Christians and Muslims Do Not Worship the Same God

This sermon was preached by Pastor Wagner in the Cincinnati Church in 2008 five years before he was ordained. The outline is attached at the bottom of the page. Christians and Muslims do NOT Worship the Same God “Well, first of all, I believe in an Almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace.” –President George W. Bush, 2007 “I do say that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person. I also condition it by saying freedom is not America's gift to the world. It's much greater than that, of course. And I believe we worship the same God.” –President George W. Bush I. The God of the Bible. A. God is a Trinity, three persons, yet one God (1Jo 5:7). Record- 1. Law. a. The fact or attribute of being, or having been, committed to writing as authentic evidence of a matter having legal importance, spec. as evidence of the proceedings or verdict of a court of justice; evidence which is thus preserved, and may be appealed to in case of dispute. Chiefly in phrases of (Common in 15-16th c.) 3. a. Attestation or testimony of a fact; witness, evidence, proof. b. to bear record: to bear witness 1. The Father, Word, and Holy Ghost are not just three personalities or aspects of God; they are three distinct persons (Joh 8:13-18). 2. This is not only a N.T. concept (Gen 1:1-3; Isa 48:12-16; Psa 45:6-7 c/w Heb 1:8-9) 3. Jesus is the Almighty Creator God (Joh 1:1-3,14; Rom 9:5; 1Jo 5:20-21; Heb 1:1-3 c/w Joh 14:9 c/w Joh 10:30). Express- A. adj. I. 1. a. Of an image or likeness: Truly depicted, exactly resembling, exact. Now chiefly with reminiscence of Heb. i. 3. Image- 1. An artificial imitation or representation of the external form of any object, esp. of a person, or of the bust of a person. a. Such an imitation in the solid form; a statue, effigy, sculptured figure. (Often applied to figures of saints or divinities as objects of religious veneration.) AA. Jesus DID claim to be God (Joh 8:58 c/w Exo 3:14-15; Rev 1:7-8; Rev 22:12-13 c/w Isa 44:6-8; Joh 20:28-29). I AM- the Lord Jehovah, the Self-existent. Also in weakened colloq. use: a (self-)important person. BB. Jesus is the Christ who was prophesied to be God manifest in the flesh (Isa 9:6 c/w Jer 32:18 & Mic 5:2 c/w 1Ti 3:16). 4. The Holy Ghost is God (Act 5:3-4; Heb 10:15-16 c/w Jer 31:33-34; Act 7:51). B. God is the Father of Jesus Christ (Mat 3:16-17; 2Co 1:3). 1. Jesus is the Son of God in His human nature, not His divine nature (Luk 1:35). 2. In a natural aspect, Jesus is God’s only begotten Son (Joh 3:16). 3. In a spiritual aspect, all of God’s children are His begotten sons (1Pe 1:3). II. Allah, the god of Islam. A. “Allah” is the Arabic word for God, “Al” –the, “Illah” –god, “Allah” –The God. ““Allah is the Arabic word for God. It is compounded of "Al", the definite article 'the', and "illah", meaning "god". Therefore, Allah literally means "The God" -- somewhat parallel to the capitalized "God" in English. The name Allah is used by Muslims world-wide, as well as Arabic-speaking Christians, Jews, and others. It is written in Arabic as الله From an Islamic point of view, Allah is the special name of God and is the most precious name because it is not a descriptive name like the other 99 Names of Allah, but the name of God's own presence.” -http://www.faizani.com/portal/allah.html B. “Allah” as used by Muslims and the Koran is defined as “The name of the Deity among Muslims” (OED). C. There is strong evidence that Allah, the god of Islam is the Arabian moon-god that existed long before Mohammad made it the god of the satanic religion of Islam. “The archeological evidence demonstrates that the dominant religion of Arabia was the cult of the Moon-god.” “While they worshipped 360 gods at the Kabah in Mecca, the Moon-god was the chief deity. Mecca was in fact built as a shrine for the Moon-god.” “The evidence reveals that the temple of the Moon-god was active even in the Christian era. Evidence gathered from both North and South Arabia demonstrate that Moon-god worship was clearly active even in Muhammad's day and was still the dominant cult. According to numerous inscriptions, while the name of the Moon-god was Sin, his title was al- ilah, i.e. "the deity," meaning that he was the chief or high god among the gods. As Coon pointed out, "The god Il or Ilah was originally a phase of the Moon God." The Moon-god was called al- ilah, i.e. the god, which was shortened to Allah in pre-Islamic times. The pagan Arabs even used Allah in the names they gave to their children. For example, both Muhammad's father and uncle had Allah as part of their names. The fact that they were given such names by their pagan parents proves that Allah was the title for the Moon-god even in Muhammad's day. Prof. Coon goes on to say, "Similarly, under Mohammed's tutelage, the relatively anonymous Ilah, became Al-Ilah, The God, or Allah, the Supreme Being." This fact answers the questions, "Why is Allah never defined in the Qur'an? Why did Muhammad assume that the pagan Arabs already knew who Allah was?" Muhammad was raised in the religion of the Moon-god Allah. But he went one step further than his fellow pagan Arabs. While they believed that Allah, i.e. the Moon-god, was the greatest of all gods and the supreme deity in a pantheon of deities, Muhammad decided that Allah was not only the greatest god but the only god. Now that we have the actual idols of the Moon-god, it is no longer possible to avoid the fact that Allah was a pagan god in pre-Islamic times. Is it any wonder then that the symbol of Islam is the crescent moon? That a crescent moon sits on top of their mosques and minarets? That a crescent moon is found on the flags of Islamic nations? That the Muslims fast during the month which begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent moon in the sky?” -http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm III. The Attributes of Allah. A. Allah, by his own admission, is NOT a Trinity. 