We can begin in Matthew chapter 7 with our verses where Jesus talks about what we're talking about, talking about false prophets. Of course, cults are false prophets. The Lord mentions here in Matthew 7 verse number 15, And we are to beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by their fruits. So do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them." I'll read that far just to get your idea of the Lord's warning there. He was warning not only the group that he was talking to here in the Sermon on the Mount, but he was also warning us. And he's warning that cultists will look, act, and sound like Christians sometimes. However, that's only an external appearance. And we know that one can parade as a true believer for a time, but eventually their words, actions, and their beliefs, their fruit, will give one away as counterfeit. Now, we dealt with The first, we dealt with the introduction there. This whole thing's an introduction of what we're gonna be doing. We'll have two weeks that we look at the actual twisting methods of the cults. There's 20 of them. And that will begin, Lord willing, next week. But we only got through the doctrinal character of the cults last week, and how to know if a religious group is a cult from their doctrine. Well, it's going to go as opposed to what the Bible actually teaches. We talked about several different areas there. I'm not going to take time to go through those again. But usually they have a false view of Jesus, false view of God, they don't believe in the Trinity, false view on salvation, and they deny the sole authority of the Bible. So that's quick and dirty on that doctrinal character of the cults. Now tonight we want to pick up with Roman number two there on your outline of the sociological structure of the cults. And I want you to understand as we go through this sociological structure that some of these things show up in Some churches that maybe most of their doctrine seems to be correct. I'm talking about you'll find some churches that on the surface you think that they're okay, but where they're lacking is what we're talking in tonight. Because not only do cults deviate doctrinally from biblical Christianity, they have distinctive sociological characteristics. And you can find these in some churches that are in our camp. I'm talking about Independent Fundamental, the Independent Fundamental Baptists. They may have the right name on them, but they are guilty of some of these things, and they ought to be called out on it. They just really ought to. First is authoritarianism. I'll get it out. Authoritarianism. The leader or organization exercises complete control over a follower's life. The words of the leadership are ultimate and often considered divinely inspired. Going against leadership is equivalent to going against the commands of God. And some otherwise good churches can take and trample on some of these areas and it's not a good thing. It is not a good thing, and we have to be on guard. An elitist mentality. Most cults believe that they are the true church and the only ones who will be saved, and this is because the group believes they have new revelation or understanding that gives them superior standing. Isolationism, and this is one where you'll see some that maybe they appear to be good on the surface, but then when somebody gives them a problem, they begin to exhibit some of these characteristics. Isolationism. Due to their elitist mentality, cultists believe those who do not agree with them are deceived and under the influence of Satan. And so, therefore, many feel their members must be protected from the outside world. from physical or psychological barriers are created. Members are prohibited from communicating with those outside the organization who do not agree with the teachings of the group. There are some churches very nearby that have that kind of mentality. Closed mindedness and the discouragement of individual thinking, and this is a big one, I mean, anybody says, well, you just need to take my word for it. Uh-uh. You need to study it out for yourself. Somebody tries to close your mind, because of its authoritarian nature, leaders are the only ones thought to be able to properly interpret the Bible in some of these churches. And they're not. You don't need me to interpret the Bible for you. You can interpret the Bible. You've got the Holy Spirit. You can study. Anybody tells you that you need them, and them alone, run as hard as you can away from there. They have where all members turn to their Organization for Biblical Interpretation and Advice on Life Decisions. Therefore, individual thinking and questioning is discouraged. There is unwillingness to dialogue and consider other viewpoints. That's a key flag when somebody discourages you from studying on your own and won't talk to you about what you have found from the scripture. A lot of these have a legalistic lifestyle as well. As mentioned earlier, salvation in some of these is not based on grace. Cults teach a works-oriented gospel, and this leads to a lifestyle of legalism. Followers must live up to the group's standards in order to attain or maintain their membership and hope for eternal life. Followers are required to faithfully serve and attend meetings, studies, and services. As a result, there is tremendous pressure to live up to the requirements of the organization. And then, difficult exit process. Since salvation is found in the organization a lot of times in these cults, leaving the organization is considered by many. to be leaving God, and all former members who leave cults are shunned by members, which often includes members of their own family. When you see that happen in a church, that's some cultic tendency. I don't care what they believe. You need to get away from that. That's a cultic tendency. Many are warned that if they leave, they will be condemned to hell or seduced by Satan. Many ex-members are harassed by the organization even after they leave. Exiting members often end up distrusting any religious organization and end up feeling isolated and alone. Now we know that life in the cults is marked normally by fear. Fear of judgment, pressure, and legalism. That's a far cry from what we're taught in the Bible. Jesus and the apostles taught that the new life in Christ is one of grace, one of love, and want a freedom from the law. We're not given the spirit of fear. You can write this down. This didn't make it to your handout there. 