Signs Of The Cultist

One of the most commonly attacked scriptures in the bible is John 1:1. It deals with the deity of Christ, but also the very essence of the beginning. It is attacked, not necessarily by the humanist, but more so by the cultist. The cultist says, “I’ve got a new truth to share. Jesus is not God. He’s the created Son of God, the emanation of God; He’s a prophet who speaks on behalf of God, but Jesus is not God in the flesh.”
On this single premise, heresy is born and cults are founded. You can recognize cults by these three characteristics…


Exclusivity

“Of all the people living presently and throughout history who have named the name of Christ, only our little group of fifty, or five hundred, or fifty thousand is right ,” declares the cultist. Listen gang, if it’s new, it’s not true. And if it’s true, then it’s not new. This is an absolute fact.


Authority

“Submit to me,” says the cult leader. “I will tell you what to read, where to go, and who to marry.” Whenever someone tries to put this trip on you – run! Paul stated:
“We do not seek to have authority over you, but are helpers of your joy.” – 2 Corinthians 1:24
Cult leaders are out to dominate, whereas true ministers of the gospel desire only to serve.


Deity

Every single cult in our world today denies the deity of Christ. Why is this important? Because if you begin to say Jesus is simply a created extension of God, you open the door to every other heresy. But even more important than opening the door to other aberrations, if you deny Jesus is God, you minimize the work God did on your behalf when He became a Man. To confess Jesus as Lord means to realize that Jesus is God in the flesh. He is your Creator; Redeemer; and King; your Lover; your Friend, your everything. He is eternally God, equally God, essentially God. If your theological group you stand firm in rejects this, you are indeed a heretic.

-Comprised from Jon Courson's application commentary