Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts

Thursday, June 19, 2025

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In these days of the Great Deception, when people prefer a reassuring lie rather than the inconvenient truth, this is a collection of articles I have written about the truth found in God's Word, the need for biblical teaching, and sound doctrine.  It includes articles that refute false doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, the prosperity movement, the eternal security doctrine, Islam, agnosticism, antinomianism, relativism, atheism, humanism, ecumenism, the New Age movement, the Jehovah's Witness, the Mormons, also known as the Latter Day Saints (LDS), as well as the oneness doctrine of Unitarians. This collection of articles also exposes certain other cults and movements based outside the USA. It even exposes the popular, international Hillsong church, as well as certain novels that are popular among Christians.

As the Scriptures say:

“Holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”  (Tit 1:9)

"I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints." (Jud 1:3b) 

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2Ti 2:15)

"In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." (Jas 1:18)

"Jesus *said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'" (Joh 14:6)

It is my prayer that these articles will lead you to pray earnestly and seek the Lord's face, as well as search the Scriptures, regarding what you have been taught and have come to believe, so that you will not miss the glories of heaven and wind up in hell for eternity.  “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (Joh 8:32)

Unbiblical Practices of the Catholic Church New Age-New World Order The Holy Trinity
Pagan Symbols of the Popes Pope Establishes One World Religion The Cult of Mormonism
Pope Francis Supports Homosexuality Messages from the Lord for Catholics Worshiping Idols The Cult of Mormonism -- Part II
Accurately Handling the Word of Truth Former Pope in Hell Declared a Saint Children of God
Pope Francis Validates Evolution and Big Bang Theory Why Infant Baptism if Not Scriptural What's Wrong with the Prosperity Gospel?
Exposing Heresy Unbiblical Practices of the Russian Orthodox Church Rhema vs. Logos – Is there truly a distinction in the word?
Not Enduring Sound Doctrine The Nature of False Prophets The Creation Gap Theory
What is Truth? The False Gospel of Eternal Security The False Gospel without Repentance
Restored Truth Gabriel Doufle Issues and Concerns HOREMOW Issues and Concerns
Tradition vs. Truth TGRM Issues and Concerns Exposing the Darkness within HOREMOW
Is it Always a Sin to Not Tell the Truth? Heresies of C.S. Lewis Harry Potter is the Devil's Snare
The Shack is an Attack The Message Bible or "The Mess" Catholic Priests Molesting Children
The Truth About the Roman Catholic Church The Truth About Hillsong Is It Possible to Resist God?
Kanye West Issues and Concerns Awaken 2020 Event Exposed Pope Francis Pushing for the Mark of the Beast?
HOREMOW Descends to New Low The Truth About Islam The Truth About Ravi Zacharias' and His Sexual Immorality
Exposing the JMS Cult Refuting the Oneness Christology Heresy Is it a Sin for a Woman to Cut Her Hair?
Have the Spiritual Gifts Ceased? The Evil Agenda of the World Council of Churches Are Jehovah's Witnesses a Cult?
Seventh-Day Adventist Heresies New Testament Books Disproving Eternal Security Can You Lose Your Secure Position in Christ?
Andy Stanley's Disconnect from the Old Testament Andy Stanley's Unbiblical Views on Homosexuality Kanye West Claims to Be God
Issues and Concerns with Deeper Life HOREMOW's Linda Rika "Knows" Whose Names Are in Book of Life The Heretical Hebrew Roots Movement
The Eth Cepher "Bible"?


Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note:  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

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Thursday, November 30, 2023

Is it Possible to Resist God?

Dear friends,

I want to address a myth that's very popular in the Church today that says you cannot resist the grace of God. The irresistibleness of God's grace is actually the "I" in the Calvinist acronym TULIP. Let's see what Scripture has to say about it. But first, you should stop and pray, asking God to remove all scales from your eyes, and illuminate your heart, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth. I find that it's best to approach God's Word this way in humility, putting aside all your preconceived notions about Him. 

