The Gospel According to Islam
September 24th, 2007
(By John MacArthur)
Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the already ecumenical climate in America has reached new heights. In an effort to distinguish between the extremist Muslim terrorists and the mainstream Muslim population, the media has called for an even higher level of tolerance and acceptance of the religion of Islam than usual.
In a 2002 issue of Newsweek, for instance, religion editor Kenneth Woodward asserts that “mere tolerance of other religions is not enough” and that “even the acceptance of other religions as valid paths to God is insufficient” (“How Should We Think About Islam?” Newsweek, December 31, 2001 / January 7, 2002, p. 104). According to Woodward, “the most important theological agenda of the new millennium” is for committed Christians, Jews, and Muslims to “find within their own traditions sound theological reasons for valuing other faiths without compromising their own” (ibid., pp. 104-05).
Sadly, the influence of this sentiment can be seen even in the church. In fact, in a relatively recent Christianity Today article, Wheaton College professor James Lewis recommends that Christians “seek Muslim prayer partners and together beseech the true, one and only God to have mercy on us” (“Does God Hear Muslims’ Prayers?” Christianity Today, February 4, 2002, p. 31).
When evangelicals capitulate and attempt to soften the offense of the gospel in this way, they blur the lines between the god of Islam and the God of the Bible. But now is not the time for blurring lines. Now is the time to draw lines—lines between truth and error, and between the one path to heaven and the many paths to hell.
Islam rejects the Trinity and the God of the Bible, insisting instead that Allah alone is the one true deity. It denies that Jesus is God, that He died on the cross, and that He was raised from the dead. Instead, say Muslims, Jesus was but one of thousands of prophets sent by Allah, the greatest of them being Mohammed. In other words, Jesus was merely a man.
Islam rejects the salvation of forgiveness through Christ, teaching that only Muslims can be saved. According to the Koran, if a person follows Islam and does enough good deeds to outweigh the bad, Allah may allow him to enter paradise, but even then he can’t be certain. The only sure pathway to heaven is killing and being killed in jihad, a holy war.
Islam gives lip service to the Bible as a holy book, but it undermines and denies every fundamental doctrine about sin and salvation taught in the Bible. In fact, Islam today is the most powerful system on earth for the destruction of biblical truth and Christianity—thousands of Christians are dying under Islamic persecution, especially in the Middle East, Africa, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia.
Clearly, Islam and Christianity are mutually exclusive. Both claim to be the only true way to God, but both cannot be right. There is no atonement in Islam, no forgiveness, no savior, and no assurance of eternal life. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of hope; Islam is a religion of hopelessness.
Making these kinds of distinctions may not be politically correct, but it is critical if the purity of the gospel is to be protected. Put simply, there is no salvation outside of Christ. When this truth is compromised, the gospel is abandoned—and so is the only hope that we can offer to those who are not our enemies, but rather our mission field.
Thank you John for commenting on and for taking a stand on this issue. There are so many in our culture and sadly in our churches who fail to understand Islam or the threat it represents to the truth of the Gospel and to the freedoms we enjoy in the West. As always your ministry says what must be said in defense of the faith. I pray your message will continue to be blessed by God and be heard loud and clear, and that we will approach those who have faith in Islam as a true mission field and find the boldness we need to witness and minister to these people.
EXCELLENT! how sad it is we get excited when Gods men speak the truth because ther are so few “ministers of the Word” who cut it straight! God bless you Pastor John. To all who doubt GTY and their ministries, John was pivotal in my salvation and sanctification, do I agree with every word of his of course not! He is not my Lord, but they are not the doctrines that divide I am a proud Grace Partner and fervently pray for God to continue letting His TRUTH reach the white harvest. “valuing other faiths without comprimising their own” how exactly would we as Christians do that! what hypocrisy! not comprimising my own would be to faithfully DE-VALUE other faiths, sounds harsh? read the Bible. I fear the Wrath of The Lamb over the wrath of the dust of the earth.
Islam has been clothed in a garment of fear. We, as believer’s, are being asked to find value in other “paths”. The problem with that is in finding value in other religions, we devalue the work of Christ on the cross.
If I were not living in these times and seeing the fear that comes with the mention of the word “Islam”, I would not believe it.
Sadly this is only one of the more obvious distortions and attacks that we face in the church today. I whole-heartedly agree with you, Dr. MacArthur, that when people in the name of Christian tolerance, or whatever they want to call it, try to be more inclusive, they soften the offensiveness of the gospel and push people away from the One True Way and toward the condemned ways. This is happening overtly with this ecumenical garbage, but it is also happening covertly to the doctrines of sin, grace, and salvation. We must press hard against this heretical ecumenism calling for us to pray with Muslims in an attempt to “beseech the true, one and only God”! Also, inside of the church we must earnestly contend for the clear articulation of the doctrines of God, sin, and salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone to the glory of God alone.
May God grant you many more years of life for faithful and encouraging service in the work of the gospel.
soli Deo gloria
Thank you, Dr. MacArthur, for speaking the truth boldly about Islam, the currently-favored religion of the left-wing news media. May more and more in the Church and in the United States see the truth that Islam, like all false religions, is evil and may they come to the true knowledge of the Gospel.
Great Post!
I’m wondering if Mr. Doug Pagitt issues prayer rugs for any of his members who want to face east when praying? Maybe referring to God as Allah on occasion would not offend so many people and his attendance would continue to climb.
Islam is just another attempt by man to reach God - without God.
Western culture is superior to Islamic culture. Islam as a body of ideas is not compatible with human rights, it is bad for women, it is bad for the human being, it is bad for the imagination, bad for science and therefore bad for progress. The West is still underestimating the evil of Islam, by being duped into believing there is a difference between the religion’s moderate and radical interpretations. Muslims are brainwashed from an early age to believe Western values are evil and that the world one day will come under the control of Sharia law. We are fighting a religion where someone is willing to die, so you have to understand this mentality and find a way to face it. The Muslim mission is to fight for Islam and to kill or to be killed. They are taught that they are here only for a short life and once you kill a kafir, or a non-believer, soon you’re going to be united with your god. That’s why the West has to monitor the majority of Muslims because you do not know when they’re ready to be activated, because they share the same basic belief, that’s the problem! Muslims have been hostages of their own belief systems for 1400 years.There is no way we as a society can keep the Koran. I would include the contention that the prophet Mohammed was by Western standards a “perverse man and a tyrant” for marrying a six-year-old girl and consummating the marriage when she was nine. If the prophet Mohammed went to be with a nin-year-old, then according to our law he is a pedophile.
So how does the Christian church respond? Strongly with more missionaries.
Paul,
I’m a Christian and certainly, I believe that the Islamic faith is in error, but where and how can we verify this satement?? I’d be glad if you can point to some resources..
“I would include the contention that the prophet Mohammed was by Western standards a “perverse man and a tyrant” for marrying a six-year-old girl and consummating the marriage when she was nine. If the prophet Mohammed went to be with a nin-year-old, then according to our law he is a pedophile.”
In Christ,
Dean
Dean,
If your question is about Muhammed having married a six year old and then having sexual relations with her at age nine…see Hadith 7.64 (hadiths are traditions or sayings of the Prophet). In “Unveiling Islam” published by Kregel Publications, Drs. Ergun and Emir Caner -both former Muslims- reference Hadith 7.64. On page 135 saying: “Even though the Qur’an gives men a limit of four wives, Muhammad received special dispensation directly from Allah to marry as many as he wished…one of whom he married at age six and had sexual relations with at age nine”.
I pray this will help.
Yours In Christ
Lee