Occasionally, some, usually those who dislike the high expectations for conforming to God's word and the attached discipline, identify the church of Christ as a cult. But is the church a cult?
Usually, when we think of a cult, we think of a group such as the one Jim Jones led to Guyana. As the result of a suicide pact, about 900 of those people followed their leader to their deaths. Jones had totally indoctrinated those people to follow his every command. Does every indoctrination process result in a cult? If Christians are taught (indoctrinated with) Christ's doctrine (teachings), do they become cult members?
One definition of a cult movement is: one that seeks total control over the minds of its members. God gives us all free will. But the gospel does urge us to control our own desires and thinking and allow God's word to guide us. Does that make church members cult members? I think we can safely say the Lord's church is not a cult, at least not in the manner in which we use that word today.
Cults focus on the authority of ordinary men who seek total domination and control of other people who submit to them. That is quite different from submitting to God's divine authority. And Jesus is God, though for a time he lived in the flesh as a man. The Scriptures warn us against following men who do not teach Christ's doctrine. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:15)
A cult has a magnetic leader who tries to become a father figure. There certainly is nothing wrong with strong leaders (we need them), and nothing wrong with respecting some men as fathers (1 Timothy 5:1). But, we must be careful to view them and their words only in light of what Scripture teaches.
Many cult leaders attempt to draw followers, especially young ones, away from their parents. This is very wrong. Scripture teaches us to "honor our parents" and that children should "obey their parents in the Lord." If we sometimes show young people that their parents have not taught them the truth of God's word, that is not equivalent to urging them to hate, disrespect, or otherwise disobey those parents.
Cult leaders usually try to isolate their followers from other people and from the Lord's church. But Jesus declared that his followers are to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature..." (Mark 16:15). Indeed, we must keep ourselves separate from the world's sinful conduct, be careful about who we marry, those with whom we make friends, and those with whom we intimately associate; but we do not leave the world (1 Corinthians 5:10).
Some cults require their adherents to forfeit their possessions and give everything to the cult leader. Jesus certainly wants each of us to commit his whole life to Him, but Scripture urges us to work for the things we need and to use any surplus to help others.
As is true in other cases, what separates the church from the cults is our respective views concerning Jesus. Upon investigation, it becomes obvious that cults minimize what Jesus taught and focus on what the cult leader teaches. For example:
The Hare Krishna cult teaches that salvation comes by chanting the name of their god, Hare Krishna, at least 1,729 times daily. To them, Jesus is simply one of their gurus.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus is a created being, Michael, the first creation of Jehovah and the "son of God."
Mormons teach that Jesus is a preexistent spirit, was the child of Adam and Mary, rather than the Holy Spirit and Mary, and, therefore, was one of many gods.
The Unification Church, with Sun Myung Moon as its leader, says salvation can come only through a messiah who achieves perfection, marries, and has perfect offspring. Moon says Christ was to do this, but he failed. Moon's implication is that he is the second Messiah.
The difference between true faith and a cult is that faith presses us to follow God. A cult urges people to follow a man. Thus, Christian faith and the cult movement are poles apart.
Cult leaders often become extremely wealthy after getting their followers to give them virtually all their possessions and livelihoods. Jesus told the rich young ruler, who trusted his riches, to sell all that he had and give to the poor. That is quite different from selling all you have and giving to the cult leader. Jesus didn't ask the young ruler to give him (Jesus) the proceeds.
As with all things that require discernment, we can distinguish between a cult and the truth by learning God's word and comparing what any teacher says with what God has said.
In 1976, a group of Christians in Gainesville, FL started the Crossroads movement within the body of Christ. This movement's leader was a man named Chuck Lucas. This group's main focus was personal evangelism. Mostly, the Crossroads movement aimed for the college campuses, and groups began to spring up all over the country.
The group had an immediate impact on many younger Christians. Why? It seemed to have an answer to what was (and still is) one of our most pressing problems--reaching the lost. Zeal and commitment blinded many to the truth about this group. They used phrases, such as "quiet time," "40-day plan," "prayer partner," "pillar churches," "senior and junior prayer partners," and "Master Plan of Evangelism." The movement supported confessing sins to other members, separating members from their own families, and blind loyalty to the Crossroads Movement.
In time, Chuck Lucas was fired for "continual sin." The elders at the Gainesville church repented of their sinful teaching. Sadly, another brother named Kip McKean took Chuck Lucas's thinking to the next level. The Boston Movement was born under his teaching. It later became known as the International Churches of Christ, and people began to call the Church of Christ a cult. In time, brother McKean was also fired, but the International Churches of Christ left a mark-the Lord's church is a cult--on the minds of many people.
This happened because people stopped checking what they were being taught. They first closed their Bibles, and then their minds. A long time ago Hosea wrote that God's people are "destroyed for a lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)
The 20/20 news program exposed the Boston Movement for what it was. Then the name changed to the International Churches of Christ. This group is still active in many parts of the country. They are beginning to have internal problems and in time will go the way of all false teachers.
Have our brethren learned anything from this experience? I'm not just talking about those who became entangled with these movements, but also about God's people in the conservative churches. Sadly, many signs indicate that some have not learned from the past.
Max Lucado now teaches that baptism is not essential for salvation and that we should change the name of the Lord's church to something "less threatening." Yes, he is a motivational speaker and a world-renowned writer; and many in the religious world believe every word he says. Could a new "cult" be on the horizon? Stay tuned...(KMG)