Colossians 2:8-9 Jesus vs. Muhammad

Rev. David Holwick A

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

January 3, 2016

Colossians 2:8-9

JESUS vs. MUHAMMAD

I. Religions in conflict.

A. Her head-covering created a controversy.

Professor Larycia Hawkins had simply put on a head-scarf to

support her Muslim neighbors.

All during this Advent season she looked like any Muslim.

Then she shared publicly on Facebook why she did it:

"I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they,

like me, a Christian, are people of the book.

And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God."

This got her suspended by the Christian college where she

worked.

The college said in a statement:

"While Islam and Christianity are both monotheistic, we believe

there are fundamental differences between the two faiths,

including what they teach about God's revelation to humanity,

the nature of God, the path to salvation and the life of

prayer."

The college is Wheaton College in Illinois, the same college

Trilby Salmon and I attended.

B. Islam is much in the news these days.

1) It probably began 65 years ago with the creation of Israel.

a) Numerous wars followed, then the oil embargo.

2) And of course the biggest event was 9-11.

a) We invaded the Muslim countries of Afghanistan and

Iraq, and are bombing in the area to this day.

b) They do their own bombing around us - in Boston, Paris,

and have repeatedly tried in New York.

3) Not all Muslims are terrorists, of course.

a) Doris Schrum has a Muslim couple for neighbors and she

says they would do anything for her.

They are kind, sociable and good people.

b) I have no doubt that the vast majority of American

Muslims are just like Doris's neighbors.

1> The vast majority, but not all of them...

2> And a few can do great damage to a society.

3> Our fear of the few is what drives some to suggest

all Muslims should be banned from our country.

C. How should Christians respond to Muslims?

1) Are our religions basically the same?

2) Should we fear them, or love them?

II. Islam is fairly new to our nation.

A. After an early confrontation, we ignored each other.

1) That confrontation was over American hostages taken by

Arabs in North Africa in the early 1800s.

2) Rather than pay a ransom, we sent in the U.S. Marines.

3) This is why their song says "to the shores of Tripoli...".

B. Islam's origin is ancient.

1) In A.D. 612, a man in Arabia had a series of visions.

a) His name was Muhammad and he was around 40 years old.

b) He said the angel Gabriel had given him words from God.

1> Muhammad memorized them and recited them to others.

2> Soon, the words were written down in the Quran.

2) He denounced the idols in his city of Mecca so they drove

him out.

a) His journey to the town of Medina is called the

"hegira" and is the foundational date of Islam.

b) Muhammad gained followers in Medina and returned to

Mecca and overpowered it.

c) Once in their lifetime, every Muslim is supposed to

make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

1> It is the largest annual religious gathering in

the world.

2> As many as 3 million participate.

C. Islam's outreach is aggressive.

1) Their goal is to convert the whole world to their beliefs.

a) It is a simple faith, with 5 main duties.

b) From the teachings of the Quran, and the example

of Muhammad's life, they have built up a large

set of laws called the Sharia.

1> It governs every aspect of life, including how

to relieve yourself, how to put your socks on,

and how to treat your wife.

2> (you must treat wives fairly, but you can beat them

if they deserve it.)

2) Over a few decades, the early Muslims conquered much

of the world.

a) Local tribes converted, or were slaughtered.

1> Many of them were Jewish or Christian of some sort.

b) Muslims took Spain and would have taken France if a

Christian named Charles Martel had not stood firm.

c) In 1683 they made it all the way to the gates of Vienna,

but were soundly defeated.

1> The date of the defeat? September 11.

2> That is why Bin Laden chose that date to attack us.

d) In 30 years they may outnumber Christians in the world.

III. What they believe about God.

A. Is Islam a different flavor of what we believe? Not quite.

1) We both believe in one God - monotheism.

a) God revealed himself to Abraham, and Moses -- even Jesus.

2) But Islam rejects the Trinity.

a) Jesus is virgin-born, and sinless, and coming again,

but he is only a prophet, not the Son of God.

b) They do not believe he died on a cross or atones for

our sins.

c) He is just a prophet, and Muhammad is a greater prophet.

B. The Quran is the "incarnation" of God's Word.

1) Comparable to what Christians believe about Jesus.

2) This is why they are so incensed when it is burned.

C. The God of the Quran shows little grace.

1) He is so different from us that we can know little about

him.

2) He predestines everything - whatever he chooses is right.

a) He is the source of good and evil.

3) Although the Quran says God is loving, this aspect is

mostly ignored.

a) Its emphasis is on his judgment and power, not his

grace and mercy.

D. Islam believes humans are flawed, not fallen.

1) They do not believe in Original Sin.

2) The duty of humans is to submit to God's will.

a) It is a system more than a relationship.

IV. Jesus is different.

A. He is more than a prophet - he is the manifestation of God.

1) In John 10:30, Jesus says, "I and the Father are one."

2) Colossians 2:9 is even more clear: "For in Christ all the

fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."

B. Jesus is also the sacrifice for our sins.

1) Muslims don't believe in atonement, that sins can be

washed away by blood.

2) Instead, they hope that their good deeds will outweigh

their bad deeds at the end of their life.

a) They have no assurance of salvation - they HOPE God will

save them, but can never be certain.

b) Christians, however, can be certain, because our

salvation depends on what God has done for us.

