Barely a month passes nowadays without seeing some "new" cult pop up. The International Organization of the Churches of Christ (not affiliated with the regular "Church of Christ") caused headlines last Sunday in our little town when it was discovered that they were recruiting for members out at Valdosta University. Not too long ago the Heaven's Gate cult made headlines by, tragically, committing suicide together so their spirits could follow an asteroid to Heaven. But are these cults really new? As the Preacher said, there is no new thing under the sun. The cult's name may be new, it's locale or uniform of the day may be new, but most cults are just a rehashing of the same old heretical theme of yesteryear. "What theme" you ask? All cults have one thing in common, they pervert the historical and Biblical person of Jesus Christ.

Mark 6:1-3 "And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him."

The Christian believes that Jesus Christ, an eternal Member of the Godhead, came to earth to save man from his sins by taking on the likeness of man. He was born of the virgin Mary, conceived in the flesh through the power of God the Holy Spirit. Jesus walked the earth three years, proclaiming the Gospel of Salvation, and showed that this Gospel was true by the miracles which He caused. After this three year period He, an innocent and sinless man (yet also fully God) suffered and was murdered in the flesh as a sacrifice for our sins. His body laid in a borrowed tomb for three days, after which He was resurrected (in the flesh) by the Father, this a testament that the Atonement was sufficient.

The cults, on the other hand, have claimed Jesus was just a man, only a prophet, a spirit being, or an illusion. To those who stand on the sidelines, the unbelievers who have yet to accept Christ as Savior, they feel that these people are relatively harmless. Yet those who try to sell the public "another gospel" are far from harmless. First, they cloud the Gospel message so that many may go to eternal damnation under this "other gospel". Second, they hold Christ up to derision in a world that desperately needs the message of the Cross. And third, they often hurt themselves and others. The Jim Jones cult, prior to committing suicide together, killed several innocent newspaper reporters and congress people. The Heaven's Gate cult killed themselves and any children they might have brought into the world. The Moonie and Krishna Cults teach "divine deception", where they lie and steal in order to finance the cult. The Branch Davidians died in fire, and by their own actions brought death to children.

As every weed has a root, in this study we're going to look at the root of the cultic movement. This study will be a brief synopsis of the various errors and heresies both ancient and modern cults have brought against our Lord Jesus.

The Ebionites (their name literally meant the poor ones) claimed that Jesus Christ was man only, not eternal God who took on humanity. They based this claim on the text of:

What the Ebionites failed to do was study the keyword in the text, one. Matthew Henry, the great Preacher, said of this verse:

"Here is, I. A brief summary of religion, containing the first principles of faith and obedience, v. 4, 5. These two verses the Jews reckon one of the choicest portions of scripture: they write it in their phylacteries, and think themselves not only obliged to say it at least twice every day, but very happy in being so obliged, having this saying among them, Blessed are we, who every morning and evening say, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. But more blessed are we if we duly consider and improve,...What we are here taught to believe concerning God: that Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. (1.)That the God whom we serve is Jehovah, a Being infinitely and eternally perfect, self existent, and self-sufficient. (2.) That he is the one only living and true God; he only is God, and he is but one. The firm belief of this self-evident truth would effectually arm them against all idolatry, which was introduced by that fundamental error, that there are gods many. It is past dispute that there is one God, and there is no other but he, Mk. 12:32. Let us therefore have no other, nor desire to have any other. Some have thought there is here a plain intimation of the trinity of persons in the unity of the Godhead; for here is the name of God three times, and yet all declared to be one. Happy they that have this one Lord for their God; for they have but one master to please, but one benefactor to seek to. It is better to have one fountain that a thousand cisterns, one all sufficient God than a thousand insufficient ones."

In Deuteronomy 6.4 God was not denying His Triune nature, nor that both Son and Spirit were equally God. Rather, He was demanding that Israel avoid the polytheistic religions of the native Canaanites and the other pagan nations that encompassed them. The Ebionites pointed to this verse and said, "Surely Christ cannot be God. If He was God, then He only acquired a portion of deity when the Holy Spirit descended on Him at His baptism". Yet in any study of Scripture the wise believer, to avoid the cultic, always looks to what the Scripture saith. Let Scripture interpret Scripture.

