Giving a Piece of My Mind on Restorative "Christianity" Cults
I listened to the lecture on the "The Rise of Cults in America" by W. Robert Godfrey and I'm urged to write this new post. There's the rising trend that has a so-called prophet that says he (or in some cases she) has come to restore the "true church" to its original roots, that they had a revelation from God that the Church had apostasized and it must be restored. But there's one huge problem with that claim. That claim makes God a liar. I would rather trust the words of Jesus or the apostles in the Bible than any religious lunatic because this is what Jesus guaranteed:
Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
1 Corinthians 10:4
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Jesus Himself said that He'd built His Church upon the Solid Rock. Peter could trust Jesus 100% on the matter that the Church would be built on the Solid Rock that the gates of Hell can't prevail against it. In short, the Church itself does not and will not apostasize. There may be apostates but they weren't truly part of the Church. Here's what the Bible says about apostates:
1 John 2:19
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
There will be apostate members. You have false converts left and right. These apostates weren't truly members of the Church. They professed faith for some time but were inevitably shown to be nothing but stand-ins when persecution and trials arrive. Though not all Christians will immediately be bold but they remain in the faith. But these people just left proving that they had no real root. But the Church still remains firm and stable. True members of the Church will always be secure. That's the power of the Holy Spirit granting them the perseverance of the saints.
The problem of restorative "Christianity" is that it makes God a liar. If Jesus promised that His Church can't be destroyed by the gates of Hell then He means it. Jesus being the Solid Rock foundation means that the Church cannot apostasize. The so-called last messenger claims extrabiblical revelations that contradict the Scriptures themselves.
The problem of restorative "Christianity" is that it makes God a liar. If Jesus promised that His Church can't be destroyed by the gates of Hell then He means it. Jesus being the Solid Rock foundation means that the Church cannot apostasize. The so-called last messenger claims extrabiblical revelations that contradict the Scriptures themselves.
Many of these messages of the so-called last messengers have a serious attack on the following areas just to name some (not all) areas that are perverted by these cultists:
- The doctrine of the Godhead or Trinity
- The Deity of Christ
- The doctrine of salvation by grace through faith
- Sola Scriptura or the inerrancy of Scripture
- The purpose of good works in the Christian life
- The fact that nobody knows the date or hour Jesus will return
- The reality of a burning Hell
Just because many of them are anti-Catholic doesn't make them right. Many of them claim that it wasn't until a certain period of time that those doctrines were taught. Many times, the Scripture is taken straight out of its context to substantiate their claims. One good example is how the Iglesia Ni Cristo movement have taken these verses out of context:
Isaiah 24:15- "Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea."
Isaiah 43:5- "Fear not: for I Am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;"
The problem is that these are taken out of context. If we're to take them into context, we will realize that Isaiah 24 talks about worldwide devastation. Also, Isaiah 43:5 is not referring to the Philippines but to Israel as it says:
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.
The problem is that most people are Scripturally ignorant so they are so easily deceived by these cults that take Scriptures out of context. The worse problem is that even after the verses are read to them in context they still refuse to believe. It reminded me after how I pointed out how Peter couldn't be the Rock but the Catholic apologist still refused to believe that Peter isn't the first Pope. He still insisted that the Popes are the successors of Peter. The same goes for various cultists who are deceived by the successors of their so-called last messenger.
What's worse is that many of these restorative "Christian" cults have actually put their councils above them. It's indeed hypocritical for these anti-Catholic cults to call the Pope as the Antichrist but they themselves are antichrists. This is one of the warnings about the last days:
1 John 2:18
Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
The verse is frequently misquoted to justify the idea that the Antichrist is not one person but a dynasty even when the verse shows that Antichrist is just one person. There are indeed many antichrists and not just the succession of Popes. These so-called last messengers have even claimed their divinity (but their bodies are still in the grave and their souls in Hell) like claiming themselves to be the Good Shepherd when Jesus is the Good Shepherd. They even have cases of the Deity of Christ downplayed and the pseudo-deity of its founder uplifted.
There was also a time I thought Mormonism was a Christian denomination until I started reading more about their secret teachings. I couldn't forget how there are several doctrines that the Book of Mormon can't match with the Scriptures. What also surprised me was that they have several bizarre teachings that aren't so public today like the idea that Jesus is supposedly Lucifer's brother or that God the Father wasn't always a god or that God the Father had sexual intercourse with the virgin Mary to provide Jesus a body. This is denied by Mormons but these so-called revelations don't fit with Scriptures.
What does the Bible say about extrabiblical revelations? Here's what it says:
2 Corinthians 11:4
For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Galatians 1:8
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.
1 John 4:4
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
They can go ahead and deceive many people but the numbers don't even matter. The truth of the matter can be found in Matthew 7:13-14 which says:
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.
The big warning of Jesus is that don't go there just because there are many people joining it. Their numbers can't change the truth. I don't care if there are over 5 billion Roman Catholics worldwide but they're nothing but a group of deceived people. These groups reject Sola Scriptura because if and if they have the Bible alone as their source of authority then their foundations will be shaken. Besides, they can't even provide any real verse in context to prove that the Church supposedly apostasized and that they've come to "restore it'. That's because you put verses in context they're proven to be wrong.