How to Discern Cults and Sects

H. A. Ironside used to say, “Where there is light there are bugs!”

He was referring to the cults and sects that take a truth and go to the extreme or form their own exclusive groups.

The apostle John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). We are not to believe every spirit-controlled teacher! However, we know the Spirit of God is illuminating the teacher when they “confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh,” “and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world” (vv. 2-3).

I am convinced that the greatest need we have in our day is the gift of discernment. Many cults and sects claim to be biblically based Christian organizations. They will even use the historic Biblical Christian language, and even call themselves “the Church of Jesus Christ,” or “the Church of Christ,” but deny or redefine essential Christian doctrines to fit their eccentric teachings.

John said, “stop believing” because some of his readers were clearly carried away by the spirit of error. The spiritually gullible fall victims of the latest religious fads.

On Abide in Christ we clearly state that we believe in the great evangelical, Biblical convictions, and teachings of historic Christianity.

Cults and sects all teach that their religious group is the only one proclaiming the true message of salvation today. All other Christians are corrupt and their “inspired” leader is equal to Jesus Christ in authority. These groups claim to be the only correct church in the world, and salvation can be found only by being a member of their organization or following their teachings.

They usually have their founder or living “prophet, seer and revelator” who has received direct revelation from God as opposed to historic Biblical revelation that ended with the writing of the last book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation about A.D. 85. Every true born again Christian needs to question any group that claims they possess new and inspired written scriptures that supplements or supersedes the true inspired and inerrant Word of God permanently recorded in the Bible.

When you come in contact with these false teachers of the antichrist ask some hard questions and demand that you get the right answers before you join up. The apostle John said to put them to the “acid test of truth as a metallurgist does his metals.”

1.   Do you rely upon the Bible alone for your doctrine and practice? What is your source of authority? Do you add some other books or human authority that equals or supersedes the authority of the Old and New Testament? Do you claim to possess new and inspired direct revelation from God that is just as authoritative as the Bible? Do you depend upon a certain person to interpret the Bible for you?

2.   Does the group accept the basic historic teaching of Biblical Christianity? What do they teach about the Triune God, the person and work of Jesus Christ (especially His deity, incarnation, and atoning substitutionary death for the sinner)? Ask for their specific teaching about the person and work of Jesus Christ. How do you know if it is of the Spirit of God? “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”

3.   What do you teach regarding salvation? What would you say if you died today and stood before the Lord God and He asked you, “Why should I let you into My heaven”? Listen carefully to the response. Does the group teach salvation by grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone? Do they add or detract anything from, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”? Do they teach justification by faith alone? Do they add the requirement that you be baptized by one of their clergy in their church or temple? Do they add good works, church membership, tithing, etc. as a requirement for salvation? How can salvation be by God’s grace alone if baptism in their church is necessary for salvation? By their teaching it is no longer of God’s grace, but by the works of “obedience.” Do they teach that salvation depends on membership in their particular organization?

4.    What is the attitude of their group toward other Bible-believing Christians? Do they permit their followers to fellowship with other Christians? Do they consider themselves exclusive and think that only they have the true and correct teaching and authority of God? Do they suppress or respect other Bible-believing Christians regardless of the nametag they wear such as: Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Assemblies, Independent, Bible, etc.? Is the group teaching, “I or we alone are all right and everyone else is wrong? Only we have the truth, and we are the only people God uses.”

Learn to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” They are so deceptive they even use the glorious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to accomplish their evil and destroy God’s eternal purpose.Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

Enriches the Few While

Corruption enriches the few while causing poverty and hardship for the masses. Joseph- Anthony a son of Jehovah

The Bountiful Harvest Of

Today I am grateful that The Holy Spirit guided me to crush Snowballs medicine and mix it with coconut oil. Then put it on his paws. That way he will not spit it out when he thinks I am not looking.

I am grateful Poppa blessed us with rain last night and held it off today until the one I am taking care of came home from her outing

I am grateful The Holy Spirit guided me to make support for the peas, beans and cucumbers using chicken wire and poles.

I am grateful for the bountiful harvest of healthy herbs

I am grateful for The Holy Spirits guidance on herbal medicine to give Snowball in case the vet cuts me off of his meds because I do not pay for expensive tests we cannot afford

I am grateful for the skids in the doctors office that be used to make more raised gardens

I am grateful for The Holy Spirits guidance on where I can plant 3 more rows of beets

I am grateful for the plants exploding in growth. They have grown more in the past 3 days than they have in the past 2 months

May you have a grateful heart towards He who has given so much to you. indeovi vas ( may you live with Jesus in Latin )

Seleh- stop and think about it.

