Is the Church of Christ a Cult?

Introduction

I appreciate so much. Daniel leading every song in our book about cults. He led all of them. Yeah, not a one teaching the high school class this morning. One of our students observed about my clothing today. Thomas. You remind me of Willie Wonka. I’m getting you back, buddy. You see what I’m up against back there? Prayers coveted. We got a big laugh about that. Good to be with you this morning. As has been announced, as we regularly do, if you just follow Facebook a little, you’ll eventually see it. Talk this morning about a question that the Purcells and I were talking about because they’ve heard this actually verbalized, though it’s been verbalized by many others at many times and many places.

If you’re a visitor here today, whoa, what have I gotten myself into? Am I attending with a cult and don’t even know it? I just want to calm your concerns and say, I think you’re okay. No fear. It’ll be fine. But when this question is raised, is the church of Christ a cult? Like in so many discussions about religious things, that there is often a communication barrier. When a set of words is used, sometimes even a single word is used in scriptural conversation about what God has said, there is often a communication barrier. The person who uses a word thinks something, you intend something else, they see the word as having a certain definition or connotation, and you see it differently. That’s what often happens with this objection.

There is a language barrier.

With all others who have Church of Christ written on the side. In fact, we have no organizational link with any other church, not in Texas, not in the United States, not in the world, that affects what we can teach or do here. We decide that on our own. There is no outside influence affecting our beliefs and our practice right here. What is the Decker Prairie Church going to do? How are we going to practice organized religion? It is going to be decided by the people who are numbered in this body of believers and nowhere else. And so when people even ask this question, they’re thinking often in terms of I’ve seen a lot of churches of Christ or church of Christ, and so they’re all somehow linked together.

And there is some similarity of belief in many of the groups that worship behind that name, Church of Christ.

Everything’s the same.

Just from a non-denominational perspective, or from the standpoint of the fact that the church, the church, the people of God on this earth, that church is of Christ. The church that belongs to Christ. Okay, so even if you think it’s a cult, even if it is a cult by definition, and we’re going to look at that, we’re talking about the real church that belongs to Jesus, who is in heaven as King and Lord. And so, please understand that get out of the label concept here and understand that we’re talking about the church that belongs to Jesus. Now, when somebody asked the question, they just may be thinking about this group versus that group versus that group that wears the name. Okay, so what about, let’s get to the cult part.

So, however you’re looking at that, denominationally or as you should look at it, the church that belongs to Jesus, what does that mean? Cult. And this sermon actually started a few weeks ago in a conversation I was having with Owen, where Owen gave me his definition of a cult. And so Owen has always wanted to see his name and lights.

Here’s your moment to shine. His three seconds of fame among this massive audience. Owen, and I had to ask him twice about this because I forgot what he initially said. I want to give him props. You wouldn’t get this from someone his age very often. Proclaims allegiance to a higher power that involves an initiation ritual. I’m not exactly sure where he found that. But it does sort of sound like what you’re thinking about when you think of the word cult, doesn’t it? I mean, allegiance to think of cult, we think of religious, we think of people trying to serve God in their way. So proclaims allegiance to a higher power that involves something that places them in the group. Cult is a group. And so you get in the group by whatever the initial initiation ritual is, you do that, you’re in the group.

Not sure that’s a complete definition. But if you just look at it at face value, although I don’t want to look at obedience to the gospel as necessarily an initiation ritual. I’m not sure about those two words. There is an initiation or beginning, but it’s not just a ritual. It’s not just an action or form. It is the submitting of your life to God and an appeal to God to save you more on that in a minute. So I went a little bit further than Owen’s definition, though I’m very proud of him. And don’t want to belittle anything he has said. And after all, he got his name on the slide and you didn’t. The free dictionary expands further, Owen’s thought. A religion or religious sect, generally considered to be extremist or false.

Now, we’re not norm of religious belief. And we have some stricter standards of what we think God expects of morality and holiness. And so, is it extremist? Okay, I’m not I’m not really concerned about that word as much as I am the second word. Because I don’t believe that what you’ll hear from this place, this pulpit is false. God help us not to say anything that’s false. With its followers often living in an unconventional manner. Again, compared to what I see out there in the world, I hope you’re living in an unconventional manner. A little different from the norm, I hope. Under the guidance of an authoritarian. This is where we don’t think of me. We think of one of our elders. Pick your elder.

These authoritarians who rule us. Some elders act like authoritarians. Thank the Lord ours don’t. Okay, but we sort of get the idea. We’re thinking you’re thinking Jim Jones, right? You’re thinking Waco. Okay, so you’re David Caresh. You’re thinking a guy like that who’s in control of this group and something disastrous happens, they drink Kool-Aid or there’s a big firebomb war or something that happens that ends the cult or it comes to not. Charismatic leader. Okay, you can’t get people to sign on to something if there is not someone who’s drawing them in. A charismatic leader. That’s why you know we’re not a cult. Because you’re already thinking we don’t have one of those. Tony, seriously? A charismatic leader? We’re good. We’re not a cult. Is the Church of Christ a cult?