2 Timothy 1.7. 2 Timothy 1.7, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Amen. So, if fear is involved, it ain't of God. I guess it's not of Him. And Matthew 11.28, Jesus said, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Now the peace and rest promised by Christ is seldom experienced by those in the cults. So we see the sociological structure of the cults. And then we're going to be dealing with methodology of the cults in the next couple of weeks. One of the reasons cults have grown is their methodology. The methods cults use to win converts are threefold. Moral deception, aggressive proselytizing, and scripture twisting. Moral deception. Cults use Christian terminology to deceive. You may be talking to somebody about being born again, but if you're talking to a New Ager, they use that term to support reincarnation. You know, reincarnation is not biblical. Being born again is, born again of the Spirit of God. Mormons use terms like the Trinity and salvation by grace, but these terms have different meanings than what the Bible teaches, and therefore many untrained believers are deceived into believing that these groups were actually Christian. Just because someone uses Good sounding words doesn't mean that they believe right. Aggressive proselytizing. Although many Christian groups use aggressive evangelism, they do so out of love for God and a desire to see others come to know Christ. Many cultists proselytize for much the same reasons, but added to this is the desire to win God's approval. They work for grace rather than work from grace. The cults require their members to evangelize, and many groups hold their members accountable for the number of hours they spend witnessing for their organization. And many members feel guilty if a day goes by without them trying to proselytize somebody. But then the main thing that we're going to be taking a look at in the next couple of weeks is the scripture twisting. And I want you to turn to 2 Peter chapter number 3. 2 Peter chapter number 3, and let's look at here something that Peter wrote in his last epistle to believers. 2 Peter 3, and I've just got verse 16 written down there, but we're going to look at verse 16 through the end of the chapter here, okay? In verse number 16, He's talking about Paul here, so as also in all his epistles, all in Paul's epistles, speaking in them of these things in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable rest. That W-R-E-S-T is very different than R-E-S-T. Just talking about twisting. As they do also the other scriptures unto their own destruction. Notice verse 17, Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware, lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory, both now and forever. Amen. One of the big things we talked about last week is the importance of studying the Bible. Get in the book. How do you guard yourself against error? How do you guard yourself against cultists and false prophets? Well, you've got to know the book. You'll know when they begin to twist the scriptures. Look at Psalm 56. It was written by David. David was in the midst of the Philistines. The Philistines took him to Gath. It was written during that time of his life. Let's begin reading verse number Verse number three, he said, What time I am afraid I will trust in thee. Talking to God. In God I will praise his word. In God I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Every day they rest my words. In other words, the things that he was speaking of, they were trying to twist his words. All their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather themselves together. They hide themselves. They mark my steps when they wait for my soul. Shall they escape by iniquity and not anger and cast down the people of God? Thou tellest my wanderings. Put thou my tears into thy bottle. Are they not in thy book? When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back. This I know, for God is for me. You ought to underline that in your scripture. God is for me. Never forget that God's for you, okay? And God, he says, I will praise his word, and the Lord will I praise his word, and God have I put my trust. I will not be afraid what man can do unto me." Just a couple of scriptures there. And like I said, next week, Lord willing, we'll begin to look at 20 scripture-twisting methods that the cults use. We've touched on some of those, but we'll take a look at them in detail next week, Lord willing. So the next thing we want to look at here, and we'll get through this rather quickly here, the danger of the cults. The rise of the cults pose a serious challenge to the church because they present several dangers to the church and families involved. That's why a lot of times you will see me, you know, I'm very cautious about when new folks come in. I'm observing a lot. And he said, well, why in the world would you do that? Because of some things that have happened in the past. People try to come in and get a foot in the door, try to move things over their way. Recently, I guess the last couple of years, I guess it's not as recent as I'm thinking right now, but we had a couple of families that were starting to come. I found out through searching online that they were part of the movement Steadfast Baptist, which is Steve Anderson. He claims to be an independent fundamental Bible-believing Baptist, but he's far from it. He is a cultist to the nth degree. He appeals to young couples with children and tries to get them to come in and get a foothold in churches and began to change and switch doctrine. I wasn't having it. I just wasn't having it when I found out where they were from. But if you wonder why sometimes some people come and they'll visit for a while and then you don't see them anymore, a lot of times I am preaching in the area where I know that they're at. Preaching will do one of two things for you. It'll either draw you to the Lord or it'll drive you. Draw you or drive you. Look at 1 Timothy chapter number 4. 