Sunday, December 12, 2010 am
STUDY OF ISLAM (4)
Doctrinal Concerns
a.
There
IS ONE God – James 2:19.
Established at the forefront of this discussion is our belief
that there is only ONE God.
1 Timothy 2:5 says, “Fore there is one God, and one Mediator between God and man.”
Under the Old Law, Jehovah God
was emphatic about this. The
1st commandment was, “You shall have no other gods before
Me.” (Ex. 20:3) The 2nd
concerned worshipping carved images and strongly condemned it.
Also Deut. 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is
one!”
That there is ONE God we are in agreement with Muslims (The nature of
the godhead will be discussed in the next section).
But the question we are concerned with here is whether Allah is
that one god OR whether the Allah of Islam is the same as the same God
as Jehovah God (the God of Judaism and Christianity).
b.
Islam emphatically teaches that Allah is the ONLY true God.
Concerning Jesus Christ, Surah 9:29-33 says,
“Fight those who believe not in Allah nor
the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah
and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the
People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah (poll tax) with willing
submission and feel themselves subdued.
The Jews call ‘Uzayr (Ezra) a son of God, and the Christians call Christ
the Son of God. That is a saying from their mouth; (In this) they but
imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say.
Allah’s curse be on them: how
they are deluded away from the Truth!
They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords
in derogation of Allah, and
(they take as their Lord) Christ, the son of Mary; Yet they were
commanded to worship but One God:
There is no god but He. Praise and glory to Him: (Far is He) from
having the partners they associate (with Him).
Fain would they extinguish Allah’s Light with their mouths, but Allah
will not allow but that His Light should be perfected, even though the
unbelievers may detest (it).
It
is He who hath sent His with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to
proclaim it over all religion, even though the pagans may detest (it).”
This text of the Qur’an declares that Christians, because we worship
Jesus, are cursed.
c.
Allah contrasted with Jehovah God
i.
The Qur’an
teaches that the God of Christians is the same God as Islam.
Surah 29:46, “And dispute ye not with
the People of the Book, except with means better (than mere
disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and
injury): but say, "We believe in the revelation which has come down to
us and in that which came down to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one;
and it is to Him we bow (in Islam)."
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/670-islam-christians-same-god
ii.
While it
could be argued they are of the same origin – i.e. the God of Abraham,
Noah and Adam, because of stark contrast in character we CANNOT be
speaking of the same person.
It is neither logical nor theological to portray God one way to one
system of belief and totally different to other faiths.
iii.
When you
study the god of the Qur’an and Jehovah God in the Bible (both Old and
New Testaments) you find too many contrasts between them to be the same
god.
1.
Islam
generally portrays Allah as impersonal.
He is portrayed primarily as a sovereign and just master over His
servants. He is described as
merciful and gracious and even that he cares.
BUT, His is neither intimate nor personal toward man. Some say
Allah is unknowable to man. In
the Qur’an there are 99 names for God and none of them imply intimacy
toward man. Muslims shun the
concept of calling God Father because such imports “animal qualities
into our conception of Him.”
“‘Ali, The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an, n. 6296”,
Caner, More than a Prophet, An Insider’s Response to Muslim
Beliefs… ch. 1, “Is Allah personal and intimate?
The Bible portrays God as intimate and
desires closeness with man.
He came to Adam in the Garden after their sins. (Gen. 3:8-9)
He interacts throughout history.
He has sought to reveal Himself to us, especially in sending Jesus (John
14:9, 12:45, Col. 1:15, etc.).
Jesus prayed, “And this is eternal
life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
You have sent.” (John 17:3)
He desires that we know Him -
1 John 5:20, “And we know
that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we
may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son
Jesus Christ. This is the
true God and eternal life.”
1 Cor. 6:19 describes Christians as being the temple of the Spirit of
God.
Romans 8:9-11 speaks of the Spirit of God & Christ dwells within us.
Even under the Old Law, Jehovah’s desire was that they know Him – Ex.
33:13, Isa. 43:10
2.
Islam
does not portray Allah as a god of love
(though it does mention him as merciful).
Allah is more about justice than love.
The Bible greatly emphasizes that
God is a loving God.
He loves us as a father loves his children – John 3:16, Rom. 5:8.
1 John 4:16 says, “And we
have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and
he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
He sent Jesus to die for us as a demonstration of His love.
He loves us and chastens us as a Father.
3.
Islam
denies that Jesus is God, or even “the Son of God” (Surah 17:111, 5:73), while the deity of Jesus is a pivotal doctrine to
the God of the Bible (John 1:1, 14).
1 John 2:22 says, “Who is a liar
but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.”
4.
Islam
teaches that judgment is based more upon works (Surah 23:102) with good
works outweighing evil works equating to salvation (provided one is a Muslim), but the Bible teaches salvation is
primarily based upon the grace of God (Eph. 2:8-9).
