BREAKING THE CHAINS
It is highly recommended that you read
Comparing the "one true" churches before reading this
section
S
aul of Tarsus rode toward Damascus with chains in his luggage and a
feeling of security in his heart. He was a member of the chosen people of God,
as had been his father and grandfather and great-grandfather before him. He rode
confidently to defend the faith.
But when God knocked Saul off his feet with the blinding light of His truth,
Saul sat helpless and stunned in the dirt. His entire world had crumbled, his
beliefs had shattered, his mission had aborted, and his social status had
evaporated. With horror he realized the chains he carried to bind free people
had been binding his own heart instead. The shock was too great. For days he
curled up in the dark--blind, disoriented, and useless.
We who have been expelled from one of the “One True” churches have also sat
for a time stunned in the dirt. Being knocked off our beloved heritage with
light from God’s Word was a tremendous jolt. We lost our belief system, our
identity, our friends, and even our family. Sitting in the dirt among our
disheveled baggage and chains, we curled in the dark.
But God didn’t leave Saul helpless and confused. Having wrenched him from his
Pharisee world, God caused the scales to fall from his eyes. The Apostle Paul
saw the magnificence of the risen Lord Jesus Christ and the earth-shattering
significance of the cross. All of his merit-seeking religious efforts fell among
the scales on the floor. All of his self-righteous scruples fell among the
discarded chains. He began growing in the grace and liberty that he was to
preach with vigor the rest of his life.
Brethren, God did not wrench us from our comfortable life as Pharisees to
remain blind and starving in the dark. He intends for us to have a joyful life
in Christ. But to be truly free, all the scales must fall from our eyes.
All the chains of our minds must be broken.
The Apostle Paul never yearned for his past lifestyle. He considered his
former religious self as the chief of sinners and his former man-made religious
system as dung. He scorched its legalistic lies with a fiery pen--but he didn’t
hate his former brethren. He didn’t waste time in bitterness. Having been
rescued from bondage, he lovingly yearned for their deliverance. And he went
forward with Christ.
When every scale of twisted scripture has fallen from our eyes, when every
chain of bondage has been unwound from our mind, when we begin to accept the
nourishment of the true meat and milk of God’s Word, when we see the risen Lord
in all His glory, when we exchange our dung-drenched Pharisee robes for the pure
imputed righteousness of Christ, we will be free indeed.
And we will thank Jesus every day for the blinding flash of light that
knocked us off our feet and into His waiting arms.
The Origin of the Chains that Bind us
Mankind’s original chains, ugly to all, is the bondage of sin from which
faith in the shed blood of Christ frees us. But there are other chains, other
bonds Satan uses to ensnare not just the unbeliever but the Christian. These
chains appear beautiful like whitewashed tombs and are usually offered to us by
friendly, moral, clean-cut people who have an attractive form of godliness.
“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the
ministers of righteousness.” But like dead men’s bones, the system of the
Pharisees, legalism, is corruption.
The Pharisees took God-given scriptural laws and “explained” them into
hundreds more. They made a book of the extra rules, called the Talmud. So
it is today--legalism “explains” God-given Scripture into an abundance of
man-made rules. And thus we have our modern day Talmud, like the Amish
Ordnung or the Holdeman Conference Reports.
Jesus was not gentle with the Pharisees. He called them sons of snakes. He
cursed their cities with doom worse than the judgment of the sodomites of
Gomorrah. He said that they didn’t enter into the kingdom of God and prevented
others from doing so. He said their missionary work brought forth converts twice
the sons of hell as themselves.
The Apostle Paul also harshly withstood these legalists who sneak into the
church to spy out liberty and bring bondage. He accused them of bringing
“another gospel” and “another Jesus.” He said that those who embraced this
law-keeping religion had “fallen from grace.” He wished such teachers would go
mutilate themselves, and he cursed them to hell.
Why does God hate legalism? Legalism denies the liberty Christ gives.
Legalism denies the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian.
Legalism produces self-righteousness, anxiety, guilt, slavery to the ministry,
and the break-up of families.
But the central reason legalism is so deadly is that it always diverts the
sinner away from looking to Christ for his salvation. It pollutes the beautiful
gospel message of salvation by grace through faith (though it may claim to teach
it). It always adds the organization’s man-made rules to grace as the means to
be saved, thus “making Christ of no benefit.” The Bible says commandments of men
“turn from the truth” and “pervert the gospel.” Legalism to the Christian can
mean lifelong slavery—to the unbeliever it can mean missing heaven.
