Brethren,

Cults, religious and otherwise, are a matter of life and have been with us since the beginning of recorded time. They’ll exist until by the Father’s decree Christ returns after The Great Tribulation to fight the ultimate battle and create heaven on earth!

Any group which is considered “normal” by someone can be considered a cult, or “abnormal,” by another. So then, a set of norms must be stated and approved for anything to be considered “normal.” We all know something considered “normal” can actually be abnormal based on God’s standards. In most cases, cults are extremely dangerous to life as God designed it, to both the cult’s sympathizers and their members.

Cults can be anywhere in size from small to extremely large. They can be just local, and worldwide. They can be loosely or highly organized, peter out quickly or become long-standing revered institutions. Their levels of influence can be insignificant or world-changing. They can be easily spotted or can also be dangerously hidden and difficult to discern within a mainstream of life. They can be repulsive, or even attractive and seductive.

We must remember that the numerical size of a group has absolutely nothing to do with God’s truth. Popularity and truth most often have an inverse relationship. The more popular the less truth. Popularity is no indication that God is pleased with a religious gathering.

How do we as Christians define a cult and a sect?

Both secular and Christian definitions of a cult abound, and as in many things, both have similarities and differences. The term cult has a negative and derogatory connotation even if the group labeled as such is not a cult in reality.

Modern secular interests define a cult in several ways. Wikipedia says the following:

In modern English, a cult is a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or by its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal…In the sociological classifications of religious movements, a cult is a social group with socially deviant or novel beliefs and practices…Groups that are said to be cults range in size from local groups with a few members to international organizations with millions of members.

So, this secular definition then would qualify true Christianity as a cult! And rightly so…

Our cult definition here at Walk Worthy is more widespread and includes almost all groups since the vast majority of people are lost in their sins, reject their Creator, and are incapable of practicing holy living to obey God.

A cult is a group of any size identified as Christian or secular that proclaims and practices doctrines that deviate from the whole counsel of the inspired and sufficient Word of God as primarily known through the historical life of Jesus Christ and His apostles.

Closely allied to this idea of a cult is a sect. And this is clearly defined in the written Word of God six times in the New Testament all in the book of Acts (Acts 5:17; 5:5; 24:5; 24:14; 26:5; 28:22). These examples illustrate both God’s negative warnings (false religious leaders) and the positive attributes (saved Christians, the Way, spoken against everywhere). Our definition is as follows.

A sect is a group of any size that breaks away from a larger group to which they belong, cult or otherwise, to practice a different set of internal principles and external rules.

Once cultic practices manifest in a Christian assembly, these cease to be Christian since they no longer follow Christ’s example. Performing stereotypical Christian practices does not make one a follower of Christ if you also allow the sin of cultism.

All cults according to our definition here at Walk Worthy are unbiblical and an affront to a holy God. Sects can be biblical if they practice the commands of a holy God. For example, I’ve broken away from the false American gospel and controlling top-down institutional Christianity decades ago. Rightly, my practice here is a sect. But according to the folks who believe and practice the institutionalized false gospel, I’d wrongly be considered a part of a cult. And they think they’re “normal!”

Definitions are vital when we’re dealing with God’s truth.

The Six Characteristics of a Cult

If a cult displays even one of these characteristics, they’re a cult by definition. But all cults in our experience ordinarily practice more than just one characteristic and usually all six. Sin travels in clusters, and never alone. Any Spirit-filled believer closely walking with Christ will recognize a cult quickly.

1. All power and control are ultimately vested in one persuasive person, or a very small group dominated normally by a ring leader(s).
2. Both adult, parent, and children’s loyalty is to the leader(s) first and foremost.
3. The leader(s) possess all abiding truth in their opinion.
4. The leader(s) claim a special status that fosters disunity.
5. The cult criticizes without warrant, demeans, and is irreconcilable to any and all outsiders and insiders who disagree, including family members and prophets.
6. Any critical thinking or dissent is crushed, and people who display these things are shunned and removed.

What types of groups qualify as a cult?

Many cults exist even outside the religious sphere and touch both private and public life in every area. You name it, it lives and thrives. It’s all part and parcel of the sinful human nature of the unconverted. After conversion, all Christians have the divine nature.

Most are aware of well-known religious cults like Mormons, Jehovah’s Witness, Hare Krishna, many Catholic groups, prosperity teachers, etc. Later on here, we’ll explore so-called “normal” church groups for their cult characteristics.

