10:30; 20:28), His vicarious atonement (2 Cor. 5;21; 1 Jn. 1:7; Rev. 1:5), His bodily resurrection (Luke 24:39; John 20:27; Acts 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:14), the Person and deity of the Holy Spirit (2 Sam. 23:2-3; Acts 5:4-5), man’s sinfulness (Rom. 5:12; 1 Jn. 1:8), and salvation by grace (Eph. 2:8-10; Rom. 4:16; 10:9-10; Tit. 3:5-6).

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