Christian Living

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October 27, 2011 – The Bible, Part Two?
2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. – Deuteronomy 4:2 AMP
God charged the nation of Israel in the days of Moses to neither add to nor take away from His laws. Now thousands of years later, religions worldwide that recognize the life of Jesus are doing exactly that which God said not to do. Religions that twist and discard Scripture are called cults by Christians and sometimes they are easy to spot, other times they’re not.
Cults which are easy to spot have their own versions of “holy” laws. I’m not talking about different versions of Scripture, i.e. the New International Version or the King James Version of the Bible. They have their own “bible.” The Mormon Church, or The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints as they like to be presently called, is a shining example. They have the Book of Mormon from which they teach. They believe that Jesus will set up His millennial reign from the city of Independence, Missouri, yet the Bible clearly teaches that Jerusalem will be Christ’s headquarters during that time (Isaiah 9:6-7). The leaders of this church in its early days practiced polygamy. Brigham Young, the namesake of the university bearing the name, had well over twelve wives, yet the Bible teaches that church leaders are to be the husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3:2). And the culmination of their farce is today’s Scripture: they have completely diminished the Word of God by using the Book of Mormon.
This by no means implies that Mormons are evil people. Those I have met in my life are just as nice as most Christians I know and live what appears to be godly lives. Most have very large families. They believe in God and Jesus. But the bottom line is that the Bible is not their ultimate authority. Given that information alone, there is only one conclusion for Christians to make: their religion is a cult.
There are other cults that actually use the Bible, but they twist the Scripture to meet their own ends. For example, Jehovah Witnesses believe that they are the 144,000 witnesses described in Revelation Chapter Seven; however the Bible plainly says that these witnesses are all Jewish men. Unlike the Mormons who have their own “bible,” they just use the true Word and twist it around.
Some other cults take their leader and try to fit him into a mold in Scripture. Some say their leader is Elijah proclaiming Jesus’ eminent return. The truth of that myth is that Elijah is indeed returning. But he is returning as Elijah and not anyone else. He will be dressed in sackcloth and prophesy for forty-two months in the city of Jerusalem during the rise of the antichrist. Malachi Chapter Four and Revelation Chapter Eleven give us these details. Cult leaders proclaiming such nonsense may have and Elijah-like boldness about them, but if you had thousands of people clinging to your every word, you would probably be bold also.
The best way to identify the real from the impostor is to know the Word. Some cults use just enough Scripture to get you in the door, get you hooked and then start twisting Scriptures in different directions. If you ever hear something from them like “What the writer really meant there was…” then that’s a good sign you should head toward the door. Read what Paul says.
8 Now just as Jannes and Jambres were hostile to and resisted Moses, so these men also are hostile to and oppose the Truth. They have depraved minds, and are reprobate and counterfeit and to be rejected as far as the faith is concerned. – 2 Timothy 3:8 AMP
That’s right, they should be rejected. If there are people out there, whether they are Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, or any other religion that doesn’t recognize the complete authority of the Bible, then we should in no way count them as part of the Christian faith. What is hard to believe is that some of these movements are now being thought of in society as merely denominations of the faith that drives us.
How do we counter this misinformation in society? Stop it at its source. If you hear an acquaintance describing a cult as a Christian religion, offer correction in love. If your pastor calls Mormonism a form of Christianity, call it to his attention, ask him what the Scriptures state. If you are invited by a cult member to one of their services, you should kindly decline. Remember, you cannot speak of what you do not know, search it out in the Word for yourself. Then you will be confident enough to tell him that the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, makes up your complete doctrine: and you don’t even read between the lines.

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