The Scripture very plainly states that there is no Savior but God:

Isaiah 43:10-11 "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour."

Yet the Scripture very plainly states that Jesus Christ is our Savior:

Matthew 1:20-21 "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

Phillipians 3:20-21 "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."

If there is no Savior other than God, and Jesus Christ is our Savior, then Jesus must be God. The Great God Jehovah is also called the Alpha and Omega:

Revelation 21:4-7 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."

A title the Father uses because it shows the infinity of His being. He has been from before the beginning of time, and will exist until the end of time and beyond. Yet the Bible also says of Jesus:

Revelation 22:12-16 "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."

That He, likewise, possesses the title of Alpha and Omega. He is eternal God, and therefore as infinite in Being as the Father. The Father was never created, but He is the self existent Creator:

Exodus 3:13-14 "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?   And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."

God the Father is the Great I AM, a name that denotes He has and has always existed. He is because He is, not because He was made. This name of God became so holy to the Jews that, when the Scribes wrote the name, they used a special pen which was used for no other lettering. When Jesus was talking to the Pharisees during His earthly ministry He told these unbelievers that:

John 8:56-58 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."

He was co-equal with the Father. He used the same name that the Father gave Moses a thousand years before, I AM. His claim so incensed the Jews that took they up stones to cast at him, for they felt that He had committed blasphemy. Actually, Jesus would have been guilty of blasphemy for applying God's title to Himself if He were not indeed deserving of that title. Yet He was worthy, for He was and is God.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit comprise the Godhead that we worship called The Trinity. All Three are co-equal and co-eternal, each fully possessing the attributes of God. It was the Trinity that created and populated the earth:

Genesis 1:26-27 "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

When man fell deeper into sin at the Tower of Babel, it was the Trinity that went to Babel and discouraged his efforts:

Genesis 11:5-8 "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.  And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city."

And to all those who believe God was speaking only to angels when He said us, consider this verse where all three Persons of the Trinity are clearly illustrated:

Isaiah 48:12-16 "Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.  Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.  I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. "

God is clearly speaking, yet God says now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Christ is Divine, the Godhead is Triune, the Ebionites are cultic and heretical.

A man who knew the Apostle John, Sorinthian, taught something fairly similar to Ebionism. He said that Jesus became God only when He received the Holy Spirit at His baptism. Christ was truly sinless man, but not eternal God. Again, this was and is heresy. Rather than repeat what I've already written, re-read the apologetic that I've written above to the Ebionites. Sorinthianism was never really widespread among the early Church, though it's strains seem to pop up every now and then in our modern day cults.

1 John 4:1-3 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."

John didn't mince words: those who taught that Jesus really didn't come in the flesh, that He really wasn't human, these people were antichrist. You cannot be saved believing that some ghost or illusion from God died on the Cross. Jesus came, in the flesh, to die for our sins. He took the place of man, as sinless man, and stood in the judgment seat for us. You have to believe that HE, not some illusion, died for your sins to be saved. The Scripture is very plain on this doctrine.

To the Dolcitists Jesus said:

John 20:25-29 "The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

Luke 24:36-43 "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.  And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them."

Jesus was not a spirit, a ghost, or a transfiguration. He was real, human (though sinless), and bore very human marks of suffering even after His resurrection. Avoid the spirit of antichrist, avoid Dolcitism like the plague!

On second thought, I will answer the "Firstborn of God" statement of Arianism, as this cultic thought is still prevalent in the world today. Five times in Scripture Jesus is referred to as "The Firstborn". Wuest (Word Studies in The Greek New Testament) stated:

"The word "firstborn" is prototokos. The Greek word implied two things: priority to all creation ad sovereignty over all creation. In the first meaning we see the absolute pre-existence of the Logos. Since our Lord existed before all created things, He must be uncreated. Since He is uncreated, He is eternal. Since He is eternal, He is God. Since He is God, He cannot be one of the emanations from deity of which the Gnostic speaks, even though He proceeds from God the Father as the Son. In the second meaning we see that He is the natural ruler, the acknowledged Head of God's household. Thus again, He cannot be one of the emanations from deity in whom the divine essence is present but diffused. He is Lord of Creation. (Ephesians and Colossians in The Greek New Testament, page 183)"

W.E. Vine, MA, concurs with Wuest when he states:

"First Begotten, First Born: prototokos. Used of Christ...in His relationship to the Father, expressing His priority to, and preeminence over, creation, not in the sense of being the "first" to be born..(Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, page 240)."

