Nuggets from Occult Invasion—The Great Difference

Nowhere is the difference between naturalism and supernaturalism seen more clearly than when it comes to God and Jesus Christ. Naturalism sees an impersonal Force behind all existence, a Force that is in all things and thus may be experienced and utilized by looking within one’s own being. The God of the Bible, on the other hand, is totally other than the universe and all He made, including man. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ is God who came to this earth through a virgin birth to become a man in order to reveal Himself to us and to die in our place for our sins.

There is no procedure or ritual that can cause a sinner to pass from death to life. The new birth is a miracle of God’s grace that only He can accomplish. Unlike the scientific application of laws to release spiritual energy, we must approach the God of the Bible as unworthy sinners trusting in His grace and mercy. There are no formulas that we can think, speak or visualize that will require Him to respond to us.

Here is the great difference between psychic power and spiritual power. The former presumably comes from some force inherent within the human psyche, or perhaps within the mind, producing the fabled “mind over matter” that psychics boast of and is being pursued in laboratories. True spiritual power comes from God and is miraculous, overriding the laws of physics and chemistry. God’s power also exerts a moral influence, which is entirely lacking in any natural force.

The Bible asserts that this moral power flows to believers in Christ through their faith. Norman Vincent Peale claimed that Positive Thinking was the same as biblical faith. Of course that is not true. An atheist could teach Positive Thinking seminars, and some do. Faith is not a power we aim at God to get what we want.

Biblical faith is not some power of the mind, but simple trust in God alone and in Jesus Christ, who is God come to this earth as a man through the virgin birth. Faith in Christ must include who He is and what He has done. The fact that He died for our sins and rose again to live His life in those who open their hearts to Him is the source of an entirely new moral power over sin. That power is unknown in nature.