Do We have it All?

Q: Why did God foster the Islamic religion when we as Christians know that only Faith in Jesus Christ will give us life everlasting? I have strong christian beliefs but I do not attend a church on a regular basis. Islam seems to hold God to the highest but only consider Jesus as a prophet. The Jews are still looking for the savior of the world. Do we Christians have it all? I really think we have.

A: Absolutely, Christians have it all. How is it that Jesus Christ is described in Scripture? "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15)." "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (Colossians 2:9)." The only conclusion one can reach from these two verses is that Jesus is God. And as Christians we have the Spirit of God, made available to us throught the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, indwelling us. We should be encouraged by the fact that God loves us so much that He gave us Himself. And what is it that we have from God, in Christ, giving us Himself? "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness (2 Peter 1:3)." "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)."No other faith can make that claim because no other faith has the one true God at its foundation. No other faith has Jesus Christ as its God and Savior. There is a reason Jesus Christ said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)." Jesus Christ is God's only provision of forgivness and eternal life for mankinds condition of being spiritually dead in sin.

Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Religion is the creation of mankind who, in the energy of their own flesh, futily attempt to reach up to God. God did not foster the Islamic religion, or any religion for that matter. Mankinds problem is not that we lack rules and regulations to live by in order to be pleasing to God. Mankinds problem is that we are born into this world spiritually dead to God in our sins. We need spiritual life and forgivness, not instructions. You cannot hold God to the highest when your faith is not grounded in the one true God of the Bible and in His Son Jesus Christ. While Muslims may be devout in their sincerity to what they believe, they are sincerely wrong in what they believe. The Qur'an, the Muslim holy book, denies that God could have a Son (Surah 19:35), denies the deity of Jesus Christ as joining other gods with God (Surah 4:116) and denies Christ's death on the cross and His bodily resurrection (Surah 4:157). These facts alone disqualify the Islamic faith as being authored by God. The Bible is clear in what it teaches about those that deny the deity of Christ and His death, burial and resurrection. "No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:23)."

I wouldn't be overly concerned about not attending church on a regular basis. Your desire for fellowship and asking questions like you have here should serve as evidence for your faith. The Bible doesn't command a believer to attend church. Instead the Bible encourages us to "not give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25)." There are many outlets for fellowship. You can start or attend a Bible study, create an internet chat group of like-minded believers or, if nobody is available, simply make time to study on your own. After all, you do have the Holy Spirit indwelling you who desires to teach you and reveal the meaning of Scripture to you. Yes, Jesus is not simply a prophet who, as one Bible teacher wrote, "stands in a long line of peers from Abraham to Muhammad, but is God in human flesh." If Jesus is anything less than God in the flesh our faith is futile. It is unfortunate that the Jews, who God set apart for His divine purpose of revealing the Savior of the world, deny Jesus Christ. This fact tormented the Apostle Paul to the point he exclaimed, "I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel (Romans 9:3-4)." This should all serve to encourage us to take every opportunity to share the Gospel with others, whether they be Muslim, Jewish or whatever. All of them need Christ.

I hope you are emboldened by the fact that your faith in Jesus Christ is true and unique. If we are not sure about what we believe in it will effect every aspect of our life as Christians. We must be certain about our faith so as to guard against the devil's attempts "to steal and kill and destroy (John 10:10)." If Satan cannot keep us from our salvation, he will do everything in his power to rob of us of the joy of our salvation. Keep asking questions because God wants for you to be certain about what you believe, stand for and Whom you proclaim. He tells us to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1)." The God of the Bible is not the god of Islam and Muhammad is not His prophet. Jesus is God in the flesh and the only Savior of the world. Be confident of what Luke said in the book of Acts and use it as fuel as you stand on your faith in Jesus Christ. "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)." May God continue to reveal to you all that you already have been given through faith in Jesus Christ.