Introduction:  The Bible encourages believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to be of sound doctrine (Titus 1:9; 2:1).  Not all people, however, will listen to sound doctrine.  They will do the opposite and follow false teachers.  Many of these false teachers have started cults as faction of a larger world religion.  The Apostle Paul warns us that some people willingly exchange the truth of God for a lie (Rom. 1:25).  Just because something sounds right does not mean it is from God.  Proverbs 16:25 tells us that the way that seems right unto man is the way of death.  Jesus provided the only true way of salvation through his shed blood and resurrection from the dead (1 Cor. 15:1- I. In our modern society we have literally thousands of cults that are built upon man-made doctrines.  These come from various backgrounds, but our studies at Jude 3 Missions have shown us that these groups can be mainly categorized into three groups:  Eastern Cults, Western Cults, and New Age Cults.  
A  We begin with a workable definition of a cult.  A cult is a group of  people basing their beliefs upon one person’s interpretation of God, life, and the hereafter, which always denies the basic doctrines of Christianity as taught from the Bible 1.  Cults, then, are break-off sects of major world religions. 
2.  Cults normally claim to be the true form of that religion, such as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Christian Scientists all claim that they represent true Christianity to the exclusion of all others.  The Hare Krishna’s and TMers will claim they are the true representation of Hinduism, to the exclusion of others.B. We also distinguish between cults, world religions, and Christianity.  
1.   We do not classify Christianity as a world religion per se.  All religions are man’s effort to please a god.  In Christianity God reached down to man, through the work of Jesus Christ, and reconciled the world unto himself (2 Cor. 5:19).  
a. All religions are man’s work for salvation or its equivalent.  
b.  In Christianity it was God’s work that saved us, not man’s work.  We were bought with a price through the blood of the Son (1 Cor. 6:20).  
c.  The only time the word “religion�?was used in the New Testament concerning Christianity is found in James 1:26-27.  Here James is contrasting phony rituals with genuine actions that testify of our faith. 
d.  We use the word “relationship�?instead of religion to describe Christianity.  The work was done by Christ, which makes salvation the free gift of God (Eph. 2:8).
2. World religions, as they are known today, were so classified resulting from comparative religion studies of the nineteenth century.  Listed in most books on world religions are the following:  Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shintoism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.  
a.  We define religion as “man’s devoted expression toward his understanding of a greater being.�?/FONT>  
b. All the religions of the world have no saving power according to Jesus.  They are thieves and robbers, false messiahs, and false prophets (John 10:1-8; Matt. 24: 3-5, 11, 24).
c. The cults of these religions do not improve their situation before God.  They are still based upon a false and unbiblical foundation. 
C. Although the word “cult�?is not used in the Bible, our definition is the same as what the Apostle Paul outlined in 2 Corinthians 11:4.  
1. Another Jesus.  “Another�?is the Greek word allos, meaning “another besides the original (indicating numeric difference).�?SPAN>  The other Jesus is any Jesus “whom we did not preach.�?SPAN>  To be genuinely saved we must believe in the same Jesus preached by the Apostles, because “another Jesus�?will not suffice.2. A different Spirit.  “Different�?is the Greek word heteros, meaning “one that is the opposite of the original (often generic difference).�?SPAN>  To be saved we must have the true Holy Spirit whom the Church received.  
3. A different gospel.  heteros is the word for different.  The opposite of the true gospel, in fact, a gospel of works that has no saving power.  To be saved we must believe the true gospel message, not a counterfeit. 
4. Our definition of a cult is in agreement with St. Paul.  Cults have another Jesus, which is a counterfeit, a different Spirit other than the Holy Spirit, and a different gospel, which lacks salvation by God’s grace. 
II.  The distinction between classes of cults.
A. Western Cults are developed in western thought and normally claim to be the true extension of Christianity.  They will use the Bible as one of their main texts and Jesus Christ as one of their main persons.  Some familiar western cults are the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, Unity School of Christianity, the Unification Church, Unitarians, The Way International, and Christadelphians. 
B.  Eastern Cults are developed as a break-off of some oriental philosophy or religion.  They will claim to be the genuine representation of that philosophy or religion.  They will claim that they are “in harmony�?with Christianity, but in distinction from western cults, they do not use the Bible as their main authority or Jesus Christ as their main figure.  Some of the eastern cults are Transcendental Meditation, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the Vedanta Society, Self Realization Fellowship, the Church of Scientology, and the Divine Light