The Bible says that those who embrace legalism have been “bewitched,” which
Greek word actually means to be under an evil spell! Other terms associated with
legalism are “seducing spirits” and “doctrines of devils.” There is spiritual
power from Satanic forces that deceives and keeps in blindness those who embrace
legalism.
Dear expelled Christian brother and sister, this is the power, the deception,
the blindness to which we were once in bondage. It is no light thing to have
been “bewitched” by Satan and his power. Commandments of men, law-keeping
religion, is the metal from which our chains were forged. When an aberrant “one
true church” organization warns so often about being deceived, it warns of a
very real danger—but the ironic thing is that the deception described in the
Bible permeates the very foundation of every “one true” church group.
Introducing the Founder of the Genuine One True Church
All who call upon the name of the Lord are part of His body, the church
(1 Cor. 1:2 with 12:27).
All those who have faith in Jesus Christ are overcomers (1
John 5:5), and all overcomers have their names written in the Lamb’s book
of Life (Rev. 3:5), and all who have their names written there are part
of the Bride of Christ, His Church (Rev. 20:27). Everyone else goes
to the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15).
All who are called to be saints are part of His body, the Church (Rom. 12:5 with 1:6)
All who are called are called into one body, His church (Col. 3:15).
All who are chosen are part of His
body, the Church
(Eph. 5:30 with 1:4).
All who are the saints and faithful in Christ are part of His body, the
Church (Eph. 5:30 with 1:1).
All who are adopted as sons are part of His body, the Church
(Eph. 5:30 with 1:5).
All who have obtained the inheritance of salvation are members of His body,
the Church (Eph. 5:30 with 1:11).
All who have Jesus as Shepherd are part of His one Fold, the Church
(John 10:16, Eph. 2:14-16, John
11:52).
All who do the will of God are His brethren, part of His family
(Mark 3:33) .
All who are sanctified are His brethren, part of the Church
(Hebrews 2:11,12) .
All who are sanctified are part of His body, the Church
(1
Cor. 12:27 with 1:2) .
All who are joined
to the Lord are One Spirit and have been baptized by the Spirit
into One body
(1 Cor. 6:17
and 1 Cor. 12:13)
.
All who are saved are added by the Lord to the Church
(Acts 2:47).
Throughout church history, devout Christian preachers have contributed much
to the Church. Though new denominations may have formed around their
particular understanding of certain issues, they did NOT claim to be
reorganizing the one true church. Authentic Christianity has always recognized
that the Church, made up of all born-again believers, has not nor will fail
nor need reorganizing.
The men listed below, however, are quite different. They deviated from
authentic Christianity in that they believed the Church had failed completely
and that they alone were chosen of God to re-organize it. Most received this
lofty delusion through visions. Most made prophecies that failed, proving
themselves false prophets. All established the age-old system of Phariseeism
and bondage. And millions remain enslaved to them.
============================
Introducing the
Founders of the So-called “One True” Churches
JOSEPH SMITH thought he received word from God that he should
reestablish the True Church. In 1830 he established the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). This “one true” church claims
its superiority to “corrupt Christianity” because they have unity, and have
prophets and apostles. Their form of self-denial is wearing holy
undergarments, refraining from coffee, tea, and cola, and serving on the
mission. They are extremely submissive and yielded to the authority of the
leadership. Questioning the church is always seen as a sign of a spiritual
problem in the questioner. Estimated membership of eleven million.
JOHN HOLDEMAN thought he received word from God that he alone should
reestablish the True Church. In 1858 he founded the Church of God in
Christ, Mennonite. This “one true” church claims superiority to “corrupt
Christianity” because they have unity, and a supposed doctrinal “lineage” back
to the apostles. Their form of self-denial is a uniform dress code with caps
for women and beards for men, rejection of tape recorders, musical
instruments, or photographs. They are extremely submissive to the authority of
their leadership. Questioning the church is always seen as a sign of a
spiritual problem in the questioner. Estimated membership of nineteen
thousand.
ELLEN WHITE thought she received word from God that she would
reestablish the True Church. In 1863 she founded the Seventh Day
Adventists. This “one true” church claims superiority to “corrupt
Christianity” because they have unity, worship on the Sabbath day and keep
all the commandments. Their form of self-denial is Sabbath keeping,
accepting economic loss for their Saturday rest, and not eating meat. They are
extremely submissive to the authority of the leadership. Questioning the
church is always seen as a sign of a spiritual problem in the questioner.
Estimated membership of one million.
