Cults, denominations, and world religions
This page is about explaining the difference between cults, denominations, and world religions;
Cults- a particular religious sect group, with one charismatic leader, with their own form of worship;
Denominations – religious name of a particular Christian church, usually local;
World religions- A particular religion opposed to Christianity;
What’s the difference?
The difference is denominations are derived from one faith, Christianity; Cults have ONE leader who have ESTABLISHED what they believe to be true, deviating from Christianity; A world religion, is TOTALLY against Christianity;
No need to study all religions!
Don’t let anyone tell you you should TRY all religions; You just need to know the foundation of a religion, to know if it’s true or not! That foundation is JESUS!, and Jesus is the subject of the Holy Bible, 66 books, old, New testament ONLY! ( Rev 19:13; Jn 5:39 );
Sounds good, but isn’t
Cult, is a cult, because of the DEVIATION from Christianity, also known as the word SECT; They have good Christian terminology, to try to deceive you in; why? Remember, these are doctrines of demons ( 1 Tim 4:1 );
Rule that never fails
If there is a man that can die, AND CANT RAISE HIMSELF FROM THE DEAD, Don’t follow him; Jesus is the ONLY God man ( 1 Tim 3:16 ) different from all these cults, world religions, that raised Himself from the dead ( Jn 10:17-18; 11:25 ), and lives today ; The rest of the leaders are dead!
Balance! ( Job 31:6; Ps 62:9; 1 Cor 14:40 )
There needs to be a balance with God; Not in this ditch, or in another ditch; You’ll see here, that the denominations had a none balance of supernatural, or a none balance of YOU receiving, growing THROUGH the word of God; There needs to be a balance of word, gifts, personal receiving, help people receive;
What makes you a Christian?
What makes you a Christian is who you are, not what you do; What you do, is a result of realizing who you are; What you are is a new born-again creature in Christ Jesus ( Jn 3:1-7; 2 Cor 5:17 ); God has created a new nature in you ( Eph 3:3; 4:24 ); You were by nature a child of the devil, a sinner, now you are a child of God, the righteousness of God in Christ, and your spirit is alive, and perfect ( Rom 5:18-19; 2 Cor 5:21; Eph 1:3 ); How does this happen? Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart, that God raised Him from the dead, and you are saved ( Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 15:17; Jn 10:9 ); By grace, ( what Jesus did at the cross ), through faith, you responding to what Jesus did ( Eph 2:8-9 );
Cults
Let’s name a few, not all; Mormons, Jehovah witnesses, Christian Science; Seventh Day Adventist; Unification church; United Pentecostal church international;
Cults CLAIM to be Christians, but they are not according to ( 2 Jn: 9-10 )- you need the doctrine of Christ, ( what makes you a Christian ), to have God, and Christ; Doctrine below, is not ALL reasons for cults, just a few;
Cults have some leader that they feel brought truth;
What makes them wrong, is they take from the Bible, and create their own doctrine
Cults don’t believe the Holy Bible 66 books, old, New testament, the word of God, is the only book we need from God;
No other name under heaven where we can be saved ( Acts 4:12 );
Mormons-
Leader- Joseph Smith
Foundation, ( what you need to know )- They SAY Jesus is the Son of God, but he is a created God, NOT the God, Lord, that they put their faith in alone to save; They push 3 books, Pearl of great prize, Book of Mormon, Doctrines & covenants, that JESUS is NOT the subject of, and has no authority; How do you know? Sickness, demons, etc, will not flee, in the Mormons books name;