This photo and article @ Joseph- Anthony a son of Jehovah 2023 Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it but it may not be sold without authors consent

And Against Mine to Grow

“Just as it’s against your nature to eat trees and against mine to grow wings, it’s against God’s nature to remember forgiven sins.“ Max Lucado

Whenever You Find a Man Who

“Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later.“ C S Lewis

Christ Our Propitiation

Please don’t let that title scare you off. That is a beautiful and profound word.

Christ’s death turns away the wrath of God. The apostle Paul said Christ is our propitiation. He is a propitiatory sacrifice. It refers to what Christ did on our behalf before God.

We are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith” (Romans 3:24-25).

God gave His Son as the means of the propitiation, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). A. T. Robertson said, “God could not let sin go as if a mere slip. God demanded the atonement and provided it.” It was “by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).

The word “propitiate” in its classical form was used of the act of appeasing the Greek gods by a sacrifice, of rendering them favorable toward the worshipper. The sacrifice was offered by the pagan worshiper to buy off the anger of the god and buy his love. Note very carefully that this idea is not brought over into the New Testament. The LORD God does not need to be appeased nor is His love for sale.

In the New Testament it refers to the act of getting rid of sin which has come between God and man. The word hilasterion is used in the Greek translation of Leviticus 16:14 to refer to the golden cover on top of the Ark of the Covenant. In the Ark, below this lid, were placed the tablets of stone upon which were written the Ten Commandments, which Israel had violated. On the Day of Atonement before the Ark stood the High Priest representing the people who had sinned. When the sacrificial blood is sprinkled on this cover, it ceases to be a place of judgment and becomes a place of mercy. The blood comes between the violated law and the violators, the people. The blood of Jesus satisfies the just requirements of God’s holy law which mankind broke, pays the penalty for man, and thus removes that which had separated between a holy God and sinful man, sin, its guilt and penalty. This is far removed from the pagan idea of propitiation. Jesus Christ is God’s High Priest who was both the Mercy Seat and the Sacrifice, which transforms the former from a judgment seat to one where mercy is offered a sinner on the basis of justice satisfied.

Bengel observed that God, “’placed before the eyes of all’ unlike the ark of the covenant which was veiled and approached only by the high priest.”

The LORD God set forth His Son, the Lord Jesus, as the One who would be the satisfaction for our sins. Because God is satisfied with the payment of the sin debt, His wrath is turned aside, away from the believing sinner. Christ absorbed the wrath of God on our behalf. He bore our punishment as our substitute.

When God looked down upon the sacrifice He judged man guilty, the payment was paid in full, and in His righteousness could therefore acquit the believing sinner who put His trust in the Lamb of God. That mercy seat is the place were God met man in His grace since the sacrifice turned away the wrath of God because His righteousness was satisfied. The guilty sinner is spared because of the death of Christ in our place. When God looks down upon the believing sinner He sees not our sins and guilt, but the blood of Jesus. He is our expiatory sacrifice that satisfied the righteousness of God. His death paid our debt in full and a holy God was satisfied.

All of the lambs in the sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed to God’s perfect Lamb who would wholly remove our death penalty.

How do we know this is all true? We know we can trust God because a holy and righteous God tore the veil in the temple from top to the bottom. The moment Christ died it was like God the Father reached in and took hold of His outer garment and tore it from the top to the bottom in His mourning for His only Son. God tore the veil in two to open the way into His presence for all who believe on His Son as their sinless sacrifice who died as their propitiation. Bloody sacrifices came to an end in the temple because the death of Christ alone met all the holy demands of a thrice-holy God.

Have you placed your trust in God’s Lamb?

Is All You Need.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you Matthew 5:44 The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 The Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

Prayer: Please Jesus bless me with Your grace to forgive those who have abused me so that I am blessed with Your love, joy and peace. In this manner I will be able to serve you better, especially while encountering the wicked ones that love to torment me.

Please bless me to always reply with a gentle answer to extinguish the fires of hate and rage in those I encounter.

Please bless me to always behave in a loving manner to those who are hurt or are unlovable.

