Fast Facts on False Teachings

Introduction

2 Corinthians 11:1 Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly; and indeed you do bear with me.

2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted; you may well put up with it!

The apostle Paul considered himself the father of the bride! "For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." In those days a betrothal was a binding promise to marry, even though the wedding itself would not take place until quite some time after. The bridegroom would go away to prepare a place for he and his future bride to live. The bride was to keep herself ready at all times – not knowing the day or the hour that her groom would return to consummate the betrothal. The bride was expected to remain pure, awaiting the return of her bridegroom.

The spiritual significance is that Jesus is the absent bridegroom and we – the church – are His bride. We are awaiting His return – keeping ourselves prepared at all times, not knowing the day or the hour. We are expected to remain pure.

Part of that involves doctrinal purity. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, was urging them to remain doctrinally pure. There were false teachers and false teachings that were seeking to adulterate the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like a proud and protective father who wants the best for his virgin daughter, he urged them to consider the doctrinal dangers of their day.

If there were doctrinal dangers then, there are even more today. Ours was once a society that could accurately be described as Judeo-Christian. With few exceptions most people could be described as having a Judeo-Christian view of the world. Despite denominational differences, most people agreed on a set of core beliefs. As late as the 1950’s sociologist Will Herberg could title a book, Protestant – Catholic – Jew, in describing America.

Not any more! Alongside the churches and synagogues are mosques, temples, kingdom halls, meditation centers and reading rooms. Paul’s concerns for the doctrinal purity of the bride of Christ need to be our concerns.

When you survey the false teachers and the false teachings, you find cults, non-Christian religions, the occult, secular religions, and heresies. While exact definitions of each of these terms are hard, it’s important to distinguish between them for the purposes of studying them.

What is a cult?

The word "cult" has a variety of popular as well as technical meanings. In the sixteenth century, the Roman Catholics considered Lutherans a cult. In the first century, the Jews considered the Christians a cult. The Latin word "cultus" simply means worship. Obviously we mean something negative by it; tell someone they are in a cult and they don’t readily agree with you! "We’re not a cult" is a common reaction.

For our purposes, we will use Dr. Walter Martin’s definition of a cult:

"A cult… is a group of people polarized around someone’s interpretation of the Bible and is characterized by major deviations from orthodox Christianity relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, particularly the fact that God became man in Jesus Christ."

It’s not a perfect definition, but it’s a good working definition. For the Christian cults are those groups that claim to be Christian but who have major deviations from the orthodox, foundational teachings of the Bible. How major is a point of debate… Nevertheless, you get the idea.

Using this definition we would list the following major cults: Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, the Unity School of Christianity, and the Unification Church. There are others, and we may look at them; but these are the major ones.

In addition to our definition of a cult, we could discuss certain characteristics of cults. These are not true of all cults; but these are some of the things you can find in them:

1. New Truth is a characteristic of cults. Many promote the idea that God has revealed something special to them – usually a truth that has never before been realized and that supersedes and contradicts all previous revelations. The Mormons, for example, teach that Christianity was in apostasy for some eighteen centuries until God revealed "new truth" to Joseph Smith, Jr. Today they boast of living prophets who receive divine revelation from God, continually bringing "new truth" to the world. New truth is essentially a rejection of the Bible as the inspired Word of God and its sufficiency.
2. New Interpretations of Scripture are characteristic of cults. They may, indeed, acknowledge the Bible as the only true source of authority, but they interpret the Bible unreasonably and in a way very different from orthodox Christianity.
3. A Non-Biblical Source of Authority is a characteristic of cults. They have their own sacred writings or other source of revelation that supersedes the Bible. The Unification Church of the Rev. Moon claims the Bible is incomplete… But don’t worry – he has his Divine Principle.
4. Another Jesus is a characteristic of cults. This involves false teaching about the person of Jesus Christ in light of the biblical accounts. He is something less than the eternal God Who became flesh, lived here on earth, and died for our sins. Jehovah’s Witnesses say Jesus was Michael the archangel before He lived on the earth; on earth He was a man Who lived a perfect life.
5. Double-Talk is a characteristic of cults. They use Christian vocabulary, but they mean something very different by it.
6. Non-Biblical Teaching on the Trinity is characteristic of cults. Most have an inadequate view or outright deny the trinity. Again, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are a good example. They openly deny the trinity.
7. Changing Theology is a characteristic of cults. The teachings constantly change! Consider the Mormons and polygamy… Or the Jehovah’s Witnesses who once taught that vaccinations were sinful.
8. Strong Leadership is a characteristic of cults. They are usually founded by a central leader who considers him or herself the messenger of God. This individual exerts enormous influence over the group.
9. Salvation By Works is a characteristic of cults. It is never faith in Jesus alone that saves; it is faith plus some work or set of works.
10. False Prophecy is a characteristic of cults. They make bold predictions of future events which fail to come to pass.

There are other characteristics; and no one cult has all of them; but you get some idea of where we’re headed.

To answer that, we need to define "religion." Our working definition of a religion is: A set of beliefs that answers the ultimate questions of life, e.g., What is the nature of the world? What is the nature of man? What happens after death?

The major non-Christian religions are: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Animism, Confucianism, Baha’i and Hare Krishna.

What is the Occult?

"Occult" is from the Latin "occultus" which means hidden, secret, mysterious. For our purposes we will list three characteristics of the occult:

1. The occult deals with things secret or hidden or mysterious.
2. The occult deals with operations or events which seem to depend on human powers that go beyond the five senses.
3. The occult deals with the supernatural, the presence of angelic or demonic forces.

Under the occult we would list: witchcraft, magic, palm reading, fortune telling, ouija boards, tarot cards, satanism, spiritism, and the use of crystal balls. We’ll also study Freemasonry under this category.

Remember our working definition of religion: A set of beliefs that answers the ultimate questions of life, e.g., What is the nature of the world? What is the nature of man? What happens after death? There isn’t necessarily a belief in God! Scientology is a good example, and one we’d better understand as more and more popular entertainers "convert." They reject the biblical description of God. To them everyone is a "thetan," an immortal spirit with unlimited powers over its own universe. You’re just not aware of it! Marxism, existentialism, and the New Age Movement are secular religions.

What is a heresy?

Again, hard to define. Nelson’s Bible Dictionary says heresy is "a false doctrine or teaching which denies one of the foundational beliefs of the church."

Let me ask you: Is Roman Catholicism a cult? Many think it is… Many don’t… Whether it is or not, it is heretical in certain foundational truths. For example: Roman Catholic doctrine teaches works as necessary for salvation. This is false, wrong, heretical.

In the Protestant church, there is oneness pentecostalism, and the prosperity doctrine. Cults? Heresies! Damnable heresies.

Christian psychology fits here. Not a cult – certainly a heresy.

Conclusion

With so many doctrinal dangers, we must hone our discernment skills. The best thing to do is to study the truth!

It is also important to acquire a basic knowledge of the cults, non-Christian religions, the occult, the secular religions and the popular heresies.

In Acts Seventeen the apostle Paul confronted the philosophers on Mars Hill. If you read his words you realize that he made it clear to his hearers that he was familiar with their beliefs – familiar enough to refute them and preach the Gospel of grace.

We will look at these false teachings by discussing their background, discovering their beliefs, and then holding them up to the Bible.