Detecting Signs of a Cult in a Church

Do you ever wonder about certain things which happen in your church? Perhaps things are not the way they used to be. The differences may be almost too subtle to notice, but you sense something is not right. Maybe there is a church leader who has departed from the faith and is starting to build his own cult. Here are eight questions you should ask yourself about your church leaders to be alert to this possibility:


1. Is the preacher moving away from preaching God's Holy Word, the Bible? Maybe he has never preached God's Truth at all; just a watered-down version. I am especially suspicious of preachers who use texts as "springboards" and then never refer back to them again. I don't care to knopw what a preacher thinks from the pulpit: I want to hear God's Word preached. This means actually exploring the text, not just reading and then forgetting it. The main protection you have against cults is the Bible. Get to know the Book!


(Psalm 19:7-11, Psalm 119 (entire psalm), Matthew 5:17-19, II Timothy 3:14-17)


2. Is he dictatorial? The only man who has the right to your total obedience is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. You are to follow a Pastor as he follows theWord of God and no further. Dictators are bullies who do not deserve to be in the pulpit. One example of this is Jim Jones. He was a Marxist who while "preaching" threw the Bible to the ground and stomped on it, demanding that people obey him rather than God. He demanded absolute control of he lives of everyone in the People's Temple cult. In other words, he demanded to take the place of God in their lives. This is what dictators do. If you are following a dictator, that is a sure sign you are not following God.

(Acts 5:24-29, I Corinthians 11:1, III John 9-11)


3. Does he claim exclusive rights to interpret the Bible: Is it "his way or the highway?" Does he want to be like the Pope of Rome, claiming to represent Christ, to say his interpretaation of the Bible is right and everyone else is wrong? Any man who thinks he is the only one who can interpret the Scriptures correctly ignores the fact that the Holy Spirit resides in ALL Christians (I John 2:27), and God is a muuch better Teacher of His own Word than any man could ever be. Absolutely, listen to men of God: but do not be so lazy as to not prayerfully study the Bible on your own to get God's message for your own heart. God gave you a mind, and He expects you to use it. This will greatly reduce the chances of you falling into a cult.


(Deuteronomy 6;4-7. II Timothy 2:15, III John 9-11)

4. Does he claim he is above criticism and not to be contradicted because the Bible says, "Touch not mine anointed (Psalm 105:15)?" Cult leaders love to yank this verse out of context and twist it for their own ends. The verse has nothing to do with dealing with a preacher's conduct or his interpretation of Scripture: God is prohibiting people from doing physical harm to His anointed servants. An examle of obedience to this command would be, when given opportunities to do so, David refused to harm King Saul, even after Saul attempted to kill him several times. This verse says nothing about even the greatest men of God in the world being above criticism. The fact is that anyone who is arrogant enough to claim he is above criticism is no man of God.

(Numbers 12:3, Proverbs 18:12, Romans 3:23)



5. Is he trying to seperate church members from family and friends? This is a sure sign of cultic abuse. Anyone who tries to isolate you from your friends, and especially form your family, is only trying to take control of your life for their own purposes, not God's. I would be very suspicious of any church leader (or anyone else) who tries to seperate me from friends I have known for years. It should be pointed out that God Himself instituted the family, and unless a member is abusing you or someone else, it is wrong to cut off ties with one's own family. No one will be impressed with your "godliness" if you do so. If a church leader tries to get you to sever family ties or long-standing friendships, RUN from him!

(Exodus 20:12, Mark 7:9-12 (principle), Proverbs 16:28, 27,10)



6. Is he demanding that church members give an inordinate percentage of their money to the church, or to leave everything to the church in their wills? Ethical preachers do not do this, and this is a sure sign a leader might be trying to start a cult. It is one thing for a church to ask for a tithe and offering, but it is another to demand inordinate percentages. You have legitimate obligations apart form the church for the use of your money, and even if you didn't, it is your money, and not the church's or the leader's. Under God, you have a right to use it according to your own discretion. Don't be fooled into believing that God expects you to give every dime you have to some religious organization, or you are not "totally committed to Christ." To do so is to allow a church to become "a den of thieves." Leaders of cults live high on the hog, not only on their followers' money, but on money collected by members for the cult. These followers are expected to accept a lower standard of living because they are "committed to Jesus." The Lord will some day judge such leaders for their hypocrisy. Be smart with your money. Leave an inheritance to your children, not to a cult.

(Proverbs 13:22, II Timothy 5:8, Matthew 21:12 and 13)



7) Does he uphold standards of morality for others, and then not follow them himself? Does he claim a moral position above others? This is scandalous, and has happened over and over again. Jim Jones used to take other men's wives and use them for his own pleasure.. No one else in his cult was allowed to do that. He was a lustful hypocrite, like Mohammed and Joseph Smith, who would not keep their hands off women either. Our Lord Jesus Christ never held Himself to a different moral standard than anyone else. Other true Christians are expected to have the same moral standards for themselves as they do for their followers. They do not tell their followers to do one thing, and then do the opposite. That is hypocrisy, a sure sign of a cult.


(Matthew 23:1-4, I Corinthians 11:1, Jude 14-16)



8) Is he trying to build his own empire? This is not always a sign of a cult, but does need to be watched. Dr. Lee Roberson built a tremendous work for our Lord in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was an humble man whose life's sole aim was to glorify God. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon cult, was his opposite in character, an arrogant blusterer out only to glorify himself. God built an empire through one. Satan built a cult from the other man's ego. Many times I heard Dr. Roberson say, "Everything rises and falls on leadership." He was right. The applicable question here is, Is the leader serving God or himself? Watch the leader, especially with regard to part 7. Discern whether it is God or Satan who is really building the empire.