Other cult groups include politics, racism, terrorism, social and climate change, social media, amusement, sexual, doomsday…and on and on it goes. By the six characteristic definitions above almost any group can descend into this debauchery.

Is the modern Christian church in the west a cult?

“What a preposterous statement!” many will think. How can anyone safely say the modern church in the West, and even worldwide, is a cult? Well, let’s look at the six characteristics of the cult in the light of the unbiblical institutional church and even the biblical home church.

1. Is all power and control ultimately vested in one persuasive person, or a very small group dominated by a ring leader(s)? Yes. The “pastor” and/or the elders-board-session, or supreme leader and his-her “yes men-women” that support the supreme leader.
2. Is both adult, parent, and children’s loyalty to the leader(s) first and foremost? Yes. To discuss anything negative about the leader will surely bring condemnation, rebuke, and eventual expulsion to both the message of admonition and the messenger. How can they be “above reproach” if we cannot even question their actions and hold them accountable to Scripture with admonition?
3. Do they possess all abiding truth in their opinion? Yes. The bigger the church the more obvious this is seen. Even a false and arrogant humility pervades smaller groups including most home churches.
4. Do they claim a special status that fosters disunity? Yes. Their sinful “denomination” or home church is known as a special group. The leader’s name is often used to identify the church, i.e. John MacArthur’s church.
5. Do they criticize without warrant, demean, and become irreconcilable to any and all outsiders who disagree, including family members and prophets? Yes. Some are overtly caustic and tear down both existing and budding relationships with reckless abandon. But some seem “nice” at first glance when they speak about others while with them. If you spent enough time with these “nice” souls, you’d eventually see and experience the venom that precedes from their hearts when disagreements arise.
6. Is any critical thinking or dissent crushed? Yes. You often hear this: ”Since you’re unhappy here maybe you should find another place to ‘worship.’”

Yes or no to these six questions above?

1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Yes. 5. Yes. And 6. Yes.

The same routine happens with countess social media groups like Facebook. In those instances when the message is not welcome, we’re just removed from the thread itself, platform, group, or blocked. Amen? Happen to you too?

Once I had an inquisitive man, a roofer, and his wife who were troubled by the heavy-handedness of their institutional church and leaders. They wanted to continue meeting with our small home church as they felt edified. But they just couldn’t make the break since they have been thoroughly brainwashed by this pernicious institutional system of man, a terrible demonic and evil tradition.

These precious folks had been “institutionalized,” for sure.

The husband set up a meeting with him and me with the “pastor” and his top gun assistant at their church building office one night. It was, to say the least, a chilly meeting. I listened to their pointless arguments while valiantly pointing out their ecclesiastical error as the husband, my new church friend, looked increasingly worried due to his “leaders” growing scorn.

Their final salvo was to throw up Hebrews 13 in that their parishioner sitting next to me, who had the audacity to even call this meeting, needed to “obey” them. I sternly but carefully explained that the word had been mistranslated and the correct usage could be easily be seen by other uses of that Greek word. In this case in Hebrews 13 meant to be ‘persuaded,’ not blind obedience. I also pointed out the misuse of the word “office” for elder that had been wrongly inserted into 1 Timothy 3.1. In the original Greek text, no word for “office” exists.

Here’s what both passages should say if translated correctly instead of with an agenda of control:

Hebrews 13:17  Obey (Be persuaded by, i.e. peithô) your leaders and submit to them (when they are right), for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

1 Timothy 3:1  It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

That was the final straw. Knowing they were now convinced I was a heretic to question any Bible translation, they abruptly stopped the meeting, stood up, and forced me to leave. The man stayed behind.

I never saw or heard from my roofer “friend” again. Another spiritual casualty. He went from one type of Jesus friend to the other. Just like Judas. Jesus spoke of two types of friends, you know!

That is a cult, pure and simple. Nothing more than intimidated mind control.

So then, is the modern church in the west a cult in most cases?

Yes. Sadly, we might add. Jesus Christ will not stand for this in the end. His silence is not His approval. Church sin will be rousted out…some now, and in the end, all of it at His final and irrevocable judgment.

Is God really really working?

But, you might protest, God is working in these churches, so what if it may be a cult! Yes, He is working. But He also works in Asian whore houses every day too. But we’re not to frequent them while He’s working there. Amen?

This ‘but God is working’ phrase under the circumstances we describe here is also the logical fallacy called an Appeal to Normality. It attempts to make abnormal behavior seem normal.