What do they believe? 1. Mormons believe that God the Father, has a body; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER -according to the bible, ( Lk 24:39; Jn 4:24 )- says a Spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones; God is a Spirit; 2. Mormons believe that Jesus is a created God, Satan’s brother; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER –Jesus is the creator, co equal with, Father, Holy Spirit ( 1 Jn 5:7; Jn 17:5; Acts 5:3-4 ) totally opposite of Satan ( Jn 14:30; 10:10; Acts 10:38 ); 3. Mormons believe that Joseph Smith, is the prophet wherewithal the truth came; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER – Jesus is THE prophet for salvation ( Deut 18:18 ); Test the Prophets to see if what He says is true; Old testament prophet’s ONLY pointed to Jesus, the Christ ( Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; Jer 23:6; Dan 9:25; Ps 78:2-4; 22:1; see Bible prophecy page for more ); 4. Mormons believe that the Holy Bible, 66 books, old, and new testament is of EQUAL authority with their 3 books, Book of Mormon, Pearl of great prize, Doctrines & Covenants; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER – Another name for Jesus is the Word of God ( Rev 19:13 ); Jesus is the every thought, idea, subject of a book, God the Father wanted to manifest, and ONLY God inspired authoritative book on the planet ( Lk 4:4; Ps 119:89 );
Jehovah witnesses –
Leader- Charles T Russell
Foundation, ( what you need to know )- Jehovah witnesses say that Jesus being the Son of God, doesn’t mean He is God; They say Jesus is subordinate to the Father, not God in the flesh, not equal to God, and what He did can’t alone save you; They also use their own bible, the Watchtower, and New world translation, as equal authority to God’s word;
What do they believe? 1. They believe that Jesus was an archangel, not God, before he came to earth; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER- they get that from ( Jude 9 ) ” The Lord rebuke thee ” That’s not the Lord, its Micheal the archangel, saying that; Jesus has, was, is, always will be God, that through Him, All things were created ( Jn 1:1-3 ); He was God before coming to earth ( Jn 3:13 ); ( Heb 2:16-18 )- Jesus Does not have nature of angels; 2. They believe because of ( Jn 14:28 ), ” my Father is greater than I ” that that means, the Father is greater than Jesus; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER- In the content of this chapter, Jesus was telling His disciples of what was about to happen to Him, and where He was going after, away, to where His Father was, which heaven is greater than earth; The greater is not in nature, but in ministry; God was in heaven, and could be omni-present, while Jesus was limited in where he could be, and limited in knowledge, choosing not to be omniscience; ( Phillip 2:6-11 ); The word doesn’t contradict itself, Jesus explained multiple times, including this chapter, that He is God, the Christ, equal to God the Father ( Jn 1:1-3; 4:25-26; 5:23; 6:46; 8:18; 8:58; 10:30; 10:38; 12:45; 14:9,11; 17:5 ); Jesus is God, Son of God, which means God in the flesh ( Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; Phillip 2:6-11; 1 Tim 3:16; Heb 1:8; 1 Jn 5:20 ); 3. Jehovah witnesses believe Charles T. Russell is the leader that brought about real truth; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER– Again, all truth of salvation came through Jesus ONLY ( Jn 1:17 ); 4. They believe only 144,000 will be saved ( Rev 7:4; 14:3-4 ); WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER – 144,000, is tribe of Israel, Jews, or could be allegory for complete, all believers, which are called the Israel of God ( Gal 5:15-16 ); Also says 144,000, are those that follow the lamb, Jesus ( Jn 1:29 ), and God’s firstfruits ( James 1:18 ), believers; 5. They believe that the watchtower Bible, and New world translation Bible, are the authority books; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER– God’s word is only authority on earth, Jesus said it is written ( Lk 4:1-13 );
Seventh Day Adventist-
Leader- Ellen G White
Foundation ( what you need to know )- Seventh Day Adventist might be the closest to having actual born again Christians in their group, because of the CHANGES ( good reason not to follow, because there are changes ) in years of the gospel doctrine needed to be saved; There doctrine is cultic, but there has been changes to- Jesus being, deity, and not Michael the archangel; to salvation being faith alone, and not progressive behavior; They SAY, ( Sounds good, but isn’t ), the Word of God is their authority, but they don’t tell you publicly, ONLY through the revelation, lenses, of their prophetess Ellen G White;
