Zach’s Theological Musings

  This fact needs to be stated, and it needs to be said with a deep love for Muslim people and from a longing for them to be reconciled to the One True God who is misrepresented in the Quran.

  Words are powerful. It was by the power of His spoken word that God created the world, “Let there be!… And there was.” I believe that one of the powerful forces that keeps Muslims in bondage is simply the oft repeated declaration of phrases such as, “Muhammed is the prophet of God.” Almost always, if people are continually showered with one message with no contending voices, they will conform to what they hear.

  At the baptism of Jesus, God spoke from heaven and declared, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). Moreover, He was “declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 1:4). God having given such a powerful testimony, mankind became responsible for their response:

We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. - I John 5:9-12

But Muhammed attempts to overturn God’s own testimony, making God out to be a liar. Since words are powerful, I can’t even bear to include the following destructive quotes from the Quran without some serious editing. The parts that are cross off are the Quranic text.

The Christians call Christ the son of Allah [”He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” - I John 5:12]. That is a saying from their mouth; [”This is my beloved Son” is the statement of God’s own mouth (Matt 3:17)] (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say [The truth of the Trinity is not polytheism. Jesus, the Bible, Christianity, and Christians all deny polytheism and affirm that there is only One God. Blasphemous pagan mythologies about gods having sons and daughters are Satan’s attempt to counterfeit the truth]. Allah’s curse be on them [”Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.” - Proverbs 26:2]: how they are deluded away from the Truth! [”I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.” - Jesus, in John 14:6] - Quran, Al-Tawba 9:30, Yusuf Ali Translation

Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah [”In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.” - Hebrews 1:1-4], and His Word [Yes, Jesus is the Word of God. That’s precisely why He is much more than just a messenger. Prophets speak some of God’s words, Jesus IS God’s Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” - John 1:1-3], which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not “Trinity” : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs - Quran, Al-Nisa 4:171, Yusuf Ali Translation

  The falseness of Muhammed is not the ultimate message. It is not the gospel. The gospel is that Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised according to the Scriptures. But sadly those are the very precious truths that Muhammed denies. So for a Muslim to turn and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they must at some point come to terms with the fact that Muhammed’s message came from Satan, the father of lies.

  Muslims have no hesitation about “confidently” denying the divine Sonship of Christ. Part of our engagement with Islam requires affirming the true identity of our Lord. But additionally, if Muslims continuously affirm the prophethood of Muhammed (saying the creed is one of the five pillars of Islam) and no one says anything to the contrary, will they not think to themselves, “Here we are, declaring publicly Muhammed is a prophet of God, and no one is saying a word against it. Have not the Christians and others concluded that it is true?” (Compare John 7:26)

  We don’t want to insult Islam because of any sinful anger or bitterness in ourselves. We don’t want to “get even” for the truths that have been denied about Jesus. But we do need to find a way to humbly, boldly, lovingly, compassionately say, “No, Muhammed is not a prophet of God. He was deceived, and he became a deceiver.”

  May the Word of God make his light shine in the hearts of our brothers and sisters who are yet to come from the Muslim world, to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” - Jesus, in John 3:16-22

Luke 9:24-26:

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

  Investment analysts tell us that different people have different levels of aversion to risk. Some people like to risk it all with the chance of a large payoff. Some would rather play it safe and have a virtually guaranteed, though much more conservative, return.

  How does risk play out in the spiritual realm? Well, in the upside-down world of Jesus* where the meek inherit the earth, where masters serve slaves, and where the persecuted are the most joyful, “playing it safe” often requires risking or losing “everything”. (* Rather, I mean the right-side up world of Jesus relative to which the ways of this world are upside-down.)

  The first option is to “play it safe” in terms of worldly wisdom. Store up your crops, build larger and larger barns, then sit back and say to yourself, “Self, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” Whew! That’s safety, that’s security, that’s planning ahead. There’s nothing to worry about. Until your life and your property are all taken away in an instant, and you are left with nothing but the T-Shirt on your back which reads, “This one stored up things for himself but was not rich toward God.”

  Likewise, when the persecution comes, which it will for anyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus (II Tim 3:12), the persecutors will probably tempt you with a “safe” way out. “Oh, we don’t hate Christians or Christianity,” they’ll say. “In fact, we think religion is great, and you are free to have whatever beliefs you want within your self. We just want to be assured that your allegiance is first of all to the state and our agenda, and that you recognize that Jesus is just a personal deity in your heart.” Hey great! You can have the best of both worlds, right? Until Jesus comes in glory with the whole host of heaven with Him and looks away from you, ashamed.

  The other option is to lay everything on the line, like the man who found treasure hidden in a field (Matt 13:44). When he found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. The world will say he’s a fool. Jesus will say, “He’s mine.” If there is no resurrection of the dead, then we who have banked everything we have on Christ are to be pitied more than all men. If there is a resurrection of the dead, which there is, then to live is Christ and to die is gain.

  Playing it safe is not an option in this world. We were born into a world at war. Satan seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. The dangers are already real, they are already present whether you like it or not, whether you acknowledge them or not. The more you cling to sources of safety in this world, the more you expose yourself to massive dangers of eternal proportions. Beware of earthly “safety”. It can kill you.