Redemptive work of Christ

The Five Pillars of Islam (confession, prayer, alms, fasting, and pilgrimage) do not bother Christians—unless they disrupt the lives of non-Muslims by loudspeakers and blocked streets. However, what do concern Christians is unacceptable behavior such as degrading the person and work of Christ, terrorism or jihad in the name of Allah, violation of human rights, defiant attitudes of Muslim immigrants, and demanding the practice of Sharia law in host countries.

Based on statements in the Quran, Muslims deny what is central to the Christian faith, that is: the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ (his death, resurrection, ascension, and return). No compromise is possible on this. They either accept Christ for who he is according to the Bible, or they do not. Christians cannot give an inch; it will undermine the foundations of our faith.

Muslims believe that Christ was not crucified but that a look-alike was crucified in his place. They make the same convenient switch between Isaac and Ishmael. The chances for the Jews to have mistaken Judas for Jesus are absolutely zero. The elders, Herodians, Sadducees, and Pharisees had several encounters with Jesus in the preceding week—they knew exactly how he looked. To make double sure they arrest the right man, they negotiated with Judas to take them by night to the place where Jesus and his disciples regularly slept. Judas pointed Jesus out to them by kissing him. It was not completely dark, because the Passover is on full moon, and they would have burning torches. Jesus not only identified himself to them; when Peter slashed off a guard's ear, Jesus healed the wound, showing himself as the famous healer. From Gethsemane, the group took him to the house of the high priest, and later to the Roman governor. Nowhere in the process was there a chance (or a motive) to substitute Judas (or someone else) for Jesus. Once the Romans had flogged him, it would be quite clear who the “King of the Jews” was.

Regarding the written record, four gospel writers (and some sources outside the Bible) confirm that Jesus Christ was crucified on Calvary. The soldier who pierced his side proved that he was dead when blood and water poured from the wound. The Jews and Romans proved his resurrection by sealing and guarding the tomb. The disciples who fearfully went into hiding would certainly not face a Roman guard to steal the body. It was highly unlikely that the guards would sleep through an earthquake.

God gave 39 books to the Jews and 27 to the church. These 66 canonical books were completed in the first century. In the fourth century a synod confirmed what Christians already realized for centuries: only these books (Bibloi in Greek) qualify to be called the Word of God. When Islam has tried to annul Judean-Christian faith (from the seventh century till today), it is not only unrealistic but utterly presumptuous. The same is true of Christians who try to annul Islam. Jesus said the wheat will be discerned from the weeds in harvest time (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43).

The Son of God

Muslims have been indoctrinated with the idea that Christianity believes in three Gods; thus they see Christians as polytheists. In reality, Christians believe in one God who revealed himself in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although the Trinity is above human understanding, Christians accept this self-revelation of God in the Bible. The mystery of one Being, revealing himself in three Persons, has been compared to a burning candle: wax, wick, and flame. The three elements make up one candle, just as mind, feelings, and will make up one person.

The book of Genesis (of which the greater part is accepted by Muslims) starts with the Trinity: God the Father, Word, and Spirit. Moses said that no one can see God’s face, yet he spoke to God “face to face” (Ex. 33:11, 20). Apparently God appeared to him in human form, that is: the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God who later became the Son of Man. Jesus used the two phrases (Son of God and Son of Man) in one breath when he spoke to Nicodemus (John 3:15-16). When Moses and Gideon were called (Ex. 3, Judges 6), the Angel of the LORD spoke to them, and a few verses further, the LORD spoke to them directly. One of the angels who visited Abraham was later called the LORD (Gen. 18:22). We have to conclude that the second Person of the Trinity appeared to Abraham, Moses and Gideon.

There are references in the Old Testament to the Son of God. “You are My Son, today I have begotten You” (Ps. 2:7). “Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name and what is His Son’s name, if you know?” (Prov. 30:4). “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be on His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

In the New Testament, the Son of God took on a human body and thus became the Son of Man. “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:30-32). “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son” (Gal. 4:4). When Jesus was baptized, “a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:17). “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18). “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).