1. A Negatively Charged Word

A few observations will be done. Number one, why do you hear this so much? I think you hear it so much because the intention, and I don’t know everybody’s motive, but the intention oftentimes is to use this negatively charged word. I mean, how many times do you hear the word cult and your mind goes to, oh, that’s a good thing. We run from cults. We’ve learned in our culture, cults are bad. Only bad things happen in cults. And so if you can just throw that out there and convince somebody that these people meeting in this building are a cult, well, run for the hills. It’s a negatively charged word. To disparage whatever it is that we represent in our viewpoint in our view of God’s word.

Belittling something does not disprove its validity. As we said in our high school class, that’s just that’s just subjectivity. That’s not objectivity. Belittling something doesn’t take away its potential validity. And let’s get back to the question. Is the church of Christ a cult? If you can somehow slap it under the parameters of that term, okay.

2. Labeling Something Proves Little

Okay. And to be sure, cults exist that impose tactics that are not God honoring, that are wrongfully controlling and destructive. They claim to be about truth, but they are not. We must strive not to be that. We are not controlling here. More on that. I’m gonna come back to that a minute. I have a friend when I first started preaching in Indianapolis in 1984. He and his wife were my best friends. Another young single friend of mine named Morgan Tharp, still lives in the Indianapolis area, married a Texas girl. Morgan and I, all I can remember is we were at their house all the time. We played canasta. I don’t know what all we played. We played every card game imagine. We stayed up to all hours of the night.

They had little kids, it didn’t matter. They stayed up to all hours of the night with us. I so loved them. He was the real leader of our church. He was such a talented smart, godly.

Never would have dreamed this. That led him and several others into a group that the Indianapolis police labeled a cult. I’ve had a lot of interaction about their belief through the years. A lot early on. I talked to him just a few years ago. And it breaks my heart. He had, she had so much potential. But they were led away from the simplicity and truth of the gospel. So cults do exist. And God doesn’t approve of some of those tactics. Labeling something proves little. Let’s study the source together. From our reading this week, Proverbs chapter 1, Proverbs chapter 1, verses 29 through 33. Because they hated knowledge. Are you with me, Proverbs 129? Because they hated knowledge. You probably have this memorized by now because everybody’s doing the daily Bible reading.

Daily, at least several times in the week. Is everybody doing the daily Bible reading? Did I say I was going to emphasize that and we were going to get 100% involvement in the daily Bible reading? It’s just what, 30 or 40 verses. At least you could do it once a week. If you’ve not, catch up. Let’s get started. I’m not going to let this go. I will not let it go. Proverbs 1. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel. They spurned all my reproof. Now, this is wisdom talking. And of course, wisdom emanates from God, but this is wisdom that’s talking. Okay, you say, okay, the church of Christ is a cult. Whatever message is coming from Willie Wonka’s mouth.

I’m rejecting it because they’re a cult. But what if it’s truth? They would not accept my counsel. They spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satisfied with their own devices. You know what? This is why you need to do the daily Bible reading. I’ve never really noticed that verse before. Do you see what that’s saying? How powerful is that? You say, I don’t want God’s way. I don’t want wisdom. Okay. You’ll eat the fruit of your own way, and you’ll be satisfied with your own devices. For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them. And the complacency of fools shall destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and shall be at ease from the dread of evil.

I hope, I pray that when you listen to me, that I am presenting God’s wisdom, and that if you eat of it, you will escape the dread of evil. Learning God’s way, learning God’s way takes time, the right heart, prayer, and patience. Much patience. We must drink of the wisdom of God and drink it and drink it and drink it until it becomes our spiritual DNA. In all of your getting, he will go on to say, and we are soon to read. In all of your getting, get wisdom. Buy the truth and do not sell it. In all of your getting, get wisdom. Whatever it is that you’re acquiring in life, you better make sure wisdom is at the top of the list. God’s wisdom. And all along the way, you must come to the table with submission.

Don’t be content with your own way. 131 speaks to me. It’s the overriding problem in religion in our time. You know there’s a song that haunts me. Does it haunt you? I surrender all. You thought I was going to say you never mentioned him to me. Because that’s the one people often talk about. I surrender all. You know when I sing that I struggle. But I believe it’s more about the ideal that we are to pursue. All of our strength. Love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength. It’s the path that we talked about last week. All we advocate here is you. Okay, cult, whatever. All we advocate, you know, we’re not going to be handing out Kool-Aid here.

We drank the grape juice and we’re all fine. This is the Lord’s Supper. This is the fruit of the vine. We’re not going to hand out Kool-Aid. We’re not going to coerce you against your will.

