Twisting Scripture: The Cult Behind the Cross | John MacArthur Motivation
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🙏 Why Should You Watch? Because not everything labeled “Christian” is truly of Christ. In today’s world, many cults operate under Christian symbols and language while spreading teachings that directly oppose Scripture. In this video, John MacArthur brings clarity to the chaos and helps you recognize truth from deception. Watching this message will sharpen your understanding, protect your walk with Christ, and empower you to stand against spiritual corruption. If you care about the truth of God's Word, this is essential viewing.
⏰ Timestamps: 00:00 – ⛪ Introduction: Hidden Dangers in the Church 01:45 – 📜 How Scripture Gets Twisted 04:00 – 🔍 Spotting Cultic Behavior in Christian Disguise 06:30 – ⚔️ The War on Biblical Truth 08:50 – ❌ Misusing the Cross for Power 11:00 – 💡 John MacArthur’s Insight on Modern Cults 13:00 – 🙏 Final Thoughts & Encouragement
🔎 Keywords (SEO Optimized): John MacArthur, false teachings, Christian cults, twisting Scripture, biblical truth, spiritual deception, cults in Christianity, Christian motivation, exposing false doctrine, truth in the church
00:00brothers and sisters in christ today i want to sound the alarm about a tragedy not outside the church walls but inside them there is a subtle seductive movement cloaked in christian language wrapped in crosses quoting scripture and singing the name of jesus but it is not the gospel of christ it is a twisting of scripture a corruption of grace and a mockery of the cross
00:27paul warned us in 2 corinthians 11 13-14 that false apostles would appear as ministers of righteousness they come not denying christ but redefining him they preach a jesus who is not lord a gospel that is not grace and a cross that saves no one they build churches write books and host conferences and behind it all is a cult
00:52not always by name but by nature this is not merely theological error it is spiritual warfare and the most dangerous lies are those that come dressed as truth we must not be deceived we must be vigilant we must return to soul a scripture a scripture alone for it alone speaks the truth about the cross of christ
01:15let us now expose the darkness masquerading as light the subtle art of scripture distortion years ago a young man visited our church after being released from a religious group
01:27that claimed to follow the bible more purely than anyone else they wore modest clothes rejected television and fasted regularly outwardly it looked like holiness but as i sat with him tears filled his eyes
01:42they told me they told me if i left he said god would curse me that my soul would be lost forever they used the bible in fact they only used the bible but what they did was far more dangerous than ignoring it they twisted it
01:57this is precisely what peter warned about in 2 peter 3 16 when he said that some distort the scriptures to their own destruction
02:08these groups don't start with false doctrine they start with truth and then they bend it just enough to become untruth
02:16they quote verses but sever them from their context they emphasize rules over redemption
02:23they redefine grace to mean merit and faith to mean loyalty to leadership
02:28slowly subtly the cross becomes a symbol not of freedom but of fear
02:35the serpent in eden didn't begin with a denial of god
02:40he began with a question did god really say
02:43the goal wasn't rejection but distortion
02:46that's the satanic strategy
02:48today countless churches and so-called christian movements do the same
02:53they exalt scripture publicly but privately
02:57they rearrange its meaning to support their agenda
03:00the worst part
03:02many sincere people fall into it
03:05believing their walking in obedience
03:08when they are in fact being spiritually manipulated
03:12what starts as a hunger for truth turns into slavery under lies disguised as doctrine
03:20the first tactic of the cult behind the cross
03:23is not to remove the bible
03:26but to rewire it to replace divine revelation with man's interpretation
03:31and when that happens christ is no longer the center
03:36control is replacing christ
03:39centered doctrine with man centered ideas a woman once approached me after a service shaken
03:45she had spent ten years in a fellowship where she was told she could only hear from god through her spiritual mentor a prophet
03:53who claimed to speak direct revelation from the lord they told me she said that to question him was to question god they spoke of jesus they prayed in his name but it wasn't christ who ruled that place it was a man
04:10this is the danger when man becomes the interpreter of truth instead of scripture in colossians 2 8 paul warned
04:18see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition
