Identifying A Cult

Colossians 2:18-23 Identifying a Cult

ATTENTION: The geology lab is an interesting

place to visit. Students of geology

learn to identify rocks based on a

series of tests. By observing the

properties of samples, they are

able to come up with an answer

with remarkable accuracy. There

are tests Christians can use, too, in

order to identify cults.

TEXTUAL IDEA: Paul warned the Colossians that

those involved in cults would miss

out on God’s reward in heaven.

SERMON IDEA: We must warn those in cults

today that they will miss out on

God’s reward in heaven.

TRANSITION: The Scripture today points to seven

signs of a cult.

1. They practice mental slavery (v.18).

2. They worship something other than God (v.18).

3. They accept Scripture outside the Bible (v.18).

4. They reject the supremacy of Christ (v.19).

5. They impose legalistic rules on their members

(vv.20-22).

6. They engage in psycho-worship (v.23).

7. They fail to combat sensuality (v.23).

CONCLUSION: It is important for Christians to

stop and look at the practices of those who

claim to follow Christ. It is obvious from

our study of Paul’s teaching that little has

changed over the last two thousand years.

The same things that lured people away

from orthodoxy back then are present today.