I
received an e-mail from Mr. Husain, a professed Muslim, under the
subject title: If you do not know “the ever truth (Islam),
verily, you would be eternally lost!” He obviously wants to convince me
and others to become a Muslim. He begins by making numerous futile
arguments to discredit the Bible. He then reasons that since the Bible
cannot be trusted, the only other path that remains is to submit to the
Koran. Interestingly, he provides no arguments to show the superiority
of the Koran or the way of life it produces. He only gives the threat of
eternal damnation as an incentive to become a Muslim.
There
is a huge difference between winning the hearts of men and forcing their
outward conformity. The one true God knows the hearts of men and how to
win them. Ruthless governments, man-made religions and domineering
individuals throughout history have captured others and intimidated them
to outwardly conform to a random human standard. This kind of slavery
causes the men under it to desperately look for a way of escape. For a
few, however, this system provides a position of power from which they
can cruelly dominate others and feed their own pride.
What is
the nature of the one true God?
Mr
Husain does mention that God is “gracious” and “merciful” but fails to
give us any examples from the Koran of His nature. When men pervert
God’s true nature and change it into an image of their own imagination,
the results are disastrous. The Psalmist aptly warns of the consequences
found in all forms of idolatry: “Those who make them are like them; so
is everyone who trusts in them”
(Psalms 115:8).
Let us examine both the teachings of Muhammad and Jesus as they pertain
to the true nature of God.
Jesus
displayed the love and mercy of God
Throughout His ministry, Jesus pointed to God’s love as the motivating
power to change men. He emphasized the quantity of God’s love in His
teaching and would ultimately demonstrate the magnitude of God’s love by
sacrificing His own life to save mankind. “For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life”
(John 3:16, Rom
5:6-8). Jesus gave men what they needed and not what they
deserved—aptly demonstrating the purity of God’s love.
On one
occasion Jesus’ disciples displayed a typical weakness found in men. In
their anger, they wanted to call down “fire from heaven” to destroy a
Samaritan village. “But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do
not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56For the Son of
Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them. ””
(Luke 9:55-56).
Muhammad gave a law that reflects the nature of men
As you
examine the life of Muhammad and his writings, you will find that he had
contradictory attitudes towards those who rejected him as a prophet.
Towards the end of his life he was openly hostile to those who could not
consciously believe his claims. Hear his words as written in the Koran:
“The only reward of those
who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in
the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their
hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of
the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the
Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom
(5:33.8).” For
those who want to argue about what Muhammad meant by these things one
only need to look at the examples in his life. Consider this event in
the life of Muhammad: “Because of the resistance to his
proselytizing attempts, he returned to Friday as the day of worship. He
began attacking Jews. At first it was one at a time; then later whole
villages. After one Jewish town had surrendered, he had 700 to 1,000 men
beheaded in one day, and all the women and children sold into slavery.
1“
Jesus
showed the way to forgiveness and salvation
Jesus
plainly showed that forgiveness was never within the ability of men
alone. They need a Savior—one who could provide a sufficient sacrifice
for sin. No Law system could provide forgiveness. While showing the way
of truth and righteousness, the Law of God also convinces men of sin.
Law alone could only condemn! Jesus gave Himself to meet the righteous
requirement of God for forgiveness. When men understand the nature of
this great gift and their hearts are melted by it, they will choose to
give their lives to the One who gave His life for them. “I have been
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in
me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave Himself for me. 21I do not set aside the
grace of God; for if righteousness
comes
through the law, then Christ died in vain”
(Galatians 2:20-21).
Muhammad’s view of forgiveness and salvation
In the
Koran salvation is wholly based on the efforts of men. “Muhammad
utilized the Testament of Abraham to teach that a scale or balance will
be used on the day of judgment to weigh good and bad deeds in order to
determine whether one goes to heaven or hell
(Suras 42:17;
101:6-9).” 2 He also taught that sins could be covered
by doing good deeds such as prayer and helping the poor. “And keep up
prayer in the two parts of the day and in the first hours of the night;
surely good
deeds take away evil deeds this is a reminder to the mindful
[11.114].”
In
Islam there is no assurance of salvation. How good is good enough? How
can you ever know if you have done enough good deeds to outweigh the
bad? The only exception to this is the one who dies as a martyr in a
jihad3.
Is
there any wonder why men escape the present system of bondage to
“paradise” by wearing explosives and detonating it among the “infidels?”
Those
governments that are guided by Islamic law logically try to force people
into praying and other good works. In some countries there are religious
police that forcefully clear out the shopping malls and force everyone
to go to the Mosque to pray at the designated time. Many have been
beaten and imprisoned because they dared to resist such authority.
The
spread of the Gospel and the spread of the Koran
Jesus
gave a commission to His apostles to spread the gospel (good news) of
His love so that men might willingly believe it and be baptized into
Christ (Mark
16:15-16). When this simple message is preached, men respond. In
Islamic countries the preaching of this powerful message is forbidden
and Christian literature is banned. Their leaders how powerful Jesus’
message of salvation is
(Romans 1:16).
Islam
has not spread because people read the Koran and are moved by it alone.
This religion has spread by physical conquests. “That
is still the objective of Islam. That conversion to Islam can be by
persuasive means, or by intimidation, torture, and jihad.” 3
The one
true God wants us to choose to serve Him. Jesus said, “You shall love
the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. 31And
the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these”
(Mark 12:30-31).
What
will you conclude?
Which
message is from God and which message is from man? You alone must
choose. One thing is certain; God will never force you to serve Him.
1. "The
Islamic Invasion”,
Dr. Robert Morey,
Harvest House Publishers, Eugene OR
2. Islam:
Truth or Myth?
http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-koran-fairy-tales-dr-morey.htm
3. The Spirit of
Islam - New York, Madrid, Beslan, by
Silas,
http://answering-islam.org/Silas/spirit_of_islam.htm
Other Articles by Larry Rouse
A People of Refuge
The Lord's Supper or a Marathon
The Christian's Apparel -- Inside and Out