Paul describes the incarnation of God’s Son vividly: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:5-11).

The Son of God will resurrect all bodies for judgment day. “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to judge also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:26-29). “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

Hallelujah Chorus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RrdwElnTU

Terror and Jihad

Although most Muslims are not terrorists or jihadists, almost all terrorism of the past decade was committed by people who claim to be Muslims. Sadly, moderate Muslims are not doing much to denounce these atrocities. Like moderate Christians, moderate Muslims are part of the silent majority who disapprove of many extremist activities, but do so in the privacy of their homes. Because the killing of infidels is encouraged by their holy books, it is all the more difficult for moderate Muslims to take a firm stand against their extremist brothers and sisters.

However, many moderate Muslims are engaged in another kind of holy war. Although Islamic leaders paint the West as satanic, millions of Muslims emigrate from their wonderful Islamic regimes to the deplorable West. It seems illogical, doesn’t it? But there is method in the madness. First, Muslims believe they can overwhelm the West by having more children. Islam proliferates mainly by offspring, not by proselytizing. Except for the rulers and oil barons, most people in Islamic countries earn far less than people in the West. So, the logical second step is to export their surplus to the West. Europe continuously battle against a flood of immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East. These immigrants want the West’s money but not its beliefs and lifestyle, so they settle in groups, maintain their culture, and refuse to assimilate in their host country.

When they are enough in the new country, they start to make demands for concessions on ground of the host country’s human rights policy toward minority groups. When politicians warn against the danger, they are intimidated and even killed, as happened in Holland. To drive others from their suburbs, riots and looting may break out, as it did in Britain and France. The wearing of head scarves, especially those that cover the whole face, has become a major problem for the West, because it is so easy for a terrorist to dress up as a woman in order to slip unidentified through security. At some places, Muslims even demand that Sharia law supersedes the laws of the host country.

Any Muslim with a normal or higher IQ should be able to see what kind of problems they create in their host countries with these kinds of demands and attitudes. Wouldn’t it be better to appreciate the opportunity the host country offers you, and show that gratitude by respect for the values and laws of that country? But accepting medicine from a helper and then stab the helper in the back is deplorable.

If Christianity in the West was not so lukewarm it could have used the opportunity to bring the gospel to the millions of Muslim immigrants. Alas, only a big miracle can accomplish that.

Abrogation

The abrogation controversy regarding the Quran and Hadith continues. Abrogation means the revoking of earlier statements by later statements on the same subject such as use of alcohol. It raises questions about the inspiration and reliability of Islamic doctrine.

However, Christians have to deal with similar issues regarding the Old and New Testaments. Many Christian theologians find evidence in Scripture of “progressive revelation.” As a wise Father, God did not give all revealed truth in the beginning, but expanded on it as the centuries rolled by. Likewise, as children grow up, they receive more information from parents and teachers. Examples of progressive revelation in the Bible are the facts about the Trinity, salvation, death, afterlife, and end-time.

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The difference between abrogation and progressive revelation is that the first revokes while the second expands (without contradicting itself). When Jesus said (Matt. 5:21-22), “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder’… But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of judgment,” he was not abrogating Scripture but correcting the Pharisees’ wrong interpretation of Scripture. He actually started this part of the Sermon on the Mount by emphasizing that he did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17). When Paul refers to what he said before and what he is saying now (1 Cor. 5:9-11), he is not canceling his former statement, but expanding on it.

Another “change” in the Bible (that may smell like abrogation to Muslims) is the fact that ceremonial laws have been fulfilled in Christ and are no longer practiced by Christians. These laws include animal sacrifices, cleansing rituals, and yearly feasts. Christ shed his blood for the atonement of all our sins, cleansed us of all guilt, and prepares an eternal feast for us in heaven. This fulfillment of Old Testament rituals in Christ is not abrogation (correction) of the old, but giving new meaning to the old. The Old Testament ritual was a symbolic foreshadowing of what Christ did for us: the symbol was replaced by reality.

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