When somebody says, you’re part of a cult. If you say what they’re peddling, I don’t want. The message he’s delivering, I’m not living it. I’m out of here. I hate it.

Makes me sad. But we’re going to let you go. There’s biblical precedent for that. Jesus says, My flesh is true food. My blood is true drink. If you do not eat my flesh and blood, you do not have life in yourselves. My words. My words are spirit and they are life. The flesh profits nothing. And many withdrew and would not follow him anymore. And he turned, he looked at his disciples, his closest followers. You know what he asked? Will you also go away? Peter knew where wisdom came from. To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Those were hard words that Jesus spoke. And he did it because people were coming to him for the wrong reasons. But he said, if you’re going to sign on to me and my discipleship, you need to understand what I am going to expect of you.

And as we shall say in a moment, the expectations that Jesus had there have not changed for us. And it’s challenging. I get it. And if you don’t want to sign on to it, we will not force you. We will not tell you whom you can and cannot associate. I will warn you what associates can do. But I will not tell you who your friends can be. I will not tell you don’t talk to your parents. I won’t even tell you not to go talk to the false preacher that so often people go to when you start studying truth with them. But I will tell you, be careful what you’re hearing from him. More on that tonight. Listening effectively. John said it in Revelation. Let him who is righteous be righteous still.

Let him who is filthy be filthy still. Now, obviously, when Jesus says that, John’s quoting Jesus. Obviously, when Jesus said those words.

3. You Need Inclusion in the Body of Christ

That doesn’t sound like the New Testament. But it’s just like John 6 when he was on the earth. What he’s saying is, if you’re of the mindset that you are going to go that way, then go. If you are going to be numbered with those who think Noah is a dummy, then perish in the flood. That’s your choice. God doesn’t want that. He’s wooing you to him, he’s offering you everything. But if you don’t want it, then go. Just go. The Spirit and the bride say, come. Come. Take the water of life without cost. Call it what you want. Labeling something. Even a good label. Church of Christ. We belong to Christ. It doesn’t necessarily prove anything. Point number three. You need inclusion in the body of Christ, period.

Okay, Church of Christ, people are thinking denominationally. I’m thinking the people who belong to Christ, his body, the body of which he is the head, he dictates what happens within the body, and we must let him do that submission. Here’s the point. You need to be in that body. If it’s not us, wherever it is, whoever it is, whoever is teaching it, you need to be in it. Because you won’t go to heaven without it. If there is sin on your account. You’ve got to get in this relationship. And if you speak as God speaks, then you can have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 15. Think outside of boundaries of names and buildings to those whom the Lord looks down from heaven and says, That’s my person.

Those are my people. The Lord, he looks to and fro throughout the earth, not just America, throughout the earth, to strongly support those who are completely his. That’s what I teach. Are you his or not? Are you walking in his wisdom or not? Do you have the mind of Christ or not? What’s cool about that verse is that it’s not in a really favorable context. A really great king who had done some really great things with a lot of faith is now on a very poor path. King Asa. And he’s being told by Hanani the Seer, you got to get this right, buddy. Your heart’s not what it was. The Lord has a church, an ecclesia, that’s the Greek word for church in the New Testament.

It just means assembly. A group of called out ones, and he has either placed you in the group or he has not. I don’t determine it. He does. That’s what Acts 2 47. The Lord added to the church daily those who are being saved. My determination about your inclusion only makes any contribution to the hill of beans if it matches God’s conclusion about you. That’s the only time my determinations mean anything. One question really matters. Are we advancing the message? His message, and practicing the things that make us truly the Lord’s people, with Jesus as our Lord and King and ruler, anyone can make the claim. We’re the body of Christ, we’re the church. And you know, even if they’re right, even if they have been right about that, it doesn’t mean necessarily that they’re acting acceptably today.

That’s Revelation 2 and 3, where Jesus says, if you don’t repent and straighten up, I’m going to take my candlestick away. I’m going to spew you out of my mouth. It’s not a one-time decision. It’s more.

4. The Faith and Actions That Produce Christians

The faith and actions. And the reason why I did it that way is because all the actions that matter in the initiation, not the ritual, in the initiation. All the fact, all the actions that matter in coming into Christ in a right relationship with God and the Son, are all fueled by faith. For by grace have you been saved through faith. Faith is all over it. Its fingerprints have to be all over it. I believe that this is what my God wants me to do, and when I do that by faith, I’m going to be saved. I’m going to be on the right path. The faith and actions that produce Christians in the first century produces Christians in the 21st century. Whatever they were doing in the book of Acts to become Christians.

If we’re not doing the same thing, then I don’t know what we are, but we’re not Christians. And there’s so many passages I could choose. I just chose 1 Peter 3 21 because of the context. It’s not just about one verse teaching the kids that baptism doth also now save us, not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer or the appeal to God for a clean conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I could look at a lot of other passages. Baptism doth also now save us. And in our baptism, which I would tell you because of so many other passages that we don’t have time this morning to go into all of them. I do it at other times. Baptism is the culminating step.

