DO NOT BE DRAWN IN BY ANYTHING OTHER THAN TRUTH - JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!

Submitted by: Doris Parker
   "TEST EVERY SPIRIT"

One reason I feel God has led me to do this series is because we live in a world that is falling away very quickly. It’s accelerating every day. It’s like every day that passes we get three days closer to the end. And every day that passes, more people get sucked up into some false religious system, and end up on the path to eternal destruction. Well, today we will be looking at the second largest religion in the world. It is also the second-fastest growing religion in the world, claiming 1.3 billion followers. I am talking of course about Islam.


Let me say a couple of things to start off. You have no doubt heard what many uninformed people on TV or in the papers have said about Islam. They say it’s a “religion of peace”, and that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, and that Muslims believe in Jesus. These statements are wrong! It is NOT a “religion of peace”, Muslims do NOT worship the same God as us Christians, and although Muslims do believe that Jesus Christ walked the earth, and was a “good man”, they do NOT believe that He was the Son of God. They consider that to be blasphemy.

And for people that think that Islam is some religion they practice way off in Lebanon, and Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, and that we don’t need to worry about it. Folks, it is spreading, and it is spreading quickly. It is spreading across Europe. It has gained a toehold—if not a foothold—in England, France, and Belgium, and there are many in positions of leadership in this country who would rather have us submit to Islam than to fight it. Oh, and don’t think there aren’t Muslims right here in K-Town. They have a mosque here in Knoxville, on 13th Street, in the Fort Sanders area, just a few blocks from the UT campus.

What is Islam all about? Is it about peace? Not really. The word “Islam” literally means “submission.” Muslims will say that this “submission” has several meanings. First, we bring our bodies into submission. Second, we submit to Allah. Finally, it is the goal of Islam that the whole world submits to Allah. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. You can find this in their Qur’an. Sura 2:193--

“And fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah…”

If you’ve ever heard the word “jihad”, this is what it means. It means that Muslims are called to fight against us “infidels” until we submit to the religion of Islam.

Islam started in the year 610 AD, when Muhammed was meditating in a cave, and was visited by the angel Gabriel who recited the words of the Qur’an to him. But since Muhammed could not read or write, he told his friends what the angel said, and they wrote it down for him. How many were here when we talked about Mormonism? Both Mormonism and Islam have these things in common: an illiterate man, considered by his followers to be a “prophet,” all alone, told by an angel that the Word of God had been corrupted, and that he needs to write another book to be used alongside the Bible. The angel reveals this to the man, who dictates to a scribe, who writes down the words for him.

Now, after Muhammed received the Qur’an, how did Islam spread so quickly? Was it devout men preaching salvation through Allah? No. It was spread by three simple words: “convert or die.” It was not spread by loving people seeking the lost, and leading them to salvation. It was spread by the edge of a sword. Again, from the Qur’an, Sura 9:5—

“But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.”

In other words, kill them until they practice Islam. Muslims are encouraged by their Qur'an to kill unbelievers…because Allah is “most merciful.” They are encouraged to slay those that persecute them. But what does the Bible say? Are we supposed to slay the enemy wherever we find them, as it says in the Qur'an? No. In the Great Commission, as it’s called, in Matthew 28:19-20—“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…” Muslims are encouraged to kill those who persecute them. But Jesus told us in Matthew 5:43-45—“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…”

So, how does someone become a “good Muslim”, and obtain salvation from Allah? There are five things you must do, and they are called the “Five Pillars of Islam.” And if you do enough of these things, enough times to outweigh your “bad deeds”, then you are considered to be a “good Muslim,” and you will wind up in Paradise.

• Shahadah is kinda like their initiation. When a person says they believe in no other god but Allah.
• Salah is the ritual praying toward Mecca they do 5 times every day. And if you ever see a Muslim pray, you see them turn to the right, then to the left. And they mutter something in each direction. That’s because—they believe—there is an angel on their right keeping track of all their “good deeds”, and one on the left with all their “bad deeds.” They bless the one on the right and curse the one on the left.
• Zakah is the third “pillar”, and it is the required giving of alms. Muslims are obliged to give a certain percentage of their money to the poor, the destitute, to new Muslims, and to those waging jihad. This is mandatory, and Allah keeps track of how much you give, and if you don’t give enough, then you're not a true Muslim.
• Sawm is the fasting they are commanded to do, especially during the month of Ramadan—that is supposed to be the month of the year when the Qur'an was given to Muhammed. During this time of fasting, they are not to eat, drink, smoke, or be a husband to their wife from dawn to sundown.
• Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, and a “good Muslim” is supposed to make that journey, if they can, at least once during their life.

