There are quite a few cult religions out there that claim to be true and adhere to God’s word. But every cult type religion has several things in common. Here is a list on how to tell if a particular religion is a cult in disguise.

1. They separate you from the Bible by saying that you are not smart enough to understand it. And you are not allowed to question their teachings.
2. They deem their interpretation as absolute truth. And everyone else is wrong and probably going to Hell.
3. That they are the only ones going to Heaven because they have it right.
4. They have their own translation of God’s word (one written specifically for that belief), all other translations are wrong.
5. They control you through fear. Example: If you leave the religion, you are going to Hell and will be banished from the church, your family, and friends.
6. They preach separation. That you should not converse with other outside their belief.
7. They teach that their elders, priest, etc… are the only ones who can speak to God, or get wisdom from God to interpret the Bible.
8. They makes you bow to their higher positions in the church as if they were gods.
9. They have people in the congregation check up on you to make sure you are not swaying from their teachings.
10. They make you feel as if you are the lowest of the low, and it’s only through them that you could ever make atonement for sin. Blocking the believers way to have direct access to God.
11. They tell you who to pray to, or tell you that you are not worthy to pray to anyone.
12. They tell you to give them your life savings and possessions. And make you live just above poverty. Never knowing where your next meal will come from so that when they help you, you will be solely dependent upon them for all your needs. Making it almost impossible for you to leave. Separation from you family and friends ensures you will have nowhere to go.
13. They make you work for them and pay you little money. In this way they use money to control you.
14. They do secret things that they tell you that you cannot tell anyone else.
15. They teach you things that they tell you that you cannot tell anyone else.
16. And if you break any of the 2 rules above, something real bad will happen to you, your family, and it will be your own fault.
17. They actually have punishment for wrong doing. Using the fear of it to keep you inline.
18. They claim that everyone is preselected for heaven or Hell, and there is nothing that can be done.
19. That salvation is a ticket to sin because it can never be lost (a form of bondage). A covenant you do not have the freewill to remove yourself from is bondage. A covenant that makes it okay to sin, which makes what Christ dies for on the cross worthless, is wrong. Christ died to forgive sin, not condone it.
20. They teach you that hell does not exist. Then justify that by saying: Would you throw your children into Hell? Our fleshly logic of what we would or would not do, does not determine what God would or would not do. There are laws that make Heaven a heaven. To allow certain things is to change that which we do not understand yet.
21. They say: You have to be a member of this church, denomination, etc… In order to go to heaven. Salvation is an individual choice, not a group choice. A church can no more save you than a lizard can. And we won’t be judged for what church we went to, or what denomination we believed. We will be judged individually, which means we will be responsible for our individual actions.
22. They give Satan more credit than he deserves, basically claiming that God has deserted us. God controls what Satan can and cannot do. Go read the Book of Job. you may think that was unfair, but God allowed that to happen to teach us about how the powers of good and evil work. Because as you read that book, notice that Satan had to ask God before he could do anything to Job or his family. What that is relaying is that there are rules to both good and evil that even Satan has to follow.

The basic goals of a cult is to have a degree of absolute control over you using fear. And exalt themselves to be as god’s though they would never admit this. The simple test to do is to see if you have:

1. The freewill to challenge their teachings.
2. The freewill to interpret the Bible yourself.
3. The freewill to leave without fear of prosecution of the church.
4. The ability to associate with those outside the congregation.
5. The freewill to tithe the amount you are led to give.
6. The freewill to pray directly to Jesus Christ.
7. The freewill to to choose to live your life for Christ, and not being forced to do it.
8. No secrets, because truth will set you free. Only sins need to be held in secret.

etc…

The free gift of salvation is not bondage. Christ came to set the captives free, not move them from one form of bondage unto another.