There are many heresies being propagated in mainland China. They tend to spread quickly and broadly. We must do our best to recognize heresies and avoid the harm caused by them. Special attention must be paid to distinguishing heresies, cults, and extreme teaching.
Some secretive “underground churches” in China are in fact cults. They cleverly take advantage of people’s sympathy for house churches and their lack of understanding of sound doctrine to deceive. They post Christian signs, claim to be Christian churches, conceal their identities, cheat people for money and sex, and deceive and destroy believers.
Some of these heretical factions do not preach the gospel to non-believers. Instead, they purposely seek to infiltrate existing churches, mislead preachers and believers, and thus cause chaos and confusion in the churches. The strategies of those spreading false teaching include seducing people to deviate from truth, brain-washing brothers and sisters, “stealing sheep” and splitting the church. Since many Chinese non-believers and even government officials are unable to distinguish between true and false Christians, these cults have greatly damaged the image of Christianity in China.
Some of the most influential indigenous cults in mainland China include: The Church of Almighty God (formerly known as “Eastern Lightning”); the Spirit Church; the Three Grades of Servants Church; the Disciple Church (aka “Three Ways of Redemption”). There are also cults from other places: Holy Laughter, from Korea; God the Mother Church (World Mission Society Church of God); Young Disciples of Jesus; The Upper Room of Mark. There are also cults from the U. S. in China including: Jehovah’s Witnesses; the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); Apostolic Faith Mission; the New Age Movement; Gate of Heaven; The Family International. Some of the more recent heresies even have leaders who claim to be the mother or the son of Jesus.
These heresies have a number of common traits: the first involves denying the person of Christ; the second involves denying the integrity of Christ’s redemptive work; the third involves denying the absolute authority of the Bible. In these ways, cults distort and add to the teachings of the Bible. There are also some common characteristics such as: a. Strong exclusivity, claiming that the teachings of other churches are heretical and that only their teaching is correct and pure; b. Leaders regard themselves as having the highest authority and expect complete submission; c. Specific end-times prophesies and claims about days and times; d. Enforced isolation from the outside world and the sheltering of believers, sometimes in locked compounds; e. Inconsistent arguments and teaching.
The key to guarding against heresies and lies is investing in your spiritual growth by being deeply rooted in Biblical truth. Rely on the Bible and the Holy Spirit. Keep in mind the fundamental truths, such as the Bible alone as the highest authority, the doctrine of the trinity, the deity of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, salvation (by grace through faith), eschatology, ecclesiology and other fundamental biblical truths, to these hold fast.
In addition, it may be helpful to spend some time with a pastor for counseling and carefully read some materials on how to guard against heresies. A few good resources include China Morning’s Against Heretics (“中国晨曦”《对抗异端》, in Chinese) , Home of Grace’s “Top Heresies and Cults in China” (“恩典之家”《中国的异端邪教排行榜》, in Chinese) and the online article “Heresies and Cults in China Today” by Tony Lambert.
中国国内有哪些异端？
中国大陆各种异端很多，而且传播广、快、深、远。我们需要竭力抵制异端，防止其危害。特别要注意区别异端、异教、极端等。
国内有一些封闭的“地下教会”实际是异端邪教。他们巧妙地利用一些人对纯正教义认识不深，以及对家庭教会的同情，打出基督教的招牌，自称基督教会，隐蔽身份、骗财骗色、坑害信徒。
其中一些异端派别，不向教外传福音，专门钻进现有的教会中，俘虏传道人和信徒，使教会出乱生变。异端的危害包括：诱人偏离正道、对弟兄姐妹进行精神控制、拉羊导致教会分裂，等等。由于许多非基督徒同胞乃至政府官员，都无能力分辨真假，这些异端也极大地损害了基督教在人们心目中的形象。
大陆较具影响力的异端，包括中国本土的全能神教会（以前叫“东方闪电”）、灵灵教，三班仆人派、门徒会、使徒信心会、圣笑派、三赎基督；韩国的上帝母亲教、耶稣青年会、马可楼；美国的耶和华见证人、摩门教（耶稣基督后期圣徒教会）；以及新纪元运动、天堂之门、上帝女儿、神爱之家等等，最近甚至有自称是耶稣的母亲、耶稣的儿子的异端。
所有异端都有一些共同特点：第一是否认基督的位格；第二是否认基督救赎工作的完整性；第三否定圣经的绝对权威，篡改和增补圣经的教训道理。还有一些常见的特性如：A.强烈的排他性：自称本派的信仰最正确，教义最纯正；其它教会的教导都是异端；B.领袖自视拥有最高权威；C.强调末世已来临或将来临的具体日子；D.与外界隔绝，牢笼信众；E.说法多变。
防范异端，关键在于自身的灵命成长和真理扎根。要根据圣经、倚靠圣灵，把基要真理，如惟独圣经是最高权威，三一神观之上帝论、基督论、圣灵论，以及救赎论、末世论、教会论等基本真理，谨记在心，持守到底。
此外，还要花一些时间，请教牧加以辅导，仔细阅读一些防范异端的材料，如“中国晨曦”《对抗异端》（电子小册子）和“恩典之家”《中国的异端邪教排行榜》。英文材料可参考Tony Lambert所著Heresies and Cults in China Today.
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