Choking the Word
In His parable of the sower, Jesus told about a farmer who went out to sow his seed, which ended up falling on four different types of soil. He said, "Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants." (Mat 13:7). Later He explained this to His disciples saying, "The seed falling among the thorns refers to him who hears the Word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the Word, making it unfruitful." (Mat 13:22). 

He taught that the Word can actually be choked, thereby making it unfruitful. The kinds of things that can choke the Word are the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. Yet we know from John's gospel that the Word is God, because it says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (Joh 1:1). If the Word is God, and the Word can be choked, making it unfruitful, then that means it is possible to allow things into your life that choke God out of it. 

Quenching the Holy Spirit
In another passage, the apostle warns the saints not to quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thes 5:19). The Greek word for quench in that verse (sbennumi) means to quench, extinguish, or go out. This means it's possible to extinguish the fire of the Holy Spirit, who is the third Person of the Triune Godhead. The Holy Spirit is not a thing or a force. He can be grieved (Eph 4:30), lied to (Ac 5:3), and quenched (1 Thes 5:19). He is referred to with the pronoun "He". Therefore, we know that He is a divine Person, and He is God. If it were not possible to quench Him, then there would be no need to warn us against doing so.

Resisting the Holy Spirit
In fact, right before the Jews who were about to kill Stephen actually stoned him to death, he said that they always resisted the Holy Spirit. He said to them, "You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!" (Act 7:51). Not only can the Holy Spirit be lied to, grieved, and quenched, but He can also be resisted. 

Refusing Him Who Speaks
We also learn from Scripture that it is possible to refuse Him who speaks, For the apostle wrote to the Hebrews: "See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?" (Heb 12:25). If it were not possible to refuse the Lord when He speaks, then it would not be necessary to warn us not to do so.

Closing Words
Therefore, in light of the Scriptures showing us that it's possible to choke God and His Word out of our lives, as well as refuse Him when He speaks to us, and that it's possible to quench, as well as resist God's Holy Spirit, it seems quite reasonable to me that one could also resist the grace of God. Scripture is clear that you can receive God's grace in vain (2 Cor 6:1), so it is possible to mishandle it to your own detriment. Since God's grace is not God Himself, but something He gives, then it is a fallacy to teach or believe that it cannot be resisted, when Scripture says that God Himself can be resisted.

TULIP Calvinism is not biblical. If you still have any doubts about that, talk to the Lord about it, and ask Him to confirm it. He is faithful and He will do it.

Attribution notice: Scripture taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. 

Author's note: If you enjoyed this article, you are invited to check out the series called The False Gospel of Eternal Security. If you would like to become a disciple, consider enrolling in our Doulos Training School. You may access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Can You "lose" Your Secure Position in Christ?

To all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Have you ever heard anyone say that it's not possible to lose your salvation? That's actually a very popular teaching all around the world, known as "eternal security" or once-saved-always-saved (OSAS), which I've already disproven completely in numerous other articles. In this post, I'd like to respond to the question: can you "lose" your secure position in Christ?

Just to give you one example of a single verse that answers that question, rather than showing you over 200 of them, here is a verse from Peter's second epistle that states:

"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position." (2Pe 3:17)

The word "fall" in this verse is translated from the Greek word ekpipto. According to the Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament, ekpipto means "to fall off or from, Act_12:7; Act_27:32; met. to fall from, forfeit, lose, Gal_5:4; 2Pe_3:17; to be cast ashore, Act_27:17; Act_27:26; Act_27:29; to fall to the ground, be fruitless, ineffectual, Rom_9:6; to cease, come to an end, Jas_1:11; 1Pe_1:24."

According to NASEC, ekpipto means: "to drop away, fig. to lose, become inefficient: — failed (1), fall (1), fall away (1), fallen (1), falls off (2), fell off (1), run aground (3).