May this bless them that through Your grace through me it will bring them unto repentance.

Please Jehovah Jireh ( God will supply ) bless me with Your precious love, joy and peace so that I am be able to serve Jesus by serving others with love, joy, patience, self- control, wisdom and compassion.

I humbly request this in the name of The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Amen

May you have a grateful heart towards He who has given so much to you. indeovi vas ( may you live with Jesus in Latin )

Seleh- stop and think about it.

This photo and article @ Joseph- Anthony a son of Jehovah 2023 Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it but it may not be sold without authors consent

If You Want to Succeed in Life

If you want to succeed in life, always listen and obey The Holy Spirits guidance Joseph- Anthony a son of Jehovah

We are Cruel to Ourselves If

We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it.
J. I. Packer

Christian Perfection (I)

How good does a person have to be in order to be saved? Perhaps we can best answer that question by asking, how perfect is God?

Jesus said, “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

The LORD God told the children of Israel, “You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2; cf. Deut. 18:13).

The Hebrew word tam or tamim means to be “without defect” or “without blemish.” The Hebrew sacrifices had to be “without blemish,” spotless and entirely without defect (Exodus 12:5; 29:1; 1 Pet. 1:19; Eph. 5:27). Another word shalem means “whole” or “complete.” That which is without defect or blemish is complete.

God’s righteous standard never changes because He does not change. God is the perfect standard or He would not be God.

Jesus used the word “perfect” (teleioi from telos) meaning end, goal, limit. It is the absolute standard of our heavenly Father. Such a person is perfect or fully developed “in a moral sense.” Therefore, in the moral realm it means “blameless.”

Jesus is the perfect example of that divine standard (1 Peter 2:21-25).

The word “holy” in Leviticus 19:2 gives us the reason for the sacrifices under the Mosaic law. God is holy and man is a sinner. Sin separates man from God. The source of our sanctification is “the LORD who sanctifies you” (20:8). The meaning is to set apart or separate.

God’s standard for man is complete, perfect, moral rectitude. To be acceptable to God every human being must be as blameless and sinless as Jesus Christ.

That standard of righteousness creates a moral and spiritual crisis for all mankind. The Bible tells us we have all sinned and fall short of such moral perfection. “There is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). God’s standard is a clean heart and it is evident from studying the Sermon on the Mount that no one can live up to its demands (cf. Matt. 5:20-25, 27). The center of our personality condemns us. Jesus said, “Out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornicators, thefts, false witnesses, slanders,” etc. (15:18-20). It is the heart that has to be changed (2 Cor. 5:17).

I have a problem. I am a sinner. But my problem is even greater than I ever imagined. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Our sinning can be illustrated by an archer shooting his arrows from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Central America, at the North Pole. He will miss it every time. It will always fall short. No one will ever get to heaven by his or her own efforts because we miss God’s perfect standard.

God never lowers His standards to accommodate sinful man. His absolute holiness is the standard. He will not accept half-way or half-hearted obedience. God is infinite in His perfections.  Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  We are to be “brought to completion, full-grown, lacking in nothing.”

How can that be since what has been written describes me?  Great!  Because that is why Jesus Christ went to the cross and died as a sacrifice for sin.  “The wages of sin is death,” and Jesus died your death on the cross.  Based on the atoning sacrificial death of Jesus Christ as our substitute, God can now save us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  God credits to our account the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.  God dealt in full with our penalty by sending Christ to the cross to die for us.  When we believed on Christ, God the Father and Judge declared us acquitted based on the saving work of Christ.

Every Christian struggles with holiness in his life, and all of us will until we see Jesus Christ face to face (Phil. 3:12-16).

God makes us holy by changing us from the inside out (2 Cor. 3:18).  It is a progressive sanctification, not a once-for all sinless perfection before we die.

The ultimate goal of the believer is to live in harmony with Matthew 5:48, and “to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.”

We will be established “unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” (I Thess. 3:13).

It is to those who strive to attain the goal that the victory is assured.  We will reach the ideal goal of perfection when we see Jesus in glory.  It will be the perfect gift to the believer (Psa. 17:15); Phil. 1:6; 3:12; II Tim. 4:7, 8; Rev. 21:27; 7:14).

May you have a grateful heart towards He who has given so much to you.

indeovi vas ( may you live with Jesus in Latin )

Seleh- stop and think about it.

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.