Posts

Showing posts with the label John

More Than a Prophet

Image
Muslims believe Jesus was only a prophet . The New Oxford American Dictionary defines prophet as “a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God.” A prophet sent from God will tell the truth regardless of the hearer receiving it. So if a true prophet doesn’t lie, let’s examine some of Jesus’ words from the Bible (which was written 500 years before the Koran). First, Jesus said in John 14:6, “ I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Notice Jesus said He was THE truth…not a truth. He also said in John 8:31-32, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Followers of Islam argue that Allah (their word for God) had no son. Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of God in John 3:16, “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.” He later said in...

The Jesus of Islam

Image
Not too long ago during a prayer walk, I stopped to witness to two young men waiting for a bus. Both of them thought they would go to heaven for living good lives. Eventually Sayma told me he was Muslim but still prayed along with his friend Sam to get born again. Since Sayma didn’t have a Bible, I gave him a gospel of John pointing out it reveals a more accurate picture of who Jesus is. The Koran has some verses about Jesus that agree with the Bible... Jesus was born of a virgin (Surah 19:19-21) Jesus taken bodily into Heaven (Surah 3:55) Jesus was a miracle worker (Surah 2:253) Jesus said to obey him (Surah 43:63) However, there are Koranic verses about Jesus that conflict with Scripture... Surah 3:59 claims Jesus was created . John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Surahs 4:171 and 5:75 claim Jesus is no more than a messenger of Allah. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life....

Giving Away God’s Word

Image
Whenever I lead someone to the Lord, I usually take an extra minute to encourage the newborn believer to pray, read the Bible, and attend a good church. When I specifically talk about the Bible, I will ask if he (or she) has one at home. If he doesn’t, then I ask, “If I give you one, will you read it?” Sometimes people will answer, “Probably not.” In cases like that, my next question for them is, “What would happen if you stopped eating food?” They usually say they will get weak or die. I then point out the same thing can happen to them spiritually. Reading God’s word feeds a person’s spirit. Don’t think someone’s salvation isn’t legitimate just because he doesn’t immediately get excited about reading the Bible. One reason may be this person thinks he has to read an older translation like the King James Version that can be hard to understand. Another reason might be some people think they are supposed to read the whole Bible like a regular book. Although that’s a good habit for...