According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, ekpipto means "to drop away; specially, be driven out of one's course; figuratively, to lose, become inefficient:—be cast, fail, fall (away, off), take none effect."

According to Thayer's Greek–English Lexicon, ekpipto means "to fall out of, to fall down from, to fall off;  metaphorically to fall from a thing, to lose it, to perish, to fall; to fall from a place from which one cannot keep; fall from a position; to fall powerless, to fall to the ground, be without effect."

This same greek word ekpipto is used in the New Testament to refer to flowers falling and ships running aground.

I have just cited four reputable, Greek-language Bible resources (Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament, NASEC, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, and Thayer's Greek–English Lexicon), which all indicate that ekpipto can mean "to lose."

The "secure position" Peter was referring to is our secure position in Christ, known as the divine promise of our salvation, which some people falsely teach is eternally secure. But it is actually conditionally secure, since Peter the apostle under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit warned that you must be on your guard, so that you do not "lose" (Gr., ekpipto) your secure position or salvation. Obviously there would be no need for Peter to warn believers to guard against losing their salvation if it were not possible.

Also see the LSJ Lexicon online and Blue Letter Bible for a more in depth definition of ekpipto.

Closing Words
Based on the definition of the Greek word ekpipto, the verse in 2 Peter 3:17 that we have studied could be translated like this: Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and lose your secure position in Christ by falling from it, thereby forfeiting it and perishing.

Indeed, Scripture teaches that our secure position in Christ is conditional, as I have clearly explained and proven in my article called The Conditional Security of the Believer. In it, I show 24 positive conditions in Scripture for maintaining your secure position, which contain the word "if", as well as 30 negative conditions -- or warnings found in Scripture-- for those who do not keep the conditions, which also contain the word "if." 

My article called New Testament Books Disproving Eternal Security shows that most New Testament books contain one or more verses disproving the once-saved-always-saved heresy. There are hundreds of these verses, more than half of which are the very words of our Lord Jesus Himself.

Another article of mine called Drifting Away highlights 22 Greek words in the New Testament Bible that mean to forfeit one's salvation, abandon one’s faith, drift away, turn aside from the truth, forsake the straight way, stray, wander, or become apostate and fall away from the Lord.

My post called The False Gospel of Eternal Security contains numerous articles I have written disproving OSAS, which no one has ever been able to contradict or refute. If you still have any doubt about this matter, or know someone who is confused about it, please share this article with them.

Attribution notice: Scripture taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image courtesy of Beth Ariel Congregation, used per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only. We have no affiliation at all with that ministry, nor does use of this image imply any endorsement of their teachings.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this article, you are invited to check out the series called The False Gospel of Eternal Security. If you would like to become a disciple, consider enrolling in our Doulos Training School. You may access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Are Jehovah's Witnesses a Cult?

In this blog, I have addressed many false teachings and cults, including the Mormons, the Oneness Christology heresy, the prosperity gospel, cessationism, the false eternal security gospel, those who deny the Deity of Christ, and the Roman Catholic Church. Today I would like to touch briefly upon a very active group that is constantly trying to make converts to their religion, which is the Jehovah's Witnesses.

These people go around from house to house, knocking on doors, ringing door bells, wanting to talk to people about God and the Bible; but if you are wise, you will not allow them into your home. 

I know a precious sister in Christ, who once made the mistake of welcoming these people into her home. They became friends, and she was away from the Lord for several years, while she was caught up in this cult. 

She says of those nine years of her life as a JW, "I never once felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. My time there was absent from the presence of God. The reason I stayed in the cult for so long was because they skillfully use scripture out of context to support their claims, and they keep people using their intellectual, natural thinking, and don't allow room whatsoever for the person to experience the confirming, spiritual presence of God.  They 'reason' everything with their natural minds and give no room for the life-giving presence of Jesus to abide in their hearts.  Those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth, not just head knowledge." 