It is the step of faith that we make an appeal to God based on our repentance, that we are turning to the Lord. We are embracing your will from henceforth. I’m going to embrace your will. Baptism saves us. Not because of an act or a ritual, but because of what I believe about this act. That this is what God wants. I’m being buried with Christ. By the way, there’s water back here if you wonder what I’m doing. There’s a lot of water. We could immerse you. That’s real baptism in the New Testament. Baptism now saves you, not the removal of the filth of the flesh. You know, this water isn’t clean enough to do that. This is more like the Jordan River here. No, it’s pretty clean.

It’s probably cleaner than the Jordan. But it’s not about that. It’s not about getting your skin clean. It’s about getting your inside clean. It’s an appeal to God. When I’m being baptized, I’m not just complying with the command. I’m saying, God save me by the blood of Jesus Christ. I come to you broken and unworthy. Save me. Oh, God, thank you.

5. The Greatest Responsibility Is Living as Christ

And if that’s not the case, then what is the Bible? Last point. The greatest responsibility is living as Christ. I can’t answer for everyone who worships behind a label. That’s thankfully God didn’t say, hey, Tony, I want you to fix the religious world. What others choose to do is largely beyond my control. Not totally. I can influence some people. I’m in contact with a lot of people, a lot of places. Not many really, in terms of how many people there are in the world. What others choose to do is largely beyond my control. I will try to reach as many as I can. But my task in this place, among you, my brethren, in my community, in my life, my task is large enough. I can’t fix all the problems in the religious world, or the fact that there are real cults that are dangerous.

But I have a job to do that is really tall. And sets before me as a mountain, as Paul said, Paul, it amazes me that he so mastered this. I have been crucified with Christ. Not just when I came to him broken and said, I’m done with that old way of life. He said, I have been crucified with Christ. I don’t live anymore. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about what I want. The passions I want to follow. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. That’s actually a figure of speech. He’s still alive. It is no longer I who live. But Christ lives in me. I have let Christ take control. And I gotta tell you, I’m stubborn. You knew that.

Sometimes we’re stubborn about that. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no, this is like I surrender all. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Those are our marching orders. That’s every day. That’s not Sunday and Wednesday. That’s every day. You’ll have to buck up against it. What you want to do, how you want to think, what you want to pursue, you’ll buck up against it every day of your life. A friend told me this yesterday. God wants us, and there’s a host of reasons why he wants us to glorify him, but this is a good one. God wants us to glorify him to tell everyone how wonderful he is so that he can work in their lives too.

You can hate everything about me, my Willie Walker outfit. I’m not over that. You can hate everything about me, everything about this church, everything about how we do our faith. But what matters? Are we glorifying God? Are we striving to be his people? Arriving in Christ involves some first steps and challenges. Saying goodbye to an old way of life and adopting his way fully. I’m going to tell you, when you come to Christ and you repent and you say, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I told you about my friend Charlie Taylor. I text his son every week, Mickey. Mickey actually introduced him to the Lord. I told you about Charlie coming down the aisle. I was preaching in Beaumont in the late 80s.

And before, you know, we take the confession on the front row or right before we head into here. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? And I wish people would say, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but so often say, I do. You know, nervous in front of a crowd. But yeah, they’re confessing. But that day, no. Charlie. He’s four pews from the front, and I’m walking toward him. And he says, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and he died for my sins. Charlie still serves the Lord in Austin, Texas. Repentance, confession. Lord, I’m taking you on. Your way. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ.

But when you do that’s great. That’s wonderful. Praise the Lord. When somebody is baptized into Christ, let’s just all start saying, praise the Lord, because it’s about him. What he’s done that we could not do for ourselves. Get out of our scared boxes. Let’s praise the Lord. Let’s let people know how happy we are. And that it’s about God, not us. But may He use us as treasure and earthen vessels. Growing in Christ involves a committed pursuit of that for the rest of your days. Ups and downs, good days and bad, awful failures. Growing in Christ, that’s why we’re taking the Lord’s Supper to remind us of what we need to be. Growing in Christ involves a committed pursuit of that for the rest of your days.

Conclusion

But know this. There’s going to be obstacles, challenges, pain. With all of its attending blessings and glory. Please focus on that. This is the way to live. This is wisdom. Wisdom always leads you to the right place. Ultimately, you will never regret it. With all of its attending blessings. How many blessings? So many that they overflow. You can’t put a number on it. It’s greater than you can even perceive when you’re getting them. With all of its attending blessings and glory that’s at the end of the way. Keep going. Never stop. May God help you. May God help us all to make the supreme choice in life. There is no choice greater. Let’s stand and sing.