How to tell the cult group from the Church? Know the truth!

Standing tall, two young and well-dressed American boys at my door broke the ice instantaneously. Happy to see them, I said that we were Christians too. What happened next, however, took me by surprise and left me scrambling for words. Stating that they were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they said they wanted to talk about a prophet and a book given to the prophet by God. Though a little shaken, I refused to hear their ideologies — they left only to return another day in a bid to coax me.

In today’s world, cults are very much a reality. Cults are widely prevalent in our country, in our city too. An unexpected encounter with cult members can leave us disturbed. As Jesus warned, during the last days, there will be many people proclaiming different ideologies in His name. It is our duty to be vigilant and strong in faith.

God’s Word says that many deceptive spirits will be on the loose, waiting to swallow the unaware. So do we know how to discern deceptions? We may know that their claims do not align with God’s Word, we may even understand that their belief is not the Truth – but how do we handle encounters with cult members? How do we prepare ourselves to face the challenges of the last days? One way is to be aware of the different cults and to understand their approach.

Take the case of Mormons. Mormonism and polygamy go hand in hand - an attractive proposition for today’s world. ‘Mormonism’ has a good number of followers in the US and several other parts of the world. But the Mormons have been in Chennai as well for nearly a decade now and have slowly yet steadily increased in numerical strength.

A conversation based on such beliefs can perturb anybody, especially if we are not prepared. THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER spoke to a cross-section of senior church leaders, who threw light on how we could tackle such encounters. Each of them shared valuable insights on how to be prepared always, how to answer cult members, and how to watch and pray.

Pastor P Vijayaraghavan of the Apostolic Church said, “I know that the Mormons have been around in Chennai for about 10 years. They’ve grown a lot and that wouldn’t be possible but for their polygamous behavior.” He agreed that as believers, we should know Christian truth well enough to be able to decipher cults.

“Cult groups have something novel to offer to people and especially exploit their gullible nature,” said he said.

Pastor Arthur Devadoss of Hosanna Ministries had an interesting anecdote to share.

“The Mormons gave me their book sometime ago and I didn’t even bother to read it. They came back for the book and fought with me,” he said.

“There is a new group called the Indian Church of Christ that approaches people with visiting cards; they worry me the most. They speak the local language and lure youngsters to join them. They, too, propagate polygamy and immoral relationships,” he said.

He has briefed his congregation well about such cults and has asked them to stand up for their beliefs. In case they are unable to do so, he asks them to just invite the cult followers to their church or refer them to the pastor. “They’ll never trouble you again,” Devadoss affirmed.

“It’s better for you not to entertain them. Since we know their beliefs are misleading and untrue, don’t encourage them and they won’t approach you further,” he said. Is there anything else that a believer needs to be aware of to tackle these cultists?

Rev. D.C. Premraj, Presbyter of St. George’s Cathedral, said: “There are just a few things that we should watch out for. First, we should be strong in our beliefs. We must make an effort to understand what we believe in. Second, as our faith and belief grow, we must be grounded Biblically. Our foundation must be clear and strong in God’s Word. Third, during any such encounters, check for Biblical context. Anyone can quote from the Bible, but we must know how relevant and contextual it is.”

Confirmation classes and Bible studies conducted by churches are aimed at making the believers’ steadfast in their faith, Rev. Premraj added.

Pastor Jagadeesan Kalyanakumar of Harvest Christian Assembly quoted Ephesians 4:16: “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” He added: “The rule of thumb is that if you know the original, you can identify the counterfeit. And the more familiar you are with God’s Word, the better you can discern and safeguard yourself from deceptive doctrines.”

In all this, the Bible is the final authority to check any doctrine. Sola Scriptura, meaning the Bible alone, is the key theme in the church’s reformation of the 16th century.

The Jehovah Witnesses, for instance, proclaim Jesus to be an angel with extraordinary powers. But the Bible very clearly says that He is the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God who revealed God and his love to humanity (John: 3:16). Another example, the Mormons’ scripture includes the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

As Christians, Pastor Joshua Jeyaseelan, Tamil Baptist Church, said: “We have one revealed Word of God which is the Holy Scripture (II Timothy 3:16). So any new doctrine or cult has to be analyzed and understood in the light of the Scripture.”

Pastor Vijayaraghavan said, “We must know how to identify a cult and that’s by knowing what they are. Cults are major deviations from orthodox Christianity relative to the Bible’s cardinal doctrines such as the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, the second coming, millennial reign, and salvation by the grace of Jesus Christ.”

