Characteristics of cults

The stereotype notions when people hear the word cult is a group that worships Satan, weird rituals involving blood, people cutting themselves chanting iffy slogans etc. In the broadest sense of the word a cult is simply a group of religious people who adhere to a set of rules and rituals. “In a Christian context, the definition of a cult is, specifically, “a religious group that denies one or more of the fundamentals of biblical truth.” A cult is a group that teaches doctrines that, if believed, will cause a person to remain unsaved. A cult claims to be part of a religion, yet it denies essential truth(s) of that religion. Therefore, a Christian cult will deny one or more of the fundamental truths of Christianity while still claiming to be Christian”

This fine-tuned definition is very important because it means people who think are Christians can actually be part of a cult. So what are the characteristics of a cult?

• Authority of extra biblical revelation

  
  

Cults do not hold to the authority and sufficiency of the scriptures. They often trace their origins from a leader who saw a vision, had a dream or claimed to have an encounter with God and that becomes the basis of the doctrine of the group. These leaders then go ahead to author a book that then becomes authoritative to the level of the bible, if not higher. It is quite common to hear people in cultic groups quote and refer to their founder’s writings as the authoritive standard for Christian life and doctrine.

• Selective teaching of the bible

  
  

Another trait of a cult is that they do not teach the whole counsel of God. They have a tendency to focus on one portion or genre of the bible and it is often the part that teaches what they emphasize. So there are groups whose primary teaching is based on the first five books of the bible (the law), then there are groups whose main preoccupation is the prophetic books etc. What these groups forget is that “all scripture is… profitable (2 Tim 3:16-17).

• Works salvation

  
  

Cults also teach a works salvation. For them a person can earn their salvation through their own efforts and by their merit. It is common to hear such group teach that a person can earn a right standing before God by human efforts such as adherence to the law, baptism, good deeds and sacraments. They cannot stomach the words of Jesus Christ in John 14:6 were he declares I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father except through me. Or the charge in Romans 3:21 that the righteousness of God is revealed apart from the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus. Or the glorious message of Ephesians 2, that we saved by grace through faith in Christ and not of ourselves, least anyone should boast.

• Human mediators

  
  

Yet another characteristic of a cult is that they have often have human mediators. They teach that not everyone can have access to God except through some super spiritual human being. So their prayers are offered in the name of another human or they will need a fellow man to stand in for them before God. This they do despite the scriptures telling us that we have one mediator before God and that is Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5) and through Him we have access to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16).

• Preoccupation with discovering new theology

  
  

This comes as a result of their belief in extra biblical revelations. These groups feel the need to invent new doctrines each passing day. They are not content with old old story of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These new teachings come in different forms i.e. there are some who are so preoccupied with the details of the last days that they have on a number of times identified a person to be an Anti-Christ only for that individual to die and they without shame move on to another person! There are others who come up with all kinds of teaching on prosperity or visions and dreams.

• False teaching about Christ

  
  

The mark of every cult is their unbiblical view of Christ. Some will deny His deity, others will deny His humanity, yet others will deny His finished work on the cross. As a result cults will often reduce Christ to a prophet, an angel, a good man or to some simply a name you use to end a prayer or unlock your breakthrough. They refuse to acknowledge that Jesus is the bedrock of Christianity and everything else is held together by Him and it is through him that growth takes place (Colossians 2:8-19). If Christ is not your Lord (the master of your life to whom you submit) and savior (the one trusted for the forgiveness of sins) then you are not a Christian and any church that does not teach this truth is a cult.

Conclusion

These characteristics are obviously not exhaustive and may not necessary apply to all cults, they are however very representative of what a cult in the Christian context looks like. Why is this important you may wonder? It is important because our country is full of cults that are misleading many and condemning them to hell with their Christ-less gospel. Those of us in the light need to make sure that we proclaim the gospel intentionally and with clarity. Secondly we need to be ready to give a defense of the faith against the many false teachers misleading the masses.