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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



Some time ago, a dear sister in the Lord approached me with a serious problem she was having regarding a certain family member -- a former Christian from childhood -- who had chosen to convert to the Islamic faith after entering a relationship with a Muslim man. It seems that just as much as this dear sister and her husband were hopeful of converting this couple to the Christian faith, the Muslim couple was also determined to persuade the Christian couple to embrace the teachings of Islam's prophet, Muhammad, as they are taught in the Muslim holy book, the Qur'an, or Koran, if you prefer.

Whenever I am confronted with such situations where my advice is requested, my first reaction is always to seek the Lord in prayer, as I certainly do not want to provide my answers, but rather the Lord's answers. If there is one thing I emphasize over and over again in my writings, it is that God not only knows all of the answers, but He has also already given us many of them. These answers can be found in His Word; that is, in the Holy Bible. Just as much as the Lord esteems His Word above His very Name, in similar fashion, we should also esteem His Word in our lives, even more than our necessary food. Consider the following verses where this truth is made quite evident:

"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."


"Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food."


"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."


Tragically, while many Christians know that this is true, due to time constraints, or perhaps due to a lack of skill in studying God's Word, some people find it difficult to immediately locate the answers that they need in the Bible. Thus, they require the help of someone who is more familiar with it. It is at this point that my work as a Christian writer enters into the picture. Similar to a lot of other archeologists of the Word of God, I have simplified the work for some Christians by mining God's wonderful gold for them, and by clearing away the piles of theological rubble and the doctrines of men which have buried the truth for literally centuries. Once I have extracted this precious gold, I have then associated certain nuggets -- or verses of Scripture -- with other nuggets, in order to show how they fit together.

My work is also very similar to what one does on a weaver's loom, or else when one crochets a particular pattern into a piece of fabric. Each verse in the Bible is like a different colored piece of thread. To a novice in the Word of God, all of these various strands may at first appear to be thrown together in one large unorganized pile of confusion. He may stare at this pile in bewilderment, not having the slightest idea regarding where to begin to sort out all of the various colors, so that he can weave them together into the proper pattern.

Picking up a thread at a time, over a number of decades now, I have done exactly that. As each new thread, or verse, has been woven into the fabric, the pattern has become clearer and clearer. Obviously, I don't understand it all yet, but I continue to slowly work on the project one thread at a time. By God's Grace, I will continue to work on it until that day in which the Lord calls me Home. This act of creating the pattern one step at a time seems to be revealed in the Bible in the following two verses:

"Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:"


Returning to this dear sister's problem regarding her family member who had converted to Islam, as on other occasions, after prayerfully reading her touching letter, I immediately realized that it was not really necessary for me to write a long response to her, being as much of the counsel which I can offer her is already included in articles which I have already written. Thus, the purpose of this article is to point the way to other articles which contain the answers which she -- and other people who find themselves in similar situations to her own -- may need and want to read.

While my first recommendation will be specifically geared towards the blatant deceptions and fallacies which are found in the religion of Islam, please note that all of the other articles which I recommend here can easily be used to refute the lies of any belief system which refuses to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only Captain of our Salvation, the only Mediator between God and man, and the only High Priest who intercedes for us before the Throne of the Father.

The very first series which I believe that a person should read, should they be confronted with the Islamic deception, is "Holy Qur'an and Islam: A Doctrine Of Devils?". There are two specific reasons regarding why I am suggesting this particular series. First of all, it is important that one recognizes who his enemy is. By using the word "enemy", I am not necessarily referring to the person who has embraced the lies of a certain non-Christian religion. I am referring to the deceptive spirit of that particular religion, to which a person has yielded himself. Whether he realizes it or not, such a person has in fact become enslaved to that particular antichrist spirit. Please consider the following verses and be warned:

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."


"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"


Concerning the first set of verses above, if you read the series entitled "Is Jesus the Only Begotten Son of God?", you will come to understand that what John is really saying is that anyone who denies that Jesus is the only begotten, -- or born-in-the-flesh -- Son of God, is antichrist. This is what I believe John means when he writes the phrase "is come in the flesh". It's important to realize that there are many people -- including Muslims and participants of other non-Christian faiths -- who do believe that Jesus was born in the flesh. They believe that He was a wise man, and they also revere Him as a holy prophet, a great philosopher and a wonderful teacher. However, such people deny Jesus' Divinity as the only begotten Son of God, and the one and only Messiah and Savior of the world, as ordained by God the Father.

This is one of the key points of the aforementioned series. Thus, I encourage you to read it in its entirety -- please don't just skim through it -- as I believe that it will give you a much expanded understanding regarding the full Nature and Identity of Jesus Christ.

Sadly, as I point out in such articles as "All Are Given a Chance, But . . .", "Not Everyone is a Child of God" and "Is the Message of Salvation Meant for All Men?", there will be many people who hear the Salvation message and the Good News regarding Jesus Christ, who will reject it. Thus, if having heard the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a person then continues to resist it, sadly, by his own choice, he has not only made himself the enemy of God through his rebellion, but in essence, he has likewise made himself your enemy as well. As the woman who wrote to me has discovered, this can occur even within our own households and immediate families, and it can be a very difficult situation to deal with for those of us who love the Lord. Consider the following verses:

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."


"He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."


"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."


"Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."


"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law."


According to Thayer's Greek English Lexicon, in the New Testament, the words "foes" and "enemies" are derived from the Greek word "echthros". Pronounced ech-thros', this word means hated, odious, hateful, hostile, hating, and opposing another. Thus, as I said a minute ago, by opposing the truth of the Gospel which we share with them, people become our and God's enemy. Consider the following verses where this thought is further confirmed:

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."


