Christianity

1. Christianity Cults & Religions

2. Ultimate Truth

3. Section 1Definitions, Discernment, and Defending the Faith • Matthew 28:19 • Jude 3-4 • Matthew 7; 24:4-5, 11, 24 • Acts 20:28-31a • 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 • Galatians 1:6, 9 • Jude 3-4 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. (4) For certain People have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ

4. Jude 3-4 • There is one faith • The faith is unchanging • Contend, or fight, for the Faith • People are out to mislead from the Gospel

5. What is a religion? A set of beliefs that answer 5 ultimate questions. • What is ultimate reality? • What is the nature of the world? • What is the nature of humanity? • What is humanity’s primary problem? • What happens to us after death?

6. What is a Cult? • An ideological organization with charismatic relationships that require total commitment. • Political cults; Ideological groups; commercial cults • A religious group originating as a heretical sect. • What is a Heresy? • A differing from basic Christian doctrine that require true Christians to separate from it. • Most cults use the same words but redefine them.

7. 6 Categories of false teaching • Revelation • God • Jesus Christ • Salvation • The Church • The Future

8. Revelation? • Reveled Specially to John Smith (Mormonism) • Only the “anointed class” can interpret the Bible (J.W.) • Discovered under a tree after years of meditation on wealth and poverty (Buddhism) • Revealed by an Angle while fasting in a cave (Islam) • God has revealed himself to us in the form of the OT and the NT

9. Who is God? • God was a human who progressed to Godhood-Many Gods (Mormonism) • God is the unknowable Allah (Islam) • Every human being is God (New Age) • God is an unnecessary concept (Buddhism) • There is no Trinity (J.W.) • 33,000,000 gods (Hinduism) • There is one triune God; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

10. Who is Jesus? • A guru and ascended master (New Age) • Michael the archangel (J.W.) • Lucifer’s brother (Mormonism) • One of Allah’s honored prophets (Islam) • The son of God who died on the cross as a sacrifice to pay atonement for the sins of the world.

11. How are we Saved? • By reaching a state of non-existence (Buddhism) • Entering eternal life requires secret temple rituals (Mormonism) • By being absorbed into Brahman (Hinduism) • You must be a faithful member of the Watch Tower organization (J.W.) • No security of salvation (Islam) • By Faith through grace in the atoning sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

12. The Church? • All other churches are wrong (Mormonism) • No churches; its all about your journey (New Age) • Must be in a specific buildings (J.W.) • The Church is the collection of believers everywhere in all times.

13. The Future? • Jesus has already invisibly returned (J.W.) • No return (New Age) • Jesus is coming back (Islam) • Christ is to return to judge the world.

14. Important things to remember Not only are cults members oddities and weirdoes • Prov 27:7; 14:12 • Eph 4:14 “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” - Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) • Prov. 27:7 One who is full loathes honey, but one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.

15. Our Response How are we as Christians to respond? • Be in constant study of the Word – Heb 5:14 • Test everything, See how it looks in comparison the Scripture – I Thes5:21-22; 1 John 4:1; Acts 17:11 • Approach those who teach falsely with love and gentleness in hope that God may grant them repentance – II Tim 2:25

16. Quick Review

17. According to the session, what is heresy? • Teachings found in Christian creeds. • Teachings that oppose the essentials of the Christian faith. • Any teaching not contained in a church’s statement of faith. • Anything I disagree with.

18. According to the session, what is heresy? • Teachings found in Christian creeds. • Teachings that oppose the essentials of the Christian faith. • Any teaching not contained in a church’s statement of faith. • Anything I disagree with.

19. True or False? The People who join cults are usually social misfits with little education and have difficulty holding a job?

20. True or False? The People who join cults are usually social misfits with little education and have difficulty holding a job? FALSE (This is a myth. Many people in cults are successful, intelligent, and talented.)

21. According to this session, what draws people into cults? • Looking for solace during an emotionally vulnerable time in life. • The “love “ they feel from cult leaders. • The false promises that cult leaders make. • (a) and (b) • All of the above

22. According to this session, what draws people into cults? • Looking for solace during an emotionally vulnerable time in life. • The “love “ they feel from cult leaders. • The false promises that cult leaders make. • (a) and (b) • All of the above

23. True or False? Cults often use Christian vocabulary, but redefine the terms to mean something very different.

24. True or False? Cults often use Christian vocabulary, but redefine the terms to mean something very different. TRUE (This is the language barrier Christians often face when talking with people in cults.)

25. According to this session, the four points derived from Jude 3-4 are: (1) There is one faith; (2) That faith is unchanging; (3) We are to earnestly contend for the faith; and (4) The faith has …

26. According to this session, the four points derived from Jude 3-4 are: (1) There is one faith; (2) That faith is unchanging; (3) We are to earnestly contend for the faith; and (4) The faith has … ENEMIES (OR ADVERSARIES)

27. Next Week Essential Christian Doctrine