Yes we have to obey the gospel AND obey God, but it is about
God’s grace and mercy rather than our actions.
We will notice more about this in a few moments.
a.
Islam
patently denies that Jesus is the Son of God,
and even more so that He is deity.
They believe that if Jesus is God, then there is more than one
God, thus they say we are polytheistic.
b.
Islam
denies the godhead (i.e.
trinity) Surah 5:73 says, “They do blaspheme who say God is one in three
in a trinity, for there is no Allah except one Allah.
If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a
grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them.”
Further, Muslims contend that the Trinity of Christianity consisted of
the Father, Jesus and Mary.
Surah 5:116 says, “And behold!
God will say: ‘O Jesus the son of Mary!
Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in
derogation of God?’”
http://www.jannah.org/qurantrans/quran5.html;
c.
The
Bible teaches that Jesus IS God!
Islam misunderstands the Bible teaching about the Godhead.
In the Bible, we believe in one God!
But He is three persons of the God head – the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit are all eternal (i.e. God the Father did not create the Son
or Spirit).
1.
Col. 2:9
says of Jesus, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily.”
2.
Acts 5:3-9
identifies Holy Spirit as God.
Heb. 9:14 describes Him as eternal. 1 John 4:2, “the Spirit of
God.”
3.
They are
ONE in union and work (unlike the gods of polytheistic societies) but
still 3 different, distinct persons – Matt.3:16-17 – all present at
baptism of Jesus and in our baptism (Matt. 28:19-20).
4.
There is
NOTHING in scripture or taught by Christians that Mary is God.
Even Catholics who venerate Mary, do not teach this.
There seems to be some evidence that a small sect existed (or had
previously existed) in Arabia at the time of Mohammed that taught this
heresy which Mohammed responded to.
(Collyridians -
http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-bible-koran-errors-catholic-mariolatry-trinity-father-son-mary.htm,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyridians
a.
Islam
confuses many key doctrines associated with Jesus.
While the Qur’an does believe, in agreement with the Bible, that
Jesus was born of the virgin Mary (Surah 3:45-47, 59) and that He
performed miracles (Surah 3:49).
b.
Islam
teaches that Jesus was created (Surah 3:59), denies that Jesus was
crucified (Surah 4:157) and denies that
He came as the Savior of mankind. Further, Islam states that He was a
prophet and apostle (Surah 4:171) whose teachings were perverted.
c.
The
Bible refutes these points about Jesus.
i.
He was NOT
created, but is eternal - John 8:58, Rev. 1:8,
Colossians 1:17 which says, “And He is before all things, and in
Him all things consist.”
ii.
He WAS
crucified – Matt. 23, 1 Cor. 2:2, Acts 2:23
iii.
He is MORE
than an apostle and prophet – He is the Son of God!
iv.
His
teachings have been preserved in the Bible – cf. 1 Cor. 15:1-4, etc.
a.
Islam
obviously teaches that Mohammed is the last and great prophet of God
(Allah).
b.
BUT, an
examination of his prophetic state brings about several questions –
i.
When
Mohammed supposedly received his first revelations he thought that it
was possibly a demon (jihn) that has spoken to him and he questions his
revelation.
In the Bible NO prophet ever attributed his message from God to Satan.
(Caner, Unveiling Islam, ch. 2)
ii.
Many of
his prophecies were self-serving.
Especially later in his life, his prophecies became more
eccentric and very self-serving in relation to battles engaged in and
personal affairs and desires in his life.
He received whatever he wanted (supposedly with God’s
permission). Here are some
examples:
1.
Surah 111
condemns Abu Lahab & his wife after he had cursed Mohamme.
2.
Surah
33:37, when Mohammed fell in love with Zaynab, the wife of his adopted
son, God approved of her divorcing Zaynab to marry Mohammed
3.
He also
used such to control his wives calling for them to be content (cf. Surah
33:28-29)
See
http://www.islamreview.com/articles/godvsallah.shtml
for these examples
iii.
He
performed no miracles and gave very little supernatural proof that God
spoke to him. In fact, when
he was challenged as to the signs of being a prophet, he simply stated
that his words were his sign.
In fact, more than once the Qur’an addresses signs and why he did
not perform miraculous signs.
Surah 6:109 is an examples, “They have sworn by God the most
earnest oaths if a sign come
to them they will belive it.
Say: ‘Signs are only with God.’
What will make you realize that, whe it comes, they will not
believe.” (Note:
Muslims believe that the perfect Qur’an is a sign within itself).
iv.
At times
he even changed the supposed message from Allah.
One of his scribes, as Mohammed was concluding a revelation,
suggest that he change the wording to which Mohammed agreed.
