The title of this “Theology & Culture” blog wraps up a three-part look at what I have termed “The Christian Cult of Legalism.” I realize that this may be a little problematic, or makes us wonder how we could use the terms “Christian” and “cult” together. We are not only talking about some questionable doctrines that are taught in churches that are legalistic, but some of the leadership styles and practices of these churches that raise concerns.
I would also encourage you to read the first two articles of this discussion either at the Oakridge Community Church website (oakridgebc.org) under our resources and “Theology and Culture” link, or on my personal page at scottreeve.org which has parts one and two under the “blog” tab.
Again, we must clarify one thing. As we mentioned in the last blog, not all “legalistic” churches are independent, fundamental Baptists though many of them are often noted as such. Other churches outside of that name would fit with what we are saying, so we have to be careful not to pigeonhole entire denominations or affiliations. Leaders, teachers and churches must be looked at separate of each other, though there may be some groups where certain traits of what could be termed “cultish behavior and teaching” seem to exist more readily than others.
There are false teachings and other “signs” to keep in mind when determining whether a church has some cultic tendencies. In this third installment of this series, we will focus on what those are. So, here we go; I do so understanding that there will be those who disagree with what follows. Note the following “teaching” found in some “Christian legalistic” churches:
1) The dogmatic belief that there is only one “God-inspired” Bible translation. Almost without exception, it is the King James Version of the Bible that is touted as the only true rendering of God’s Word. All other translations are tainted and untrustworthy. I wrote a couple of earlier “Theology and Culture” blogs on the topic of Bible translations. There are good and bad translations, but KJV-only people have made up their minds that no other translation is worth our time and they judge those who choose to use a different one as spiritually unwise or even heretical.
2) Dominant, controlling, spiritually abusive leaders. In many of these churches, the ones who lead, usually the Senior Pastor, can be domineering and controlling. Everything goes through them. Even if they have a board, they are made up mostly of “yes” men. I attended a church many years ago where the board simply rubber-stamped whatever money the pastor wanted to spend or whatever project he decided to do.
It was not that this particular church did anything sinful, but such is not the case in other places. Some pastors bully their staff. They threaten to fire them. They make rude and unkind statements about them. Disgraced ex-pastor James MacDonald was one who used his position to misuse church funds, at the same time leading a church with a toxic work environment created by him. You can research this for yourself.
The point is that in many of these churches, the doctrinal statement looks fine, but when you get down to how things are run, there is only a few who are calling the shots, and often the congregation has no idea of what is going on. Controlling, sometimes bullying leadership is a mark of a “Christian cult” and they are legalistic in that, like the Pharisees at the time of Christ, they act as if they are the ones that God has placed in their particular role, and who are we to argue against that?
In some churches, pastors get rid of anyone who disagrees with them or has another view on an issue than they have. In many cases, people who have harmed others have been allowed to get away with it instead of being confronted, the issue being swept under the rug so as not to “hurt” the name of the ministry while lives are ruined. This is sickening to hear.
Often it is more important in legalistic churches to protect their image than to Biblically confront those who are ruining people’s lives. Paul calls the church to action when sin is tearing things apart. 1 Corinthians 5 and Romans 16 are two passages that remind us of our responsibility to deal with sin in the church. That would include abuse of a spiritual or physical nature, destroying people by what we say, or allowing unrepentant open sin to continue.
Peter gave some good advice in 1 Peter 5 regarding how leaders within the church were to act toward those they minister with. In vs. 3 Peter tells us that they were not to be “domineering,” but instead are to be examples of Christlike behavior to those put under their charge. We are not to use our position in ministry for personal gain (1 Peter 5:2).
3) Adding to Scripture or misinterpreting it. We point fingers at certain “obvious” groups such as Mormonism, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc. who are labeled as cultic because we know they deny every tenet of the historic Christian faith. But “Christian cults,” especially the one of legalism, have a tendency to read into the Bible their own personal viewpoints.
For example, you may be told you are not to set foot inside a movie theater. Women are to wear only dresses to church. Men cannot have “long” hair, whatever that is supposed to mean. The “list” is lengthy. Now, the Bible is clear that we are to live holy lives (1 Peter 1:15-16), but what happens is that legalistic churches make it clear what some of the rules are that we must follow to be holy.
For sure, not every movie should be watched by a Christian. We need to have discernment. But going to a theater to watch a fun movie with the kids does not make us evil. At one time, I remember reading that we should stay out of bowling alleys because they sell liquor. Well, so do most grocery stores where we buy our food.
This is an inconsistency. The argument for not going to the bowling alley was the “atmosphere” of the place. Well, Christians can go bowling, can’t they, without being “tainted.” I mean, we add to the Scriptures our own set of rules and teachings, and then find a Bible verse to support what we think, even if it means not interpreting the Scriptures properly.
But beyond the “lists,” some of these groups have teachings that are questionable as well. One Baptist group (not the Independent folks) believed that unless you were baptized in one of their churches, your baptism was null and void. I, being young and not knowing the Bible very well, bought into that teaching. I was baptized twice in two different Baptist churches. There is no Biblical support for that. They basically demeaned the other church by making this demand.
It is true that it was not a salvation issue but they believed that they were the true church and so my first baptism was not accepted by God. We have people who get a free pass when they promote beliefs such as “Theistic Evolution” because they have so many other “good” things to share with us. We are not denying that they are “right on” regarding some things. T.D. Jakes, for example, is loved by many but teaches “modalism.” This view says that God is just One Person who manifests Himself in three different ways - As the Father, then the Son, and now as the Holy Spirit.
Historic Christianity believes in One God but that there are three Persons (Individuals) Who make up what is known as the Godhead. People overlook Jakes’ false teaching because he seems to have done so much good. But we cannot turn a blind eye to those who mishandle the Word of God.
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