With ISIS now regularly cutting a bloody swath through our consciousness by way of nightly news clips and high def online presentations, and with President Obama unable unwilling to honestly deal with the glaringly religious motivations behind these Muslims’ ongoing murderous rampage, secular conservatives, including a great many professing Christians, have taken to citing differences between Christianity and Islam.
While it is good, right, and even handy in a way for so many secular sources to be making note of what they perceive to be the most significant distinctives separating these two religious worldviews, there are three things that true, supernaturally saved, biblically submissive Christians should keep in mind as they listen to these increasingly prevalent and popular presentations:
- Loving the fruits of Christianity is not the same as loving the Christ of Christianity. Unbelievers (many of whom claim to be believers), while they have little difficulty appreciating the fruits of obedience to Christ, are, by definition, personally opposed to His complete lordship over them. They may be politically conservative, America-loving, church-going, Bible-studying sorts of folks, but until and unless they are supernaturally saved by the grace of God, they are, in fact, personally at war with Him. This inherent enmity between them and God will quite naturally color everything that they think, say, and do.
. - The secular worldview held by even most American “Christians” inspires them to treat the law and rule of both Christ and Allah equally when it comes to explicit governmental, political, and legal submission. For all of the adoration of certain fruits of a Christian worldview, the secular (man-centered) perspective defining the mindsets of even most professing Christians in America has them no more inclined to seek the Law of God as the explicit standard in practice in matters of politics, government, and law as they are willing to submit to Muslim (Shariah) law in the land. They view both options as unacceptable, in accordance with generations of American State and Corporate programming through State-controlled “education” and Corporate controlled pop-culture. They view the proposition of governmental, political, and legal submission to the Word of God and the word of Allah to be equally antithetical to their worldview in a fundamental sense. Explicit submission to the God of Christianity on His terms as lovingly recorded in His Word fundamentally offends the very same value system that they rely upon to repudiate the notion of Sharia law being instituted in America.
. - This secular worldview, as embraced by many American “Christians”, has and will be used to tar, feather, and repudiate anyone advocating comprehensive American repentance and explicit governmental, political, and legal submission to Christ. With this worldview now being deployed in opposition to Islam, parameters and precedents are being set for use against “religious extremists” of all sorts, certainly (and especially) including biblical Christians. It is already becoming commonplace to hear advocacy of God’s Word as the explicit basis of a reformed government met with hysterical cries of, “You’re just like the Muslims!” Any why is this so? Because in the minds of even most “Christian” Americans, any explicit subjugation to any supposed “Word of God” in the formation of government, legal, and political systems, is equally reprehensible…whether it is the true Word of the true God or not.
The items in that pre-list list are, of necessity, more detailed than those in the seven item list to follow. This is because exposing the fundamentally unbiblical foundation of the prevailing American “Christian” approach to God, government, politics, and law requires more detailed explanation in order to even begin to have a chance of dislodging the America-over-Scripture approach to reality that we have been increasingly subjugated to and immersed in over the past 100+years. With the prevailing unbiblical political attitude of Americans contrasted against some basic (yet long abandoned) truths of Scripture, the following listed points should require less elaboration. Lord willing, this will be so.
Either way, here we go…
The 7 Most Important Differences Between Islam and Christianity
- The God of Christianity is God. Jesus is God. The god of Islam is just another pathetic, destructive counterfeit. (See: Exodus 20:1-3; John 8:56-59.) In strict theological terms, this is what is known as “a big deal”. The biggest of deals, actually.
. - The Gospel. Only the true, supernatural Gospel of Jesus Christ, the reigning King of creation, is capable of saving anyone. (See: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Colossians 1:19-20; Hebrews 2:14-17; Romans 3:23-24; Ephesians 2:4-5; Isaiah 53:4-6.) The “gospel” of Islam, such as it is (or isn’t), cannot save anyone from anything. It’s false god, false religion, and false worldview can only invite and secure the righteous wrath of a holy God.
. - The Gospel-fueled Great Commission. (See: Matthew 28:18-20.) Like secular Conservatism, liberal Communism, and all other man-centered worldviews anywhere on the political/religious spectrum, Islam is well known for its particular claims, observations, and proposals as to the nature of reality and how to “make things better”. Christianity stands in stark opposition to all of them in that it commands all men in all lands to repent, believe, and submit to the rule of Christ as King in practice in every realm of life. (This is why in its true, undiluted form, biblical Christianity is hated and opposed by “true believers” in any man-centered worldview.)
. - The Nature of God as revealed in His Word is the perfect, sufficient guide and standard for every good work that any man may undertake in any realm of God’s creation, including the realms of government, politics, and law. (See: 2 Timothy 3:16-17.) The Quran is not merely unlike the Word of God in this regard; The Quran stands in direct opposition to it. As such, it is only ultimately capable of bringing judgment, darkness, and death.
. - The perfect, sufficient Word of God is, by definition, the perfect, sufficient standard upon which to build all governmental, legal, and political constructs. The Quran is not. Moreover, the fact that The Quran is not should never be allowed to be used as an argument against the Bible’s perfect sufficiency…which is exactly how many “Christians” are now being led to view the Word of God in light of the Islamic threat. “But if we advocate the Bible as our standard in these things, aren’t we just like the Muslims?” has become a pathetic battle-cry of many, because they have been programmed to view all “gods” and “scriptures” as equally subject to the god whom they have been programmed to serve in practice: The America Idol and its definitions of “freedom” and “liberty”.
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- The explicit lordship of Christ over our politics, government, and law, is essential to any true, lasting peace, prosperity, and joy for any people in any land in any part of His creation. Allah, far from securing any of these things for any people brought under his influence, can only bring the opposite for them in the end. Again, it is important to note that The America Idol and its adherents are just as surely opposed to this notion of Christ’s explicit rule over all things being necessary for such peace, prosperity, and joy. This is why you don’t hear or see anything like these points being advocated by Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, or any other secular Conservative news source or “expert”.
. - The rule and reign of Christ is real. (See: Matthew 28:18.) Jesus is King. Jesus is Lord. Jesus has all authority in Heaven and on earth. And He will judge all of His creation by His Nature as revealed in His Word. The proposed lordship of Allah over anything is nothing better than a cruel, destructive fiction. Every knee will bow before King Jesus. Every tongue will confess His majesty and sovereignty. (See: Philippians 2:9-11.) America and Americans will ultimately be judged by the same standard as all other nations and people: The perfect Nature of God as revealed in His Word.
Insofar as we deviate from that perfect, sufficient Word, we invite pain and darkness.
I hope that these lists have been helpful in provoking each of us (certainly myself included) to think more biblically about the many passionate claims being made in light of the horrific atrocities underway at this very moment in the name of one particular “extremist religion”, understanding that, from all non-Christian perspectives, biblical Christianity and its adherents are just as properly tagged with that “extremist religion” label.
Think about that.
Pray about that.
Then take up your cross, follow Him, and do everything within your power to proclaim and advance His Gospel-fueled Great Commission as the one and only true hope for any man, woman, child, or culture anywhere in His creation.
Soli Deo gloria…and let’s roll!
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Soli Deo Gloria!