CHARLES RUSSELL thought he received word from God that he should
reestablish the True Church. In 1888 he founded the Jehovah’s
Witnesses. This “one true” church claims superiority to “corrupt
Christianity” because they have unity and go from house to house preaching the
kingdom. Their form of self-denial is refusing blood transfusions, birthdays,
Christmas, all other holidays, holding public office, or serving in the
military. They are extremely submissive to the authority of the leadership.
Questioning the church is always seen as a sign of a spiritual problem in the
questioner. Estimated membership of fourteen million.
WILLIAM IRVINE thought he received word from God that he was to bring
the last message from Jesus to the world. In 1897 he founded what
became known as the
Church with No Name, also called 2x2’s or Cooneyites. This “one true”
church claims superiority to “corrupt Christianity” because they have a
supposed lineage back to the New Testament church, because they have unity,
worship in homes rather than church buildings, and because
their ministers own nothing and go two by two preaching. Their form of
self-denial is a dress code including uncut women’s hair in a bun, rejecting
stereos and jewelry, worldly amusement, and the fads and fashions of this
world. They are extremely submissive to the authority of their leadership.
Questioning the church is always seen as a sign of a spiritual problem in the
questioner. Estimated membership of fifty to one hundred-thousand
FELIX MANALO thought he received word from God that he was to
re-establish the true church of Christ. In 1913 he founded the
Iglesia Ni Cristo. This “one true” church claims superiority to “corrupt
Christianity” because they have the proper name and complete unity, even
voting alike. They are extremely submissive to the authority of the
leadership. Questioning the church is always seen as a sign of a spiritual
problem in the questioner. Estimated membership of three million.
PAUL WEI, LINGSHENG CHANG and BARNABAS CHANG in 1917 founded the
True Jesus Church This “one true” church claims superiority to “corrupt
Christianity” because they have wonders and miracles and correct doctrines.
They practice feet-washing and have unity. They are extremely submissive to
the authority of the leadership. Questioning the church is always seen as a
sign of a spiritual problem in the questioner. Estimated membership one and a
half million.
KIP MCKEAN thought he received a call from God to evangelize the world.
In 1979 He founded the International Church of Christ. This “one
true” church group claims superiority to “corrupt Christianity” because they
pair their converts with a personal discipler, and they tirelessly recruit new
people to undergo baptism and discipling. Their form of self-denial is
attendance to the many meetings per week, and personal morality, including
rejection of musical instruments. Members are extremely submissive and
accountable to their “disciplers” and leaders. Questioning the church is
always seen as a sign of a spiritual problem in the
questioner. Estimated membership of one and a half million.
BILL HAWKINS believed through dreams that he was one of the Two
Witnesses in Revelation and was called of God to re-establish the true church.
In 1980 he founded the House of Yahweh. This “one true” church
claims superiority to “corrupt Christianity” because they hold the proper name
for God and observe the Jewish feast days and all 613 laws of Moses. They are
extremely submissive to the authority of the leadership. Questioning the
church is always seen as a sign of a spiritual problem in the questioner.
Estimated membership is twenty-five hundred.
GERALD FLURRY believed he had been called by God to re-establish the
true church. In 1989 he founded the Philadelphia Church of God.
This “one true” church claims superiority to “corrupt Christianity” because
they follow the Mosaic law and reject medical treatment. Their form of
self-denial is not eating unclean foods, not celebrating birthdays, Christmas,
Easter, or other holidays, and dressing modestly. They have unity and are
extremely submissive to the authority of the leadership. Questioning the
church is always seen as a sign of a spiritual problem in the questioner.
Estimated membership is six thousand.
RODERICK MERIDITH believed God had chosen him to re-establish the true
church. In 1998 he founded the Living Church of God. This “one
true” church claims superiority to “corrupt Christianity” because they follow
the Mosaic law and reject medical treatment. Their form of self-denial is not
eating unclean foods, not celebrating birthdays, Christmas, Easter, or other
holidays, and dressing modestly. They have unity and are extremely submissive
to the authority of the leadership. Questioning the church is always seen as a
sign of a spiritual problem in the questioner. Estimated membership is six
thousand.
The claims of all “one True” churches
1. All "One True" Churches Claim to be the Only One
2. All "One True" Churches Claim to be the Restoration of Christ's "Failed"
Church
3. All "One True" Churches Claim to Have the Only Truth and Practice
4. All "One True" Churches Claim to be the True Church Because of Their
Unity
5. All "One True" Churches Teach that either Salvation or Complete
Christian Life is Impossible Outside Their Group
6. All “One True” Churches teach their members to evaluate truth by
feelings, impressions, proving spirits—instead of the Word of God.
