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What Are the Differences Between a Biblical Church and a Cult?

Many people accustomed to the traditional church are surprised by what they don't find at Xenos: no cross, no pews, no stained glass, no rituals, no priestly garments, no denominational listing. Others who hear Xenos emphasizes being "a movement of house churches," wonder why we endorse separate meetings during the week led by non-staff volunteers in people's homes. Still others, especially family members of new Christians in Xenos, may wonder if such a different type of church is authentic or a strange cult. We understand the sincerity of these questions and concerns, and take them very seriously.

What the Bible Says

Some of these questions are answered in the New Testament. For instance, people in the early churches met and broke bread "from house to house," and also had larger meetings in the temple (Acts 2:46, 5:42, 20:20). The apostle Paul commonly greets churches and their leaders who meet in these houses (Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Col. 4:15, Philemon 1:2). People who study the Bible realize many of the rituals and other aspects of the traditional church today have been added slowly over centuries.

Why Xenos Is So Different

Many people in our culture who have rejected what they perceive as "churchianity," have never given a fair hearing to the Bible, or considered the offer of God's grace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Others who are regular church attenders may have little knowledge of the central message of the Bible and how it's radically different from man-made religious practices.

The founders of Xenos felt led by God to create a new way of "doing church"—more like the early New Testament churches. Since Xenos isn't part of a denominational organization, we were able to do this without regard to tradition.

We recognize the way we do things may seem initially strange. For this reason, Dennis McCallum, Lead Pastor, has prepared an article called "Strange Things in Xenos".

Overall, we're grateful for the work God's doing in our church. We're also thankful for recognition from leading Christian thinkers as an innovative, evangelical, culturally-relevant church with sound biblical principles and a Statement of Faith that lines up with mainstream evangelical doctrine.

So, what are the differences between a biblical church and a cult? How can "a movement of house churches" led by non-staff volunteers provide spiritual leadership at the grassroots level?

While not exhaustive, here are five tests of authentic spirituality you can apply to discern a biblical church from false teaching. Within Xenos, we teach everyone from leaders to new Christians about these basic concepts to equip our church with the level of Biblical knowledge needed to live it out daily.

Key Priorities for Authentic Spirituality:

  1. Christ and the Bible, not man, is the authority over everyone in the church. Beware when the ultimate authority is not Christ and the word of the God of the Bible, or when a leader communicates he alone is uniquely qualified to interpret or add to what is in Scriptures. Beware when the morality of a leader's lifestyle, including money management, is inconsistent with the Bible.

  2. We are to live "in the world" not "of the world." Beware of a call to withdraw or become isolated from the surrounding culture. On the other extreme, beware of surrendering biblical morals or God's truth and love to go with the cultural flow.

  3. We are to teach what the Bible teaches and emphasize what the Bible emphasizes. Beware of spiritual environments that omit or deviate from central teachings of the Bible, namely the teaching of God's grace and the call to become followers of Christ. Beware of groups focusing on things seldom mentioned in the Bible.

  4. We are not to add rules to what the Bible teaches, and we are not to tell people what to do in non-spiritual matters. Beware of leaders who overstep their spiritual authority in moral areas, or who create rules that don't exist in non-moral areas of personal judgment.

  5. We are to teach transformation, not conformity—to help each person discover and become who he or she is in Christ. Beware of spiritual environments emphasizing compliance with extra-biblical rules, or on managing behavior through self-effort versus the transforming power of God's grace through growing in knowledge, love and discernment.