Understanding the Difference Between
Christianity and Islam
Below is a message I delivered
last night in our church.
I hope it helps someone else out there
understand what I believe we are up
against and
how we should respond.
Todd W. White, Pastor
South Heights Baptist Church
Sapulpa, Oklahoma
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Note: There are varied ways to spell the words
translated from Arabic in that which follows.
I will be using the form that seems to be most
often used by those who write in English
for which Arabic is thier native language.
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ISLAM: THE MESSAGE OF MUHAMMED
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Would you open your Bibles with me tonight to Exodus Chapter 3.
Here, we find Moses speaking to God -
“And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh
, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said,
Certainly I will be with thee; and this
shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee:
When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt,
ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God,
Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel,
and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you;
and they shall say to me, What is his name?
what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and
he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you” (Ex. 3:11-14).
Now, here we have Moses asking God what he is to tell the
people of Israel about the
One Who sent him unto them. God answers very
clearly by telling Moses His name, translated into the English
language as “I AM.”
This phrase, “I AM” is, as you know, taken from the Hebrew text,
where only the consonants are given. It is a repetition
of the verb, “to be.”
And the Jews themselves translate this as “The Eternal One.”
The reason that only the consonants are given
and no vowels is that the Jews
so revered the name of God that they didn’t put the vowels,
lest someone pronounce it. So, they speak of Him as “The One Who Is,
Who Always Was, and the One Who Always Shall Be”.
Now, turn with me to Isaiah 43:10. Here, God again is speaking, and He says -
“Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my
servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and
understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed,
neither shall there be after me” (Isaiah 43:10).
So - we KNOW that there is but one God, and there
has never been one before Him, neither shall there be after Him.
Now look at John’s Gospel, Chapter 8. In conflict with the Jews,
Jesus said - “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep
my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the
Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast
a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest,
If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead?
and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my
Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say,
I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you:
but I know him, and keep his saying.
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day:
and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet
fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him:
but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple,
going through the midst of them, and so passed by” (John 8:51-59).
Now look at John 10:32 -
“Jesus answered them, Many good works
have I showed you from my Father;
for which of those works do ye stone me?
The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone
thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou,
being a man, makest thyself God” (John 10:32).
Notice how in John 8 Jesus reaches into the Old Testament,
and, quoting from Exodus Chapter 3,
takes to Himself the Divine Title - “I AM”.
Now - I am not going to go into a dissertation about the Trinity,
but suffice to say, we believe that the Bible
is the inspired, inerrant, revealed - theopneustos- Word of God,
and that it teaches clearly that there is one God,
but He chooses to manifest Himself to us in three persons -
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here in John’s Gospel,
we see that Jesus believed
and taught it, and the response of the Jews
(they tried to killed Him in John 8 and 10 and understood
Him exactly, as presented in John 10:32).
Beloved, it is VERY IMPORTANT that we understand
and place our faith upon the God of the Bible.
Why? Because if you are wrong about who God is, you are wrong
enough to lose your soul for all eternity!
Only the God of the Bible can save us,
therefore we had better know Him personally!
The same is true for Jesus. There are lots of Jesus’ running around in
the world today, but ONLY ONE can save a man’s soul -
the Jesus Christ of the Bible!
So, with that said, I would ask you to please keep these things in mind
as we make our study tonight into the teachings of Islam -
1. The BIBLE is THE inspired, inerrant, infallible, preserved Word of God
- NO OTHER book or books contain His revelation to us!
2. There is but one God, manifested in three persons -
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
They are each co-equal, co-essential, and co-eternal.
3. Salvation is by grace, through faith, plus nothing!
Ephesians 2:8-9 put make this very plain:
“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.”
For what I am going to say tonight, I make no claims of originality.
It is a gleaning of materials from several sources
which I have checked for accuracy
as carefully as I know how, along
with comments here and there from my own heart.
I trust it will inform you, bless you, open your eyes to
the dangerous teachings and practices of Islam, and that
the Holy Spirit will use it to motivate you to reach the lost world - including Muslims -
with the only Gospel that saves - the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
As the influx of Islam into Western and
American culture continues to rise,
and since the modern media has no clue as to the real
intent and purpose of this dangerous religious system, it behooves
us to get some understanding of it for the following reasons:
1. So we can effectively witness to Muslims.
2. So we can better appreciate the wonderful faith of grace, hope,
and love that God has given to us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. So we can accurately alert our friends, relatives,
and communities as to the very real danger Islam
presents to our very lives as Christians, Jews, and Americans.
