Cult Exit: Problems, Detention, and How-Tos is an article by David Cox on identifying a cult through the difficulty in leaving it.
Continue reading Cult Exit: Problems, Detention, and How-Tos
Category Archives: Marks of a Cult
Cults: Lies and Deceptions
A cult is an organization that claims to be a good Christian church, but in reality it is a work of the Devil. One of the ways to recognize a cult is when what they claim to be isn’t the same as what they are. When their projection of themselves (“a work of God”) is revealed to have deception, lies, half-truths, twists and distortions of the truth, you know that it is time to head for the door.
FP: The Burden to Confront Sin
FP: The Burden to Confront Sin
by David Cox
Titus 1:13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
One of the true signs of a man of God is his burden to confront sin. Perhaps the single most horrible manuever of Satan is that of setting up many churches that are really good places, with good likeable people, and a great dynamic pastor that preachers wonderfully, but not of that actually confronts sin. There is no Burden to Confront Sin. This is a church where you can go and feel good about yourself, and where you can really go in total confidence that nothing there will challenge the sin in your life. These churches are often designer specific, such as the homosexual church, or the rich person’s church, or the yuppie young people’s church. The thing that stands out about them is whenever there is a public rebuke, it is like the end of the world. “We never heard that before. Why did the preacher just ruin our church?” Continue reading FP: The Burden to Confront Sin
How to tell if you are in cult #6
How to tell if you are in cult #6 treats your doctrine is out of sync with the Bible or going lacking on specific teachings of the Bible. How to tell if you are in cult
Cults: What is salvation? How does it change you?
Cults: What is salvation? How does it change you? is a short article on how true salvation changes the person.
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Continue reading Cults: What is salvation? How does it change you?
FP: Unshackled from God’s Will
Unshackled from God’s Will
Summary: In this post we examine how false prophets are unshackled from God’s will, doing their own plans, inventions, and will.
Matt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matt 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? Matt 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Here we need to digress some. God’s will is very clear in the Bible. Jesus focused on God’s will of being holy, but first and foremost is the salvation of the soul. That salvation transforms the life from the sinful human nature of BEFORE to the holiness of a man or woman of God AFTER.
The moral pattern by which we check the will of God is that which Jesus left us. Did Jesus have a jet plane for his own use? No. Did he even have a horse of a good breed? No. He borrowed a burro and came riding into Jerusalem in preparation of the great contradiction of glory one moment and then the Jews killing him the next. Did Jesus even have a place to lay his head? No. I see believers owning their own houses throughout the Bible, but if you want to get technical about it, God’s ministers were not rich, nor did they focus their ministries on getting rich.
Notice how Satan’s men, the false prophets, change and justify their own ministries and lifestyle. They claimed that they had the blessing of God on their ministry because they did wonderful works (miracles, and great things for God), and that they had power over the spirit world of demons and such, and that they even prophised (which could be preaching to receiving new revelations from God). None of this did Jesus contend with them over it. Simply put Jesus’ accusation is that they had a low regard or no regard for God’s will in their ministry. Disobedience is not justified by what miracles or great things a person seemingly does for God.
God’s will is an iron cast standard for discerning whether a person is a false prophet or not. Nothing a minister or Christian does is good if it is outside of God’s will.
1Cor 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
There is a tactic acknowledgement and submission to the commandments of God as being the authority in one’s life. Some want to make homosexuals and other sexual perversions acceptable. God has commanded that these fornications be not named once among God’s people. You can start a homosexual church and have a million people in it, all witnessing for God, giving out the gospel every day, and have a million of them praying daily for hours to God, and it is all wrong and all of them will go to hell, because at the bottom most level, it is not God’s will. Repentance of sin, and abandonment of worldly lifestyles is a prerequisite for pleasing God.
1Cor 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
We must be wise builders, doing what God says, and nothing else. What is typical of man, and especially typical among false prophets is that they ignore what God has actually said, and go about to fabricate some substitute. All of this is condemned in God’s eyes. It will never come to anything good until the people involved repent of their rebellion from God, and go back to the Bible and find God’s will, and begin with doing that.
