When does a Church become a Cult?
THE SURPRISE?
Jesus warned about the wolves and Paul warned about the wolves (Matthew 7:15-20, Acts 20:29-30). Yet everyone acts so surprised they exist.
Let me hit you with some shocking and mind-opening statistics about various categories of Christians from the US:
The wolves aren’t coming, they’ve taken up permanent residence.
Surveys reveal just 12% of American born-again Christians, have a truly cohesive, biblical worldview, and that figure drops even lower for Gen Z.
Statistically speaking, that means only a minority will see a subtle drift – or intentional shift – from church to cult. And the reality is, that minority will very often be labelled as “trouble makers, bitter or divisive” by the majority who value comfort over the truth.
So, when does a church become a cult? Or perhaps you want to know, "Is my church a cult?"
I’m going to try to answer those questions - just not in the way you expect.
THE DEFINITIONS MATTER
If I wanted to define a triangle, I could tell you what it isn’t, or I could tell you what it is. A triangle is an enclosed shape that has 3 straight sides, and 3 angles that add to 180 degrees. They can come in different shapes and sizes, but they are all triangles.
It doesn’t matter what we name anything else: squares, circles, lines, doodles, dogs, or lettuces… They all aren’t triangles. A triangle doesn't need to become a square to stop being a triangle. It just needs to stop being a triangle.
So I’m not going to tell you what a church isn’t, I’ll tell you what a church is. Everything else – whether it’s a cult, high-control religion, a country club, a football team, or just cultish – isn’t a church.
Churches are built on two inseparable foundations: truth and love.
If a gathering has truth without love, it isn’t God’s church.
If a gathering has love without truth, it isn’t God’s church.
And if a gathering has neither, it isn’t God’s church.
Three disconnected lines on a page, doesn’t a triangle make.
THE LOVE
God is love (1 John 4:8). That means God defines love. Not us, God.
Did you know the two great commandments aren’t originally from the New Testament? They are from the Law:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
…thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18b)
The greatest commandment has never changed. It has been a constant since the beginning. But under the New Covenant, Jesus gave a us new commandment:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:34-35)
There’s no ifs, buts or maybes in that statement. Love is a mark of Christ’s disciples - a mark even outsiders are given permission to judge us by.
Love is the foundation of the church and we are instructed over sixty times to love one another. The Apostle John explicitly links loving God and others together, saying if you claim to love God and not your brother, you don't really love God either (1 John 4:20).
Christ’s earthly ministry shows us what his love, that we are meant to emulate, looks like. Real love:
Openly calls out structural hypocrisy because it is honest (Matthew 23)
Defends the weak and abused, not the perpetrator (Mark 12:40)
Upholds justice even at the cost of itself (Matthew 26:52-54)
Exposes systemic sin publicly not behind closed doors (Mark 11:15-16)
Teaches where man-made religion has infiltrated God’s real one (Matthew 15:2-9)
Cares about the person more than public perception (John 4:9)
Comforts the broken, rather than judging them (John 8:4-11)
Engages in uncomfortable conversations in pursuit of the truth (John 3:1-21)
Lays down its own life for others – it never asks for you to sacrifice yourself instead (John 15:13)
When the Ephesian church disregarded love, Jesus said He was going to remove their status as a church if they didn’t repent (Revelation 2:1-7) That’s how seriously Christ holds the foundation of love.
THE TRUTH
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life,” and the truth will set you free (John 14:6, John 8:32). Jesus defines the truth.
There is only one foundation of truth (1 Corinthians 3:11). Sure churches disagree on some things–church polity and eschatology for example–but that doesn't mean there is more than one truth. It just means we are sinful people who are looking in a glass dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12).
The variable isn’t the truth, it’s our ability to perceive what it is. It means we should all come as active learners and be willing to change if needed, moving ever closer to the truth. I’m not advocating for a progressive reading of the Bible; but, it would take a very proud person to claim they personally have the absolute truth for every contested belief in Christianity.
However, Christianity is built on some non-negotiable doctrines: the nature of God and his love, Christ and the gospel, salvation and sin, and a complete physical resurrection.
The truth is so important to the foundation of the church, Paul tells us repeatedly to separate from anyone who teaches anything else. He calls any departure from the truth the doctrine of devils, another gospel, even fairy tales (1 Timothy 4:1, Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Timothy 4:4, Titus 1:14-16). And John tells us if we don’t live the truth we deny it (1 John 1:6, 2:4 & 9)
The truth isn’t opinions, because it comes with a chapter and verse.
It isn’t man-made traditions, because it can be traced back to Christ and the apostles.
It isn’t twisting the scriptures, because it reads the entire Biblical context.
And it isn’t cherry-picking verses, because it is cohesive across the entire Biblical text.
The truth is lived because it transforms your spirit.
THE INTERSECTION
Love without truth leads to one pendulum swing:
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1b)
Truth without love leads to the opposite pendulum swing:
…And have not love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2b)
Both extremes are wrong.
God’s church has both in the centre, because love rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6).
God (love) rejoices in Christ (the truth). That is the foundation of the church. They are inseparable. Dividing love and truth is like trying to split God from Christ (1 John 2:23)
Paul describes growing like Christ as speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Where love is the motivation for speaking not the tone in which you say it. And it works as a reliable testing ground. If you lovingly speak the truth – say, for example you point out a leader’s sin, lack of qualifications, or mis-readings of the Bible – what’s the response?
Humility or pride? (Mark 10:42-45)
A confession or DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender)? (James 5:16)
Peacemaking or a smear campaign? (1 Peter 3:11)
Transparency or triangulation? (Ephesians 4:25)
Real love or love bombing? (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
Restitution or gaslighting? (Philemon 1:18-19)
Submitting to discipline or character assassination? (1 Timothy 5:19-20)
Accountability or shunning? (Galatians 2:11-21)
Christ-like Christians are discerning, they are critical thinkers, they are sure of the foundation and they bear all the spiritual fruit. (Hebrews 5:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Ephesians 4:14, Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
They will speak the truth in love straight back at you. Because speaking the truth in love is always a two way street.
So where does that leave us?
It means any gathering that isn’t built on the right foundation – isn’t a church. It doesn’t matter what name we give it - high control, cult, cultish - it is still no longer a church.
It is just some kind of institution.
And just so we're clear, it’s always okay to leave an institution. Actually we're commanded to. Repeatedly. (1 Timothy 6:3-5, 2 Timothy 3:5, Titus 3:10)
Made for His Glory,
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