1. Those who say Allah is a trinity are unbelievers and will be punished: “Indeed those who say: ‘Allah is the third of the Trinity’ became unbelievers. There is but One God. If they do not desist in what they say, a painful punishment will afflict those of them that disbelieve.” (Sura 5:73) 2. Don’t call Allah a trinity: “People of the Book, do not exaggerate your religion. Do not say about Allah except truth. Indeed, the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, is only a Messenger (and Prophet) of Allah, and His Word (Be) which He gave to Mary, and a (created) spirit by Him. So believe in Allah and His Messengers and do not say ‘Trinity’. Refrain, it is better for you. Allah is only One God. Exaltations to Him that he should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, it is sufficient that Allah is the Guardian” (Sura 4:171). B. Allah is NOT a father. He has 99 names, but not one of them is “Father”. 1. According to Allah, he can’t have a son: “He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. How can He have a son when He had no female companion? He created all things and has knowledge of all things. That is Allah, your Lord. There is no god except He, the Creator of all things” (Sura 6:101-102). 2. Allah will fight the unbelieving Christian perverts that say the Messiah is the son of Allah: “The Jews say that Ezra is the son of Allah, while the Christians (who follow Paul) say the Messiah is the Son of Allah. Such are their assertions, by which they imitate those who disbelieved before. Allah fights them! How perverted are they!” (Sura 9:30). 3. It is not for Allah to take a son: “Such was (Prophet) Jesus, the son of Mary. A saying of truth, concerning what they doubt. It is not for Allah to take a son! Exaltations to Him! When He decrees a thing He only says: ‘Be” and it is” (Sura 19:34-35). 4. Allah, the “Merciful” gets uncontrollably furious when people say he has a son: “Surely, you have brought a monstrous thing! Thereby the heavens are nearly torn and the earth split asunder, and mountains fall crashing down because they have ascribed a son to the Merciful. It is not for the Merciful to take a son!” (Sura 19:89-92). C. Allah’s view of Jesus Christ. 1. Jesus is not the Son of God, He is only a messenger just like the messengers that went before Him: “The Messiah, the son of Mary, was not except a Messenger, other Messengers had gone before him” (Sura 5:75). 2. Jesus is a created spirit: “…Indeed, the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, is only a Messenger (and Prophet) of Allah, and His Word (Be) which He gave to Mary, and a (created) spirit by Him…” (Sura 4:171). IV. Biblical proof that Allah is not God. A. It is impossible for a man to believe in the true God if he denies that Jesus is the Christ (1Jo 2:22-23). 1. The Muslims most certainly deny that Jesus is the Christ, especially since Christ was to be called Immanuel, which is “God with us” (Mat 1:23). 2. The Muslims have denied the Father and the Son and are antichrist by definition, so is anyone that says Allah is God. B. Muslims hate Jesus and therefore they hate God the Father (Joh 15:23; Joh 5:23). Hate- To hold in very strong dislike; to detest; to bear malice to. The opposite of love. 1. Muslims certainly do detest the real Jesus because He claims to be God. 2. Muslims hate Christians, as they are commanded to, “…unbelievers…fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression…” (Sura 8:38-39). They therefore hated Jesus first before they hated His followers (Joh 15:18). 3. If a person hates, despises, or rejects the followers of Jesus, they have done the same to Jesus. Consider the following: AA. If you persecute Christians, you have persecuted Jesus (Act 9:4 c/w Act 9:1-2). BB. If you deny being among the followers of Jesus, you have denied Jesus (Luk 22:58 c/w Luk 22:61). CC. If you hear a disciple of Jesus, you hear Jesus, if you despise a disciple of Jesus, you despise Jesus and God the Father (Luk 10:16). DD. If you receive a disciple of Jesus or one that He has sent, you receive Jesus and God the Father (Mat 10:40; Joh 13:20). EE. If you hate Jesus’ disciples, you hate Jesus (Joh 15:18). FF. If you do good to Christians, you have done good to Jesus (Mat 25:34-40). GG. If you do evil to Christians, you have done evil to Jesus (Mat 25:41-45). HH. If you don’t believe the testimony of those who saw Jesus (the Bible), they you don’t believe in Jesus (Mar 16:14). 4. If the Muslims believed in God, they would love Jesus (Joh 8:42). C. A man cannot know God without knowing the real Jesus (Joh 8:19). D. If a man knows God the Father, it is only because He was revealed to him by the Son, Jesus Christ (Mat 11:27). 1. Therefore the Muslims do not worship God because He was not revealed to them by Jesus Christ. 2. No man comes unto the Father but by Jesus (Joh 14:6). E. Muslims can claim to worship the God of Abraham all they want, but the truth is that they despise Him (Luk 10:16). V. Can Allah be the God of the O.T. since deceived Muslims and Christians believe that he is the God of Abraham? A. If Jesus and God the Father (who is the God of the O.T.) are one (Joh 10:30; 1Jo 5:7), how can Allah be the God of the O.T if he is not one with Jesus? B. If Jesus is God (1Jo 5:20), and Allah is not Jesus (or even related to Jesus), then how can Allah be God? C. If God has a Son (Mat 3:17), and Allah has no son, how then can Allah be God? D. My word to President Bush and other deluded men that claim to be Christians and yet believe that they worship the same god as a Muslim is, “How long halt ye between two opinions…choose you this day whom ye will serve…” (1Ki 18:21 c/w Jos 24:14-15).