Now, the Lord condescends to us daily when He lives in our spirit with His Holy Spirit. We can be perfectly mature day by day but none of us are perfectly flawless. In heaven, there’s no person or creature with any sin that can survive in His presence. So, what makes us think it’s impossible for Him to work in any cult in trying to save all people?

He desires none to perish. Not one person.

But we’re to avoid every appearance, and every form of evil. And to come out from among those who sin or put up with sin who teach and run religious assemblies.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22  Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;  abstain from every form (appearance) of evil.

2 Corinthians 6:17  “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

Four Christian cult examples: Joel Osteen, Beth Moore, John MacArthur, Donald Trump

Leadership of any ilk can be easily corrupted. When religious leaders act in the flesh, lording it over their herd is the default setting. The herd can even be mesmerized, or even seemingly hypnotized by such a spirit. It’s a common fact that the average modern church person is incapable of discerning Scripture and its doctrines without the cult leader interpreting it for them unquestionably. We don’t produce true disciples of Christ in this way, but instead produce fanatics, “fans” of the leader.

To illustrate, in the American west the buffalo herds were decimated into virtual extinction by a clever and evil strategy. The hunters would hide in the hills above and watch for the head buffalo. When he would move, the herd would move with him. So, they trained their long rifles dropping him dead in his tracks. They were then free to saunter on down to the plain nonchalantly and use their pistols to slaughter the rest of the paralyzed herd at point-blank range.

It’s a common misnomer and demonic scheme that full leadership authority belongs only to a special segment with special titles such as “my Pastor,” or “my board of elders,” or the “the session,” etc. Nonsense. Nothing of the sort exists in the New Testament record.

The “Sunday worship service” neither is described nor prescribed in the new covenant. There’s a plurality of leaders and not one or a few supreme, in-control leader(s). In Acts 15, the first possible church split, the entire church was present, dialogued, and agreed on the solution. Unity was preserved.

1. Joel Osteen – your best life now…just like Jesus?

Who in the west hasn’t heard of this wacko media personality who seems to be everywhere. He’s the most obvious example of a cult with the barest of Christian religious trappings. He’s a denomination unto himself.

Ever seen any other person, other than his wife, that seems his equal? No. Ever seen any even-handed truth from the Bible itself and in proper context proceed from his mouth? No. Ever seen any humility to search together with someone outside his carefully crafted circle to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? No.

Just like Jesus?

No. No. And no.

Do Osteen and company, then, exhibit any of the six characteristics of a cult?

1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Yes. 5. Yes. And 6. Yes. All of them.

2. Beth Moore – mega teacher to millions of women…without truly listening to anyone else?

Moore is a dynamo unto herself…and millions of women who adore, follow, and defend her. Her ministry is called Living Proof. Over the last few years, saints in the body have confronted her on her slide away from true truth. Making peace with heretic Joyce Meyer and appearing on her show, preaching that a Christian can be a homosexual as long as they’re celibate, and ignoring crucial Bible passages to avoid alienating her audience that embraces the false American Gospel theology are just some examples.

Nothing has changed in her deteriorating approach or doctrine even when admonished by other female Christian leaders. Her protective wall is up against any intrusion as she continues to gather steam with every new Bible study and book.

A personal encounter of mine with one of her Bible studies proved her enormous compromise. I read a part of her 2 Timothy study and paid special attention to the third chapter where Paul details the attributes of sinful church members that have a form of godliness but deny the power to live holy lives.

2 Timothy 3:1-8  But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these…these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.

Did Moore teach and admonish, like Paul, that we’re to avoid those countless church people in these times that practice the behavior above? To turn them over to Satan to destroy the flesh to save the spirit in the day of the Lord (1 Cor. 5.5)?

No.

Why not? Well, her ministry would collapse. For 90%+ of her constituency practices these sins and her conferences would be empty. Her practice of being irreconcilable would not only bar her from her ministry, any Baptist church, and exclusion from the kingdom of God due to God’s rejection (2 Tim. 3). Well, that’s what the Bible teaches, doesn’t it? Let us deal with reality and not the false baby manger Jesus.

Do Moore and company, then, exhibit any of the six characteristics of a cult?

1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Yes. 5. Yes. And 6. Yes.

3. John MacArthur – teaches Spirit-filled gifts are from Satan, unsaved Jews in Hebrews called “holy brethren,” hyper-Calvinism, irreconcilable condemnation of all opposition?