"As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes."


"(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:"


"For it pleased the Father that in him [Jesus] should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:"


In the case of interfaith or multifaith families, it should be mentioned here that while a Christian may never actually be persecuted in a physical sense, he may very well become the object of verbal or emotional persecution, because of the wayward beliefs of the opposing party. While some people of other faiths -- such as certain Muslims -- will even claim to be very opened-minded towards Christianity, and may even be willing to discuss the common points between your faith and theirs, the fact of the matter remains that within their hearts, they are simply exercising passive rebellion against God. Furthermore, if a Christian continues to press such an individual with the truth regarding Jesus Christ, they will eventually be forced to reveal their true colors.

In short, the time will inevitably arrive -- as it does with all men everywhere -- that said persons are going to have to make a choice one way or the other; either in complete favor of Jesus Christ, or else against Him, exactly as Jesus stated in the Gospel of Matthew. For nonbelievers, it is also very important to realize that there is no guarantee of tomorrow. While some of them may foolishly procrastinate and say "I'll think about it later", they should consider the truth of the following verses which reveal the brevity of the human life span, and the important fact that now is the time to repent -- or have a change of mind and heart -- and to accept God's Gift of Salvation:

"The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."


"Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away."


"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."


"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"


"Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready."


"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:"


"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."


"(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"


"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"


"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."


"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."


If you are interested in acquiring more in-depth knowledge and understanding regarding persecution against Christians, and how we should react to it, I encourage you to read the series called "Civil Disobedience and Christian Persecution".

In stating that we each need to recognize our enemies, I am referring to the fact that one needs to fully understand the mentality of the person who holds to the non-Christian faith. In this particular case, we are dealing with the mentality of the Muslim, based upon their holy book, the Qur'an. To fully combat the deceptions of Islam, a Christian needs to not only understand what Muslims are taught about their own faith, but one must also understand how Muslims are taught to view the Christian faith as well. In this regard, "Holy Qur'an and Islam: A Doctrine Of Devils?" will serve our purpose well.

In addition to assisting you in understanding what Muslims actually believe, this series will both prepare you and protect you from some of the lies which will undoubtedly be thrown at you, should the time arrive when you must confront a Muslim. By already knowing what is contained in their holy book, you will be one step ahead of your adversary. Don't be surprised if your enemy is amazed by how much you actually know about the Qur'an after having read this series, because I have invested a lot of time and effort in it for your sake. As Jesus said concerning the unbelieving Jews of His day:

"If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin."


In other words, in the context of this article, once you have shared the Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a person, in the Lord's mind, that individual no longer has any excuse for hiding behind the cloak of lies and deceptions that Satan has cast upon them by means of his many false religions. As the Lord's special emissary who has delivered the Message to that person, it is as if God is saying to them "Look; I have given you the truth. So what are you going to do with it?" In other words, whether they receive it or reject it, on the Day of Judgment, God will certainly hold them accountable for having known the truth. Consider the following verses which confirm this point:

"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."


"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."


"Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead."


"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"


Thus, exactly as occurred with the ancient Jews, as a result of your faithful witness, such unbelieving persons are now forced to either humbly come to the Light of Christ, or else to further withdraw themselves into the darkness of the sins of rebellion and unbelief, by becoming even more deceived by the lies of the Father of Lies. Consider the following verses:

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."


"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."


"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."


"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."


Clearly then, the decision is to either come to the Light of Jesus Christ, or to knowingly and willingly choose to remain in spiritual darkness by one's own choice. As we plainly see by the previous verses, if one chooses the latter option, he condemns himself, and will be judged accordingly.

In dealing with individuals of non-Christians religions, one of the primary difficulties seems to be in helping them to understand the significance and the necessity of the Blood Atonement of Jesus Christ. As we Christians know and accept, Jesus' loving Sacrifice is the very foundation of our faith, without which there is absolutely no hope of forgiveness, or of obtaining Eternal Life. To assist you in explaining this most vital element of our Christian faith, I have written an article entitled "The Blood Atonement: In Jesus' Own Words". I was motivated to write this particular article as a result of the deception of the followers of the Urantia Book, who falsely claim that the Atonement Doctrine is an invention of the Apostle Paul, and is not found in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

In order to expose this demonic lie that is promoted by the Urantians, in the aforementioned article I rely heavily upon Jesus' actual words as we find them in the four Gospels, and thus explain why His Sacrifice was a necessary and integral part of our Heavenly Father's Salvation plan. If a Muslim -- or a believer of any other non-Christian religion -- really reverences the words of Jesus Christ as they claim, then "The Blood Atonement: In Jesus' Own Words" will provide Christians with powerful information which will help them to bring such nonbelievers to a point of decision; either in favor of, or fully against, the teachings of Jesus Christ. If you use what you learn in the aforementioned article in your witness, you will find out very quickly whether or not a nonbeliever truly accepts what Jesus taught concerning Himself.

Another stumbling block one often encounters when endeavoring to bring a non-Christian to the saving Grace which is found in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ alone, is the fact that many religions teach that Salvation -- and thus inheriting Eternal Life -- is the result of leading a good life. In other words, our ability to receive this precious Gift is based upon good deeds, and other meritorious works of the flesh. As you may know, even within our own faith, there are certain branches of Christianity which emphasize good works over the Biblical doctrine of "Sola Fide" -- that is, "by faith alone" -- which is soundly supported by verses such as the following:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."


"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


"And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."


"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."


"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God."


"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."


"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."


"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."


"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified . . . I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."


"But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith."


"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."


"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"


"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."


Please go to part two for the conclusion of this article.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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