570 A.D.
The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, spoke
God’s will for us. He said, “But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should
speak to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be
accursed.” (Gal. 1:8). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one
comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6). These are things that faithful
Christians believe and accept because they are the words of the Lord, the Son of
God.
In the year 570 A.D. a man entered history and began preaching a gospel contrary
to that which had already been delivered to us by Jesus and His apostles. He
instituted many religious reforms and correctly taught there was one God. His
followers still use the Arabic word that means “one God” today to talk of Him…
that word is “Allah.” The name of the religion he founded is “Islam” which means
“submission” and refers to submitting to God. The Scriptures they use consists
of the sayings of the founder written down by others and gathered together in
the Qur’an. The man’s name was “Mohammed.” He is esteemed by Muslims as God’s
greatest prophet. His teachings evolved somewhat through his life. His early
teachings were much more peaceful and tolerant than his later teachings. Perhaps
this is why Muslims have such different views of the things he said.
Mohammed erroneously thought that Christians worshipped three Gods; the Father,
the Son and Mary. He believed that Jesus was a great prophet, but not the Son of
God. He rejected the foundation of the gospel, the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus.
Christians ought to have good will toward Muslims everywhere, and hope and pray
that one day they might come to accept the truth about God’s Son Jesus; Savior
of the world. It is Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life. There is no
other name by which we must be saved, and there is no one who will be rejected
by our Lord who comes to Him in humble faith. Jesus Christ died for all, that
all might live for Him.