The great confession, or Shahada, made by faithful Muslims
around the world every day is,
“There is no god but Allah, and Muhammed is the prophet of Allah.”
This confession automatically and very effectively separates Muslims around the world
from every other system of faith, including Christianity
and Judaism. Islam is one of the four largest religions
in the world, along with Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism.
It has as many as 1 Billion adherents
around the world, and is the fastest growing religion
in the world.
I am told that nearly 90 percent of converts
to Islam in the U.S. are African-
American men.
At the present rate, major U.S. metropolitan areas will be mainly
Islamic by the year 2020.
The 11/93 issue of Charisma says 400 Christian churches
in London have been converted to Islamic mosques
in the last 20 years. Muslims have used petrodollars to expand.
Islam retains its people by intimidation.
Iran and Saudi Arabia ban all non-Muslim worship,
and any Muslim leaving Islam is subject to the death penalty.
Muslims in Sudan wage genocidal campaigns against
Christians that the international media ignore.
In 1992, Saudi Arabia
beheaded a convert from Islam who was evangelizing. (12/13 CT).
Entire countries are ruled and controlled by Islamic
teachings, practices, and laws
. And, as our country - especially the larger cities - is seeing
a huge influx of Muslim people into it’s population, it is imperative
that we understand exactly what they teach, and how, if
allowed, they will impact this country.
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I. DEFINITIONS:
In order to understand what Islam teaches and Muslims believe, it is important
that we take a moment to define some of the basic terms they use.
1. ISLAM - the name of the religion which developed
out of the revelations and teachings of Muhammed.
The word Islam, in Arabic, means “submission.”
2. MUSLIM -the name given to a person who adheres
to the religion of Islam. In Arabic,
Muslim is a cognate of Islam, and means “one who submits.”
The Muslim submits to the will of Allah as revealed by Muhammed.
3. ALLAH - is the Islamic name for God and cannot be translated
easily into English. One Muslim writer (Badru D. Kateregga, with
David W. Shenk, Islam and Christianity,
Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1980,
p. 1) defined it thusly,
“The word means the unique God Who possesses all the attributes
of perfection and beauty in their infinitude.
Muslims feel strongly that the English word
‘God’ does not convey the real meaning of the word ‘Allah.’”
4. MUHAMMED -was the common name of an Arabic man who was born in
the city of Mecca in 570 A.D.
He claimed to be the prophet who was to restore true religion
and the praise of Allah throughout the world,
just as Jesus Christ was a prophet in his time for his people.
In Arabic, Muhammed means “the one who is to be praised.”
5. QURAN - (also spelled Koran) is Arabic for “the recitation”,
and refers to the collection of revelations
that Allah is supposed to have given Muhammed through an archangel
and has been preserved as the Islamic scripture.
Muslims believe in the Law of Moses,
the Psalms of David, and Injil, or gospel of Jesus Christ.
However, they believe that the scriptures given by
Muhammed superseded these scriptures, and that the
Bible used by Christians and Jews is a distorted version of them.
Wherever the Bible contradicts the teachings of Islam,
the Muslim will say that the Bible is incorrect on that point.
6. SURAH - refers to the divisions within the Quran,
and roughly corresponds to our “chapter.”
The Quran contains 114 revelations, each composing one surah or chapter.
The shortest revelation appears first, the longest ones last.
There is no chronological arrangement in the Quran.
7. HADITH - is Arabic for the “collected traditions”,
and is comprised of customs which
provides source material for the intricate political and social structure of Islam.
8. CALIPH - is Arabic for leader and refers to the main leaders of Islam,
especially the immediate successors of Muhammed.
9. AYATOLLAH -is a spiritual master or leader in Islam.
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II. SECTS OF ISLAM:
1. SUNNITE SECT - largest of the divisions in Islam, this sect accepts
the four caliphs in direct succession from Muhammed and no others.
They practice a moderate form of Islamic interpretation.