7. All "One True" Churches Claim Defectors Have a Bad Heart or Foreign
Spirit and are arrogantly standing alone against “The Truth.”
8. All "One True" Churches Claim Anyone Leaving Their Group is Lost
9. All "One True" Churches Claim the Bible Must be Interpreted by Their
Group
10. All "One True" Churches Impose Commandments of Men and Extreme Legalism
11. All "One True" Churches Encourage Submission, Not Questions
12. All "One True" Churches Lull Members to Trusting Babe-like Sleep
RECOGNIZING OUR CHAINS
We who have recently left
a “one true” church group are emotionally damaged goods. Since it is almost
impossible to leave one of these groups without being disfellowshipped or
expelled, most of us have faced the trauma of being shunned by friends and
family members. The American Indians have long used shunning as one of the
most coercive ways to force an offending member back into conformity with
group approval. The excommunication that is supposed to “bring the apostate
back to the Fold” is effective in all “one true” churches, as evidenced
by this testimony: "We noted Lynette's comment about her choice 'to cut
herself off completely from all association' with her disfellowshipped sister
Margaret. She and her Christian relatives 'believed that Jehovah's way is
best.' And it is! Lynette's sister later told her: 'If you had viewed the
disfellowshipping lightly, I know that I would not have taken steps toward
reinstatement as soon as I did. Being totally cut off from loved ones and from
close contact with the congregation created a strong desire to repent. I
realized just how wrong my course was and how serious it was to turn my back
on Jehovah.'" Jehovah's Witness WT Sept. 15, 1981
Nobody withstands such a powerful force without some emotional wear and
tear.
We are also spiritually damaged goods. God has opened our eyes, but they
are filmy with leftover indoctrination. God has awakened us from spiritual
slumber, but our long reliance on someone else to do our thinking has made our
sensitivity to the Holy Spirit sluggish. God has renewed our awareness of His
Word, but we are daunted by the thought of searching it for ourselves. We are
grossly out of shape spiritually.
Some of us lived in one of the “one true” churches since birth. Some were
exposed only a few short months. But all of us, if we truly embraced those
maverick religions, have some deprogramming to undergo and some spiritual
weightlifting to do before we can fully recover.
RECOGNIZING THE SOURCE OF OUR CHAINS
All human relationships—marriage, family, friendship, and church—were meant
to be nurturing. But any of those relationships can deviate and become
abusively controlling, and almost always it is a misuse of power that causes
it.
Jesus Christ established His church, and the gates of hell will never
prevail over it. But even before His church began at Pentecost, Jesus warned
of false prophets, false teachers, and wolves in sheep’s clothing. In fact, so
great is this danger that every book except one in the New Testament mentions
spiritual deception and deceivers.
When an individual congregation becomes influenced by false teaching and
begins to veer from Bible truth, it can become immoral, or it can become
legalistic. We have an example of a permissive congregation in Corinth that
was allowing gross immorality. We also have an example of a congregation in
Galata that was being infiltrated by legalism, and another whose power-hungry
leader, Diotrephes, was excommunicating Christians unjustly.
But how does a congregation begin to consider itself the only One True
Church? Like an auto-immune disease that attacks its own organism, “one true”
churches develop by
hypercriticism toward the Christian church and
other Christians. And of course the root of this criticism is the old familiar
nemesis of mankind—pride.
All “one true” churches began with a single man who looked around at the
inevitable faults of his fellow church-goers and decided they were all
apostate. As his criticism grew, each came to believe that Christ had chosen
him (usually through visions) to cleanse and reorganize His Church. And each
one of these men formed “One True” churches remarkably similar in the methods
of mind control. This mind control, these chains on our hearts, these scales
on our eyes are what we must recuperate from to live spiritually healthy lives
before Christ.
One of the most powerful eye-openers to the falsehood of our own group is
to examine the other groups just like it.
BREAKING THE CHAINS OF ELITISM
Human pride desires elitism. We like to belong to the “best” group.
Children want to be accepted by the popular crowd. Teenagers want to be on the
winning team or in the best clique. Adults want whatever marks them as being
one of the prestigious levels of society. One of the gimmicks of a well-known
discount store is to offer card membership to people in certain professions
only; this makes people want to “make the grade” and shop there.
Christians usually try to steer clear of such obvious pride. But what
happens when our Christian heart wants to belong to the best church? The one
that is special? The one that is more spiritual, more godly? What happens to a
Christian who goes looking for the “right” church? The “true” church?