04:25in cult like churches in cult like churches jesus is no longer sufficient
04:31scripture is no longer final instead revelations feelings and visions take center stage experience trump's doctrine emotions become the litmus test for truth
04:44you hear phrases like god told me or i felt the spirit leading me and those replace the objective authoritative word of god
04:55the cross is redefined not as the place where wrath and mercy met but as a stage for self-ex
05:04expression and mystical enlightenment
05:06the cult behind the cross doesn't reject jesus outright
05:10they just redefine him to look like us they make him a therapist a coach or a political icon anything but the sovereign lord who demands repentance and grants grace
05:21they put man in the center his dreams his healing his destiny and christ is reduced to a stepping stone to achieve it
05:28friends the church is not called to entertain affirm or elevate man
05:34it is called to glorify christ to exalt his gospel and to proclaim that salvation is by grace alone
05:42through faith alone in christ alone any group that puts man's voice above god's word
05:50is not christian it is counterfeit and it's time we stop excusing it and start exposing it not in hatred
05:59but in truth for the sake of the gospel and the souls caught in its snare
06:05false authority and the abuse of power a former elder from a well-known church
06:12once came to me broken
06:14i thought i was serving christ
06:17he said
06:18but i was really serving the man behind the pulpit
06:22that leader
06:23hailed as god's chosen mouthpiece
06:26had made himself the final word on everything
06:30from doctrine to daily decisions
06:33disagreeing with him wasn't just rebellion against man
06:37it was treated as rebellion against god himself
06:40this is one of the clearest signs of a cult behind the cross
06:45human authority replaces the authority of christ
06:49leaders act as mediators between god and man
06:52twisting the biblical structure of the church into a religious empire built on control
06:58jesus said in matthew 20
07:0025-26
07:03the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them
07:06it shall not be so among you
07:08but in these movements it is so
07:10they demand absolute loyalty
07:13they punish questions
07:15they isolate members from outside influence even from family
07:19and all of it is justified with twisted scriptures
07:23cherry
07:24picked verses
07:25and spiritual manipulation
07:27the cross becomes a symbol of submission not to christ
07:31but to the cult leader
07:33it's no longer take up your cross and follow me
07:37but take up your cross and follow us
07:40in many of these circles church leadership becomes untouchable
07:45to challenge them is to invite shame discipline or excommunication
07:51but scripture says in 1 john 4
07:54one beloved do not believe every spirit
07:58but test the spirits to see whether they are from god
08:02true shepherds welcome accountability
08:05and live under the authority of the word
08:08not above it
08:10when men place themselves where only christ belongs
08:14they do not lead people to salvation
08:17they lead them into bondage
08:19the cult behind the cross is not just a doctrinal deviation
08:24it is spiritual tyranny disguised as devotion
08:28and it must be exposed not to tear down the church
08:32but to build it up in truth and protect the flock of god
08:36from wolves in shepherds clothing
08:38salvation by works
08:40not grace a young college student
08:43once confided in me after leaving a rigid performance
08:47based sect
08:48i was exhausted
08:50she said
08:51every day
08:53i felt like i had to earn god's approval
08:56if i didn't fast
08:58pray for an hour
09:00or avoid worldly music
09:02i thought i was damned
09:04she wept as she said it not because she had left a cult
09:09but because she had finally discovered grace
09:13this is perhaps the most tragic and common twist
09:16of all the distortion of the gospel into a gospel of works
09:19in these groups salvation is never secure
09:23it depends on your efforts
09:25your obedience
09:26your ability to stay within the lines
09:29yes they speak of jesus
09:31yes they mention grace
09:33but grace is redefined as a starting point
09:36not the entire foundation
09:38the rest is up to you
09:40paul rebuked this very teaching in galatians 1
09:436-7 saying
09:45i am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him
09:48who called you by the grace of christ
09:50for a different gospel
09:52that different gospel
09:53was the idea that faith in christ wasn't enough
09:57that you also needed the law
09:58cults today do the same
10:00they may not use the word mosaic law
10:03but they impose rules rituals and obligations
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