It is our responsibility to understand our beliefs, our stand. Just like the wise man that built his house on the Rock, if our foundation is strong and built on Jesus, it will not be shaken.

Today, it was I who met with the Mormons, tomorrow it could be you. Let us watch and pray for the salvation of cult members and for God to grant us the wisdom to stand strong in His Word.

If you have not lived or worked amongst these people you should not be judging them.

Why not?

Their founder has slandered ALL of Christendom and HE ain't around to answer for his slurs and lies; so those who think he was RIGHT will have to do the job.

Do you want to help them out?

"Fulness of the gospel NOT in the Book of Mormon. Secret to prospects - they'd look in vain for the primary Mormon teachings to be taught there."

mormons are "secret" about so much because they have nothing to back them up; no anthropological or archaeological fabric of fact - whatsoever. ZERO.

And they KNOW IT.

That's why they have such zaney rules and regs; that's why their church isn't open to the public. Too easy to find bogus holes bigger than swiss cheese.

And that's fine, if they'd just stop calling themselves "Christian". Obviously. They aren't even close.
And Joe Smith loved alcohol. How dare he prevent others from imbibing. Makes no sense. But then again.....nothing from Joe makes any sense.

Enough wasted time.........

The FLDS are NOT Mormons and you know it.

How can someone who wants so BADLY that MORMONS be considered CHRISTIAN, hypocritically say the Flds folks are NOT MORMON?

At least they FOLLOW D&C 132 - unlike the spineless folks who kowtow to the Leaders of the SLC branch of MORMONism.

So when the rich young ruler came up to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus should have just led him in “the sinner’s prayer”?

How dare Jesus challenge the man to “follow me”, when salvation comes from just mouthing some words (according to you).

“Because Jesus never sinned, by the Law, He could have chosen to literally live forever in the earthly body that He had”

Where do you get such nonsense? Can you provide a scriptural basis for this, or is this just your personal thought?

“If they offend anyone, to put it as my earthly (and earthy) personality does so often, “too damn bad”.”

“the Big Wheel is Jesus, and He doesn’t need to be re-invented, re-packaged, re-painted or any of that, He only needs for us to RE-PEAT what He has said, and I try to do that at every opportunity that I have”

Yeah, I can hear Jesus saying that.

My issue isn’t with anger, it’s with people who misquote and twist scripture to fit their own thoughts of God.

You wrote: “If any unsaved soul prays that prayer, then according to the Word of God — THEY ARE SAVED! AMEN!”

If this is truly ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD, you should be able to give us the chapter andd verse. I’m waiting.

If you cannot, you are misleading others who might be reading, and don’t have the sense to check what you’re saying against Scripture.

Listening to the likes of Joel Osteen and the other “name it and claim it” preachers leads to error such as this.

Saying that I have anger issues or a chip on my shoulder because I challenge you on what is and isn’t written in the Word of God is much like liberals calling conservatives racist because they dare challenge Obama - cheap shot.

First of all, let’s get one thing straight:

I view Joel O’Steen as a phony and a fraud, ok?

Now that is out of the way, you want Scripture?

Here’s Scripture:

1. “In Jesus Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ...” (Ephesians 1:7)

2. “To Jesus Christ all the prophets witness that, through His Name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” (Acts 10:43)

3. “For this is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Jesus quoted in Matthew 26:28)

4. “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)

5. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities ... For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:2,11)

6. “If we confess our sins, He [Jesus Christ] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

And I still contend that you have a chip on your shoulder.

But God Bless You Anyway! :-)

Which one of those Scrpture passages was supposed to confirm your “sinner’s prayer” statement?

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do what I tell you? - Luke 6:46

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men”.

While you may not have meant to say what you did the way you said it, telling people “If any unsaved soul prays that prayer, then according to the Word of God — THEY ARE SAVED! AMEN!” is deadly, and is a doctrine of man. The Word of God says no such thing. It’s not for us to soften the edges of the Gospel or make it more appealing to the world.

May the God of all grace bless you as well.

I stand by the Scriptures I cited, as the foundation for the Sinner’s Prayer in all of it’s variations, but common to all of those variations is:

We confess that we are sinners, utterly without hope by virture of our own efforts or deeds and repent of those sins.

We profess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ IS that One, solitary Way in which we might be saved, by the shedding of His Blood for the redemption of our sins.

We believe that by virtue of His Name, and by the Promises of His Word, that we are indeed SAVED.

