Muslims in our Pulpits

I am posting this up here because I think it is imperative that we, as Bible-believing Christians, make a stand as the author of this article indicates. The recent incident of Christians being gunned down was barely noted by the press, although I can guarantee that if it had been anyone else gunned down for religious reasons it would have made worldwide news.

I don't want to deal with "Is Allah the same as the God of the Bible" which went on interminably below. This author deals with it well, and this article needs to be read by Bible-believing Christians no matter where they are.

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MUSLIMS IN OUR PULPITS

It was called the "Congress of the Cults." Over 4,000 priests,
pastors, and ministers from all denominations were assembled. They
had elected Joseph Stalin as their honorary president. One after
another went to the podium proclaiming that Christianity and
communism were fundamentally the same. They could co-exist. They
could "all get along."

A young Christian woman could bear it no longer. She looked at her
husband, a Lutheran pastor, and said, "They are spitting on the face
of Jesus. Go wash the shame off His face." Her husband warned her,
"If I speak against the communists, you will no longer have a
husband." The pastor's wife, Sabina Wurmbrand, simply replied, "I do
not wish to have a coward for a husband."

So Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, a lone voice among the 4,000, went to
the microphone. He was well known in Romania, and everyone believed
he would go along with the assembly for the sake of "peace." He
didn't. He spoke only of loyalty to Jesus Christ. He could not
"co-exist" with any entity that opposed the Great Commission
principle.

For his simple protest, Richard paid dearly-as did countless
Christians who refused to "bow down" to the ways of communism.

Today we face the same scenario. Jesus is being spit upon in American
churches. Christians are selling their soul for a "peaceful
co-existence" found in deceit. But who will come forward and wipe
away the shame?

I cannot take it any longer. How many of our brothers and sisters
must be beaten, tortured, burned or decapitated, before we realize
that Christians and Muslims DO NOT serve the same God?

We love the Muslims. Many of our co-workers put aside their own
safety to reach them for Christ. We print special literature in their
languages; we produce and broadcast special programs into the Middle
East. We are
willing to give our own lives to win the soul of a single Muslim. But
we will never, never align ourselves with Islam and its militant
teachings. To do so would destroy the very witness many of our
brothers and sisters are dying for.

Across America pastors and Christian leaders are allowing
representatives of the Islamic faith to freely speak in their
pulpits. This happened at Willow Creek Community Church, the largest
church in America, where a
Muslim man named Faisal Hammouda was allowed to share the pulpit.
During the interview with Pastor Bill Hybels, Hammouda claimed: "As a
matter of fact, we, all of us...believe in Jesus. I believe in Jesus.
I believe in Mohammed and all the prophets. So our mission here is to
introduce people to God." He also stated, "We believe in Jesus more
than you do, in fact."

But the Koran says, "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)!
Do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say of Allah aught but
the truth. The Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), was (no
more than) a Messenger of Allah and His Word...." The Koran also
claims that Jesus was never crucified. Muslims do not recognize the
sovereignty of Jesus Christ or His sacrifice. They do not accept the
way of the cross. So how could this be the same God? (Read I John
2:22-23)

Faisal went on to say, "Jihad means striving to improve oneself,
striving to change conditions to better conditions, striving against
evil." Even the Chicago Tribune noted that laughter could be heard
"rolling" through the audience as Hammouda discussed the "true"
definition of a "jihad" saying, "It even could refer to a personal
holy war to overcome, say, a desire to eat more candy."

How foolish have we allowed ourselves to become? Three Sundays after
Faisal Hammouda gave his "enlightening" presentation, 16 of your
brothers and sisters were gunned down in a church in Pakistan. You
may blame this on the war against terrorism, but you would be
mistaken. If it was against America, why did the gunmen target their
countrymen? If Faisal is right and Islam is "peace-loving," why are
our brothers and sisters in ALL Islamic-controlled countries facing
severe persecution? Unfortunately, in his interview, Pastor Hybels
left that question out. This may sound harsh; it isn't. The treatment
that the Body of Christ is facing in Islamic countries is harsh. We
feel truly sorry for Willow Creek. In an effort to "love," they left
out the truth.

There is no love in deceit. We are in danger of loving the Muslims to
hell. What will they say before Christ? Will they say, "But we all
served the same God. We even spoke in Your churches. When did we
persecute You?" God forbid we trade salvation for "safety." Could
Christ have peacefully co-existed with the religious rulers of His
time? Could the apostle Paul have "just gotten along" with the
religious and political powers of his time and avoided martyrdom?