What they believe? 1. They believe, like Jehovah witnesses, Jesus was an archangel before coming to earth; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER; Jesus was their in creation, all things consist because of Him, Jesus created angels ( Col 1:16-17 ); 2. They believe, at first, maybe has changed, that ” we will stand before God, without a mediator ” Ellen White from: book- ” Great controversy between God, and Satan ” pg 425; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER; Jesus is the only mediator between God, and man ( 1 Tim 2:4-5 ); 3. That Ellen is their prophetess, that they NEED to understand the Bible, but the Bible, is their authority; From book: ” Testimonies of the church” vol 4 pg 605, is about Ellen receiving special revelation from God, so others can understand scripture; WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER; No scripture is for private interpretation ( 2 Pet 1:20-21 ); ALL reborn believers, have the Holy Ghost to reveal to them the things of God ( 1 Cor 2 ); The Holy Ghost will teach us ( Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:13 ); As a believer, the ONLY way to understand the word of God, is by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to our spirit ( 1 Cor 2:10-14 );
Christian Science-
Leader- Mary baker Eddy
Foundation, ( what you need to know )- This group is easy to discern their issues, because I believe they just have the Christian in the name, but they don’t hide much of their beliefs being different from Christians;
Not going to spend a lot of time explaining what they believe, I believe I set a tone of these cults having a problem with deity of Jesus, the word of God, and their leader, being the one that holds the truth; In the book ” First church of Christ science and miscellaneous writing p 318,319- Mary says” It would make no difference if the Galilean prophet, Jesus, ever existed; Using the ” Science & health with keys to scriptures, instead of Bible; Mary believes she has the key to unlock scripture; ALL WRONG; CORRECT ANSWER ; Jesus is the very life of life ( Jn 6 ); Apostle Paul tells us that the word of God, works for all that believe ( 1 Thess 2:13 ); Jesus said Men shall live by His word ( Lk 4:4 ); Jesus is only way. And God ( Jn 14:6; 20:28 ); The word of God, is God’s only authority book ( Job 23:12; 2 Pet 2:17-21; Ps 138:2 );
Conclusion-
Same with the other cults, not all named, and not going to get into details on any more, these are the most popular ones, that you see daily, but same concept with them all; I think, if you focus on what they think of Jesus, If only follow bible, and if they have a leader, than that should be a foundation for, without reading their literature;
Denominations ( and Catholics )
Let’s name some, not all– Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutheran, Apostolic, just to name some;
Denominations are called Protestants, protest, against the Roman Catholic church that took over after the first century church , and begin to do things not biblical, so to Reform errors, certain people begin over the next 1200 years to develop Protestant denominations to differ from the Roman Catholic belief;
Denominations don’t use different books, or deviate from Christianity, but PIN POINT CERTAIN beliefs in the Bible, and start a denomination with it;
There is no NEED to be a denomination, we as Christians just need to live by the Bible; There is no scripture of denominations, but they all get their names from the Bible;
Catholics- Catholics, which means all involved, are the reason for the Protestants in the first place; From 4 B.C. to A.D.30 under Herodian Tetrarchy the Roman Catholic developed; I believe, most are born again, saved, but just have traditions not needed; let’s list similarities, and differences with Christianity;
SIMILARITIES- 1. The creation; 2. The trinity; 3. The deity of Christ; 4. The incarnation; 5. Virgin birth; 6. Bodily resurrection; 7. The atonement