Churches use modern programs to get people to attend their churches. But without the beginning element of evangelism, these new people bring heathen ways and thoughts into the church, and either there is turmoil and conflict or the church will give up their biblical ways and doctrines to keep these people saved. This never ends good for anybody involved.
Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest California.
This is an epitome of a false prophet. Instead of looking at what the Bible commands, Warren looked at what people in his neighbor wanted. First of all that is just wrong. It is a false prophet. Secondly, he didn’t even look at what good, godly Christians wanted, but what unregenerated people wanted.
See ch41 The marks of a bad minister
Attacks for those who Obey God – the Elijah complex
1Kgs 19:13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 1Kgs 19:14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 1Kgs 19:15 And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: 1Kgs 19:16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 1Kgs 19:17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 1Kgs 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
Many of God’s servants feel that they are alone in the world, and they alone are serving God correctly. Even so they get discouraged and want to give in to the pressures of the world to conform to the world’s standards and be “politically correct” with the corrupt world system. This passage was an encouragement to Elijah, and without doubt it is also an encouragement to us that God will not let everybody go the way of the world except us. We will always be part of the remnant, and there will always be others.
God has different groups, and there is not just one single “right one”
Mark 9:38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. Mark 9:39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. Mark 9:40 For he that is not against us is on our part.
This passage of Scripture is very important. At the time Jesus walked the earth, there were other believers that were not exactly a part of Christ’s band of followers, and yet they were not wrong either. Christ explains that the group or being a part of the group is not what makes a person right, but what they believe, and what they do (along with what they are morally). This does not open up an alternative way of salvation, but it does establish that some people that are right in God’s eyes may not be in your group.
Note: For the Baptist Briders and Landmark Baptist people, this is very difficult. If there was only one church, and everybody HAD TO HAVE COME THROUGH THEM AND THAT ORGANIZATION, then how did Christ let this other minister/group go on without specifically joining to the band of the 12 apostles?
John 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
See my Tracts
ch38 Recognizing a Good Pastor
ch26 “Don’t touch the anointed of God”
One of the requirements for discernment and understanding God’s will is a biblical disposition towards God’s will, and a history of seeking and complying with God’s will. I often see churches where the pastor has had his own way in imposition his own will, and that has become a false god that those at that church worship. This is sad.
In other churches, I wonder as they claim to be good churches of biblical doctrine, but I see the early Christians literally burning their lives for Christ in order to get the gospel out, yet I see these modern churches have no burden for the gospel, and their efforts in getting the gospel out can basically be boiled down to a sign with their church name on it in the front lawn.
No church is going to please God if it is not weekly sending out workers to witness the gospel to the unsaved, sending and funding missionaries, explaining and offering the gospel regularly in their services, and praying for the salvation of the lost.
False prophets “USE” this biblial activity for their own benefit, and in reality, being a false prophet, they don’t want these people they drag into their fellowships to really be saved (because they will first cause trouble and then leave). So what they do is to “water down” the gospel so as to make it ineffectual. Jack Hyles guys will preach a salvation that has no real reference to remorse, repentance, and abandonment of sin. An unsaved person can just repeat the words after their soul-winner, and they are part of the group. When you do that, you can “win” thousands every year to the Lord. When you press for true repentance before receiving Christ, those thousands dwindle to dozens. The issue is that simply a person must give up his own will before he is truly saved, and without dealing with this (sin is an expression of one’s own will), the person has no chance of truly getting saved.
See my tract: salv31 Easy-Believism
Many churches exchange out the Bible gospel for social work. This too is just wrong, and not God’s will. If you want to know if you minister or church is squarely in God’s will, look to see if in the church services and in their evangelism time, they focus on the plan of salvation, communicating that to the unsaved.
See my tract: ch43 Time to leave your church?
See my tract: ch42 Destitution of Pastor
Doing God’s Will is key and paramount in Salvation
False prophets want to be Unshackled from God’s Will and this causes them to be very easily identified. Although they constantly proclaim that their own understandings is God’s will, we just don’t see their views and practices in the New Testament. This is the key to discerning what they are. To read the NT we see and emphasis and focus on salvation and holiness, and these prophets of their own selves push their own benefits, ministry, and person for worship and sacrifice to them.