Thank the Lord that eventually, through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, she came out of it, and is once again walking with Jesus as her Lord and Savior. But it all began with allowing them into her home, which the Scripture teaches us not to do so. It says: 

"Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work." (2Jn 1:9-11)

I saw an excellent video recently about a lovely Amish couple that got saved. The Amish couple mentioned that after they were excommunicated from the Amish, they were approached by people from four of five different religious groups, including the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Christ (probably he was referring to Latter Day Saints/Mormons), and another was an Apostolic guy (Oneness Pentecostal). That last one has something in common with the first ones, as both the JW's and Apostolic people deny the essential doctrine of the Holy Trinity.  A person made a comment on the video asking what was wrong with the Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs), since he apparently has noticed that a large part of society seems to dislike them. Here is the person's comment:

"Why is everyone so anti- JW? I had them visit me every week, and they were absolutely lovely. I'd love to understand why they are considered cultists, as they were open, friendly, and welcoming. They love God and family. Those are two things that are undervalued so much."

Please allow me to explain why true believers are against the JW cult. It's because we love the truth, and we hate the devil's lies; that's why. JW's deny the doctrine of the Trinity — one of the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. They claim that Jesus is not God. Rather, they say he was the Archangel Michael. And they don't believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, but that He was resurrected as a spirit. John 1:1 clearly says He “was God.”  They changed it in their own New World Translation (NWT) to say he was “a god,” and teach that He is something less -- not truly God. But there is no Greek word for “a” (the indefinite article) in this verse, nor does Greek grammar allow one to be inserted1, as they have done. This is just one of the perverted verses in their NWT Bible translation, produced by their Watchtower Society, which is not a valid translation of the Bible, but rather one that is dishonest, inconsistent, and has been changed in order to agree with their false doctrine, since the true Scriptures do not support it2

Not only do they deny Christ's deity, which is clearly taught all throughout Scripture (see here), they also deny the existence of a literal hell as described in the Bible. Watch Tower publications teach that hell (Hades or Sheol) is not an actual place of fiery torment, as Scripture clearly teaches, but rather the "common grave of mankind", a place of unconscious non-existence. Therefore, the JWs deny that hell even exists, in clear contradiction of the Holy Scriptures, which explicitly teach that hell is real (Mt 5:22, 29-30; 8:12; 10:28; 13:42, 50; 18:8-9; 22:13; 23:33; 24:51; 25:30, 41; Mk 9:43-47; Lk 12:5; 13:28; Jn 5:29; 2 Pet 3:7; Rev 14:9-11; 20:10-15; 21:8; Dan 12:2). 

In fact, they even teach that there is no general (universal) resurrection of all the dead, although the Scripture explicitly says the exact opposite (Mt 22:30-32; Lk 14:14; 20:35-36; Jn 5:28-29; 11:25; Ac 4:2. 33; 17:32; 23:6; 24:15, 21; Ro 6:5; 1 Cor 15:12-13, 21, 29, 42; Heb 6:2; 11:35). The Bible teaches that there will be a resurrection of all the dead, the righteous to eternal life and the wicked to eternal punishment. But the JWs believe that at the time of death, a person's existence completely stops, since they believe that human beings do not have an immortal soul that survives when the body dies. For more proof that this belief of theirs is false, please see eternaldestinations.info where I have posted many testimonies of many people who have been shown heaven and hell either through near-death experiences, after-death experiences, or through dreams and visions.

To be sure, while the JWs do not believe in a general, bodily resurrection of all mankind, they do believe that a spiritual resurrection is possible for certain people. They teach that in 1878 Jesus resurrected as spirit beings to heavenly life those among the 144,000 (known as the "anointed") who had already died at that time. And they believe that since 1878, any "anointed" (i.e., members of the 144,000) are individually resurrected as spirit beings to heavenly life at the time of their death. They teach that the 144,000 anointed ones, which are all Jehovah's Witnesses, of course, shall serve as kings alongside Christ in his heavenly government. They say that the 144,000 are the only ones who are born again and who experience heavenly life. Finally, they falsely claim that all other JW's who have died and don't go to heaven will one day get resurrected and will live on a paradise earth (not heaven).  Therefore, to summarize, they only believe in a resurrection (as spirit beings) of the 144,000 to heaven, and an ultimate resurrection of all other JWs to an earthly paradise, but they do not believe in a general, bodily resurrection of all mankind.