Those of us guilty of this very subtle elitism were easily snared by the
bait of one of the “one true” churches. We saw a group that looked so very
pious in their clothing, their demeanor, their speech, their dedication that
we suddenly wanted to be a part of this spiritual clique.
And as we began wearing their uniform, observing their restrictions,
talking their talk, we were special. Though of course we spoke much
about humility, we were still publicly portraying our heightened
spirituality—just like the Pharisees with their broadened phylacteries and
lengthened tassels.
There do exist false brethren, false apostles, and false teachers in
the world and in the churches. There are entire denominations that have
no part of the truth of Jesus Christ, and a modern evil is to combine them all
into ecumenism. It is not wrong to want to worship with a church that teaches
the Bible correctly. It is not wrong to desire to walk closer with Jesus. The
pride of elitism comes when we unite with a particular denomination and then
turn and denounce
all the rest of the Christian groups as
non-churches. This would be as arrogant as one child claiming to be the only
heir of his father and denouncing all his siblings as illegitimate.
There is a one true visible church, an organism composed of all true
believers everywhere on the globe. But there is no one true denomination, no
one true organization. Jesus Christ evaluated the seven churches in Revelation
as individual congregations and found some to be strong, some weak, and one
dead. He looked at each congregation with its particular strengths and
weaknesses individually. Each stood or fell on its own, without denominational
umbrella coverage. What He did not do was recognize one denomination as
His church. And that’s the first mistaken notion we must discard before we can
be free.
We must stop looking for the “one true” denomination. It doesn’t exist. But
the One True Church does.
BREAKING THE CHAINS OF CRITICISM
When a body is healthy, its white blood cells attack foreign substances,
germs, viruses, and diseases. The Church of Christ is a body, Christ’s body,
and every Christian is a member of it. Every diligent Christian arms himself
with the whole armor of God to fend off false doctrine that constantly
attempts to infiltrate the Body of Christ. By skillfully wielding the Sword,
the Word of God, a congregation can fend off spiritual disease with this
healthy immune system.
But when white blood cells go awry and begin to attack the body itself,
something is seriously wrong! When Christians begin to fight, not the world
outside, but their very own brothers and sisters, this auto-immune disease
causes all sorts of havoc. The body attempts to kill itself.
Does this mean we are to simply ignore sin and false doctrine in the
church? No. When our brothers and sisters in Christ wander into actual sin, we
who are spiritual are to “restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” If someone embraces actual
heresy, we are told: “a man that is an heretick after the first and second
admonition reject”
But every founder of a “one true” church went far, far beyond the normal
housekeeping of a congregation. There has never been a founder of a “one true”
church that did not first reject all Christian churches. Many of them
were churchgoers who became hyper-critical of their fellow churchgoers. Some
had true concerns, for the church on earth is made up of faulty human beings
who err. But instead of contributing to the health of their congregations,
these men begin attacking first one practice and doctrine, then another, and
another, and another—until no church on earth measured up to their personal
collection of convictions.
They attacked, not merely in the realm of essential orthodox doctrine, but
in the realm of non-essential practice
the area the Bible gives flexibility to the Christian, such as eating meat
or not eating meat, holding one day above another or holding all days alike,
etc. They failed to recognize that in such things God said, “ Who art thou
that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth.”
They began to view as unspiritual all who did not conform to their own rigid
convictions.
Such tomato-throwing at the Bride of Christ eventually causes a loss of
spirituality and replaces it with delusions of grandeur. Almost every founder
of a “one true” church felt that Christ’s church had utterly failed and that
he, usually through a dream or vision, was appointed by God to re-establish
the True Church. And of course, Jesus doesn’t need, now or ever, someone to
“re-establish” His Church or lay a new foundation. The Bible says, “For other
foundation can no may lay, which is Christ Jesus.”
It is also a sad thing to admit, but before we even met our particular “one
true” group, we who joined them were probably already well down the road to
hyper-criticism of the local churches. For it is usually hypercritical people
these “one true” churches appeal to. Our immune system may have started out
well, zealously fending off false doctrine and desiring to live uprightly
before God. But then it had gone wild fending off doctrines and activities
that should have been respected as matters of individual Christian conscience.
When we become critical of our true brothers and sisters in the Christian
churches and join one of these groups, our conditions only worsens. Then when
we contemplate leaving, our criticism, grown stronger, causes us to say, “But
if not this church, then which one? All the local churches are inferior.” This
is a common protest of almost all ex-cult members, no matter which “one true”
church they are from.