Later on, this scribes, Abdollah B. Abi Sarh left the Islamic
faith because he knew that if something came from God it could NOT be
changed. Caner, Unveiling
Islam, ch. 2, More revelations.
v.
He fails
the standard of prophets in Old Testament times for many reasons:
Duet. 18:20-22 warns Israel that false prophets were to be
rejected. The text also
notes that the sign of a prophet is that his words come to pass.
HOWEVER, consider also Deut. 13:1-3 which states if a prophet
arose in their midst calling them to go after other gods, it was a test
and he was to be rejected.
We HAVE to weigh this in light of Mohammed.
1.
Israelite
prophets always called the people back to the Law and Covenant.
Mohammed established a NEW law, rejecting the Old Law (note: Not
in the same sense that the N.T. FULFILLED the Old Law - TT)
2.
Old
Testament prophets did not take vengeance on people. They pronounced
vengeance from God and it happened, but not at the hands of the
prophets. Mohammed was a
warmonger.
3.
Old
Testament prophets lived with rejection, slander, persecutions, etc.
While Mohammed was persecuted and rejected at times, he did not
tolerate it but took vengeance.
4.
Old
Testament prophets were consistent in their messages – both past and
future events. When they
recalled history, it was factual.
They always spoke the truth.
Mohammed’s credibility is in question.
Many of his accounts were distortions and based upon not just the
Bible, but external sources.
5.
From:
http://www.answering-islam.org/authors/roark/mo_vs_prophets.html
vi.
Contrast
Mohammed with Jesus. Jesus
proved that He was whom He claimed to be by the signs He did.
Consider John 10:25, 37-38 where He cried out, even if you don’t
believe Me, believe the works that I do.
a.
We have
mentioned the tenets of Islam which are what Muslims are expected to do
to be saved. They all hinge
on the first pillar – the confession, “There is no other god but God;
and Muhammed is the prophet of God”
This is followed by a life in which good works and religious acts
must outweigh the evil works.
Surah 23:102-103 speaks of those whose balance is heavy of good
deeds (i.e. they outweigh the evil deeds).
Because of this Muslims do not refer to their salvation as deliverance
or conversion, bur rather remembering.
Their list of good works is long, but they have difficulty with
assurance of their salvation because of this.
Caner, More than a prophet, Ch. 6.
Islam also has serious conflicts with the Biblical idea of atonement for
sins through the blood of Christ.
Since we understand the importance of obedience, even if we grant them
obedience based upon their faith, their acts of obedience are STILL
foreign to the instructions of the Bible for salvation.
b.
Concerning salvation and the Bible.
i.
There is
some merit to understanding the importance of obedience based upon one’s
faith. Unlike many of our
denominational friends who teach that grace contradicts obedience (they
call it works), we understand that while our salvation is based
primarily upon the grace of God, we still HAVE TO OBEY HIM both in order
to be saved AND to stay in a saved relationship with Him (cf. Eph.
2:8-9, Jas. 2:14-24, etc.).
In concept this is precisely what Muslims believe.
ii.
However,
WHAT they say we must do is contrary to what the Bible teaches!
iii.
To be
saved you must obey the gospel – Believe in Jesus as the Son of God
(John 3:16, Mark 16:16), Repent of your sins (Rom. 10:9-10, Acts 2:38),
Confess Jesus as the Son of God AND Savior (Romans 10:9-10, Acts
8:36-40) and be baptized FOR the remission of sins (Acts 2:38, Mark
16:16, 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:27, etc.).
iv.
To STAY
saved you have to remain faithful and obey God instructions and do good
works, (Rev. 2:10, 2 Pet. 2:20-22, Jas. 2:24, Matt. 25:31-46, 1 John
1:9, etc. Basically we have
to DO what the epistles tell us to do!).
God’s instructions are different that the Qur’an!!!!
v.
OTHER KEY
ISSUES:
1.
Belief in
Jesus Christ as the Son of God (See above) –John 8:24
2.
The blood
of Jesus & atonement – Rom. 5:8, Eph. 1:7, Heb. 9:26-28.
3.
Believe
that Jesus DID arise from the dead – 1 Cor. 15.
4.
The need
to accept the gospel and reject everything else – Rom. 1:16, Gal. 1:6-9,
etc.
And thus we can see that many of the
teachings of Islam are NOT compatible with the Bible.
There are others we could add to these such as their treatment of
women, their views of judgment, worship and morality.
But what we have examined is
sufficient to see that Islam is NOT a revision of Judaism and
Christianity. Instead it
sets aside both and perverts them for sake of its own religious system.
In the same way Islam and the Qur’an rejects the Bible and
Christianity, so we must reject Islam and the Qur’an.
My challenge: Let us HONESTLY weigh what the Bible says and compare it to everything else. In every way, the teachings of the Bible are greater and proven beyond doubt that it is the message of God. Let us respond with that in mind – our salvation DOES depend on it