The New Age movement encompasses various spiritual beliefs and practices often emphasizing self-enlightenment, astrology, reincarnation, and generic spirituality, posing challenges to biblical Christianity. Preaching on this subject highlights the contrast between Christ’s unique gospel and New Age claims, urging discernment and steadfastness in the truth of Scripture (Colossians 2:8). Illustrations often use images of gurus, occult practices, and alternative spiritual fairs to depict this modern spiritual trend.
Human wisdom is a source of pride.
Shirley MacLaine representing the New Age:
"We already know everything. The knowingness of our divinity is the highest intelligence. And to be what we already know is the free will. Free will is simply the enactment of the realization you are God, a realization that you are divine."
Human wisdom is a source of pride.
Shirley MacLaine representing the New Age:
"We already know everything. The knowingness of our divinity is the highest intelligence. And to be what we already know is the free will. Free will is simply the enactment of the realization you are God, a realization that you are divine."
Many world religions today accept the man Jesus within their belief system. Muslims call him a prophet; some Buddhists consider him a bodhisattva, and New Age practitioners call him a social activist. Amidst such diverse claims of the identity of Jesus, who is the real Jesus? This reminds me of Jesus’s own question to his disciples in Matthew 16 -- namely, “Who do people say that I am?” A brief look at the backdrop of his question would help us better grasp the significance of this passage.
First, consider the location. The incident occurred at a place some miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee in the domain of Herod Philip.(1) It was also the reputed birthplace of the god of Pan -- the god of nature and fertility -- and he was staunchly worshipped there. The surrounding area was also filled with temples of classical pagan religion. Towering over all of these was the new temple to the Emperor Caesar. Thus, the question of Jesus’s identity was aptly and significantly posed to his disciples against a myriad of gods and idols.
Second, consider Peter’s response. The answer Peter accorded to Jesus’s question -- “You the Christ, the Son of the living God” -- was a title with implications that the original audience knew perfectly well. Peter was describing Jesus as the Promised One who would fulfill the hopes of the nation. The interesting thing, though, is that the original audience was expecting a Messiah or savior who was more of a political figure. Of course, Jesus, the disciples were discovering, was much more than this. He described himself as the divine Son of God, and the salvation he was to bring as something not just for the Jewish nation but for peoples of all nations.
Peter’s insightful confession was key in the disciples’ eventual recognition of Jesus and the turn of events that would follow. Though given divine insight, Peter was as unaware as the rest of the disciples that the victory of the Messiah they professed would come in the most unexpected way. Yet from here on, God’s plan was further revealed, Jesus’s suffering and impending death more clearly voiced. Jesus revealed that his Messiahship involved taking on the role of the suffering servant as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. His very identity would ultimately lead him to his cursed death on the Cross.
Of course, how Jesus lived and died has implications as to how his followers are to live as well. That is, we, too, are to deny our self-importance and self-focus and be willing to lose our lives in standing up for what is true and right. The earliest Christians understood this very well as many were persecuted for their faith and betrayed by their own families. The laying down of one’s life was a literal reality for those who would become martyrs.
Today, most of us live in environments where the question “Who do you say that I am?” is still asked in a world of distractions. We live in a context where we have endless options to choose from: a plethora of religions, pleasure and wealth, recognition, and so on. The question is as pressing to us as it was for those who first heard it. Who do we say Christ is? Our response is both personal and public. If we claim that Christ is supreme over all other competitors for our allegiance, how is this confession evident in our lives and in the world?
Regardless of what we may have been told, the way of Jesus is ultimately the way of the Cross. Signing up with Christ won’t give you worldly benefits, but all the forms of suffering that arise from carrying one’s cross. As we proclaim in our religiously pluralistic context that Christ is supreme over all other gods of this world, we need to be reminded that his supremacy and victory cannot be divorced from the heavy price that he paid.
Often, like Peter, we tend to expect a Lord who fits our preconceptions or ideas -- perhaps one who is always “successful,” or one who is validated by signs and wonders. Even the disciples were not spared this temptation. All of their questions about who would sit at his right hand and what one would secure from discipleship reveal that they were expecting glory as they walked with the Son. Their expectations likely did not include getting killed.
However, as they soon learned, any commitment to Christ that does not feature the Cross is merely devotion to an idol, for following Christ is costly. For some, following will mean death itself. It will mean taking up the Cross. It will mean living beyond our comfort zone. It may mean you will have to leave the country you call home. It will mean stepping out in love and conviction and perhaps undertaking a calling that many will scorn. Choosing to call Jesus the Christ may mean losing our lives, but then, this is the only way to truly live.
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1. NIV ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005), 1589.
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Copyright © 2007 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
I'll never forget the time a well-known media figure - we'll call him Tom - invited me to dinner. "I don't believe in God," Tom told me straight out. "But tell me why you believe." So I started in - not realizing I was about to learn a hard lesson in what evangelism means for the 1990s. I began sharing my testimony, but Tom cut me off. "I've heard all that before," he said. Then he proceeded to tell me about a friend who was into New Age spirituality. "Crystals, channeling - it worked for her," said Tom. "Just like your Jesus."
No, no, I tried to explain. Jesus is a historical person. Tom shrugged it off: His friend's guru is a real person, too. I argued for the historical validity of the Bible, but he still wasn't buying. As I fumbled with my fork, an idea popped into my mind. "Have you seen Woody Allen's movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS?" I asked. Yes, he'd loved it, in fact. It's about a doctor who is haunted by guilt after hiring a killer to murder his mistress. His Jewish father had taught him that God will surely bring justice. In the end the doctor suppresses his guilt, convincing himself that life is a Darwinian struggle where only the ruthless survive. I asked Tom: "Is that our only choice - to be tormented by guilt or else kill our conscience?"
Finally I had his attention. I was able to share from the Book of Romans, which teaches that, try as we may, we cannot run from the voice of conscience. Though Tom wasn't ready to make a decision, he listened as I told him of Christ's atoning work on the cross.
This anecdote illustrates how we Christians need to engage the common culture so we can give a discerning and meaningful defense of our faith. In this we can take a lesson from the early church, which developed different evangelistic approaches to Jews and Greeks. The Jews knew the Scriptures, so the apostles could begin directly with the message of Christ as the long-awaited Messiah. But the Greeks had no prior knowledge of Scripture, so the apostles had to find a starting point familiar to them.
The classic example is Paul's speech on Mars Hill in Athens. Christians need to engage the common culture. As his springboard Paul uses a religious site in the city: an altar to an unknown god. Later he quotes a Greek poet. He appeals to the Athenians' own experience in order to create a common ground before presenting the Gospel.
Modern America used to resemble Jerusalem, but it is becoming increasingly like Athens. It is our task -- in the post-Christian 1990s -- to utilize contemporary culture as a tool to introduce the message of salvation. This series on apologetics will provide you with ammunition for defending the Gospel in the language of today's culture. Use it to share the Gospel effectively in the Athens in which you live.
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(c) 1998 Prison Fellowship Ministries Copyright notice: We encourage liberal distribution of these transcripts through email and print. Please do not post on the world wide web or use this content for profit.
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