Busy Bees

     In the bee world, there’s no rest for the worker bees.  First they search for nectar and pollen and then make wax and honey.  In addition the worker bees feed the queen and larvae, build and repair the hive, keep it cool with their wings, and protect the hive against enemies.

     Their job isn’t to think–it’s only to work.  And in that regard, they’re like members of a cult.

     “Now hold on just a minute,” you may say.  “What’s wrong with keeping folks busy?”

     Nothing.  Unless it’s designed to keep them from thinking or asking questions.  Or worse.

     What could be worse?  Good question.  And it brings us to another mark of a cult.

     Cults multiply law-keeping requirements.  They may SAY they believe in salvation by grace, but then talk about ‘merited grace’ – a contradiction.   Or they talk about good works that are necessary to remain in God’s good graces or to ‘inherit’ salvation.

     ‘Grace’ means that salvation is an UNmerited gift from God. That is the clear teaching of the Bible.  It says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

     If you believe doing something earns salvation, then your salvation is based on works. What’s so bad about that? Well, God is so holy and righteous that the Bible says our good works are like “filthy rags.”  They can never earn salvation.  And being too busy to realize that is tragic.

     The reason God can offer salvation as a free gift through faith in Christ is because Jesus paid the price for us.  He lived the perfect life we should have lived and died the death on the cross that we deserve for our sins.

     All God asks is for us to come to him on the basis of what Christ has done, not on the basis of what we have done.  That’s faith.  That’s trust.  And that’s the message of the Bible.

     A cult talks about having faith, but it’s always faith PLUS obedience to their group’s laws and ordinances.  And if good behavior is necessary to earn any part of one’s eternal salvation, then they cannot say, as the Bible does, that through faith in Christ, God “forgave us all our sins.”

     That a cult requires loyal obedience for salvation is not surprising.  Most religions do.  Probably because the default mode of human religious thinking is legalism.  But Jesus came to change all that.  His goal was to help us establish a personal, one-to-one relationship with God.

     Several people that once belonged to cults related to me that busyness was part of the plan to keep members from thinking.  Some people in a cult develop doubts but they just ‘put them on a shelf’ in the back of their minds.  For the fortunate ones, the shelf eventually ‘breaks’ causing a crisis of faith and driving them to seek for the truth.

     The Bible warns us, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

     If you want a simple test to identify a cult, remember the four math operations: Add, Subtract, Divide and Multiply.  Do they insist on adding to the Bible?  Do they subtract from the Bible’s description of Jesus as the virgin born Son of God who is God in the flesh?  Do they divide loyalty to God by demanding unquestioning devotion to their ‘church’ for salvation?  And do they multiply law-keeping requirements that must be obeyed to be ‘saved’?

     If the answer is “Yes,” it’s a cult.  Stay away!

     Then look for a friendly, Bible teaching, life-giving church where you’re free to ask questions, where your faith will be encouraged and where you and your family can serve God.

     Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!