The Apostle Paul made it clear what kind of leaders church people are to follow when He told the church to “follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1). The word “as” is significant in that it involves making certain that our church leaders are following the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. There is only one way to know whether church leaders are truly following Him or are following a man. The Apostle John speaks to this important subject in First John 4:1 where He tells us to “try the spirits” of those who lead us to see if they are of (following) Christ. The question is how does one test the spirit of one’s leader? The only way to do this is to follow Paul’s instruction to “Study to show yourself approved of God” (2 Tim. 2:15). Study what? THE HOLY SCRIPTURES–THE ONLY TRUE SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GOD AND HIS WAY OF LIFE. If a leader’s teachings do not reflect the Word of God, that leader is a false prophet. God’s Word tell us all there is to know about Him. Anything outside of the Bible is speculation or interpretation. Those who major in either of those sources of truth are false prophets, which includes 99% of Catholic and Protestant ministers today.

I learned early on that such a statement can be very upsetting to people who place their leaders in a “Do not question, no need to test” category. I grew up in a denomination that followed that Satanic dictate. Therefore I understand why, having been brain washed for generations, people are shocked when anyone openly accuses a beloved, often globally revered “man of God.” I was once asked what I thought about a world-famous pastor whose televised sermons have made him very popular within the church world. I said that he was a false prophet. I quickly learned that I had struck a religious nerve. However, no one challenged me to prove my point, which I would have been happy to do. I suppose my reply would have been too idiotic to hear.

It is because there are so many false prophets within church ranks that I provide references for everything I write or say. If something is my opinion, I will say so. What I proclaim as my opinion will always be based on Scripture that, in my opinion, confirms what I believe. Not everything that is true is clearly stated in the Holy Scriptures. That is where God’s “fine print” comes into play. It is with such Scriptural jewels that the Lord separates His church from the hundreds of sects and cults that claim to be serving Him while adamantly refusing to obey what He commands all believers to obey–His Word. Because God forces Truth seekers to seek out His Words about His Words that ministers feel free to interpret God’s Word. Read Isaiah 59:9-13 for God’s formula for discerning His Truth. Also read the series titled Isaiah 28–Bible Study God’s Way. Key word–Study.

Many years ago a well-known Mormon was accused of belonging to a cult, which created an immediate firestorm of controversy nation-wide. That the speaker, a church pastor, would have the audacity to publicly state the obvious shook the so-called “Christian world.” What the speaker failed to realize was that the churches that occupy that world are all cults, which are often confused with sects. It is always wise to define the terms to be used when discussing a subject. Let us do so relative to the church-sect-cult situation.

A sect is defined as a body of dissenters who have separated from an established group. A CULT is defined as a body of followers whose ideology revolves around the teachings of a leader. With these definitions in mind, let us examine the subject of this series–church leaders and those who follow their teachings.

A historical examination of the origin of the hundreds of self-defined churches scattered throughout the world reveals that they, one and all, are indeed both sects and cults. Each denomination, which includes those who claim not to be denominations, had as its founder a self-defined Christian who, having found God’s way of life unsatisfactory, and having formulated a better way of serving Him, departed from His written Word and drew others away with him by convincing them that his version of the written Word was better than the Word itself. Like Adam and Eve, each founder of a “new and improved” version of the “Christian life” had, after hearing God’s “voice,” then heard Satan’s “voice” and found the latter to be the easier, more convenient way of serving the Biblical God. Having found a “better way,” a sect was created when the founder of “a better way” enticed others to join him. No longer subject to God’s way, he was now free to do things his way while claiming that he was leading his followers in God’s way. As is the nature of man, the originator of the sect automatically assumed the leadership role. Being the one who discerned God’s errors, it became his job to correct them. Thus the church sect came into being. The next step was to transform his sect into a cult. That was the easy part.

Those who had separated from God being by nature spiritually lazy and ultimately trusting, it was easy for the leader to convince his followers that he and only he possessed “the” one and only “truth.” By convincing his followers to take his word for what was in the Holy Bible, thereby eliminating the need to study It, the evolution from sect to cult was automatic. Multiply this process hundreds of times and one sees the whole of professing Christendom exposed for what it is–a system of conflicting, contradicting, contending sects/cults that serve to scratch the various itches that afflict the ears of the religious masses (2 Tim. 4:3).

Having proved his divide-and-conquer strategy successful in the Garden of Eden, the devil has continued throughout history to lure men away from God and into the various and sundry religious webs he has prompted self-centered man to willingly embrace. With each sect/cult offering its own specialized way to heaven, Satan’s prophets have kept their disciples securely trapped in his any-way-you-want-it religious system.

Satan’s methods of spiritual conquest are as old as mankind. The New Testament writers warned believers about those within their midst who would divide and destroy God’s church if allowed to do so. As long as the apostles were alive they were able to keep the devil and his people from fulfilling their dreams. However, within a few years of the apostles’ passing there arose the Catholic Church (the “little horn” of Daniel 7:7.8,20,24 which became the hub from which the Protestant Churches sprang. Both religious entities claimed to be God’s voice to the world. Desperate for parishioners and the revenues they produce, cult leaders in both groups have opened their religious arms to anyone who entered their wide open doors (Mat. 7:13,13). In this way the leaven (false truths) God warned about was allowed to leaven the loaf (church). But God has always had a remnant of true saints who refuse to go with the devil’s flow, who refused to partake of his leaven because they study His Word and not the words of man. The vast majority, however, chose to partake of Satan’s fare.

How did this happen? It happened when spiritual men forgot Paul’s admonition to follow only those who followed God. They failed to “try the spirits of those who led them.” All of which became possible when they rejected the leaders God would have sent to them and began to choose their own leaders who would lead them in the way Satan wanted them to go. Satan has been smiling ever since. L J.