What Are the Marks of Cults?

Part 5 of Battling the Darkness: Spiritual Warfare

Key Verses: 1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

To some, what constitutes a cult really is a matter of definition. For professing Christians whom we Fundmentalists would categorize as liberals, a cult is any group happen to disagree with, in terms of points of doctrine. I have seen some sites, for example, who label Creationism, along with Fundamentalism, as cults, not to mention those who believe that the King James Version is the only valid English translation of the Bible. I like this acronym I saw recently in an article about the Church of Christ, a group close to cult status:

C. Claim to be The Only True Christians
U. Unorthodox Extra-biblical Revelation
L. Lying Leaders (History/Doctrine)
T. THE Way (Salvation is found only in their organization)
S. Salvation By Works (obedience to ordinances such as baptism)

(Is the Church of Christ a Cult, Freedom Quest Ministries, http://www.chocd.org/conclusions.html )

Cults and heresies have been around since the beginning of the church. Paul had to deal with the cult of Jewish legalism, which insisted that a Christian must be circumcised and live up to all the other requirements of the Jewish law in order to be a Christian at all (see particularly the letter to the Galatians). There were also those who insisted on worshipping angels in addition to, or rather than, Jesus Christ (evident in Colossians and, by inference, in Hebrews). In the last days, Paul wrote to Timothy, men would depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (1 Timothy 4:1). Many Christians believe we are already in that time just before the Tribulation period, and there has certainly been a great proliferation of cults, while some of the older ones are growing rapidly in numbers and influence. The Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses particularly are expanding rapidly, around the world.

But, what makes a cult a cult? Simply because a group holds different beliefs than we do about matters of doctrine, does that make them a cult? Not necessarily; there are certain core beliefs that every church must adhere to, in order to be legitimately labeled "Christian", but beyond that there is a wide area of possible disagreement. In the broadest sense, a cult is a Satanic counterfeit of a church, but that still doesn't define what constitutes such a counterfeit.

Few people would deny that Jesus was a real person, that he actually lived on this earth, though many in the Gnostic cult said he was nothing more than spirit, since all flesh is evil. That really is not what John is saying here, though. The key qualifier is the word "Christ", the Greek equivalent of the Jewish word "Messiah", the anointed one of God, the promised redeemer. To the church, this means Christ as the son of God, God come among us as human flesh. Any group that does not acknowledge the basic truth of the Gospel, that Christ was God come in the flesh to redeem sinful men, is a cult. Put another way, "What will you do with Jesus?" Mormons are a cult because they view Jesus as the earthly manifestation of a planetary ruler, who came to show his elect, the Mormons, how they might, at least the males, attain to the rule of their very own planet. Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult because the proclaim that Jesus was the earthly incarnation of the Archangel Michael, not the son of God.

By extension, any group that teaches there is a way of salvation by any means other than through the blood of Christ, the instrument of God's grace, is a cult. Even if they profess to believe in Jesus as the Son of God, if they teach that salvation can be attained through works of any kind, including baptism, their group is a cult. There is only one avenue of access to the Father, Jesus Christ, and by grace alone, not by grace plus anything else. He is our great High Priest, our only intercessor, and there is no intermediate chain of saints, or the Virgin Mary, or the local priest, standing between. We are bidden to come boldly to the throne of grace, not to the local confessional (Hebrews 4:16). Praying to anyone other than to the Father, in Jesus' name, is heresy.

Leaders of cults often take to themselves the role of God, in some cases explicitly assuming such an identity, and accepting the worship of their followers. No matter what substitute is used, a cult will always replace the true worship of God in Christ with something else, or someone else. Even if they do otherwise appear to adhere to Christian beliefs, adding requirements for salvation not found in scripture, such as baptism or membership in a particular denomination, means they are worshipping God in a wrong spirit.

Can a member of a cult be a Christian? Yes; it is far too common for born-again believers to desert their faith and join some cult or another, sometimes just for convenience or expediency. Going off into doctrinal error, no matter how serious, does not make you "lose your salvation", which is not based on what you do but who you are in Jesus Christ. The only unpardonable sin is the ultimate rejection of Christ. It is always possible, of course, that those who profess to be Christians then desert their faith were never saved at all; only God can make that judgment. For well over a thousand years, the Roman Catholic church was the only Christian church in western Europe; it is hard to believe that no one in all that time was saved simply because the larger church had fallen into serious error. I believe that God can reach anyone, and draw them to himself, no matter what religion they practice. If they choose, even then, to remain in their false religion, even though they are saved, that does not undo what God has done, and the decision they made. It simply means that their witness is destroyed, and all hope of reward beyond eternal life itself is lost. A cult is a substitute, an attempt to offer some other way to salvation than the only Way, Jesus Christ.