A biblical pastor has a clear view of what he is supposed to do, and the biblical bases for that set of commandments.
See my tract: ch49 The Biblical Pastor: The Biblical Duty
As a saved person you too must have a clear view of God’s will for your life, understand it, and also understand where in the Bible it comes from.
See my tract: salv02 Now that you have Believed
See my tract: ch19 Marks of a False Prophet
See my tract: pc07 Fasting: Fixing your Life with God
How to tell if you are in cult #5
How to tell if you are in cult #5 teaching by personal example is lost, biblical phraseology is lost to unique terms of the cult, authority is in people and organizations instead of the Bible. This is a study of some simple elements that are very common in cults, false religions, even bad political groups.
Cults: Soul Liberty vs Manipulation and Control
Cults are dangerous period. There are no “good cults”. All cults work against the form and susbstance that God gives us to work towards, so there is nothing good in cults. But many people are in cults or cultic and abusive churches, and they don’t understand that what they see as “good” is not really good at all. But when a group turns against the Bible doctrine of Soul Liberty (that God has given each individual the ability to discern and decide God’s will in his or her own life) then the group gets “ugly”. By ugly I mean that they get quickly identified as a cult by outsiders.
Definition of Soul Liberty
Rom 14:4 “To his own Master he standeth or falleth.”
Romans 14:12 “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
2Cor 5:10 “So, then, every one of us must give account of himself to God.“
Joshua 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
“Every individual, whether a believer or an unbeliever, has the liberty to choose what their conscience or soul decides is right in the religious realm. This also involves the personal and individual accountability of each person before God.” (North Eulalia Baptist Church)
The concept of “soul liberty” is that between God’s inspired Word, the Bible, our conscience which is manipulated, influenced, and guided by the Holy Spirit, God gives us the resolution to our problems and allows us to individually and without “THE NEED” of other people to enter into our decision making process. While soul liberty defends the “right” of the believer to make his own decisions with the help of God, there are legitimate exceptions.
Soul Liberty is the deep conviction that every man or woman can enter into direct relationship to God without outside mediation… “It is easy for us to yield our integrity and responsibility to some accepted authority: beloved pastor, honored teacher, influential book-even an edition of the Bible, respected parents or dynamic church. These all have their proper role of influence, but the final choice of belief and practice must be made in the secret of the soul’s naked presence before God alone.” – Brownlow Hastings, 1981 taken from firstbaptist-slc.org
This liberty is given to us by Christ in order for us to better serve God, not to run around pleasing ourselves. 1Pet. 2:16
Husband-Wife – The Bible clearly sets the man as the leader in the home, responsible for the major decisions of the household. But at the same time, a marriage is a partnership, so soul liberty should not be used to exclude the wife from decisions.
Parents-Children – In a family, the parents are the responsible parties for the family until the children are of age and move out. Soul liberty should not be used by children to override their parents’ decision making responsibility.
Employee-Employer – While we have liberty to make our own decisions, when we enter the workforce, we enter work obligations, so soul liberty should not be used in the case of an employee which wishes to overrule his employers orders.
Calvinism and Soul Liberty – With Calvinism overrunning most of Christianity in the last decade or two, it is no wonder that nobody hears of this doctrine. Calvinism fights against any kind of liberty of the soul to act, because they teach one is a preprogrammed puppet, and you cannot be a moral independent agent.
Discerning True, Biblical Soul Liberty
The issue of soul liberty is to refuse the forcing of other people under the control of somebody else. Church leaders can exhort strongly that all should believe and practice what is clearly dictated in the Bible. This does not impinge on soul liberty. But soul liberty is best seen when the leader wants some belief, practice, or particular decision in the church context, and he has no biblical basis for that. If the force of his desire gets him what he wants, and if his desire is not shared by the others that are really paying for it, then there is no soul liberty. Soul liberty is to not force things when there is no clear, valid expositionally correct reasoning based on Scripture for doing something.