Ninety percent of the Muslims in the Mideast are Sunnis
(e.g. 90% of the Eqyptian Muslims,
90% of the Jordanian Muslims, 90% of the Saudi Arabian Muslims,
90% of the Libyan Muslims).
2. SHIA’ITE SECT - significantly smaller than the Sunnite sect,
but much more literal in their interpretation and application of the Quran.
They are also much more militant and fanatical than the Sunnis.
Ninety-three percent of Iran’s Muslims are Shia’ites.
3. AHMDIYAN SECT -founded in the 1800's, this small sect of Islam has produced
the bulk of the apologetic writings
against Christianity and Judaism over the last 50 years.
The Ahmdiyans are very visible of American school campuses and
practice strong proselytizing techniques on American students.
4. SUFI SECT -this is the mystical sect of Islam. Sufis are rejected by
many conservative Muslims. Some of their
writings seem to reject the strict monotheism of traditional
Islam for a form of “immanent pantheism.”
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III. ISLAMIC BELIEFS:
At first glance, Islamic belief appears to be almost
compatible with Christianity and/or Judaism. Often,
people claim that the Muslims believe
in the same God as Christians:
“They just don’t accept Jesus Christ.” However,
as we shall see, the Muslim God is not like the
Christian God at all. Islam rejects the biblical doctrines of
the Trinity and the Deity of Christ.
1. GOD - for the Muslim, Allah is the only true God.
Jesus Christ is a prophet of Allah;
He is not the Son of God or God
Himself (Surah 4:171). Unlike the God of the Bible, the Muslim God
is unapproachable by sinful man. He is so perfect and
holy that He can only communicate with mankind through
a progression of angels and prophets. The Muslim God
is a god of judgment, not grace;
a god of wrath rather than love.
The Muslim's desire is to submit to the point where he can hold back the
judging arm of Allah and, perhaps, through the capricious
whim of Allah, inherit eternal life in an earthly
paradise of gluttony and sexual gratification.
Muslims have no concept of God as a loving and compassionate Father.
Interfaith activities, such as those conducted today at the
National Cathedral (a modernistic Episcopalian church) in
memorial of the victims of the recent terrorist acts,
present a false idea that all religions worship the same god.
The opening prayer by Nathan Baxter, dean of the Cathedral,
which was addressed to "the God of Abraham, Mohammed, and the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ" doesn't help this at all. In fact, it is blasphemy,
for the god of Muhammed is NOT the God of Abraham and
is not the Father
of the Lord Jesus Christ! The god of Muhammed has no Son
and did not make atonement
for the sins of his people. The god of Muhammed
requires works for salvation.
So, we can easily see that Islam does NOT worship the same God
as the God of the Bible. Now, notice what they teach about -
2. JESUS CHRIST - As I mentioned earlier, Jesus Christ
to the Muslim is just one of many prophets of Allah. Jesus
Christ was the prophet for His people in His day.
The prophet Muhammed supercedes Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is not the Son of God
or a part of any Trinity. Jesus Christ did not atone for anyone's sins,
although He was himself sinless. Jesus Christ
did not die on the cross. Various Muslim traditions say that He
either miraculously substituted Judas Iscariot
for himself on the cross, or that God
miraculously delivered Him from the hands of the Romans and Jews
before He could be crucified. Most Muslims believe that
Jesus Christ was taken bodily into heaven without having died (Surah 4:157).
The Muslim religion denies that Jesus Christ
is the only begotten Son of God and denies
His blood atonement on the cross.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist or great theologian
to figure this one out - the Jesus Christ of the Bible
is NOT the Jesus of Islam!
**** Now, notice where they err even more ferociously -
3. SIN & SALVATION - Sin and salvation in Islam is associated
with two concepts: works and fate (kismet). Every
Muslim who hopes to escape the judgment of Allah
must fulfill the works of the Five Pillars of the Faith (Surah 0:109).
These include:
(1) Recitation of the Shahadah
(“There is no god but Allah and Muhammed is the prophet of Allah”);
(2) Five daily prescribed prayers
(Salat or Namaz) in Arabic.
