Bible Question:
Good Morning Brother Tim May I ask you if you know if we have a biblical standard by which to determine if a group is a cult or not. I ask because another sister and I looked up 'cult' in the Webster's dictionary and to be perfectly honest, we both felt that we(believers) could be define as a cult if you use Webster's dictionary. My goal is to allow the Word of God to be the final authority. So, have you come across any scriptures that you believe can help us identify a 'cult'? One scripture that I consider is I John 4:1-3. Thanks so much for your response. Abba Father Bless you... :) Sister Meredith |
Bible Answer: Greetings Meredith! Good morning! You are right about the word 'cult'. It's meaning depends a lot on perspective. Christianity in a strict sense was a cult of Judaism. However, Christians have developed a much stricter definition of the term, as Kalos posted earlier. It mostly refers to those who: 1) Deny the deity of Christ. 2) Have other sources of authority apart from the Bible. 3) Reject the Biblical doctrine of salvation by grace. 4) Have a dictorial leader. More could be added, but Scripture simply refers to them as false teachers or false prophets. 1 John 4:1-3 is definitly a good start! :-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |