Monthly Archives: July 2020

Jesus, Satan and the New Age

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My friend, Steven Bancarz, now a Christian, was formerly a successful writer in the New Age movement. Summing up the vast chasm of difference between the two, he writes:

New Age spirituality is 100% premised on the idea that God is something already within man. Man shares in the divinity of God, either by extension, by indwelling, or both. If anything could be called a “staple” of New Ageism, it would be the idea that man is intrinsically divine. Some say the universe is made out of the substance and being of a transcendent God, emanating from His being. Man’s being is an emanation of God, and therefore man is divine in this sense. Others may say there is a field of consciousness within nature that can be called God that acts as the ground of being and gives rise to all particles and forces in the universe, and since this field (God) grounds and fills everything in creation, we can be said to be divine because this field of consciousness makes up the fabric of our inner and outer being.

The entire Bible however, cover to cover, is premised on man being separated by God in nature and in relationship: “The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit” (Isa. 31:3). The sacrificial and temple system of the Old Testament provided limited space where the manifest presence of God could dwell among the people, because He was too holy to actually dwell in man or with man without the shedding of blood for sin. Sin has separated man from God, and the entire purpose of Christ was to take us from being ontologically and relationally separated from God to being reconciled with God relationally.

“but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” – Isaiah 59:2

One affirms man in his nature state God by nature in constant relationship to God while indwelt by Him, the other affirms man in his natural state isn’t God by nature having a broken relationship with God while being devoid of Him. New Age affirms a Creator-creation unity. Jesus affirms a Creator-creation distinction. They are polar opposites by definition and are logically incompatible with one another.

If Jesus’ theology is correct, New Ageism is as far away from the truth about man’s nature and relationship to God as you could possibly be. Nothing could be farther than the truth of man’s nature and status before God than New Age theology, because it is diametrically opposed to the propositions Jesus affirmed.

If New Age theology is correct, Jesus Christ is wrong and should be dismissed as having the lowest spiritual intelligence you could possibly have for being as wrong about man’s nature and relationship to God as you could possibly be. He is 0% correct about man’s nature and status before God if New Ageism is true, and is even more incorrect about man’s nature than Satan who at least affirms man should be a functional “god” over his or her life. After all, Satan promised Eve that her and Adam would become as God (or the gods) if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan promised divinity, and Satanism today affirms functional divinity at the very least.

If New Age theology is true, Satan and Satanism is closer to the truth than Jesus is. Is man divine by nature as Satan affirmed in Genesis 3? Or is man separate from God by nature as the entire Bible affirms cover to cover? If one wants to affirm New Age theology, one must side with Satan. If one wants to affirm the words of Jesus, one has to denounce New Age theology.

The text of Scripture leaves us with no other option. The only other option is to be intellectually irresponsible and twist Scripture to fit the narrative that man is intrinsically divine, a theology all the prophets, disciples, and church fathers rejected which can be easily documented with primary quotes.

“Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men!” – Psalm 9:20

Money – a Blessing or a Curse

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In a weekly devotional email sent out to his mailing list, Paul Tripp writes the following:

Money will either bless you or curse you.

It can be a rescuing blessing in the hands of your Savior. Your desires for and use of money can reveal what is ruling your heart (see James 4:1–3, Deuteronomy 15:10). Money can also be an invitation to experience blessing by being a blessing. Generosity allows us to respond to others’ physical needs, and as we do, participate in activities that are literally of eternal consequence (see Acts 20:35, Malachi 3:10). But money can also be spiritually dangerous and should be handled with extreme caution. Here are four reasons why:

1. Money can cause you to forget God. Physical neediness prompts us to cry out to God for help, and in so doing, we remember that we’re spiritually needy. A pastor of a church in an extremely affluent community told me that since his people can spend their way into or out of just about anything, it’s hard for them to think of themselves as spiritually destitute.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

2. Money can change the way you think about you and cause you to look down on others. What’s the difference between a billionaire and a person in poverty? God made both in his image, both are sinners in need of redemption (which cash can’t purchase), and both are reliant upon God for daily breath and sustenance. So why do those with money often look down on those without? There are too many answers for us to consider here, but generally speaking, money can redefine your identity outside of Christ and stimulate a prideful prejudice that lurks somewhere in the heart of every sinner.

Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. (Proverbs 16:8)

3. Money can weaken your resolve to fight temptation. For years, a friend told me that he prided himself on being committed to a simple, God-honoring lifestyle. Then he stumbled into a small fortune, and it quickly revealed that he wasn’t satisfied in God’s glory alone; he was living “content” because he couldn’t afford anything more! Money can be dangerous because it removes a restraint—affordability. Most of us can’t afford to pursue every desire that pops into our heart. It’s typically not because we have such a strong commitment to fight temptation and choose instead to live for the Kingdom of God.

Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:9)

4. Money can finance your allegiance to the kingdom of self. There is no neutrality when it comes to your finances; what you are doing is worship. I have rarely misused money because I was ignorant or without a budget. No, I dishonored the Lord with my wallet because, at that particular moment, I didn’t care what God or anyone else said. I wanted what I wanted, and if I had the resources to chase it, I did. No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

Now, it must be stated that there is no teaching in Scripture that would lead us to believe that poor people are better off spiritually than others. The Bible also emphasizes the tremendous good that can be done with accumulated wealth. But in our daily experience with money, the Word of God alerts us to the many dangers that it poses. Our only defense is the powerful grace of the Redeemer. He comes and lives inside of us so that when desire within meets temptation without, we will have just what we need to fight the battle.
Reflection Questions

1. When was the last time you asked God for provision or healing for a physical need or ailment? How can this prompt you to cry out to God regarding your spiritual poverty and sickness?

2. Is there someone (or a group of people) you look down on now, regardless of financial reason. What does this prejudice reveal about your spiritual pride?

3. What about this person (or group of people) makes you look down on them? How are you more like them than unlike them?

4. Regardless of your financial position, what rabbit trail of selfish desires have you gone down recently? How did Christ face similar temptation and defeat it on your behalf?

5. How can you steward the money God has entrusted to you—no matter how much—to serve him this week? Get specific in the ways that you can connect financially with the move of the Kingdom of God.