DIFFERENCES- 1. 73 books in their Bible; 2. Pope is not proven in Rome ( 1 Pet 5:1-3 ); 3. Teaching of Mary- co-redeemer with Christ; 4. Confessional in year 1215, priests knows personal sins of people; 5. Purgatory ( immediate state after death, to become pure ) established in 1438, cost 10, to 40 dollars; 6. Rosary, part of relief from purgatory;
Baptist-
No leader, started about A.D. 250
Why Baptist? Some church’s in Rome, refused to go under authority of certain Bishops; starting A.D. 401 under the rule of Rome, churches begin baptizing ” babies “, and people begin to ‘re- baptizing people in this error; First English Baptist church was 1612, and first one founded in America was Roger Williams in 1639; Baptist get the name from, baptizing correctly, from Romans doing it wrong;
We can all learn from scripture how to Baptist, without establishing a denomination to differ from others; ( Acts 17:11 )
Now there are First, Second, American, Southern, General, Independent, Primitive, Baptist; Doctrines has changed, according to who you ask;
Methodists-
Leader- John, Charles Wesley , started about 1740, in England;
Why Methodists- Methodists is derived from the word ” method “, of doing things, according to the word of God, that emphasizes personal holiness, and an experience of salvation; First one in America was 1784, in Baltimore; The Methodist formed to differ themselves from Roman churches before that, that this practice was not a front line of what they practiced;
Once again, I’m not spending tones of time, on every single doctrine, in agreement, or not in agreement with just non-denominational Christianity, but my point is to point out, NO NEED to establish a denomination about ” methods “; We as believers have the word, and the Spirit to teach us the ” methods “, ways of doing things in the Bible;
Some of the modern doctrine, is known not to be sound ( Titus 1:9-14 ); Accepting homosexuality, Bible having errors, a watered down version of the word of God, that denies Baptism in Spirit, with gifts, etc; All must be rebuked sharply, turning from truth ( 2 Tim 4:3-4 ); People might be saved, but they are defiling the temple of God ( 1 Cor 3:15-17 );
Presbyterians-
Leader- John Knox, in 1559
Why Presbyterians? Presbyterians get their name from a belief of being led by representative elders ( presbyters 1 Tim 4:14 ) of their congregations; They separated themselves from John Knox being fed up with the abuse he saw in the Catholic leadership; First in America in 1706 in Philadelphia; They just practice elderly leadership;
No need to establish an denomination that practice elder leadership; Believers can acknowledge this, and practice it without forming an denomination;
Doctrines not sound- Just some, could be Bible errors, erase personal responsibility for living right, because it’s a disease, and service level, no power, or gifts, practice;
There are conservative, fundamental, liberal, progressive Presbyterians;
Pentecostal-
Leader- Charles Parham- 1900’s;
Why Pentecostal? Up til then, no body of believers , since the book of Acts, to my, or some people’s history knowledge, had operated in being Baptized in Holy Ghost, with speaking in other tongues“; Pentecost, which means 50, 50 days from which Jesus rose from dead, they were to wait for Holy Ghost; Started in America in January 1900, in Topeka, Kansas;
No need to start an denomination, that Jesus wants ALL believers to experience, that we learn, and get from the book of Acts, and more scripture;
Oneness group, God, Jesus, Holy Ghost, All ONE PERSON, IS WRONG; CORRECT God, Jesus, Holy Ghost are one God, three persons, they all have their own personalities, but one God; Why important? 1. Need to be correct in doctrine to understand God ( Titus ); 2. They play different roles, but same nature, in how we are in relationship with them;
There are 170 different denominations of Pentecostals, there is no need for that, we have the word to instruct us about Baptism in Holy Ghost, see my page on this for more;
Lutherans-
Leader- Martin Luther, early 1500’s;