(Jeremiah 45, Daniel 4:28-37, II Corinthians 11:22-28 (principle))





If the answer to any of these questions is "yes," I would strongly suggest you consider leaving that church!







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False Teachers in the Church

In Matthew 24, when Jesus began to speak on the end of the world, he said in verses 4 and 5, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many." Throughout the Bible, we find constant instances of false teachers working their deceptions in Israel and the Church. So this is nothing new: False teachers have been with us from the beginning. I want to address two things in this post; dealing with false teachers already in the church, and those fundamental doctrines opposed by false teachers.


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I. Dealing with false teachers. If you know someone is teaching false doctrine in the Church, what should you do about it? Should you leave a church where false doctrine is being taught?

First, if the the false teacher is teaching a class (Sunday School, Training Union, etc.), the church leaders must be informed as to what he is teaching, then they should deal with him accordingly. At the very minimum, you should leave the class until the matter is settled in favor of the teachings of Scripture.

More importantly, if the false teacher is in the pulpit (especially if he is the Pastor) leave the church! No family should stay ina church that teaches false doctrine. While there may be honest disagreement in some non-essential points of doctrine, there are some teachings which have been believed by Christians throughout the entire centuries the church has existed. If someone's teaching opposes or waters down any of the following doctrines, he is clearly a false teacher, and should not be followed.


II. Here are the fundamental doctrines I am referring to:

A) The Bible is the Word of God. It is unique as the revelation of our Lord God. What I mean by the Bible is the 39 books of the Hebrew Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament. The Apocrypha is not a legitimate part of it. Also excluded are such books as the Quran, with its distortions of the Bible, and the Greek, Roman, Hindu, Norse, and other legends, with their polytheism. It especially excludes such "revelations" as found in the Book of Mormon and the false views of the Watchtower Society (Jehovah's Witnesses), whose "supplementary materials" also distort the true message of the Bible. The Bible is the Truth in a way no other book could possibly be, because it is God's revelation to mankind.

(Proverbs 30:5 and 6, II Peter 1:20 and 21, Revelation 22:18 and 19)


B) The Trinity is another doctrine which false teachers try to say is not true. By distorting what the Bible says, the Jehovah's Witnesses say that Jesus is not God. they allege that only the Father is. But they are wrong. One of the earliest of the Christian statements of belief is the Nicene Creed.It says of our "one Lord Jesus Christ" that He was "begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made." The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are of one and the same essence, and equally God. To question the Deity of any of the Three in One is heresy.

(The Father as God: Matthew 6:9, Ephesians 1:2)

(The Son as God: John 1:1 and 14, 10:29-31, Philippians 2:5-11)

(The Holy Spirit as God: Acts 4:3 and 4)

(All together: Matthew 28:19, I Corinthians 13:14)



C) The Virgin Conception is another doctrine which has been denied by false teachers. This is a very important Biblical doctrine. Christ's conception by the Virgin Mary was prophecied by Isaiah, and the virgin did conceive, whether certain false teachers believe it or not. Mary did not, however, remaina virgin, but conceived other children with Joseph (Mark 6:3). The Bible teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin and we must believe this. Anyone denying this is a false teacher.


(Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1: 20-23, Luke 1:30-35)



D) Substitutionary Atonement is the most important of all Bible doctrines. It is the very reason for the existence of the Bible itself. As Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Because of His holiness, God cannot accept man in his sinfulness. This is the reason Christ died on the cross. So in Romans 6:23, we read, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." For sin, men are paid with death. But God in His love sent us a gift; His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He was born to die, to become our substitute and atone for our sin. He took the payment for our sin and gave us the gift of eternal life. How DARE anyone stand up in a Christian church pulpit and deny this, te most precious of all Bible teachings? If I were to hear a denial of this doctrine from any pulpit, I would walk out while that "preacher" is still spouting out his poison!

(Isaiah 53, Matthew 16:21-23, John 3:16 and 17, Romans 5:8 and 9)


E) The Resurrection of Christ is another very important doctrine denied by false teachers. Jesus Christ was really crucified. He really died and was really buried. Three days later, He really rose from the dead. This is the true gospel. This is reality, and not a myth. After His resurrection He was seen of many witnesses during the following forty days prior to His ascention into heaven (Acts 1:9-11). This was the proof that Jesus was the Son of God (Romans 1:4).It is unquestionable that this is Biblical doctrine. Anyone denying this is a false teacher.

(Psalm 16:10 with Acts 2:22-27, Matthew 28:1-7, I Corinthians 15:1-8)


F) The Second Coming of Christ is the final doctrine false teachers deny to be discussed here. I will not give my position on when the rapture will occur. There are honest differenes of opinion about that. But there are those who deny that the Lord will come back to judge the world. There are those who teach there is no heaven or hell, but the Bible teaches that both exist. There is a heaven for those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his atoning blood for remission of their sins, and there is a hell for those who refuse His gift of Himself. After the judgments God will destroy this universe and create a new heaven and a new earth, which will be inhabited by the redeemed. Those who refused Christ's redemption will have their part in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels. False teachers will probably be in the lowest part of this hell, closest to the devil who used them to deceive others. Their followers will not fare much better. I pray that anyone who reads this blog and is not redeemed by Christ's blood will consider what the Scriptures say, repent of your sins and put your faith in Christ.

(Revelation-the entire book)


The Bible teaches we are to seperate ourselves from those who teach false doctrine. Titus 3:10 and 11 tell us, "A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned himself." (Warning to young people: Titus was a Pastor. It was his job to abmonish heretics in the church. It is your job to let the Pastor do his job, and stay away from them.) More to the point is Romans 16:17 and 18, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good works and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."


In short, the best way to deal with a false teacher is to get out of the church and stay away from him!


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