Biblical Responses to the New Age Movement by Matthew J. Slick |
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1. Biblical Responses to the New
Age Movement A.
God is personal. If God were impersonal, then the following qualities
could not be His. 1. God speaks and has
a self given name: "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). B. Man is not divine, but
a sinner (Romans 3:23). 1.
He is deceitful and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9). C. Salvation is not correct
thought, but deliverance from the consequence of our sin (Romans
6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9). 1.
Salvation is God's deliverance from damnation (Ephesias 2:8-9;
Romans 1:18, 2:5, 5:9). D. Miracles are from God
not from the mind of man (Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 17:12-19;
John 2:1-11). 1. Miracles imply an action by someone that is greater than ourselves. If God is impersonal, miracles cannot occur. But they do occur today as well as in Bible times and are not simply proper thoughts or understanding. E. Christ means "anointed."
Jesus was the Christ, "the anointed one." It does not
mean a consciousness or quality of people. Jesus was the Christ,
the Messiah, the Deliverer from sin. 1.
Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:16,20; Luke 9:20). F. Only the Bible has the
message of Grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God upon His
people. Grace is the undeserved kindness of God. Grace is getting
the blessings we do not deserve. At the death of Christ we are
blessed; we are given grace; we are given eternal life and forgiveness
of sins. Only Christianity has the message of free forgiveness
given. Every other religious system on earth has some form of
salvation dependent totally or in part on what the adherents do.
Not so with Christianity. 2. Witnessing to New Agers
A.
Ask questions: 1.
If we are all God, then why do we act so badly? a.
They might say it is because we all have not come to a full
realization of our true divine potentials. It is ignorance
that leads to bad deeds. 2. Why do our "realities"
contradict each other? a.
They might say that they don't contradict each other. They
are simply different shades of light on the same picture (or
something vague like that). i. The New Age Movement says that Jesus is only one of many ways to God. But Jesus said He was the only way to God (John 14:6). They can't both be right; therefore, the New Age Movement teaching that we can create our own truths can't be true. B. Don't let them take Christian
words and use them out of the context of Biblical meaning. 1. New Agers recognize the tremendous influence and spotless reputation of Jesus. They want Him to be associated with their beliefs. As a result, you might find yourself facing a New Ager who uses Christian words -- but with non-Christian definitions. Listen carefully, and don't let them steal what is Christian and transplant it into their system. C. Listen for internal contradictions. 1. As mentioned above, truth does not contradict itself. You must listen to what they are saying and ask questions. Sooner or later you catch on to inconsistencies. D. Tell them that God is
personal, that He loves them, and that Jesus died for sin. 1. The Word of God will not come back empty without accomplishing what God wishes it to (Isaiah 55:11). If you focus on Jesus, tell them the truth about sin and salvation, and use Scripture, then, at least, they will have heard the truth. Praise be to Jesus the Christ. |
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