Why Lutheran? Martin was ordained by a Roman Catholic church, and as he begin teaching theology at Wittenberg University, he also grew frustrated with the abuse of Roman Catholic church doctrine; Lutherans get their name, from their founder, Martin Luther;
Just because you are frustrated with the error of doctrine, isn’t a need to form a denomination based on the same Bible, that ALL Christians use; Just causes more division in the body;
( 1 Tim 6:1 )- Doctrinal error, can be blasphemy, but doesn’t mean not saved ( what makes you so Christian ); Errors- Bible could have errors, baptism needed for salvation, children be baptized, measure of free will; TRUTH- Bible is inspired by God, through men, with no errors ( 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20-21 ); Children, which are blind spiritually, and not made alive by law yet, don’t realize they are sinning against God ( Rom 7:9; Jn 9:41 ), don’t need to be baptized to be received by Grace, Jesus covers them ( 1 Jn 2:12 ); Baptism is NOT NEEDED for salvation ( Eph 2:8-9; Rom 10:9-10 ); ALL humans have TOTAL free will ( Deut 30:19 );
There are a couple of different kinds of Lutherans, but all, in all, the Bible, and no denomination we need as believers;
Calvinism-
Leader- John Calvin, mid, early, 1500’s
Why Calvinism? Once again, because they wanted to break from the Roman Catholic church doctrine; Calvinism, the name, comes from their leader, John Calvin;
This might be the most heresy of the denominations, still saved, why, because ( what makes you a Christian ), but not truth, definitely doctrines of man ( Titus 1:9-14 ); Definitely no need, again, just because Roman Catholics doctrine was wrong, to start a denomination; NOT BIBLICAL, doctrines of man, to God, waste of energy;
Let’s sharply rebuke, all heresy of the Calvinist, TULIP, when I say WRONG, the scripture they use is used incorrectly, not that scripture itself is wrong; TULIP- Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible grace, Perseverance of saints; Total depravity– basically all men are lost without God; I agree with this one ( Rom 3:1-10; 6:23 ); Unconditional election – WRONG– Unable to initiate a response to God, therefore, God in past eternity elected certain people to salvation: ( Rom 8:29;30; 9:11; Eph 1:4-6,11-12 ); CORRECT- First let me explain, the verses they took out of content are; Predestination, is predetermined, foreordained; ( Rom 8:29 )– God has prearranged for WHOSOEVER, will accept Jesus as Lord, to be conformed into the image of Jesus, by way of a renewed mind of who you are in Christ ( Rom 12:1-2; Col 1:27 ); ( Rom 8:30 )- The term ” them ” is referring to those who received Christ as Lord; Predestined, is for the goods works, God made for anyone who receives Him ( Eph 2:10; Jn 15:16 ); The term ” called ” is mentioned a lot in scripture ( Rom 1:6-7; 9:24; 1 Cor 7:15,17,18,20 ), and more, but it’s a term that can be used when a person has received Jesus as Lord ( Acts 2:21; 2 Pet 1:1-3 ); The term justified, God can ONLY justify the ungodly ( Rom 4:5 ); ( Rom 9:11 )– Instead of reading it, as God elected some, it’s the opposite; Whoever chooses salvation, it’s a work of God, not of you; In other words, unbelievers are sinners, because of Adam, and believers are righteous, because of elect work of God, Jesus, to whoever receives ( Rom 5:18 ); ( Eph 1:4-6 )– Again, God has chosen people THAT WILL RECEIVE HIM, before He formed the world; We are predestined by Jesus, WHOSOEVER ( Jn 3:16 ), according to His will, what’s God’s will ( 2 Pet 3:9 ), that NONE should, perish, but ALL, ALL, come to repentance; ( Eph 1:11-12 )- We have an inheritance, that Jesus told Paul, was for gentiles by faith in Jesus ( Acts 26:17-18 ); Limited Atonement – WRONG- Jesus only died for election; ( Matt 1:21; Jn 10:11; 17:9; Acts 20:28; Rom 8:32; Eph 5:25 ); CORRECT – Jesus died for WHOLE WORLD ( 1 Jn 2:2 ); ( Matt 1:21 )– God’s people are the ones that choose Him ( Acts 2:21 ); ( Jn 10:11 )– Who is God’s sheep, just a few verses before, ( Jn 10:9 )- ANY, ANY, ANY man, shall be saved; ( Jn 17:9 )– those given, are as many