CULTS, GOD’S WORD ON
WHAT IS A CULT?
Judges 2:19 . . . When the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They followed other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
A cult is a group of people that has its own religion and offers their wholehearted worship and devotion to anything or anyone other than God. Cults tend to be isolationist, very possessive, involve bizarre rituals, and follow a religious system instituted by a person with a very engaging personality. Cults institute a religious system that is contrary to what God establish in the Bible.
HOW CAN I TELL IF AN ORGANIZATION IS A CULT?
Matthew 7:15-17 . . . “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don’t pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles. A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit.”
You must compare the teachings of this group of people with the teachings in the Bible. That’s why it is so important to know your Bible. If the teachings of a group of people are contrary to what is found in God’s Word, and if they tell you that their way is the only way to true peace and happiness, then you may be dealing with a cult.
Romans 10:9 . . . That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Cults do not teach that faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, and forgiveness of sins through him alone is the only way to heaven.
Daniel 6:7 . . . We administrators, prefects, princes, advisers, and other officials have unanimously agreed that Your Majesty should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human-except to Your Majesty-will be thrown to the lions.
There are many danger signs that can warn you that a group is a cult. Jesus said that you can tell a man’s heart by his actions. Although Daniel wasn’t facing a cult, he was facing a group that was trying to divert his worship away from God. Cults will try to do the same thing.
CAN GOD FORGIVE ME FOR HAVING BEEN INVOLVED IN A CULT?
1 John 1:9 . . . If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
Isaiah 44:22 . . . I have swept away your sins like the morning mists. I have scattered your offenses like the clouds. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.
God longs for all people to turn to him. He forgives us for any sin.