What Is a Cult?

 As I write about the theological characteristics of cults, I think of my own ten-year involvement in the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Deliverance from the organization and salvation came when I acknowledged my spiritual condition (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1) and placed my faith in the Christ of the Bible (John 20:28). Assurance of eternal life was found in Him alone (1 John 5:10–13). I also am reminded of many friends who have been delivered from the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cults.

How many cults there are today cannot be stated precisely. It has been estimated that there could be as many as five thousand worldwide, with 150 million adherents (The Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions, Harvest House Publishers, 1999, p. xvii).

With these statistics, Christians certainly cannot ignore the existence of cults, and their adherents should be viewed as a significant mission field. Many persons in these groups once attended, or were members of, mainstream Christian churches.

What Is a Cult?

The term cult has different meanings. How is it used in this article? Dr. Ronald Enroth explains that “we define the word ‘cult’ to mean a group of religious people whose belief system and practices deviate significantly from and often contradict the Holy Scriptures as interpreted by orthodox, biblical Christianity and as expressed in such statements as the Apostles’ Creed” (Evangelizing the Cults, Servant Publications, 1990, p. 11).

Judgment and Scriptural Warnings

For many, the exposure of religious error is not popular and is often criticized as being negative, but Scripture is clear regarding the responsibility that Christians have. In place of the often misused, “Judge not” (Matt. 7:1 KJV) — hypocritical judgment — this portion of the Sermon on the Mount requires one to judge (Matt. 7:6,15–20). It is mandated and necessary.  Continue at  Edmond Gruss