And as I said, you must do enough “good things” to outweigh the bad stuff. Sura 101:2-11—

"What is the (Day) of Noise and Clamour? (It is) a Day where men will be like moths scattered about, and the mountains will be like loosened wool. Then, he whose balance (of good deeds) will be (found) heavy will be in a life of good pleasure and satisfaction. But he whose balance (of good deeds) will be (found) light will have his home in a (bottomless) Pit. And what will explain to thee what this is? (It is) a Fire Blazing fiercely!"

In other words, it’s up to you to save yourself. I use the word “saved” because it’s something we Christians can relate to. But in Islam, there is no concept of “salvation.” In fact, no Muslim, no matter how “good” they can be, is EVER sure that they have done enough. And just how much is “enough”? How much more “bad stuff” can you do to cancel out the “good stuff”? First, Sura 55:7-9—

“…He has set up the Balance (of Justice), in order that ye may not transgress (due) balance. So establish weight with justice and do not fall short in the balance.”

Sura 99:6-8—

“On that Day will men …be shown the deeds that they (had done). Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it.”

How big is an atom? Well, pluck a hair from your head. An atom is one one-millionth the width of that hair. And if you have done that much more evil than good, you will be cast into hell, according to the Qur'an. So, let’s say you’ve been really despicable all your life. You’ve killed, lied, stolen, and done all sorts of other rotten things, and there is no way that you could ever do enough to even come close to making up for it. How can you ever gain Allah’s mercy, and go into Paradise? Remember that word “jihad?” If you die as a martyr for Allah, then all of your “bad stuff” is wiped out. Wanna know why so many suicide bombers are Muslims? It’s because it is found in Islamic scriptures. In the Qur'an, Sura 46:4-6—

“…those who are slain in the Way of Allah- He will never let their deeds be lost. Soon will He guide them and improve their condition, and admit them to the Garden which He has announced for them.”

Now, not only do Muslims believe in the Qur'an, they also have what’s called “Hadith”, which is kinda like the sayings of Muhammed, and it is held in the same regard as the Qur'an. And this is what it says in the Hadith:

[A] martyr’s privileges are guaranteed by Allah; forgiveness with the first gush of his blood, he will be shown his seat in paradise, he will be decorated with the jewels of belief, married off to the beautiful ones, protected from the test in the grave, assured security in the day of judgment, crowned with the crown of dignity…[married] to seventy-two [virgins] and his intercession on the behalf of seventy of his relatives will be accepted.

In other words, you could be the most horrible person on the planet, but if you die while killing a bunch of Jews and Christians—“People of the Book”—you get to go past everyone else into Paradise with your 72 virgins. And if young, brown-eyed maiden aren't your thing, you can have little boys if you want.

This is one of those places where studying false religions shows just how wonderful our God really is! Islam says that you have to die so your sins can be forgiven. But, we know the truth: that Christ died so your sins could be forgiven! In Luke 23:43, as a thief hung on a cross at the right hand of Christ—this thief had NO CHANCE to do ANYTHING to make up for the horrible things he did. He had nothing to give to the poor. He couldn’t come down and be baptized. He couldn’t do ANYTHING….except confess Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory and Captain of our salvation, as his Savior and Lord. And what did Jesus say? “…today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

 So, is the Muslim Allah the same God that we Christians worship? Well, let’s look and see. In the Qur'an, Sura 4:171 says,

“Say not Trinity…God is One: Glory be to Him! Far exalted is He above having a son…”

Sura 5:73—

“They do blaspheme who say: God is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One God. If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them.”

But we’ve seen several times that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one.

We also see in the Bible that God is the God of truth. That He does not use lies to accomplish His goals. That’s not the case with Allah. There is a term Muslims use, and it is taqiyya. Basically, it means hiding the fact that you are Muslim in order to save your skin. Sura 16:106--

“Anyone who after accepting faith in Allah utters unbelief except under compulsion his heart remaining firm in faith but such as open their breast to unbelief on them is Wrath from Allah and theirs will be a dreadful Penalty.”

In other words, if you renounce the name of Allah in order to save your life, that’s fine, just so long as you still believe in your heart. The following story is accepted as fact among Muslim scholars:

The non-believers once caught Ammar-bin-Yaser and they forced him to say praise their false gods and to condemn Prophet Muhammad... [He] gave in… to their demands. After that, when he returned to the Prophet Mohammed, [he] narrated the whole story to him. Prophet Muhammad asked him, how do you feel in your heart? To which Ammar replied, “I am fully content with Allah's religion in my heart.” To this Prophet Mohammed said, “If non-believers ask you to say the same again, say it.”

