The Religious Cult of Iglesia ni Cristo

I have some sour news and yet encouraging news for those who belong to the above titled "church." Quite simply, it is a religious cult. Cults do not lead people to the Jesus Christ of the Bible, but rather to another Jesus and another gospel (2 Cor. 11:1-4; Gal. 1:8,9).

Defining a cult

From an evangelical Christian perspective, a cult is any group or organization that deviates from the orthodox teachings of the historic Christian faith being derived from God's word (the Bible), and which was confirmed through the ancient ecumenical creeds centuries ago.

Cults are typically very manipulative. Their leaders demand total commitment and loyalty from their followers, even to the point that they must abandon their family members for the sake of the religious organization if they will not join the cult.

We find both of the above paragraphs to be true of the cult of Iglesia ni Cristo. So let's look at some history of this far-reaching organization which is primarily found in the Philippines.

Iglesia ni Cristo history

Iglesia ni Cristo was founded by Felix Manalo in the Philippines in 1914. Today, in nearly every city or province, one may see one of these large blue colored structures dominating the landscape.

As every Filipino knows, the name Iglesia ni Cristo is Tagalog for "Church of Christ." At any rate, Manalo was once a Catholic who abandoned that faith, then moved on to various Christian denominations, and even to another cult: the Jehovah's Witnesses. Finally, fed up with all of them, he started his own church, the above named Iglesia ni Cristo.

When a rift and discord in the church came about in 1922, Manalo began claiming to be God’s prophet in an effort to amass his power and re-assert his leadership over the church. Manalo was a false prophet, such like his grandson today.

Now let's pause for a moment and define the doctrine of Christology.

Christology

Christology is the Doctrine of Christ Jesus. We can substitute doctrine for the word teaching or the words truthful teaching.

Christianity differentiates itself from all other world religions in that Jesus Christ is absolutely central in the Christian faith. This is to say that without Jesus as the sole head of the Church, there simply is no church. The Bible teaches us that Jesus was truly man and truly God. Yes, it's a mystery to us, but one day in glory we will know precisely how this is true.

Numerous Bible verses recognize worship as being due to God, that is, to Deity alone. For example, when Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, one of His retorts to the Devil was: "Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only" (Matthew 4:10).

Therefore, as believers in the risen Lord who shed his blood for the payment of our sins, we are to worship no other "god" but rather God alone in the Persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately and sadly, Iglesia ni Cristo teachings actually deny the divinity of Jesus Christ (as do all cults and false religions), and they also argue that Jesus was created by God and enabled to do miraculous works by God.

But the Bible tells us otherwise: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning" (John 1:1-2, NIV).

Then they go on and deny the doctrine of the Trinity (Father, Son and the Holy Spirit). They further claim that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force. Additionally, they assert that the Christian church in its current form has apostatized, and that the Iglesia ni Cristo is the reinstatement of the true church that was lost in the first century; and this by means of God’s last messenger, Felix Manalo—the founder of Iglesia ni Cristo.

These are the signs of a cult, my friends. The above paragraph details just some of the false teachings of the cult of Iglesia ni Cristo.

False teachings

Listed here are the primary teachings of the cult of Iglesia ni Cristo:

• They believe that one must hear the gospel from authorized Iglesia ni Cristo messengers and ministers.
• They believe the official name of the church is “Iglesia ni Cristo.” Other names are not the true name of the church and, therefore, false churches.
• They believe a person must be a member of an Iglesia ni Cristo church and be water baptized to be saved.
• They believe people must avoid eating dinuguan, which is pork blood stew, a Filipino delicacy.
• Their members must avoid joining trade unions.
• Their members must avoid court sessions.
• They must vote in blocs.
• They are under compulsory church attendance.
• They must give tithes to the church.

If an adherent or follower of this cult does not abide by the above listed regulations or teachings, they cannot be saved. This is a lie from the very pit of hell.

At present, Eduardo V. Manalo leads the false church and numerous scandals have plagued the church organization. Rather than detail them here, you may follow the link at the end of this article.

Conclusion

As Bible believing Christians we must reject all false teachings, and instead “earnestly contend for the faith which was once and for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

Furthermore, as faithful Christians, we must be vigilant regarding the teachings of false messiahs and cultic offshoots of Christianity, such as the Iglesia ni Cristo. Of a necessity, we must be well-grounded in God's word so that we can spot these false teachers and blind leaders of the blind right away.

We must also realize that the individuals who are trapped in this specific cult require the salvation that can only be found in Jesus Christ—the only Son of God—just as much as we did when we were lost in our sin. Therefore, we should pray for them, show them the Scriptures, and make every effort to confront them in the spirit and love of Jesus.

The link below is entitled "IGLESIA NI CRISTO LEADERS LINKED TO TWO MORE KIDNAPPING CASES."

https://incsilentnomore.com/2017/04/22/iglesia-ni-cristo-leaders-linked-to-two-more-kidnapping-cases/