Again we must turn to the Word of God for guidance. In the
New Testament churches we find problems and flaws. If we had gone looking for
a good church in the first century, this is what we would have encountered in
the congregations at Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Antioch, Ephesus, Philippi,
Thessalonica, Colosse, Crete, household
of Gaius,
Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Laodicia: divisions
(1 Cor. 11:18),
contentions (1 Cor. 1:11),
fornication (1
Cor. 5:1), lawsuits (1 Cor.
6:6), envying (1 Cor. 3:3),
pride (1 Cor. 5:2),
weak brethren (1 Cor. 8:11),
heresies (1 Cor. 11:19),
disorderly conduct (1 Cor.
11:20-22), false teachers (
2 Cor. 11:4), false apostles
(2 Cor. 11:13), Satan’s ministers
posing as angels of light (2 Cor. 11:15),
debates (2 Cor. 12:20),
deceivers (Titus 1:10),
backbitings (2 Cor. 12:20),
uncleanness (2 Cor. 12:21),
lasciviousness (2 Cor. 12:21),
legalism (Galatians)
perversions of the gospel (Gal. 1:7),
hypocritical ministers (Gal. 2;11-14)
ministers who expelled wrongly (3
John 9,10), false doctrines
(Rev. 2:14,15), unruly
(1 Thess. 5:14) rich greedy men
(Jas 5:1-5) liars
(Titus 1: 10-14)
As there is no perfect human on earth, so there is no perfect church, even
those that truly teach the Word of God. And we find that though they had unity
in the Spirit of Christ, even the earliest Christians never did have complete
harmony in non-essential issues. But God gave us the instructions for dealing
with varied convictions in Romans 14. Unity in the essentials, forbearance in
the non-essentials, and charity in everything.
One of the biggest hurdles of ex-”one true” church members re-entering the
local churches is usually not doctrine. It is ingrained legalism that
continues to make us “puffed up for one against another.” When we feel that
Phariseeical indignation rising up, we must carefully investigate the truth of
our “convictions” to see whether they are truly Bible –based or whether they
are simply man-made legalism or personal preferences. For example, an
ex-Mormon might cringe when he sees a professing Christian drinking coffee, an
ex-Cooneyite when he sees professing Christians worshipping in church
buildings, an ex-Holdeman when he sees a Christian man without a beard or
owning a picture album, an ex– PCoG when he sees a professing Christian go to
the doctor, and an ex-Seventh Day Adventist when he sees professing Christians
eating meat.
When we can’t fellowship with everyday normal Christians because our latent
legalism makes us consider them “worldly,” there is only one remedy. Grow up,
grow strong, and grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. His Word will
dispel our erroneous Phariseeism and expose our legalism as manmade
convictions.
BREAKING THE CHAINS Of
Fear and depression
Life within a “one true” group can be a haven of belonging, a guaranteed
social life, an oasis of “unity.” There is perceived love and safety within
“the fold.” The “truth” is finally laid out for us, the questions are
answered, our lives ordered, and we no longer need to search the Scriptures
daily to guard against deception. This dependence becomes a strong opium to
give up. As one ex-member put it, “My five years in that church were a
sabbatical from the effort of thinking on my own.”
Living in a “one true” church is like living in a perfectly
climate-controlled room. We look through a small window and see that those who
have the freedom to venture outside must endure heat and cold and wind and
rain. We congratulate ourselves on our snug room and warn doubters of the hot
sun or the cold rain outside.
Leaving such a group is extremely hard. It’s like waking from a
dream to face reality. It’s like being thrown from a warm cradle into the
battlefield. This is very frightening to an ex-member of a “one true” church.
There was a newspaper story in which a man and wife escaped a communist
country and were granted asylum in the United States. But in the land of the
free, these people suffered the extreme anxiety of having to make their own
decisions. Finally, they returned to the familiarity and perceived safety of
their tyrannical government. Many ex-cultists flounder in the real world of
liberty in Christ and return to familiarity—and slavery.