It is a common error for many who come to Salvation in Jesus Christ, to think that a.) they will no longer sin, and when they do, b.) their thoughts are filled with lies by those who would whisper and sneer “you’re no Christian, look what you’ve done! Jesus wouldn’t want anything to do with you NOW!” and that is a demonic tactic straight from Hell itself.

The truth is, we will continue to sin until the day we die, in deed and/or thought, because our earthly bodies are corrupt, and that is why they will eventually die. Our souls however, bought with a great Price by Christ, will survive the death of that imperfect and sinful body, and will live forever in the Presence of Almighty God.

Salvation is not complicated, it was made deliberately simple by God in His Infinite Mercy.

Since you find it so difficult to admit, I’ll do it for you; the sinner’s prayer isn’t in the Word of God. Jesus never told anyone to recite a prayer, he commanded men to repent and believe.

“Salvation is not complicated, it was made deliberately simple by God in His Infinite Mercy.”

Well apparently there are going to be MANY people who find it far more “complicated”.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day MANY will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ - Matthew 7:21-23

Who are these people who acknowledge Christ as Lord, and yet do not inherit eternal life?

Since you find it so difficult to admit, I’ll do it for you; the sinner’s prayer isn’t in the Word of God. Jesus never told anyone to recite a prayer, he commanded men to repent and believe.

Well thank you, that ('repent and believe') is EXACTLY what the Sinner's Prayer (which you seem to have some aversion to) is based on: repent and believe. And the fact is, Jesus instructed His Disciples in Luke 11 to pray:

"Our Father, Who Art in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name
Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done
On Earth, as it is in Heaven
Give us this Day, our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory
Forever
Amen"

“Salvation is not complicated, it was made deliberately simple by God in His Infinite Mercy.”
Well apparently there are going to be MANY people who find it far more “complicated”.

I have confidence in the Power of the Holy Spirit to clear your mind and reveal to you just how simple it is.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day MANY will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ - Matthew 7:21-23
Who are these people who acknowledge Christ as Lord, and yet do not inherit eternal life?

Probably people who kept trying to make Salvation more complicated than it is and were unable to accept Christ with the child-like Faith that He Himself directed us to embrace.

“The Sinner’s Prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and unless You save me I am lost forever. I thank You for dying for me on the Cross and paying for my sins. I come to You now, Lord, just as You said in Your Word, the best way I know how, and ask You to save me. I now receive You as my Savior. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen.”

If any unsaved soul prays that prayer, then according to the Word of God — THEY ARE SAVED! AMEN!

God’s Word says if you receive and trust in Jesus Christ you are saved. It does NOT say you “might” or “could” be saved — but “shall be saved”. YOU ARE SAVED!”

If this is your idea of the Gospel, then I recommend you spend some time with your Bible OPEN and quit watching so much TBN.

Jesus NEVER told anyone to pray a prayer FOR SALVATION. Praying a prayer will not save anyone, Jesus told men to repent of their sin and believe on Him. Leaving out the repent and believe part is preaching another gospel. Men will not be saved without REPENTANCE.

“It’s the Jesus Christ Express Card - Don’t Leave Earth Without Him”

The “Jesus Christ Express Card” huh? Is that anything like the “Jesus Christ get out of jail free card” or the “Jesus Christ fire insurance policy”?

If I’d have read the tagline the first time, I wouldn’t have bothered.

You sound angry, bitter and you've begun to make this personal, which isn't very Christ-like.

I do not watch TBN, fyi.

You are engaging in sophistry when you say that 'Jesus never told anyone to pray for salvation', because at the time that Jesus was walking the Earth, He had not yet died in our place for our sins, shedding His Blood and sacrificing Himself so that we might be saved and you are surely aware of that.

I have not at all suggested that one can be saved without repenting and believing, quite the contrary.

If this is your idea of the Gospel, then I recommend you spend some time with your Bible OPEN and quit watching so much TBN.

As a matter of fact, what you seem to be referring to with disdain IS The Gospel which I obtained FROM the Bible:

“To Jesus Christ all the prophets witness that, through His Name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” (Acts 10:43, once again)

The “Jesus Christ Express Card” huh? Is that anything like the “Jesus Christ get out of jail free card” or the “Jesus Christ fire insurance policy”?
If I’d have read the tagline the first time, I wouldn’t have bothered.

Sounds like you're seeking a reason to disengage, and you don't need a reason, just move on. I'll still be praying for you.

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