Furthermore, the Jehovah's Witnesses deny the power of God and believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased during the first century. They do not believe these gifts are still in operation today, and in teaching this, they directly contradict Scripture (Mk 16:17-18; Jn 14:12; Ac 1:8; 2:17-18; Joel 2:28-29), as well as the experience of billions of people like me, who have and still are experiencing the spiritual gifts in operation in their lives today. For more on this, please see Have the Spiritual Gifts Ceased?

They also deny the Holy Spirit, and say that He is not a Person but just a force. They like to use head knowledge, natural, intellectual, and human reasoning to explain God's Word, instead of being led by the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, they are into using occult symbols. For example, the early Watchtower publications prominently displayed on the upper left-hand corner the cross and crown symbol of the Knights Templar, which is actually a Masonic symbol. The same symbol can be found at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pictured here to the left is the Jehovah's Witness headquarters in Denmark as seen from the sky using Google Earth. Notice the obvious pyramid with the all-seeing eye at the top like the one on the US currency. 

Closing Words
The Jehovah's Witness religion meets the basic criteria of a cult, which is any group that claims to be Christian, as this group does, yet does not adhere to the basic, essential tenets of the true Christian faith as taught in Scripture and embraced by the Church for thousands of years. They do not hold to the true doctrines of the Holy Trinity, the Deity of Christ, or His bodily resurrection, nor do they believe in the general resurrection of the dead, or a literal hell, where the wicked are forever separated from God in a fiery place of eternal, conscious torment. They claim that theirs is the only true religion. They have a form of godliness, but they deny the power of God (2 Tim 3:5). They deny the Person of the Holy Spirit, and teach that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased. They have their own erroneous Bible translation, and they use it, as well as any Bible version, to deceive people, as Peter the apostle spoke of, distorting the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Pet 3:16). They follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons (1 Tim 4:1). The Bible tells us to have nothing to do with such people. Do not take them into your house or welcome them (2Jn 1:9-11). 

If you do a Google search on whether this is a cult, one of the first results that you will get will be an article written by the JWs defending their false religion. Anyone can pay to have search engine optimization (SEO), so that their article will be one of the top results in a search. They don't want you to find other results from Christian authors that will show you the truth about their cult from Scripture. But one article you may find helpful that is buried in the search results is called Using the New World Translation to refute the New World Translation: John 1:1. If you know what's best for you, I urge you to stay away from this cult, even though they claim to be the only true Christians.

Footnotes: Ancient (koine) Greek does not have an indefinite article like the English word a, and nominatives without articles also have a range of meanings that require context to interpret. The noun theos (meaning "God" in John 1:1) is anarthrous (meaning it lacks an article), which often is how indefinite nouns are expressed in Greek. The construction in John 1:1 is that of an anarthrous nominative singular in a preverbal position; so in this verse, theos (1) lacks an article, (2) it occurs before the verb, and (3) it is a nominative singular. Therefore, an indefinite article "a" cannot be inserted before the word "God" in this verse, as the JWs have done. Also see here.

Dr. Julius Mantey, author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, and a first rate scholar who studied Greek for more than 65 years, calls the NWT "a shocking mistranslation." "Obsolete and incorrect." "It is neither scholarly nor reasonable to translate John 1:1 'The Word was a god.'" "I have never read any New Testament so badly translated as The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of The Greek Scriptures.... it is a distortion of the New Testament. The translators used what J.B. Rotherham had translated in 1893, in modern speech, and changed the readings in scores of passages to state what Jehovah's Witnesses believe and teach. That is a distortion not a translation." (Julius Mantey, Depth Exploration in The New Testament (N.Y.: Vantage Pres, 1980), pp.136-137). The translators of the NWT are "diabolical deceivers." (Julius Mantey in discussion with Walter Martin). Also see here.