When Christ is called the firstborn He is being given a title showing His preeminence over this Creation of God's. The passages where Jesus is called the firstborn in no way can be twisted to show that there was a time when He was not in existence. For example:

Colossians 1:15-18 "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence."

This verse starts out saying that Christ is the image of the invisible God. Image is the Greek EIKON, which means a mirror image, an exact duplicate. In other words, when you look at Jesus you're looking at God! Second, the text states that the firstborn Jesus created all things both in earth and in heaven. If He is a created being, and He created all things, then He created Himself? How stupid! Jesus, the firstborn, or preeminent One, created all things as eternal God. The title firstborn doesn't decrease Christ's deity, but magnifies it.

Romans 8:29 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Revelation 1:5 "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood"

The use of firstborn in these texts highlight the fact that Jesus was the first to be resurrected from the dead. His resurrection is a pattern of our hope, that one day we, too, will walk with the Father in a glorified body. Again, prototokos carries with it the idea of preeminence, not of lowliness for our Lord. Arianism is cultic and heretical doctrine.

This heresy has already been answered by the apologetic to the cult of Dolcetism (see above). The heretical doctrine was also condemned at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD. God Himself condemned the Church at Laodicea when He wrote:

Revelation 3:15-16 "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."

This "half human fully God" doctrine is repugnant to the Father for it's harm to the Atonement. Christ died for us, took our place, because He was made (in the flesh) like us:

Hebrews 2:17-18 "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted."

If He was not made like us then He cannot make reconciliation for our sins, He cannot stand in my place in the place of judgment. If He were only partly human then the Atonement for my sins was incomplete. This doctrine, like that of Dolcitism, sends a knife into the Gospel message, and is patently not Scriptural.
 

1. Christ, as eternal God, was the Creator of all things (Colossians 1.14-17)
1. He was self existent, and created by no one (John 8.56-58)
2. Jesus took on humanity because the eternal plan of Salvation by Grace demanded it (Hebrews 2.14-18)
3. Christ was the perfect sacrifice for our sins:
1. He is our High Priest (Hebrews 7.21-28)
2. Man caused the fall from Grace, so it required perfect Man to re-establish Grace (1 Timothy 2.5-6)
3. The Davidic Covenant, that promise that the Father made to King David, required that Jesus come (2 Samuel 7.8-16)
4. Theologians call the union of both Divine and Humanity in Jesus Christ a hypostatic union. He was and is fully sinless Man yet also fully God, yet with only one unique personality (Phillipians 2.1-11)

John 14:9-11 "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake."

Several times the Jews tried to stone Jesus because He claimed equality with the Father. If you believe Jesus is no more than a mere man, then you must admit that He was a madman, not a good man. Jesus (as well as the Scripture) clearly state that He was both God and man, come to save mankind from it's sins. If you don't know Jesus perhaps this study will help you to find Him. You cannot be saved believing that a mere man came to save you. You cannot be saved believing on an apparition or a ghost. You cannot be saved thinking that He was only purely God, or some mongrel somewhere between Divine and human. You must accept the Biblical and historic Jesus Christ as Savior in order to find peace with God. Remember these words:

Matthew 7:13-15 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

Beware of false prophets. They come to you with their own agenda, and that agenda is to build themselves up while tearing you down. Beware of the false doctrine that seems so harmless, for it is as the adder that hides in the grass, waiting to strike when you least expect it. Just yesterday I spent over an hour trying to council a young lady from committing suicide, trying to show her life was not hopeless, that all was not lost. This young lady got involved with a satanic cult who, for all their sweetness and light, really cared nothing for her nor her needs. I have counciled Pagans and Wicca who call on gods and goddesses without number, yet who, in the final analysis, are left alone and wanting when all the flash and flame is gone. Trust Jesus, trust the historic Jesus, and He will give you rest. Trust the Jesus of the Bible, and avoid the cultic. If you don't you will live (and die) to regret it. God Bless you all.