How do I get out of the cult??

[ChristianGirlLivingLife]

The CoC does believe that baptism is an important part of salvation, but for anyone to say that baptism in THEIR church is the only right one is presenting themselves as a denomination and that is unscriptual and yes it is very judgemental. Baptism is PART of ones salvation in order to be in Christ but baptism itself does not save. I mean seriously, I could dunk myself in water and call it a baptism, but in that sense it is nothing more than taking a bath if you don't believe and confess Jesus is your savior.

It is really sad that so many within the CoC don't understand what the bible says. The judging some do within the church isn't part of the doctrine. I understand this, but I am just one person within the church.

Any church that tells you that you have to do it THEIR WAY is not within scripture. You are to be obedient to God according to scripture. Not a denomination.
Just open your bible and study and understand the scriptures so you will not fall victim to any evil teachings. Educate yourself, and ask God for guidance.

Thank you for the clarification. I did not mean to insult you in any way. It was just a matter of ignorance and fear that I left the church. But thank you again for your inputs because now I can be able to understand more about it. God Bless You

 

[Elizabeth619]

You are in a cult..you say you think so...all sounds a bit odd. It is quite simple...get a Bible and read it!! not one produced by the 'cult'. Just buy an NIV..simple...read. Most important is to pray, pray for wisdom, knowledge....and that people will come around you and help you. He says this will happen. Whats with all the fear? the 'oh i do not know what to do..' Please. You are living a supernatural life? if you are not, you can be..God Bless you. <><

Just an FYI, the Church of Christ worships the Holy Bible. Including the NIV. That is the ONLY book they use.

 

[John_agape]

What makes me feel uneasy about this thread is the attitude that a church that is believing in Christ is called "a cult." Please people be careful of labeling churches that way. Thank you Elizabeth for bringing in some balance in the discussion.

Please remember there is a difference between a local church and a denomination.

I am non denominational. I see a local church with a committed congregation led by a Godly pastor, preaching God's Word as the best church to be in. This is in my case, where I live, a Baptist church. We live in a very staunch Catholic area, only 6 of us in this town are Baptists, our church is in another town. The Pentecostals are in a similar situation.

Both the Pentecostals and us Baptists are considered by many Catholics here as cults. Back in South Africa we also attended a Baptist church. That was an Independent Baptist and they avoided Pentecostals. But I still fellowshiped in private with Pentacostals, Methodists and even Branhamites. I had great in depth discussions with Branhamites who don't only read Branham's books, but hold on to the Bible (KJV) as well. We should discuss our Faith with people who have different views.

Here were I now live keeping to our own church is a luxury we cannot afford. We need strength from each other, so Pentecostals and Baptist do have contacts, and we visit each other when we have events or special guests, but worship apart. My wife even translates sometimes for Pentacostals, from English to Polish. Our Baptist Pastor and congregation has no problem with that.

We have Catholic friends who understand that we are not a cult, but others are surprised when we show them the Bible we use.

What is a Cult? We believe that Jesus is the only mediator between us and God, while many people in our community don't pray to Jesus, as they believe the only mediator is Mary, Jesus' mother. Are Catholics a non-Christian cult? I don't think there many on this forum who think so.

God sees the intentions of our heart, and not the liturgy in our church. The liturgy is our way of focusing on God in our congregational worship. But going to the best church with the best teaching and the best liturgy is meaningless if a person sits in the pew thinking about what happened on the TV on "Big Brother" last night.

Read the Bible as God's Word and use Scripture as your guide in life. Develop a personal relationship with God and fellowship with others who feel the same way, and respect those who seek but are confused, while rejecting those that want to destroy you and your relationship with God. That I believe is the way to go.

 

[Humble1]

Here where I live there aren't any churches teaching and clinging to truth, so I don't go to any. I just read and study the Bible on my own and watch videos online which is in accordance with scripture, thus learning what I can.

Doing it so has social drawbacks i.e. having little social contact with other people regarding Jesus but thanks to connectivity these days it can easily be solved, hence why I signed up here

 

[jimmydiggs]

Thank you for the clarification. I did not mean to insult you in any way. It was just a matter of ignorance and fear that I left the church. But thank you again for your inputs because now I can be able to understand more about it. God Bless You

It really wasn't a matter of ignorance, as you knew enough about scripture to know that the church you were with was presenting false teachings, and promoting a false gospel (that one must do works to be saved, and that only through the Church of Christ you can be saved). Those are two of the most basic emphasi of the CoC and the Restorationist movement as a whole. The whole point behind being named "Church of Christ" is so they could claim to be a protestant version of Catholicism. It seems silly, but it's highly effective. The members feel no need to go to scripture and defend their denial of original sin, and other such serious errors. Instead, they just have to point to the name "Look, it says Church of Christ on the sign, so we are THE Church of Christ!" It's a gimmick, and a sadly effective one at that.


I hope you find spiritual life outside of such chains. Praise be to God, that he has pulled you out and is putting you in a better place, where you can more clearly see who Jesus is without his image being distorted by human tactics.

 

[nathan3]

Okay so I was unaware that the Church of Christ was a cult until just recently. I have attended their bible studies for several weeks now, and have felt convicted very much. How do I leave without being rude? Because several of my friends are members, and I don't want to hurt their feelings. I feel so bad to leave, but at the same time, their teachings are wrong interpretations of the Bible. I'm angry that I was tricked into this.

If bring rude is your only concern, then your probably not in a real cult.. Christians use this term too loosly for everyone they don't agree with, and they themselves can be the very ones in error. Anyway you don't want to be there so :

Simply stop showing up if you really have issues with the church : ) I'm sure they won't even remember you after a while. Its just how people are.

Instead study for yourself and learn as much as you can from the Bible itself.

 

[Ugly]

The theological sense is used when discussing religious differences: a group or movement is theologically a cult if it identifies itself as belonging to a mainstream, recognized religion — and yet rejects or otherwise violates one or more of the central, essential teachings of that religion.

 

[David_1]

Just an FYI, the Church of Christ worships the Holy Bible. Including the NIV. That is the ONLY book they use.

That's not right. Worship the Lord, not the book.