These prayers include genuflection and prostration
in the direction of the holy city, Mecca;
(3) Almsgiving (Zakat),
which is unlike tithing since Muslims are only required to give one-fortieth
of their income as charitable contributions;
(4) Fasting (Saum or Ruzeh)
during the entire month of Romadan,
when Muslims are supposed to fast from all
food and drink from sunrise to sunset in
atonement for their own sins over the previous year (However, after sunset many
Muslims enjoy a feast and some get up before sunrise
to eat some more before the sun rises and the fast begins again);
(5) A pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, the holy city
at least once in a Muslim's lifetime.
A Holy War (Jihad) used to also be a condition of faith,
and early Muslims believed it was their sacred duty
to murder anyone who would not embrace the one true faith.
Contemporary Islam is much more moderate,
although some Shia'ites talk of restoring Jihad as one of the essentials
of Islamic faith. After looking at last week's devastation,
some are obviously also practicing it.
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IV. ISLAMIC IDEOLOGY:
Islam has divided all people into one of two groups -
Muslim and non-Muslim. Their basic, driving goal is
to convert everyone in the world to their faith.
In and of itself, that is not evil or wrong.
That's what Christians are to be doing - converting
people from a life without Christ into "new creatures" in Christ.
So, trying to convert someone to your own beliefs is not wrong.
What IS evil and wrong is the WAY they carry
out that goal.
If a person will not convert, then he is either imprisoned or killed.
This is also true of nations.
Until a nation has embraced Islam, it is legally considered
a battlefield (Dar-ul-Harb). Once it has converted to Islam
(or all its citizens have been slaughtered or
driven out), it then becomes a Land of Peace (Dar-us-Salaam).
For those who think that the threat of Islam
is only a phenomenon of the Middle East, think again! Although the Jewish State
of Israel has been fighting a brave and fierce battle against Islam,
there are many other "hot spots" in the world. For example,
the supreme Taliban's hard line leader in Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammed Omar,
issued an edict that Buddhist statues insulted
Islam. Within days of his edict, all Buddhist statues,
including a giant 5th-century Buddha at Bamiyan carved out of sandstone,
were destroyed as the "civilized" world could only
stand by and watch it happen.
Of course, even now, most people aren’t aware
of this murderous philosophy, or they find it too monstrous to believe.
However, a brief review of recent history and current
events should make those of who doubt re-think their position. Two
articles in the L.A. Times wrote about Muslims in Indonesia
forcing Christians of all denominations to convert to Islam or get
their throats slit. Thousands upon thousands of Christians have
been first converted, and then sexually mutilated with kitchen
knives and razor blades to make them conform to Muslim standards.
Afterwards, they are enslaved to their local Muslim
chieftain. This was not some aberration of Islam,
but rather business as usual for all but the moderate factions. They have a
history of murder, terror, lies and brainwashing
to advance their cause of global conversion and subjugation...their Jihad.
Islamic ideology is based upon an intense hatred of the non-Muslim.
The Jews and Christians WERE supposed to be guaranteed a special dhimmi
status since they are "People of the Book." So instead of outright forced
conversion or slaughter, the Christians and Jews would be allowed
to remain somewhat unmolested as long as they
acknowledged the superiority of the Muslim. However, as 100,000 dead Lebanese
Christians and
Israel's beleaguered Jewish population have discovered over
the years, these guarantees have proved worthless!
Muslims, when they can control the government,
do not allow freedom of religion.
Christianity is restricted in most Muslim
states, and Christians are actually being
slaughtered in Indonesia and the Sudan and
in other countries. The Pakistani
government, which publicly stated its support for America
following the recent terrorist attacks, has sentenced a Christian to
death and
is in the final stages of carrying out that sentence,
the supreme court having ruled against a reprieve. Many Muslims
are trying to distance themselves from the terrorist attacks;
but Mohammed was a warrior who destroyed and tormented those
who disagreed with him, and the Koran has these plain commands:
"Strike terror [into the hearts of] the enemies of God
and your enemies" (Surah 8:60)
and "Fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them" (Surah 9:5).
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V. QUOTATIONS:
Here are some quotations from the Quran
and elsewhere that give insight as to how the Muslim
thinks and is taught to function:
1. "And those who disbelieve shall not cease
to be in doubt concerning it until the hour overtakes
them suddenly, or
there comes on them the chastisement of a destructive day." - Surah 22:55
2. "Those who believe [those who believe are those who follow
Allah through the prophet Muhammed. Those who do not
are everyone else - TWW] do battle for the cause of Allah;
and those
who disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols.