Yet Jesus told us in Matthew 10:33—“But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Hebrews 11:36-38 tells of the numbers of faithful who, “were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection…others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned; they were sawn in two, were tempted, and were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented--of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.” These people could have said at any time, “OK, OK, put out the fire! Put the saw down! I don’t want any trouble here!” and gone home and lived a perfectly happy life believing on the inside, and denying God to the world. But Jesus tells us in Luke 9:24-25—“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”

And listen to the words of these saints of the early church:

• Polycarp—a disciple of John the apostle. Arrested in Rome…for being a Christian. And don’t think it can't happen in this country one day. All he had to do was say “Caesar is Lord!” and he’d be home in time for dinner. But instead, he replied, “86 years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” He was burned at the stake.
• Tertullian: "We cannot lie about our religion - to do so is to deny what we worship… Your cruelties merely prove our innocence of the crimes you charge against us. When you chose recently to hand a Christian girl over to a brothel-keeper rather than to the lions, you showed you knew we counted chastity dearer than life…And you frustrate your purpose. Because those who see us die, wonder why we do, for we die like the men you revere, not like slaves or criminals. And when they find out, they join us."

The world says that we worship the same god as the Muslims. Their god tells them it’s OK to lie in the name of Allah.

• John 17:17—“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
• Titus 1:2—“…in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie…”
• Hebrews 6:18—“…by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie…”
• Numbers 23:19—“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
• 1st Corinthians 14:33—“For God is not the author of confusion but of peace…”

I read an article by Sam Venable in the Knoxville News Sentinel a few weeks after the attacks of 9/11. He was listening to a speech from a Muslim. When the man said that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, and that “Allah” is simply the Arabic word for “God”, Sam just kinda said, “Well, OK! That’s good enough for me!” I haven’t read one of his columns since.

Well, let’s look at what Islam teaches about Jesus Christ. Sura 5:75—

“The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger before whom many Messengers have passed away…”

Sura 112:1-4—

“Say: ‘God is Unique! God, the Source [of everything]. He has not fathered anyone nor was He fathered, and there is nothing comparable to Him!’”

To the Muslim, Jesus was no more than a glorified prophet. He was no more worthy of worship than Abraham or Elijah. In fact, Sura 4:171 says,

“O People of the Book…The Messiah Jesus son of Mary was (no more than) a Messenger of God…so believe in God and His Messengers. Say not "Trinity"…God is One: Glory be to Him! (far exalted is He) above having a son…”

But the glorious truth is that Jesus was the Messiah, the word of God made flesh, in fact God Himself in the flesh! John 1:1 says the Word was God; John 1:14 says the Word was made flesh and dwelt among men.

• Luke 1:35—“And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
• Matthew 1:18—“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.”

Finally, do Muslims believe that Jesus died on the Cross? No. In fact, they don’t even believe He was crucified. Sura 4:157 it says of the Jews,

“…they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Apostle of Allah"—but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them…for…they killed him not…”

But the word of God says this:

• John 19:30—“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”
• John 19:34—“But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”
• Romans 5:6—“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
• Romans 14:9—“For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.”
• 1st Corinthians 15:3—“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures…”
• Then the words of Christ Himself, Revelation 1:18—“I Am He who was dead, and am now alive. And I live forevermore, Amen. And I hold the keys of Hell and Death.”

Christ died for our sins. But Islam, like many false religions, teaches that we can do enough “good things” to make us acceptable to their god. But there is no such thing as a man-centered salvation. So many look at Islam and say, “Ya know, it just looks so holy, and so religious. And it really stresses us being good people.”

My friends, any religion that says you can be good enough to earn your salvation does not make you a better person. It makes God less holy. It makes Him less perfect. Because look at Romans 5:6 I mentioned just now. Christ died for the ungodly. For ME!! I was ungodly. If you were talking to someone who knew me 6 ½ years ago, and told them I was preaching, they’d be laughing their head off. But you know, I was that thief on the cross. I couldn’t do enough; I couldn’t give enough to make things right with God. In fact, take that phrase out of your vocabulary. WE can NEVER make things right with God. We have to ask Jesus to do that. In Islam, there is no such thing as “atonement.” If you don’t do enough “good things” to outweigh all your “bad things” you wind up in the bottomless pit. And you can never be sure that you’ve done enough.

• If you follow Islam, you bring all your former sins with you. If you follow Christ, you leave all your sins at the foot of the cross!
• If you follow Islam, and you have too many sins to make up for, you must spill your blood to cover them. If you follow Christ, you can never have so many sins that the blood He spilled can't cover them!
• If you follow Islam, Allah keeps a journal of all your sins. If you follow Christ, the journal of all your sins is nailed to the Cross!
• If you follow Islam, you can never be sure you’ve done enough. If you follow Christ, you can be sure that He did it all!

Wayne Wood