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Is the Continuing Church of God a Heretical Cult? Sermon: Cults and other Name Calling

Is the Continuing Church of God a Heretical Cult? Sermon: Cults and other Name Calling

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Just as the original Christians were accused of being a cult, even in the 21st century the Continuing Church of God has also been accused of being a heretical cult by some. What is a cult? What is a heretic? What does the Bible teach about the early Christians and accusations of being a cult? Have true Christians been called a variety of names throughout the church age?

By COGwriter

Jesus said:

25 If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! (Matthew 10:25, NKJV throughout unless otherwise noted)

Yes, Jesus said that His faithful followers would be called all kind of names. Satan wants you to not be part of the true Christian faith, by calling it and its followers names. I know of people who have fallen for that very Satanic tactic.

Ask yourself, what if the most faithful Christian church preceded Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism? Would it make sense that some would excessively criticize it?

Well, as it turns out, some have derogatorily accused the true Church of God of being a cult as well as called the true Church of God heretical as well as given it other disparaging names throughout history.

What is a cult? Does the Bible endorse or warn against a “cult” of Christians who also believe what is commonly considered to be the Jewish law? This article will try to answer those questions and deal with some common accusations.

The term cult has been defined as follows:

cult noun ( RELIGION ) Definition
• [C] a religious group, often living together, whose beliefs are considered extreme or strange by many people
Their son ran away from home and joined a religious cult.
• [C] a particular system of religious belief
(the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press. viewed 04/07/12)

The Continuing Church of God is not a group that people run away from their homes to join. It is also not some type of commune where its members live together. Of course, true followers of Jesus have always been considered to be extreme by many non-faithful.

As far as the second definition, a particular system of religious belief, that definition seems to apply to any religious system.

Notice the particular system of religious belief that Jesus taught:

4 “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

And that is what we in the Continuing Church of God teach. It is not some weird brain washing–it is to believe Jesus and obey God and His commands (cf. Revelation 14:12).

Notice the definition of heretic from two sources:

Heretic

means “one who chooses,” and heresy means simply “a choice.” A heretic is one who chooses his own creed … (Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894)

Her´e`tic

n. 1. One who holds to a heresy; one who believes some doctrine contrary to the established faith or prevailing religion. (Webster’s 1913 Dictionary)

So, a heretic is one who chooses to believe something different.

In the case of the true Christian faith, a heretic is one who does not hold “to the faith which has been once and for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 3, NJB)–a heretic chooses to believe something other than the biblical faith.

Thus, any who changed the original faith are heretics, by definition, therefore excluding as heretics those who hold to the original biblical faith.

On that topic, the Continuing Church of God put together this sermon on its ContinuingCOG channel:

1:18:52

Cults and other Name Calling

What is a cult? What is a heretic? If the Continuing Church of God holds to the original faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3) can it be a heretical cult? Was the Apostle Paul accused of being the ringleader of a cult? Did Jesus warn that people would insult His faithful followers? Do scholars teach that the Greco-Roman Catholic churches have or do not have the teachings of the first two centuries of the Christian church era? Does the ‘Parable of the Sower,’ recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s Gospel accounts warn that Satan the Devil will try to try people away from the true faith? Was the original church trinitarian? Was the trinity formally adopted by the Council of Constantinople called by Emperor Theodosius in 381 according to the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’? Were early Christians actually binitarian (semi-Arian)? Should doctrine be based on the word of God, the Bible? Are there scriptural and historical reasons to consider the Continuing Church of God as faithful and not some changed cultic faith? Dr. Thiel deals with these issues and more.

Here is a link to the sermon: Cults and other Name Calling.

Is the true Church of God a Heretical Cult? The true Christian church has long been called names like being a cult. Did Jesus says others would say bad things against His true followers? In modern times, are there also misleading statements on the internet against the truth? Here is a link to a related sermon: Cults and other Name Calling.
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CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. There are links to literature is about 160 different languages there.