One of the big problems in today’s world as it was even back in New Testament times and the early church is false teachers. Sometimes alarm bells seem to go off while you are listening to someone teaching but you’re not quite sure why. How can you tell if what you are hearing is false teaching and if it is a cult instead of real Biblical Christianity?
Thanks to Footprints magazine here are some pointers to look out for and others I have added.
A cult will invariably have a charismatic leader. You know the type of person I mean, one who commands attention because they are so dynamic, enthusiastic, attractive, animated etc.
There is an air of exclusivity. Followers are isolated and encouraged to stick with like minded people only, and have an unreasonable distrust of those outside their select group.
Followers feel they can never be good enough. A cult will teach a message of good works in place of or in addition to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They can’t leave the bible and its teaching alone. They always want to add something to the gospel message. Grace alone was good enough for the apostle Paul and other apostles. It needs to be enough for us too. That’s not saying we shouldn’t do good works, but they should be done as a response to our faith in Christ not seen as a way to earn his favor and our salvation.
Cults will often take a verse or a couple of verses out of context and base their teaching on them rather than on the full counsel of God. Be wary of those who pluck verses out of context. The Bible was written as it is for a reason.
The best way to check whether something we being taught are right is to check it against Scripture. Our church we are always encouraged to have our bibles open at the passage being preached on so we can see for ourselves that is what the Bible says.
Pray for those who teach you that God will reveal His truths to them and also to you as you listen and will reveal any anomalies between the two.
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