Vol. VII No. 7 Apr. 16, 2008

The Cult of Christ?

Written by Christopher Mentzer

Last month I received word from my “friend” Ryan Hoover that he preached his first sermon that angered his father-in-law, a preacher for a denomination but it converted his mother-in-law to the truth. Here’s the e-mail he sent me on the latest development…

RYAN: Hi Chris, talk about your ‘religious fireworks’ as you stated last month! I found out from Regina’s mother that Jacob recently preached a lesson entitled, “Satan lives within my family.” He stated that I was of the devil and that I snatched both his daughter and wife away from him and into the community of a cult. Can you believe it??? He called the Church of Christ a cult! I also found out that he issued a challenge to me in the sermon to a debate concerning this whole cult thing. He is sending along some papers with the debate topic and terms for me to sign later this week. I feel like I fell out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Here is my reply:

CHRIS: It comes as no surprise that your father-in-law would say you are in league with the devil. As you know Jesus had the same problem. Look at Matt. 12: 24-27, “But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons. 25. And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26. and if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? 27. And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.”

And to call the church a cult is also nothing new. The apostle Paul was accused of being the leader of a sect, “For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” (Acts 24: 5) All too often people fear what they don’t understand and instead of exploring the truth, they will stand back and label you incorrectly. Remember what Peter wrote in 1 Pet. 4: 15-16, “15. For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer, or as a meddler in other men's matters: 16. but if `a man suffer' as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name.”

As for the debate, I would suggest you get one of the brethren there in Mentor to represent you. All the same good luck!

About a week later, I got this surprising response…

RYAN: Hi Chris! Thanks very much for the advice but I’ve decided I’ll do the debate myself. Of course I’ll get help from the brethren but I’ve decided to make a stand against my father-in-law. The debate is set for June 4^th and 5^th. The reason for two nights is that I issued Jacob a challenge to coincide with his topic. On the first night we’ll debate on if the church of Christ is a cult and on the second the topic will be: The church of Christ follows the pattern of the bible. We’re splitting the location as well, giving each person ‘home field advantage’ as they say for each night. Jacob seemed quite surprised that I would be the one to do the debate as he also figured I would choose a representative. Nonetheless, he’s agreed to both topics and the terms. All that’s left is to study for the next couple months. Wish me luck!

Here’s my next reply:

CHRIS: Ryan, I’m glad to hear that you will do the debating although you should be very careful not to make this a personal vendetta against Jacob. Remember what Proverbs 29: 23 says, “A man's pride shall bring him low; But he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor.” Stick to the topic at hand, refer to the scriptures for everything (ignore the fact that he called you Satan’s son) and, above all, respect Jacob as a worthy opponent. The best of luck to you, wish I could be there to see it.