“ Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.”

Proverbs 27:5

In our series on Islam the first article dealt with a comparison of Mohammad and Christ and the second article discussed praying for Muslims which is one of the keys to ministering to them the way Christ would have us.   Today’s article will deal with the loving confrontation Christ would have us do for the sake of bringing them into the kingdom of God.    At the conclusion of this article are more facts about Islam.  

A couple of years ago during my first heart episode, I was doing an exhausting treadmill test at the request of my cardiologist, while at the same time carrying on a confronting conversation with the Muslim technician doing the test.  The Muslim technician kept challenging me about my belief in Christ as I was walking my legs off.   I think he looked on my charts and saw that I was a pastor.    His argument was that all good men and women (those who believe in Allah, Christ, Buddha, ect.) would go to heaven: I thought this was a bit strange because typically Muslims believe that only those who embrace Islam as their religion will ever see God when life is over.   He went on to say that a place in heaven was dependent on a man’s good works.   With my heart beating faster on the treadmill, I told him this was not the message of Christ.  I told him that salvation and an earthly reward could come only by faith in Christ, and that works would never get any one into the kingdom.  He countered back that Christ was a good man, good teacher, and even a great prophet, but that salvation could not just come through Him.   I retorted, as I noticed he turned up the speed of the treadmill, that unless He believed in Christ as Lord and Savior he would never get into the kingdom of God.   I went on to say, a good man, good teacher, or even a great prophet could not be considered good if he was claiming to be the Son of God and the only way to salvation.  Either Jesus was the Son of God, or he was a lunatic, there   was no middle ground.  I confronted him further about his belief in good works, and repeated the claims of Christ on his life.  He was not won over, but only told me that he had posed the same argument to other pastors who came his way. 

Confrontation, as hard as it sounds, is a loving act.  Jesus did it many times in the course of His ministry and it was usually with those who were religious and totally dependent on good works for their righteousness.   Here is just one example of Jesus’ confronting words to such men; there are many more. 

Matthew 23   13-16

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.  14  [“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.] 15  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.  16  “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?

As you can see Jesus was very confrontive with these religious leaders, and it was not because He hated them.   But it was rather the only way to shake them up.   It is very much like what a shepherd will do to a rebellious sheep that will not listen.  A shepherd will actually break the legs of a sheep if he is too rebellious.   He does this so the sheep will obey.  Of course the shepherd is obligated to carry the sheep until he is well.   But if the sheep refuses this, then he is left behind.   Confronting others is difficult, but it is the loving thing to do if it saves their lives. 

Therefore we cannot give Islam or any other false religion any due quarter (Romans 8:6-9; Matthew 12: 30).   To try and just get along with them, respecting them for their beliefs is wrong, because it only validates the false assumption that their path to salvation is the right one.    It is not, their path to salvation is totally against God’s Word, and if you validate their beliefs you are really saying you don’t love them enough to help them see that Christ is their only hope, and the only way to salvation.

Remember all Islamics, will spend an eternity in hell unless they believe in Christ as Lord and Savior (John 9:35-39; John 14:6).  It is not just the Islamic terrorists going to hell.  

You have all been called to be God’s preachers to Muslims; you need to pray for them, love them, confront them, and share with them the truth of Christ, the only way to salvation (Romans 10:14).

Other facts about Islam

Major doctrines of Islam

 The chief angel is Gabriel, who is said to have appeared to Muhammad.

There are five holy books mentioned in the Koran: 1) The scrolls of Abraham (now lost), 2) The Tawrat (the Torah) given to the prophet Moses, 3) The Zabur (the Psalms) given to the prophet David, 4) The Injil (the Gospel) given to the prophet Jesus, and 5) The Quran revealed to the prophet Muhammad.

Muhammad is the greatest of 28 prophets to which the Qumran refers.

There will be a day of judgment on which Allah will reward or punish people according to their deeds. The results are heaven or hell. Heaven will be a place of eternal sensual pleasure.

Orthodox Islam is locked into fatalism, which produces a very pessimistic view of life. Devout Muslims constantly make the comment “If Allah wills it” on most decisions because “orthodox Islam teaches the absolute predestination of both good and evil, that all our thoughts, words and deeds, whether good or evil, were foreseen, ordained, determined and decreed from all eternity and everything that happens takes place according to what has been written for it.”

Questions for Muslims to answer?

Have you ever noticed that the world relief agencies spend most of their efforts in the Islam world; trying to save the starving, those being murdered, and those who are too impoverished to live.  Therefore if Allah is god, and the Muslims are right, where are the Islamic relief organizations; where are the hospitals, where are the funds to help the poor of this world; where is the effort to preserve human life?

Word of God

John 9:35-39   Jesus said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”  The man answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”  Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.”   And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” 

John 14:6  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.                                                                          

Romans 8:6-9   6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Matthew 12: 30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.