When we who have been taught to be submissive trusting babes are suddenly
thrust on the battlefield of Christian life, it is traumatic. Here are some
testimonies by ex-members of various “one true” churches:
"It was hell. I went through some depressive attacks…”
ex-Potter’s House
“Since I left, I have been suffering from psychological trauma. I'm
taking anti-depressants and am seeing a counsellor. The Church manipulated
me through guilt and fear. Now I have lost many of my friends, and have to
find my own answers to everything. It's scary. They used to tell us that
if you left, you'd go to hell. I still believe it sometimes.” ex–
Universal Church of Christ
‘We're kept inside this little make-believe world and it doesn't
work. Then suddenly, you are out and you still have those church things
buried inside your mind’” ex– Universal Church of Christ
“Depression is my constant companion these days. I am
not saying what I am feeling. I can't. Words do not convey the
inner turmoil and spiritual uncertainty that bubbles inside me….This church
destroys lives.”
ex-United Pentacostal
All change is stressful, and in
addition to having to think again on your own, there is no greater traumatic
change than being suddenly rejected by friends and family and being told you
are on your way to hell. It is normal for human emotions to be affected at
such a time. Depression is a common reaction, and Satan loves this
environment! This is usually
the stage when we also receive many cards,
phone calls, and letters from well-meaning members who urge us to repent of
our “deception” and return to the “fold.”
“One True” Churches operate on fear. They teach that leaving their group is
leaving God. When we have been brainwashed for years to believe this, Satan
can easily stir up this fear once we have left. It is as if we escape from a
poisonous snake, only to carry the venom already inserted. We may get far
away, but we are still dying. When we are weakened by shock and feeling
depressed with the life changes, Satan likes to whisper his accusing words,
bringing doubts and fears. How do we live through this stage of recovery?
First, if we were indeed excommunicated for scriptural reasons of
immorality and open sin, we need to speedily repent of this to God.
However, if we were excommunicated because we have chosen to follow the
Word of God instead of an organization, to worship Jesus instead of “the
church,” we must gently allow ourselves to go through this short period of
depression. Our physical bodies almost require it.
But it is very important to recognize this depression as an emotional
reaction rather than a loss of peace. Remember, we have just left an
environment where truth was evaluated by whether it “feels good” or not, so
when we are not feeling good, we will be tempted to immediately suspect we
have lost grace with God.
There is only one remedy. Grow up, grow strong, and grow in the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must begin feeding on the pure milk of the Word,
then on meat, and then pick up our Sword, the Word of God, and continue, as a
Christian solider, to defend ourselves against deception. And one of the worst
deceptions is that leaving one of these groups is leaving God. It is Jesus
Christ who holds the keys, not some minister of a cult (Rev. 1:18).
Jesus Christ says, “ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to
come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans
8:38).
Breaking the Chains of Shame
One ex-Mormon confessed that when his Mormon friends come to visit, he
hides the coffeepot. When we are afraid to abandon manmade rules for fear our
former brethren will think us worldly, we need to realize the Bible
commands us to stand fast in liberty and not “be entangled again in the
yoke of bondage.” The Bible commands us not to allow anyone to judge us
in conscience matters, nor are we to turn back to the weak and beggarly
rudiments of the world, observing ordinances such as touch not, taste not,
handle not. It is commandments of men that are called in the Bible “elements
of the world” and “rudiments of the world” Legalism is worldliness! Those who
impose it are said to be false brethren, deceitful workers, listening to
doctrines of devils and seducing spirits. There is absolutely nothing good
about commandments of men, for they “pervert the truth of the gospel” and
cause men to “turn away from the truth.” The apostle Paul said he would not
submit to legalism for even an hour. Neither should we.
It is one thing to “not eat meat” for the sake of an individual’s weak
conscience—it is
quite another to bow to the imposed legalism of
an entire group. The Apostle Paul braced Peter publicly for such damaging
hypocrisy when Peter curtailed his usual liberty for fear of the legalists.
When we continue observing commandments of men so our former brethren will
not be offended, we are yielding to legalism. We are inadvertently supporting
that legalism, testifying we agree with it. We are giving credence to manmade
rules. We are sinning. Jesus did not conform to the legalism of the Pharisees,
whether it offended and shocked them or not—and it did offend and shock them.
So ex-Mormons, do not hide your coffeepot; ex-Cooneyites, do not hide your
newly grown beard, ex- Holdemans, do not hide your photographs or piano, ex-JW’s,
do not hide your Thanksgiving turkey. As long as we are embarrassed living our
liberty in front
of our former group members, we are still in
bondage and we further their bondage. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath set us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
“For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty.” And “where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty.” To heal, we must grow up in the grace and liberty
of Jesus Christ.
Breaking the Chains of unforgiveness
One man, having left the Jehovah’s Witness church after thirty years, felt
outrage at being deceived, outrage at all the wasted years, outrage that his
children now avoid him. This anger is a common reaction of people from all
“one true” churches. The hurts are real. The feelings of betrayal are real.
