{"id":993,"date":"2009-07-19T19:20:17","date_gmt":"2009-07-19T23:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=993"},"modified":"2026-07-09T19:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T02:00:33","slug":"the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"The Good Works of Mysticism or the Grace of God?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by <\/strong>Ray Yungen <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
The New Age and Christianity definitely disagree on the answer to this dilemma of human imperfection. Metaphysics puts forth the doctrine of reincarnation and karma where the soul, through good works, evolves through many lives to a point where it can free itself from earthly bondage and become self-realized, united with the universe which is seen as God, but in reality is the realm of familiar spirits.<\/div>\n

On the other hand, Christ’s Gospel offers salvation to mankind through grace (unmerited favor). Romans 3:24 says, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Then in Romans 6:23 we read, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”<\/p>\n

This “gift” is not earned or given as a reward for earnest effort or good intentions. Ephesians 2:8-9 states clearly:
\n“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”<\/p>\n

The reason human effort does not work is because man is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). The word works is translated “actions” or “doings.” This can either mean good deeds or engaging in religious rituals.<\/p>\n

In metaphysics, the very word karma translates to mean actions or works. By your own effort and doings you are supposed to advance spiritually. If you are “dead” spiritually, as the Bible states, the concept of karma would be like trying to start a car without a battery.1<\/p>\n

1. Ray Yungen, For Many Shall Come in My Name<\/em>, 2nd ed., pp. 173-174.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ray Yungen The New…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-defending-the-faith","wpcat-4-id"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Good Works of Mysticism or the Grace of God? - From the Lighthouse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Good Works of Mysticism or the Grace of God?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Ray Yungen The New...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"From the Lighthouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-07-19T23:20:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-10T02:00:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ray Yungen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ray Yungen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ray Yungen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/83538e36670cf4c9636dacd663201806\"},\"headline\":\"The Good Works of Mysticism or the Grace of God?\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-07-19T23:20:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-10T02:00:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":279,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"DEFENDING THE FAITH\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/the-good-works-of-mysticism-or-the-grace-of-god\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Good Works of Mysticism or the Grace of God? 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