Biblical Church: Leadership “suggests” with reasoning based on scriptural principles, but accepts the general consensus of what God’s will is for a particular issue.
Biblical Church: Leadership never “budges” from the clear teaching of Scripture, and never insists to the point of dissension, disunity, and conflict or hard feelings when Scripture is not forcefully clear on the issue.
Cults: The will of the leadership is the same as God speaking from heaven, so normally there is no open discussion, and never is there a vote unless they have rigged it somehow.
Recognizing Elements of Manipulation and Control
Unquestioning commitment and loyalty to a domineering leader.
The person of the leader is very much in focus usually in a cult. There are cults that are raised up on a cultic personality of a charismatic leader, and there are cults that a group of men form, basically taken laid back roles in the group. The obvious is often overlooked. The leader is an “antichrist”. The concept of an “anti-” something comes from the Greek anti, and means someone who takes the place of or is positioned opposite or overpowering some thing or person. So an “antichrist” is somebody who takes the place of Christ. Instead of focusing on being like Christ, the cult focuses on a human substitute, the charismatic leader.
Use of Fear and Intimidation
Cults are people that are very manipulative. The longer they are at this, the better their control of others. They instill fear instead of respect and honor. They position themselves as the very representation of God on earth, so any disagreement with them is like telling God that you disagree with Him. They heavily teach their authority over any others.
Examples – Watchman Nee wrote a book, Spiritual Authority, (if your church requires you to study and read this book, it is most probably a cult) in which he proposes that the local church’s leaders are the members only biblical authority, and if these men ask you to do something unbiblical, then you are to do it, and the blame is put on them, not you. Unlimited submission to human leadership is a common among cults. Nee also taught that each Christian needs “a covering” which is a term for an earthly authority over them, and that Christian shoul dgive blanket unquestioning submission to that authority. This goes beyond the realm of religion, belief, and moral conduct, and extends to secular matters such as marriage, marriage partners, employment, living conditions and quarters, etc. All those had to be approved by a person’s spiritual covering.
Objections and disagreements not allowed.
In general, the members of a group should not be constantly opposing almost everything the group and the group leaders is doing. If that is the situation, the church member should find another church to attend. Having said that, most cults do not admit ANY DISSENSION AT ALL, and there is great social and psychological pressure against any differing opinions.
The point here is not to maintain unity of the church members, but rather to maintain the control of the church leadership over the group. Calling dissenters by names, publicly embarrassing them, or using other tactics to “silence them” are typical in a cult.
A true church of God will hear out differing opinions. The leadership may not follow every dissenting opinion, but they will always be respectful, couretous, and giving them a hearing in some way.
Many times in cults, the members of the cult actually know a good bit of the Bible, and this is a problem when the cult clearly disobeys the Bible. Some member will point this out and become the center of scorn. The leaders and their puppets will “rationalize” incorrect behavior in the light of the Bible, and this is where in a true church, both members and leaders will look to the authority of the Bible to define what is right and what is wrong. Cults also do this when it is to their favor. For example, if the leader steals from the church funds or diverts them, then it is rationalized. If a member steals, then they will quote the Bible condemning the person for theft.
Deceptive and Lying Baptists
Soul liberty is a key essential in being Baptist, but there has come on the scene a generation of Baptist churches and Baptist preachers who have never once preached on Soul Liberty, and that is because at their heart, they are Baptist cults. (Read here allaboutBaptists.com excellent 5 paragraph article on Individual Soul Liberty.)
These Baptist cults teach and preach control and submission by their leaders. They keep their people in tight rein under the group and leaders. They teach that the Holy Spirit is not sufficient (though not in so many words) because they teach that only those who have a higher education in Bible, learning Greek, Hebrew, theology, etc. can really interpret and understand the Bible.
1 John 2:27 “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”
Cults mishandle the Authority of God
Cults mishandle the Authority of God
They don’t use the Scripture as their absolute authority.
Whereas almost every single cult out there will say either that they have the truth, that they believe and teach “only the Bible”, or that they are the only ones who have God’s truth in correct interpretation and perspective, these lines should be revealed as propaganda, not reality.