C. Jesus came to the earth to bring peace.

1) People may end up in conflict over him, but his purpose

is to bring peace and salvation.

2) The Quran is clear that infidels can be killed if they

don't convert.

a) War is also a valid means of spreading their faith.

b) This is never taught in the New Testament.

1> Some governments and denominations have tried to

spread Christianity through force, but Jesus

never commanded this.

2> And the New Testament never calls for the death of

unbelievers, but leaves them for God to deal with.

3> The Spanish Inquisition had no justification from

the Bible.

V. What Jesus offers the world.

A. Jesus offers a gift.

1) We cannot save ourselves by our efforts, so he offers it

to us for free.

2) He can do this because he is God.

B. Jesus calls us to love.

1) Our whole relationship with God is based on his grace.

a) The good things we do are our way of showing gratitude

for what he has done for us.

b) Islam combines God's grace with human effort.

1> The Quran says in Surah 5:9, "To those who believe

and do deeds of righteousness hath Allah promised

forgiveness and a great reward."

2> Therefore it is really a kind of works righteousness.

2) Even jihadists can receive God's love.

a) The Apostle Paul was violent, but God saved him anyway.

b) A secret Christian among the ISIS.

A missionary with YOUTH WITH A MISSION in the Middle East

came in contact earlier this year with an ISIS fighter.

The man confessed that he enjoyed killing Christians.

But just before he killed one Christian, the man said,

"I know you will kill me, but I give to you my Bible."

The Christian was killed and this ISIS fighter actually

took the Bible and began to read it.

Then he started having dreams of this man in white coming

to him and saying, "You are killing my people."

He started to feel sick and uneasy about what he was doing.

In another dream, Jesus asked the ISIS fighter to follow

him, and that is why he approached the missionary.

He had accepted Jesus and wanted to be discipled.

It is amazing to think there are secret Christians even

within ISIS.

#65028

C. God is bringing Muslims to Christ.

1) The harvest has been world-wide.

A few years ago, Al-Jazeera reported that roughly 6 million

Muslims are leaving Islam and becoming followers of Jesus

every year in Africa.

In 2005, roughly 250,000 Muslims converted to Christianity

in Iran.

Between 2003-2005, roughly 1 million Muslims converted to

Christianity in Arab countries.

Nabeel Qureshi was a committed Muslim whose father is a

Muslim leader in Virginia.

In college and medical school, one of his Christian friends

challenged him to examine the Bible seriously.

He did this, and was shaken by the evidence for the truth

of Christianity.

Nabeel even traveled to Europe and Canada to meet with

Muslim leaders to get answers to his questions.

He returned unsatisfied with the answers he was given.

Wanting Islam to be true, Nabeel prayed that God would give

him three dreams that would provide guidance.

His prayer was answered.

Against what Nabeel had hoped for, God confirmed the truth

of Christianity to him and in 2005 he converted.

Today he works with the Ravi Zacharias ministry to proclaim

Jesus.

#34095

2) Some have gone the other way.

a) A Catholic becomes a Muslim.

Sherif Quinn wrote about his conversion to Islam on

the internet.

His testimony clearly shows his Christianity was a

shallow thing that was never real to him.

From the age of 4 he attended Catholic schools run by

nuns and monks.

But he says except for some various stories from the

Bible, he felt he didn't have a clue as to the

relationship between Christianity and real life.

His Catholic teachers veered away from discussing

questions about Christianity and just told him

to have faith. #31115

I don't think he really converted from Christianity -

he didn't know what Christianity was to begin with.

b) How many among us have a veneer of faith without the

real experience?

D. A convert gives us a challenge.

Nabeel Qureshi was unprepared for the lax attitude toward faith

held by many American Christians.

He encountered people who were not expecting God to do anything

in their lives.

Nabeel saw that Westerners in general were very individualistic.

We ask, "What do I think is right or wrong?" "What's good

for ME?"

Nabeel thinks the biggest challenge facing the church is

to be on fire for God.

He notes that Jesus says very clearly in the book of

Revelation that he does not want people to be lukewarm.

His exact words are, "because you are lukewarm - neither hot

nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Rev 3:16

Jesus in the gospels calls us to be all in, or all out.

#65034

Which of those describes you?

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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:

Some of my material on Islam comes from “Understanding Non-Christian

Religions,” by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Campus Crusade for Christ, 1982.

See also “Christianity and Islam: A Side by Side Comparison,” <link>.

[1] “Wheaton College says view of Islam, not hijab, got Christian teacher

suspended,” by Manya Brachear Pashman and Marwa Eltagouri, Chicago

Tribune, December 16, 2015; <link>.

#31115 “Christianity: The Point of Departure (A Catholic Converts To

Islam), Sherif Quinn, January 26, 2006; <link>.

#34095 “What Are We To Do About Islam?” Mike Licona, Baptist Press,

http://www.baptistpress.org, January 26, 2007.

#65028 “ISIS Fighter 'Follows Jesus After Encounter In Dream,”

F. Michael Maloof, June 9, 2015; <link>.

#65034 "Nabeel Qureshi: From Muslim Apologist To Christian Teacher,"

Jessi Strong, LOGOS Bible study magazine, Nov-Dec 2015;

BreakPoint Commentary, February 17, 2014.

These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be

downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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