So fight the minions of the devil." - Surah 4:76
3. "We must never imagine that such Muslims are being unnecessarily wicked.
They are simply being faithful to their religion.
The fact is never hidden as to the attitude a good Muslim should have towards Christians and Jews.
In fact, much of the incitement to violence and war in the whole of the Quran is
directed against the Jews and Christians who rejected what they felt
to be the strange god Mohammed was trying to preach."
- former Muslim and Islamic scholar G.J.O. Moshay,
"Who Is This Allah?" (Dorchester House Publications, 1994, p. 24).
4. Muhammad: "He who dies without having fought,
or having felt it to be his duty, will die guilty
of a kind of hypocrisy. .There is no emigration after
the Conquest, but only jihad. So when you are summoned to fight, go forth...
The last hour will not come before the Muslims fight
the Jews and the Muslims kill them."
-Muhammad in Mishkat al Masabih Sh. M. Ashsraf (1990),
pp. 147, 721, 810-811, 1130, etc.
5. "The punishment of those who wage war against
Allah and His Messenger, and strive with
might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion,
or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides
, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace
in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter." - Surah 5:33
6. “O ye who believe! Turn not (for friendship) to people
on whom is the Wrath of Allah, of the Hereafter they are already in
despair, just as the Unbelievers are in despair about those (buried) in graves.” -Surah 60:13
7. "Such terrorist attacks are increasing,
yet the media continues to avoid the fact that Islam
itself is what inspires the determination to destroy Israel and all who support her.
Terrorism will persist in obedience to the Quran, which demands the
conversion or forceful subjugation of all non-Muslims.
The situation is only made that much worse when the truth is suppressed
and misinformation is promoted."
-Dave Hunt, "A Cup of Trembling," (Harvest House Publishers, 1995), pg. 212.
Now - Not all Arabs are Muslim.
It is foolish and wrong to hate a race
of people simply because of the crimes of a small number.
Neither should we hate anyone for simply being Muslim. Few Muslims actually
follow the Quran and for that we are thankful.
We denounce any and all acts of violence perpetrated against
people based upon race or religion. We must LOVE all Arabs
and all Muslims. As Jesus taught us, ". . .Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
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VI. Sharing the Gospel with a Muslim:
The three key topics of discussion between a
Christian and a Muslim should be -
1. The nature of God,
2. The identity and Deity of Jesus Christ, and
3. Salvation by grace alone apart from works.
Christians can share with Muslims that the Christian
God transcends man's finitude and sinfulness because He cares
about people individually, and He loves individuals.
Divine love is a concept missing from Islam and yet
essential to human peace and happiness with God.
A powerful witness of Scripture to God's love
is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.”
When told about Jesus, many Muslims will
refuse to listen, claiming that our scriptures
are distorted and untrustworthy. The Christian can refer the interested
Muslim to the many fine Christian volumes available
showing the inerrancy and inspiration of the Bible,
both Old and New Testaments.
This can provide a foundation for the Christian to present the New Testament
teaching that Jesus Christ is truly God and is the only
way to salvation.
Next, tell the Muslim the good news that salvation
and peace with God does not depend
on his own insufficient efforts, but on the grace of God
displayed through the atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross.
No one can work his way to heaven (or Muslim paradise).
The Muslim will agree that Allah could justly choose to bar
all men from paradise since no man is perfect as
Allah is perfect. However, biblical salvation does not depend
on man's imperfections. Biblical salvation depends
on the work and love of God. “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” (Eph. 2:8 - 10).
Finally, the Christian should love the Muslim.
Muslims have a definite zeal for God. They desire to follow God and express
their worship of God through their lives.
The Christian should respect Muslims' sincere intentions and share with them the
life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. When a Christian can demonstrate the power
of the Word of God through the
Holy Spirit, and use his own life as an example of the joy and peace
possible to those who love Jesus Christ, he becomes an
effective example to the Muslim of the opportunity to know and worship the true God
rather than Muhammed's distorted concepts about God.
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