A summary of the word ‘cult’ is any group, church, or organization that claims to be Christian, yet it publicly or secretly denies the fundamentals of the Christian truth, while holding onto anti-Gospel belief systems. I have below, outlined a few marks of a cultish group.
Salvation is through that group or leader
A cult leader works overtime to convince his followers that he is the only servant of God who is spiritual enough to solve all their problems and to be the source of their salvation. Such an individual usually claims to represent Jesus, yet instead of pointing people to that Jesus, he points them to himself; he is the one with “special connection to God”. Hence followers of such churches believe that their leader is the only true servant of God; who is beyond any criticism or any human error. They prove this by the way they defend and fight for him, even to the point of death. In fact, you will never see people as dedicated to winning souls as members of cultish organizations, yet their zeal – as admirable as it is – is not to win people to Christ, but to convert people to join their association and follow their leader. Because of this, such people do not believe that there are other believers or that you can be a true Christian as long as you are not part of their sect. Furthermore, it's often a lifetime covenant to be part of such groups because members are never allowed to leave for any reason, unless you are ready for a terrible persecution from them that can even cost your life.
Legalism
This is a common denominator of all cults. That is, they believe that outward behavior is the way to impress God so as to enter heaven. Hence members of such groups are very strict and they work very hard to abstain from certain foods, sporting activities, and even touching some things because to their mindset, those things are dirty and they lead to hell. I make an example of someone I know whose church doesn’t allow its congregates to visit hospitals for healing. I am also reminded of my former neighbor who was a pastor of a church where its members were not allowed to wear any short sleeve clothing, regardless of whether they were in church, at work or at home. That is their definition of true godly devotion and spirituality. Such people just don’t understand the basic Gospel truth that salvation is not dependent on what we do or do not do to impress the Holy One, but on what Christ the Messiah has already done for us on the cross. It’s Christ’s work that God accepts, hence those who are saved are not “good people”, but we sinners who have trusted (relied) on Him who came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9).
Once we are saved, then our hearts have been changed to obey with gladness; to behave in a way that pleases Him, not to get salvation again, but because He has freely saved us. Legalism, therefore, is the number one enemy of grace, because it seeks to justify men through the flesh (Gal 3:3).
Dictatorship / Control by the leader
Any so-called spiritual church or organization where the leader is the big boss who never allows himself to be questioned, advised or criticized but demands strict obedience to all that he says is a cultish leader. Some of them even control the individual lives of their members; they want to know when and what you doing with who – in your private life. In fact, it’s not even allowed to think for yourself; it’s an abomination to examine the Scriptures for yourself to see if what the leader says is true. You just have to agree and follow what you are told. Some other abuses may include sexual exploitation (leaders get sexual favours from members) and also financial abuse; where it’s a must that members give a certain amount of money to support that ministry, whether you have the money or not, you just have to find it and give it. Which means being part of such churches is just another form of a prison sentence.
Isolation from family
Cultish groups are not good with family units. Hence if you are part of such a company, you are taught that your enemies are among your own family members. Because of this, members of such groups hate their own housemates because they suspect them of witchcraft. Some are even given new names, just to completely disconnect them from any family roots. This makes it impossible for your own kindred to advise or warn you about the dangerous company you are involved with in that cultish church.
Mutilation of the Bible
I have noticed that all cults proudly claim to be followers of what the Bible says. Yet they betray themselves by the way they pick and choose verses, especially from the Law of Moses and use that as a driveway for their false doctrines. They are defiantly not interested in studying the whole of Scripture, comparing verse by verse to avoid misinterpretation. This is what the Apostle warned about, that is, the devil always appears as an angel of light, claiming to represent the truth. Be very wary of that.
“God showed me a vision”?
It is my duty to also caution you about those “I saw a vision” guys. Such individuals have no limit in the weird doctrines they come up with from their private “encounters” with supernatural beings. In fact, most cults that I know started after their leaders claimed to have been visited by God somewhere in the bedroom. This is the reason why I personally don’t believe anyone who tells me his “heavenly visions” or dream whatsoever. Whether it really happened or not I really don’t care, because I know that such ridiculous stories never end well. My soul is far much safer with Scripture alone as the ground of my belief and life, so help me God.
Summary
Just these past months, media was awash with the story of 200 Kenyan church members who lost their lives after their pastor forced them to fast to death as a way of meeting Jesus. That is what cults always lead to.
Therefore, this is a warning to all of us because we can be part of cults without knowing or at least we may find ourselves being leaders of cultish groups. The only way to avoid cultish theology rising up in your own heart is to constantly remind yourself the Gospel; to remember how you were dead in your sins until the glorious Savior rescued you into life. Once you set your eyes off that, there is no limit to what your ambitious heart can come up with. Also, it’s very important to love the whole Bible; not just to read a few favourite verses all the time. That is dangerous because such habits create an imbalanced understanding of the Christian faith, which is what gives birth to cultish mindsets. This is where I stop.
Sinothi Ncube
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