1 Timothy chapter number 4. There's some spiritual danger. Paul talked to Timothy about this in the first epistle that he wrote to him here. He says in verse number one, 1 Timothy 4.1, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. That's some pretty tough stuff. And it was in the latter times. In other words, the times that we're living in. That's when that was going to take place. Of course, Paul warned the Galatian church In Galatians 1.8 it says, But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Paul warned them about being drawn away into the wrong beliefs. Ultimately, the spirit behind all lies and deception we know is the devil. And so the ultimate force behind the cults is the evil one. And the false gospel of the cults cannot lead anyone to salvation. There are eternal consequences for false beliefs. And for this reason, Jesus and the apostles are very harsh on false teachers. If you don't think that that's the case, you haven't been studying your Bible. If you go in there and you look at the Bible, you'll understand just how hard that Jesus was on, and the apostles both, were on false teachers. Then we see the psychological danger. The mind-controlling techniques used by the organizations can cause immense damage mentally and emotionally. Living under the pressure, guilt, and dependence on the organization has proven to have tremendous negative effects on individuals. I had a guy in Second Church. I pastored up in Greenbrier, Tennessee. He's gone home to be with the Lord now, but he got sucked into a cult. They were called The Way. He wound up killing himself in the end, but it was a psychological deal that they had pulled him in with. It's a danger. There's a domestic danger. Individuals are taught that loyalty to the organization is equivalent to allegiance with God. Therefore, loyalty to the organization supersedes loyalty to a family. Thus, if a family member begins conducting himself in a way the organization does not approve of, the cult will often separate the family from the individual. Isolation can be emotional or physical. Numerous families have been separated as a result, and I'm seeing that in the life of one man that I know right now. He's not a member of our church, but there's one man that I know who is in one of these so-called cult-like churches, and they've driven a wedge between him and his wife. Then physical danger. Teachings, if you don't know about, I think most of us are old enough to know these, the teachings of David Koresh. Remember the Branch Davidians? His teachings cost them their lives. Teachings of Jim Jones cost his followers their lives and gave us the don't drink the Kool-Aid. That's the way it was referred to because that's how he got them poisoned was through encouraging them to drink the Kool-Aid that he had made. Cult leader Hobart Freeman with Faith Assembly taught that believers did not need medicine for illnesses and told his followers to throw all theirs away. As a result, he and 52 of his members died from curable conditions. Many other instances that could be cited, but in light of this threat, what are Christians called to do? We're called to study and know the Word of God. And I trust you'll take the time to look at those two passages there, 2 Timothy 2.15 and 3.15. One of those studies show thyself to prove unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The other one was where Paul encouraged Timothy to, in what he had learned coming up, the scriptures, the scriptures he had learned. So Christians should master the Bible so they will not be deceived by any false teaching. And we should confront and refute false teachers and false teaching. And you'll find Paul encouraging Titus to do such a thing there in Titus 3 verses 10 and 11. Then leaders of the church must protect their flock from false teachers that will prey upon the sheep. As Paul was leaving the church at Ephesus, he talked to the elders and told them as much in Acts 20, verse 28 through 32, talked about that there would be some that would come from outside the flock and prey upon the sheep, but there would also be some of them. that would move away from the faith and cause a problem there. Take time to read Acts 20, verses 28-32. Every Christian is called to know the truth so well that they can confront false teaching and protect their church family the church and their family from it. 1 Peter 3.15, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that lies in you with meekness and fear. Know what you believe. Know why you believe it. And the why you believe it is what does say the Lord. Amen. That's the only thing that your beliefs should be based upon is what the Word of God says. It's the final authority. All right, it's time to pray. That's our Bible study for this evening. I know we kind of went through that last part there a little fast, but you've got the notes there. Look up those verses that we didn't turn to. Let me encourage you to do that. Let's pray. Pull back out your prayer list. We'll pray for the needs, and we'll be dismissed with this prayer.