MacArthur has a huge worldwide ministry headquartered in southern California called Grace To You reaching millions worldwide.  He’s also the head buffalo “pastor” of Grace Community church there. In my very early Christian days in the late ’80s, God used him for a time to help me along in my new and growing faith. But it wasn’t too long until many of his doctrines seemed wrong. They were wrong. And still wrong.

I had earlier met him at a conference in Orlando, spoke with him there, and even had a short correspondence to encourage him. But all this was fairly short-lived.

I strive to remember this maxim: the more popular, the less truth. And he’s very popular.

Well, early on I noticed in his commentary on Hebrews that MacArthur boldly declared that the book was written to “unsaved Jews.” This was the passage the Holy Spirit brought to mind…with the insertion of his premise.

Hebrews 3:1  Therefore, holy brethren (unsaved Jews?), partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession…

Holy brethren, the Word proclaims. Not holy “unsaved Jews.” How could he take such liberties? And worse still, what are all the other egregious errors he was purporting to his millions?

How could he even begin to think that about this translated word in the book of Hebrews? He was, I thought, trying desperately to preserve one of his foundational ministry doctrines: Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS).

The entire book of Hebrews is a book of warning to the drifting saints returning to the Old Testament ways of the Law. They were in danger of apostasy. At the very least they were now in spiritual no-man’s land.

MacArthur believes that all spiritual gifts have ceased and that any modern manifestation of healing, tongues, etc. is a work of the devil! The blasphemy of the Spirit is attributing the works of God to Satan.

Matthew 12.31-32 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy (slander) against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

1 Timothy 4.1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…

MacArthur has refused to engage me and many others the Lord has sent him over the decades to try to amend his ways. He’s irreconcilable too. All devotees of this man defend him voraciously with venom and practice being irreconcilable themselves. Overshadowing sin with any religious person is an eternal danger.

His top henchman is Phil Johnson. Sister Julie Roys attempted to engage Johnson about the millions of dollars MacArthur personally receives to fund an extravagant lifestyle. Johnson trashed Roys and even published her address and gloated about it. Where do you think Johnson learned this sinful behavior? And why is it tolerated and celebrated?

Are these leaders here in great spiritual trouble? What do you think based on these facts?

Do MacArthur and company, then, exhibit any of the six characteristics of a cult?

1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Yes. 5. Yes. And 6. Yes.

4. Donald Trump – a supremely arrogant, totally irreconcilable narcissist, sexual pervert, and mammon chaser?

Many American church leaders swear Trump is saved. Obviously, these leaders have zero discernment. Since storing up mammon on earth is the consummate American religion and the main doctrine of almost all church people, they vote to employ a worldwide military to prevent their stuff from being taken. Makes no difference if Republican or Democrat. Of course, the reason Trump resonates so strongly with many church people is that they are much more like Donald Trump than Jesus Christ.

This despicable man completely denigrates and depreciates any and all opposition, and any constructive criticism no matter how small. He’s the consummate narcissist, like most of his Christian supporters. It’s all about them and their patriotic zeal.

Imagine the Taliban occupying America with Trump as President? Wouldn’t that set off another armed rebellion with the church people leading the charge in the name of God? Loving your enemy and not resisting him who is evil is the furthest thing from his mind…and his supporters.

Jesus proclaimed that by their fruit you would know each and every person.

Matthew 15.10-20  And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:  it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”  Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” ¹He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.  Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”  But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.”  And he said, “Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?  But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.  These are what defile a person…”

Need we say more? No, I think not. Enough has been stated and is known about this wicked man.

Does Trump, then, exhibit any of the six characteristics of a cult?

1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Yes. 5. Yes. And 6. Yes.

True Christians are always consisted a cult or sect by both the pagan world and worldly church people

Any lack of discernment results in a true Christian group being labeled as a cult or sect by both lost pagans and cultic church people. Let us never forget that any apostate person must first pass through spiritual no-man’s land.

In actuality, as we’ve already stated earlier, a true Christian group is never ever a cult. But it can be considered a sect after they break free of the dominating influence of the institutional and controlling home church systems.

Again we say, the modern Christian experience is cultic in the vast majority of cases. Your spiritual life and eternal destiny may very well hand in the balance.

Let us never be found a part of a cult. Ever.

Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.

Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,

Marc

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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!

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Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.

Marc White, Director, Walk Worthy Ministries, www.WalkWorthy.org