Cathy Denny has posted an excellent article on her blog about how to identify cults and false doctrines.
You can read it here
It is so good, I wish I was the one who wrote it. It blew me away.
I can tell you what church certain people belong to just by the way they comb their hair or the dress code they abide by.
It is also pretty easy to tell what persuasion of theology church goers are associated with just by the phrases they parrot. They simply repeat the same phrases and sound-bites they have been taught (or read somewhere) – it’s a special insiders language of code words that reveals they are in the club. Now, you couldn’t learn this stuff from the Bible itself – you have to be taught it by men, who then attempt to use the Bible to prove their presuppositions. Just listen to them and you’ll hear the same phrases regurgitated over and over again. These disciples are simply the parrots of men. It’s really pretty pathetic.
They are:
Parroting the learned phrases of men does not prove the authenticity of ones Christianity. It only demonstrates they are faking it.
You see, God does not want you pretending to be somebody that you are not. You are unique and He wants you to be the person He has wired you to be. Simply allow Christ to be formed in you on a daily basis.
That's what it means to be authentic, and this kind of testimony is a lot more convincing too.
Polly want a cracker.
This is the nature of the beast.
Revelation 17:8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is
Philippians 1:3 (KJV) I thank my God upon every remembrance of you…
The apostle Paul loved his congregation at Philippi - so much so that he thanked God every time he thought about them. As a pastor I can fully understand why Paul felt this way about his church family; there’s a special affection that pastors possess for their flock.
Four reasons why I am thankful for PCC:
Like Paul, I can sincerely say, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you…
“…The god who answers by fire… he is God” (1 Kings 18:24).
What do you do when you need rain, but instead God answers by fire? In 1 Kings 18, Elijah declares to the people that God is going to show up and prove Himself after 3 years of drought. And God does exactly that.
But instead of sending rain, God sent fire. Now you would think that after a 3-year drought that God would send water to the land – not fire on an already scorched earth. Right? I mean, what is God up to?
Are you praying for one thing, but something else comes?
It can be difficult to trust the intentions of God when He is forecasting more fire at a time when you really need rain.
Remember this. God did eventually send rain to Israel, but it was only after His fire fell. Through fire He established His sovereignty over Israel and idols were destroyed in the land.
God may be sending fire into your life to purify you… to incinerate your altars of idolatry… and to burn away the false securities we tend to place our trust in. That way, when the sky finally opens, and the rain begins to pour, it falls on fertile ground – your purified heart.
Anyone can have “sunny day” faith, but it doesn’t hold in difficult times. Throughout the ages, it has been during times of crisis that Christianity and God’s people have had the most impact.
You can live your life by the latest report from the News Networks, which change on a daily basis, or you can live your life trusting in God’s unchanging Word and the God who is in control of it all.
Whatever you do, fill your mind MORE with the WORD OF GOD than you do with the DAILY NEWS.
Let God's Word reframe your view of the world. The best is yet to come.
We teach Biblical doctrine all the time. We teach it in our Sunday services, small groups, in our teen and children’s classes, and every other teaching venue we have. That’s why PCC is so well-grounded in God’s Word and our people are not easily deceived by the sleight of men.
When we teach doctrine, we keep it interesting. Here’s how:
1. Doctrine should be in a relational manner. One of the big mistakes some Bible teachers make is presenting doctrine as only a proposition or a statement. That gets boring pretty quick and is always very dry. Rather we should understand that all doctrine originates from God, who loves every person, and that is relational.
2. Doctrine should be taught as a narrative. We often present doctrine as an abstract statement that exists outside of time and history. But doctrine comes from good theology which is the re-telling of the story God's search for man. Plenty of stories abound in God’s Word that illustrate doctrinal truths. Teach doctrine in a narrative format (the telling of a story) and people will be captivated – plus they learn better. This is how Jesus taught.
3. Doctrine should be interesting. When you present sound doctrine based on a theology that is relational and narrative people will engage. It is inexcusable to make the Bible boring. When Bible teachers/preachers make the Bible boring, the unlearned believe God is boring. Nothing could be further from the truth.
4. Doctrine makes for great discussion. You ought to be a fly on the wall in some of our small groups. The discussions are great. Additionally, our teenagers have been systematically going through the books of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel this year, chapter by chapter. They talk, are engaged, retain truths, and enter eagerly into the discussion. Yet, they are learning doctrine.