This week I want to talk about some of the arguments we, as Christians, must use when talking to Muslims. There are four major areas that Muslims often use as charges against Christianity. We need to know how to defend these for areas.

The term used for the defense of what we believe is apologetics. It is giving a defense for what we believe. It comes from a Greek word found in the Bible, Apologia. It means a plea (“apology”) or an answer (for self), clearing of self, defence.

It is often translated give an answer or defense. Here are some passages where it is used:

Acts 19:33 and would have made his defence unto the people.

Acts 22:1 hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.

1Co 9:3 Mine answer to them that do examine me is this.

Php 1:17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

The four areas we need to defend are:

1. Our God – He is not the same as Allah

2. The Bible – Muslims claim that the Jews corrupted the Old Testament and The Christians corrupted the New Testament. Therefore, Allah had to settle it and give us the last testament, the Qur’an.

3. Jesus is not God – They say the Jesus was a prophet, but nothing more. They say that it is blasphemy to say that a man could become God. Christians would agree that this is heresy and blasphemy, but Christians don’t teach a man became God.

4. Jesus was not crucified, and therefore did not raise from the dead.

We will be looking at all four of these this week. Today I want to look at the first area we must defend when speaking to Muslims.

Do Christians and Muslims Worship The Same God?

Muslims claim that Allah and Jehovah are the same God, or the god of the Qur’an is the same God as found in the Bible. Their goal is to get us to accept Allah as being God.

It is sad to say, but America is ripe for this kind of heresy. The Barna Group did a two year study which came out in April of 2011. It was a study on pluralism in America. The study showed that six out of ten adults surveyed believe that the god of the Qur’an is the same as the God of the Bible. It also showed that out of those who believe the two are the same, 40% of them claimed to be born again Christians. I find that appalling. It tells us how bad the theology is that is being taught in American churches. There are problems in the pulpits of America, but there are also problems in the pews of America.

Let’s put the claim that the Allah and Jehovah are the same God to the test. We will do so by looking at the Scriptures of both faiths to see what they teach about their God. This will tell us if there are similarities between Allah and Jehovah.

When I talk to Muslims about our faiths, they always start with the thought that we both have the same God. My response is, Wonderful, that means that your god has a son. They get a mean and confused look on their faces and say, No, for Allah hath no son. I point out that if Allah has no son, then we don’t have the same God because Jehovah has a begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

We must never surrender this ground. We can never let a Muslim believe that we agree that we have the same God, because we don’t. The differences are so great that Allah and Jehovah cannot be compared, they can only be contrasted.

Tomorrow we will be looking at their teaching that the Bible has been corrupted. We will give the evidence of how faithful and true the Word of God is.