Attribution notice: Most Scriptures takes from the NIV Holy Bible, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only. Special thanks to my son Christopher Lacroix for proofreading this article.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend Charles Taze Russell -- JW Founder in HellRefuting the Oneness Christology HeresyIs Jesus God?, The Place of Weeping and Gnashing of TeethThe Holy TrinityHave the Spiritual Gifts Ceased?The Person of the Holy SpiritThe False Gospel of Eternal SecurityThe False Gospel Without Repentance. You may access more of my articles on the Main Directory of this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

New Testament Books Disproving Eternal Security

In my series of articles entitled, 
The False Gospel of Eternal Security, I have completely disproved that doctrinal error, which is also known as Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS). In this article today, I will show you how most of the New Testament books of the Bible contain one or more verses proving that doctrine to be false. For the sake of brevity, I will directly quote only one verse per book, and simply cite the references to the other verses, while in some cases also making general reference to them for emphasis.

Matthew
Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Mat 7:21). It could not be clearer than that. He said that only the one who does the will of His Father in heaven shall enter the kingdom of heaven, regardless of whether that person calls Jesus their Lord. 

Speaking to His disciples, He also taught that it is possible for them to lose their saltiness and become worthless (5:13). Anyone who says, "You fool!" is in danger of hell fire (5:22). You would be better to cut off any body part of yours that causes you to stumble, so that you can avoid hell and enter heaven (5:29-30; cf.,18:8-9). If you do not forgive, the Father will not forgive you (6:15), and any unmerciful servant will be thrown into jail (hell) to be tormented (18:32-35). If you merely hear His words, but don't practice them, you will be completely destroyed (7:26-27). Only those who stand firm to the end will be saved (10:22). You should fear God, who has the power to destroy you in hell (10:28). Jesus will disown any disciple who disowns Him (10:33). Any disciple who does not take up his cross and follow Jesus is not worthy of Him (10:38). It's possible to fall away on account of Jesus (11:6). Your words will either acquit or condemn you (12:36-37). The disciple who has no roots falls away from the Lord (13:21). You must be ready when Jesus comes back, or else be left behind (24:40-44). The wicked servant will be thrown out where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (24:48-51; 25:26-30). The goats are cast into the eternal fire, and the factor that made the difference between them and the sheep was what they did or didn't do (25:41-46). The Lord clearly taught that to enter life, you must obey the commandments (19:17).

See also Mt 12:31-3218:6-7.

Mark
Jesus said to His disciples, "...the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Mar 13:13). This salvation that He promised to those who stand firm to the end is not merely referring to deliverance from evil, but rather to the eternal blessedness to be received by all those who endure or persevere to the end throughout their service to Him in the midst of its accompanying sufferings. This implies that those who do not stand firm or endure to the end will not be saved, which he directly states elsewhere. For example, He taught about some seeds of the Word that are planted on the soil of human hearts, who initially make a start, but later fall away, because of trouble or persecution (4:16-19). For whoever tries to save his life will lose it (8:34-35), and at His coming the Lord will be ashamed of anyone who has been ashamed of Him and His Words. 

See also Mk 8:389:42-48; 11:25-26; 13:22.

Luke
The Lord said to Peter, "But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers." (Luk 12:45-46). Notice that the Lord said He (the Master) will cut the servant up and assign him a place with the unbelievers (hell).

He also said that the disciple who is not careful or prayerful won’t be prepared for the Lord’s return (21:34-36).

See also Luke 6:49; 7:23; 8:13-15; 9:23-26, 62; 10:28; 12:9; 12:1013:24-25; 14:27; 17:33; 18:18-22; 21:19.

