V.

Challenges

Where does this leave us?  I think it both our faiths lay before us challenges that we need to consider. 

To my Muslim friends, I believe that there are some issues you need to examine.  First, a historical one.  Why, if Islam claims to confirm the prior monotheistic faiths, does it go completely against the doctrine of atonement that is found in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament of the Bible, and the New Testament of the Bible as well?  That the Jews or Christians corrupted their Scriptures and added this doctrine is not a sufficient answer because the doctrine is too deeply embedded in the fabric of both books, and there is no historical evidence that such changes ever took place.  You need to examine the historical issues objectively and decide for yourselves whether or not Islam is right in doing this.

Second, you need to evaluate your own heart before God to determine if it is just weak toward sin, or corrupt.  Both of our books claim to present the realistic view of sin.  Yet Islam presents the immense reality of sin in our world as a weakness on man’s part.  It seems contradictory and inadequate to say that we have been born with a neutral or good nature but one that is also weak toward sin.  My experience, and the teaching of the Bible is that education and law are not enough to give me or you the ability to obey God.  It also seems an inadequate view of the justice of a perfect God to forgive sin out of hand without requiring a punishment for every sin or to allow fasting or ritual prayers or other penance to make up for sin.

The Bible presents that sin is a much more serious problem than Islam recognizes, that God’s holiness is more awesome and uncompromising, and that His love is so deep that He would pay the full price for the guilt of your sin.  You need to consider these issues carefully and decide if in Islam you really do have a sufficient answer for your personal sin problem.

Christians, Islam presents us with challenges on this.  They assert that the Bible’s doctrine of original sin is wrong, and that atonement by the death of Christ on the cross was not necessary, and historically did not happen.  You need to wrestle with those claims and come to your own conclusion as to which you think is more realistic and historically true.

Also, Muslims often assert that the Christian doctrine of atonement gives Christians a license to sin.  Unfortunately, it is easy to think this with so many people in our culture claiming to be Christians, yet showing so little of the purity of life that Christ commands.  Are you living your beliefs?  Are you sincerely repenting and grateful for Christ’s death for you?  Or are you presuming on God’s grace?  We claim that God has given us His Holy Spirit to help us overcome sin in our lives.  Is your life showing the holiness of God because you are living in the power of His Spirit?