What reveals a cult for what it is, is not it’s total refusal of Scripture, but its handling of Scripture. Simply put, they “use” Scripture as propaganda to defend their own doctrines, views, and practices. Continue reading Cults mishandle the Authority of God
FP: False Prophet bad fruit Part 2 no Dictators allowed
The Ministry and Person of a Pastor
No dictators allowed! A false prophets study that examines why pastors are not to be dictators, but rather hands on leaders which first do themselves, and others follow their examples.
For an overview of this, see
False Prophets and Teachers Overview
Pastors are supposed to “get things done” in the local church. But in getting things done, many misunderstand the style of leadership our pastors are supposed to have. It is not an army, where the general sits behind a desk and gives orders. The pastor is somebody who takes the lead by doing things himself, and others see him and because they love him, they follow him.
Pastors are not to be dictators
The “lording over the flock” is exactly the problem with modern churches. It doesn’t work in God’s work.
1Pe 5:3 “not being lord’s over God’s flock”
G2634 κατακυριεύω katakurieuo (kat-ak-oo-ree-yoo’-o) v.
1. to lord against, i.e. control, subjugate
There is a grave problem when a pastor thinks his principle ministry is the controling of the flock of God. Pastors do not control. They are brethren with the sheep. Their purpose is to take care of others, and to lead them by being the first and most faithful one to do the correct thing.
1Pe 5:2 not for filthy lucre,
G147 αἰσχροκερδῶς aischrokerdos (ai-skhrok-er-doce`) adv.
1. to gain in a disgracefully, sordidly manner
A pastor does what he does, striving to get what he deems a worthy goal by a correct method. Motives, methods, and goals are all involved. But when a minister makes spiritual decisions based on how it will economically affect him (personally or as a ministry) we need to take a step back on that one. We should not do things without considering the long range effects of the thing, but the spiritual side comes first and can completely overrule any economic suffering that may result. The Christians of Bible times accepted great economic loss in order to obey God (Hebrews 11 – Heroes of the faith).
Although there should be financial responsibility in every ministry, the pastor has to be distanced from that concept of greediness.
1Pe 5:2 but of a ready mind
G4290 προθύμως prothumos (proth-oo’-moce) adv.
1. with alacrity
Merriam Websters – a quick and cheerful readiness to do something; promptness in response.
Again, the greatest pastors in history and in the world today are doers that do not order others to follow them, but rather by themselves doing the right thing, they inspire others to follow them and do the same.
1Cor 16:15 I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) 1Cor 16:16 That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.
Basically, I have seen two kinds of pastors: (1) those that are hands on pastors, wanting to get involved and if possible lead the charge. (2) armchair generals that normally “do not get their hands dirty with the small stuff.”
When we see a minister that has a dedication to work and work hard, we should follow that man. When we see lazy, do little, do nothing, and brag about what they themselves don’t actually do, we should get away from them.
Ministers should be examples for others
Note that this concept is very biblical. Some people say, “don’t look at the minister because he will just let you down. Look only at God.” We should not let failures of Christian character get us discouraged. That is a good thought. But if you cannot follow the leaders you have, you need to change leaders and churches altogether.
1Tim 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Titus 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. Titus 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Titus 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
1Cor 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
1Cor 4:16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
Phil 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
1Thess 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:
The point here is that the Bible exhorts us to follow the faith of those spiritual leaders over us. There is a given here that those leaders are spiritual examples in themselves.
No Dictators allowed!
There are several considerations here. First and foremost is that God has not given us His flock for us to do what we want with them. We are but stewards of God’s flock, and therefore God will return one day to force accounts with us. If we have abused God’s heritage, we will be condemned by Christ. Being saved, we will not lose our salvation but rather all our rewards in heaven. This is a powerful consideration in its self.
Moreover the example of God is Jesus Christ, and he was at times very forceful, but never abusive. Jesus allowed his followers certain liberties and
See my tracts
ch38 Recognizing a Good Pastor
ch41 Marks of a Bad Pastor
ch43 Time to leave your church?