as will receive ( Jn 1:12 ); ( Acts 20:28 )– The church of God is whosoever will call upon Jesus ( Rom 10:12-13 ); ( Rom 8:32 )– Christ died for all, but have to accept gift ( Rom 10:9-10 ); ( Eph 5:25 )– Christ died for all, have to accept it ( 1 Jn 2:2; Deut 30:19 ); Irresistible grace– WRONG- ( Jn 6:37, 44; 10:16 ), basically Calvinism says, you don’t have a choice; CORRECT– ( Jn 6:44 )– Holy Ghost’s ministry is to convict world to make a decision to follow Jesus ( Jn 16:7-15 ); ( Jn 10:16 )– Other sheep are gentiles, while Jesus on earth, He only brought message to Jews only ( Matt 15:24 ), Paul brought message to gentiles ( Acts 26:17-18 ); Jesus sheep, WHOSOEVER believes , hears his voice; God knows you are His by your spirit ( Rom 8:16 ); Perseverance of saints; I agree once saved, always saved, because creation is God’s work ( Eph 4:24 ), and God don’t make mistakes, so if renounce faith, never was born-again ( 1 Jn 2:19 );
My turn, now here are some scriptures that define salvation for everyone, and you have a choice ; ( Deut 30:19; Jn 1:12; Jn 3:3-7; Jn 3:16; Jn 10:9; Rom 10:9-13; Acts 2:21; Rom 10:12-13; 2 Pet 3:9; 1 Jn2:2 ); Its Gods will that NONE should perish, but ALL come to repentance ( 2 Pet 3:9 ); if ANY MAN be in Christ ( 2 Cor 5:17 ); WHOSOEVER ( Acts 2:21; Rom 10:13; Jn 3:16 ); ( 1 Tim 4:10 )- ……..Saviour for ALL men, especially those who believe; A choice!
God is no respector of persons ( Rom 2:11; Acts 10:34; Col 3:25; James 2:9 ); Respect of people is a sin ( James 2:9 ), God can’t sin, so it would be respect of people to CHOOSE CERTAIN people to be saved;
Ordained, predestined – Is God PREPARING, things BEFORE the world begin, for THEM, or AS MANY as them that love, receive Him ( 1 Cor 2:7-9; Acts 13:48 );
What about faith?- we are children of God, by faith in Jesus Christ ( Gal 3:26 ), faith is our responsibility to respond to God ( Eph 2: 8-9 ) see faith page for more!
Conclusion-
Charismatic movement involves part of all the denominations; Charis just meaning grace, so grace gifts; From the Azusa st revival in 1906, to the voice of healing in the early, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s with Jack Coe, Aimee Simple McPherson, then William Branham; Then, individual Faith, healing, gifts, ministers like Smith Wigglesworth, John G Lake, then came Kathryn Kuhlman, etc; Then 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, with Oral Roberts, then the word of faith movement which focuses on teaching you the word of God, and YOU receive from God, which is Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Charles Capps, etc; All biblical, but my point is the early 20’s – 50’s ministers, with the voice of healing crew, mostly operated in gifts, and not much word; All these early denominations , and some still do, operate on all word, which is not all correct, and no gifts; Point, as I said before, there needs to be some BALANCE, with word, gifts, and sound doctrine; You will live a long, healthy, wealthy, biblical, life, with a good end, before you go be with the Lord;
World religions
World religions, just flat out claim to have nothing to do with Jesus or Christianity; It’s black, and white, rejection of Jesus as God, Lord, or no part of God as well;
Let’s name some, not all, Muslims, Hinduism, Buddhism, Hare Krishna, etc;
How can I know these groups? Once again, they will have NOTHING to do with Jesus, or sometimes God, and especially the Word of God; Where as cults, CLAIM to be Christians, these groups will flat out tell you, they are not Christians;
Why mention theses groups if nothing to do with God? To make you aware of what’s out there, and so you can tell the difference between truth, and lies ( Acts 20:29-32 );
( 1 Pet 3:15 )- Be ready to answer……, we know how to defend, protect, give answer to our favorite sports team, favorite actor , movie, etc, much more then should we live, know, the word to defend the faith ( Jude 3 );
Not going to get into details, because it is obvious what this groups believe;
Conclusion- World religions are obvious what they believe, but you should be ready to defend faith!