Jesus said that if they hated Him, they will hate us. Nevertheless,
we are called to be a witness. We are not called to figure out a way
to get people to accept us.

If you love the Muslims, tell them about the Jesus they so fervently
persecute. If you love the Muslims, support those who are willing to
lay down their life to be a witness among them (John 15:13). If you
want to
reach your congregation and help "bridge the gap," invite Christians
who have converted from Islam to speak to your congregation.

The simple fact is: Muslims do not "peacefully co-exist" with
Christians. Faisal Hammouda did not speak for Islam. If he thought he
did, he was deceived. Islamic teachings offer no tolerance for those
who reject
Mohammed for Christ. Read the Koran for yourself. Study Islamic
history. Learn the truth about what is happening right now in Sudan,
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Yemen, Iran, Nigeria,
Tunisia, Egypt, Tajikistan and other countries where Islam has a
foothold. Remember, less than one percent of the Muslim population in
the world lives in America.

If you study Islamic history, you will learn that Mohammed traveled
to Mecca and offered a peaceful doctrine. But it was not accepted. In
fact, he was even persecuted. So he later traveled to Medina where
his teachings took on a more hard-line militant form. Once he gained
a following, he ruled by force. Now his teachings dominate in many
nations. Islam struggles, fights, and even kills for its faith. Once
it gains power, its real face is revealed. "Accept Allah and his
prophet Mohammed, or die."This is happening right now in Indonesia,
where the largest population of Muslims exists.

We challenge Pastor Hybels and other American pastors who believe
Islam and Christianity can peacefully co-exist to visit the Maluku
islands of Indonesia or the capital of Islam, Saudi Arabia, where no
church is
allowed. We ask you to speak with your brothers and sisters who
secretly worship there. (We have.) We invite you to learn the truth,
then decide if you will join with them in winning Muslims for Christ,
or sell your soul for a shroud of peace.

The main issue at stake is the deity of Christ, not mutual
understanding, dialog or feeling good about each other. Any
question-and-answer session or dialog where Christ is not clearly
presented as the only way (John 14:6) and as the complete Godhead in
the flesh (such as Colossians 1:15-20 and 2:8-10, and 1 John 2:22-23)
is blasphemy and a shameful attack on the cross. Christ described His
way as narrow, not an "all faiths club."

The issue is about access and power, not about negotiating away our
Christianity. In Matthew 25:31-32, Jesus proclaimed this path and
power as solely His. As a result, in Matthew 26:3-4, the chief
priests and scribes
consulted that they might kill Him.

Muslims wish to neutralize Jesus for the same reasons the chief
priests and scribes did. Some Christian leaders may try to squirm out
of this conflict to maintain a politically correct, man-pleasing
church. Choose this day
whom you will serve. If we begin to present a fuzzy God (such as, we
all worship the same God), we are opening the doors of hell to our
people, not the door of heaven.

We may be able to peacefully dialog with a Muslim man in America or
in another Western culture. But this is a distorted reality. It is a
partial truth at best. And when we present Islam as another truth, we
spit on the
face of Christ and those who serve His kingdom in Islamic countries.

We do not hate the Muslims. We hate deception. We do not advocate
violence. We advocate love and truth. We desire peace but will not
trade it for compromise. We will reach out to Muslims but will not
deny the
sovereignty of Christ and the cross as the only way to salvation. And
we will not turn our back on our family members who are suffering and
being killed under Islam for their faith and witness in Jesus Christ.
Islam is the dominant force trying to eradicate Jesus Christ in their
nations and neutralize Him worldwide as another "prophet." We will
not prostitute the gospel for a politically correct peace. Should any
of us do otherwise?

If you find any news articles or sermons endorsing all faiths
"serving the same God" in your community, please send this material
to us as we take a stand together for Christ. This will help us as we
try to gain a better understanding of the American church and how it
is addressing Islam. If you or your pastor needs more information
about Islam, please call our office. Thank you for standing with our
persecuted family this Christmas season.

In Christ and for the martyrs,

Dr. Tom White, President of Voice of the Martyrs

The Voice of the Martyrs' 16-page, monthly newsletter is available,
free of charge, to any who request it. Sign up here: Free Newsletter. (edited to create a link to Voice of the Martyrs)

[ November 22, 2002, 11:18 AM: Message edited by: The Squire ]