The consequences, especially if family or even spouse shuns us, may last a
lifetime. But we absolutely must forgive and lay down the anger. Our
precious Savior, Jesus Christ, requires this of us.
Unforgiveness causes many ex-cult members to gnash their teeth in
bitterness the rest of their lives, being preoccupied with the hurts they
suffered within the cult. But anger is toxic to the heart that fosters it.
Those that remain angry wither spiritually. Some reject God completely. Sadly,
they provide yet another failure statistic for the “one true” churches to
point to as an example of one who has “left the Fold.”
It is necessary to sort out what actually happened—why we joined this cult,
why we believed its propaganda, what caused us to leave, etc. It is very
necessary to take the time to learn just how very deceptive its tactics
are—and why we fell for them. This can safeguard us from returning or falling
into another cult. But if there is any blame to lay, let us lay it at the feet
of Satan, the mastermind of all counterfeit religions. He is the one who
persuaded us to believe a lie. He is the one who laid the trap. He is the one
who clothed the wolves fin sheep’s clothing. He is the one who hoodwinked us.
He’s been doing it to mankind for centuries.
The members of these aberrant groups are not the perpetrators—they are
victims, blinded by the same smooth tactics of Satan by which we were once
blinded. Their behavior is only a result of that blindness. Many of them are
very devout, sincere people who truly believe in the doctrines of their group.
Rather than blame or become angry or bitter, we need to have compassion for
them, to love them, to pray fervently for them, and to forgive them. As an
ex-member of one of these groups said: "Pray for the people that are
trapped in a system far removed from biblical teachings. Many are sincere
seekers of truth that have been blinded by their own leadership that they
trust and are told to obey." Yet we must forgive and pray for the
leaders also, for they too are but victims. We can
only do this as we grow up in the love of Jesus Christ.
Liberty at Last
Is liberty in Christ worth the
upheaval and trauma of leaving the familiarity of a “one true” church?
Suffering shunning? Being tossed into a society we are ignorant of? Those who
have survived by keeping their eyes focused on Jesus Christ and His Word can
shout a resounding “Absolutely!” The difference in quality of Christian life
free from a controlling church that worships itself is the difference between
worshipping in truth—and idolatry. It is the difference between freedom and
slavery. It is the difference between honoring or dishonoring Jesus. It is the
difference between having or losing first love to Him.
The most precious benefit to leaving the self- idolatry of a controlling
group is the rich, sweet intimacy of a relationship with Jesus. Nothing in the
world can equal this! The second is learning to walk by the Spirit as a
dignified believer-priest, free from the tyranny and bondage of commandments
of men. The third is being able to accept other Christians as brothers and
sisters in Christ, and to be accepted and loved by them for who we are, not
because we conform to the image of “The Church” or “The Name” or “The Way.”
Dear captive set free, focus on the Lord Jesus Christ and immerse yourself
in His Word. He will uphold you through the difficult times. He will give you
exceedingly great joy. It’s worth it. Oh how it’s worth it!!!
Links to Sites on Cult Exposure and Recovery:
Love Letter to the Holdemans: http://www.theholdemans.com/index.htm
Legalism vs Grace: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/2x2info_namelesshousesect/legalism.htm
Four Aspects of Mind Control: http://www.caic.org.au/biblebase/workers/mindcont.htm
Recovery from Mind Control: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/2x2info_namelesshousesect/recovery.htm
Common Marks of a Cult: http://www.equip.org/free/CP0201.htm
Intelligent People Become Victims of Religious Cults: http://www.watchman.org/cults/cultkill.htm
Patterns in the Cults: http://www.watchman.org/profile/patrnpro.htm
Aiding Exiters: http://home.datawest.net/esn-recovery/default.htm
There is Genuine Christian Life Outside: http://www.rickross.com/reference/door/door16.html?FACTNet
Post-Cult Trauma Syndrome: http://www.caic.org.au/leaving/postcult.htm
Stages in Recovery: http://www.caic.org.au/leaving/recstage.htm
It's Too Perfect: http://www.caic.org.au/general/jeanne.htm
How to Find the One True Church: http://www.utahchristianpub.org/TRUECHUR.htm
I belong to the One True Church: www.westmont.edu/~work/articles/onetruechurch.html
Which is the One True Church? http://www.letusreason.org/Cult12.htm
There is no such thing as the One True Church: (meaning the one true
cult view of the church) http://patriot.net/~bmcgin/pearl-noonetruechurch.html