An important Bible verse for us to keep in mind is in 1 John 4:1 where the Bible instructs us not to believe every spirit but to test the spirits to see whether they are from God.

1 John 4:1 (NKJV)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Q. What are the marks of a Cult?

To simplify, we will break this down into two levels; (1) theological and (2) Sociological.

On a theological level, a cult is identified by the rejection or the addition to any of the core Christian doctrines.  Some examples include the following;

(1) They add certain revelations which contrast the originally written Bible.

Galatians 1:8 (NIV)

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

(2) They portray a distorted view of Christ, denying the deity of Jesus and pervert the message of the gospel.

Jude 4 (NIV)

For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

(3) They disregard the essential beliefs of the faith such as; dismissal of the original sin, the Trinity, redefinition of Grace and representing new means of obtaining salvation other than the works of Jesus on the cross.

On a sociological level cultists are often brainwashed by an ultra-authoritative leader. These leaders create a sociological wedge between their followers and the world by promoting isolation.  Cult leaders often dictate what their followers are to believe, speak, feel and even what they wear.

Luke 21:8 (NIV)

He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.

In conclusion, some cults are easy to identify while others are more difficult to detect to the less discerning.

To recognize a cult, you must be theologically routed in your own Christian faith.  Therefore, become a student of scripture and once you do that start comparing to what the beliefs say about the core Biblical teachings.