WHAT TO DO WHEN CULTISTS COME CALLING
A church member was taking a walk one evening. As he approached a large bridge over a river, he saw a man climbing up on the railing as if he was going to jump. The church member ran to see if he could prevent the man from jumping. He got to the man just as he was getting ready to throw himself into the river. Thinking quickly, the church member tried to start a conversation with the man: “What are you doing up there?” The man on the railing said, “I'm about to end it all. I can’t go on living.” The church member said, “But you shouldn’t kill yourself. Your life has meaning. Do you believe in God?” The jumper answered, “Yes, I do.” “Good” said the church member. “Are you a Christian?” The jumper said “Yes.” The church member said, “So am I What denomination are you?” The jumper said, “I’m a Baptist.” “So am I Are you Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?” The man on the railing said, “Northern Baptist.” “So am I ” said the church member. “Are you Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?” “I’m Northern Conservative Baptist,” said the man on the rail. “So am I Are you Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist , Great Lakes Region or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, New England Association?” The man on the railing said, “I’m Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region.” “So am I ” said the church member. “Are you Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council of 1873 or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council of 1913?” “I’m Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council of 1913.” said the jumper. To which the church member said, “Die heretic ” and pushed the jumper off the bridge.
Tonight I am going to conclude this series of lessons on “Cults, Occult and Religions.”
The title of my message this evening is, “What To Do When Cultists Come Calling.”
Imagine yourself on some typical Saturday morning at home. Maybe you’re doing some household chores or watching a game on TV. You’re interrupted by a knock on the door. You see two well-dressed individuals carrying briefcases and what look like Bibles. You have two choices, you can pretend you’re not at home or you can answer the door. What are you going to do? Let’s be brave and say you decide to answer the door. When you open the door they offer some material to help you find answer’s to life’s questions in these difficult times. As they begin their presentation, you quickly realize they are not Christians but cultists. What do you do?
1 Peter 3:15, “Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope.” (CEV)
While there is no one way of witnessing that applies to all circumstances, there are some principles that can be helpful to remember when witnessing to a cult member.
Cultists can be one of the most difficult kinds of people to reach for Christ. There are three reasons for this:
1. Because cultists feel they have something BETTER than Christianity.
2. Because cultists haven’t just repudiated Christianity, they are HOSTILE towards it.
3. Because cultists view Christians with RESENTMENT.