John
Jesus said that He cuts off every fruitless branch of His (Jn 15:2), and warned us, "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." (Jn 15:6). He meant that any disciple of His who does not remain in Him will be cut off and thrown into the fires of hell to be burned. 

That is why He warned the former, lifelong invalid whom He had miraculously healed, "Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." (5:14). It's also why He told the woman caught in the act of adultery to go and leave her life of sin (8:11). For at the resurrection, those who have done good will live, and those who have done evil will be condemned (5:28-29). Those who don’t keep his Word will be condemned (12:47-48). But if you are really His disciple, you will hold to His teaching (8:31-32) and keep His Word, thus you will never see death (8:51). It's simple: Love your life and you will lose it; or hate your life and keep it for eternal life (12:25). 

Jesus never taught easy believism or grace as a license to sin. Nor did he teach that nothing you ever do or say could ever have any bearing on your salvation. Instead, He had many hard sayings, which is why at one point, many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him (6:66).

Acts
Peter taught that just as Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people [Jesus]; you must listen to everything He tells you. Anyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from his people.'" (Act 3:22-23). Thus Scripture teaches us that anyone, no matter who they are, who does not listen to everything Jesus says will be completely cut off. That's why Peter told Simon he would perish for his sin, despite being a baptized believer (8:20-23).

Romans
Paul the apostle wrote to the Romans, "Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off." (Rom 11:20-22)

To all who persist in doing good, God will grant eternal life, but for those who are self-seeking, reject the truth, and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger (2:5-8). All who sin apart from the Law will perish (2:12). If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die (8:13). It is possible to destroy a brother by distressing him (14:15-16), for you can destroy the work of God in the life of a fellow believer by what you allow in your own life (14:20-21).

1 Corinthians
Paul the apostle wrote to the Corinthians, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Co 6:9-11). By this he meant that those who do evil, including those in the Church, will not inherit the kingdom of God.

That's why Paul instructed them to expel the wicked brother from among them, and hand him over to Satan, so he that he wouldn't be destroyed (5:5). If the prospects of eternal destruction were not real, there would be no need to resort to such drastic measures. However, a believer may in fact be disqualified for the prize, even after preaching to others, and that is why Paul did everything in his power to avoid such a potential outcome for himself (9:27).

Of course, we are saved by believing the gospel, as long as we hold firmly to the Word. For it is possible to believe in vain, and perish in the end (15:2). Paul also taught the saints that God will destroy those who destroy His temple (3:16-17).

Galatians
He warned the Galatian church that, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal 5:19-21). Those who live wickedly will simply not inherit the kingdom of God, regardless of whether they are a baptized believer or not. For he who sows to please the sinful nature will reap destruction (6:7-8).

Ephesians
Paul wrote to the saints in Ephesus, "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient." (Eph 5:5-6). He could not have been more clear that no immoral, impure, or greedy person shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Philippians
Why else would he have told the Philippians, "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." (Php 2:12). Let there be no doubt about it that we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

Colossians
Again, he exhorted the saints in Colossae: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips." (Col 3:5-8). You must put to death the sinful nature, for because of these sinful things the wrath of God comes.

1 Thessalonians
He wrote to the saints in Thessalonica, "For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain." (1Th 3:5). Paul was afraid the tempter may have tempted the saints, and his efforts might have been useless, meaning that they had gone back into sin and forfeited the gift of eternal life.  Also see 4:6-8.

1 Timothy
In his first epistle to Timothy, Paul exhorted him to keep on "holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith." (1Ti 1:19). If any believer fails to hold onto faith and a good conscience, like Hymenaeus and Alexander, they will shipwreck their faith and perish. That's what happens to those who abandon their faith, wander from it, or turn away from it to follow satan (4:1; 5:15; 6:9-10).

2 Timothy
In his second epistle to Timothy, Paul again warned him to, "Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some." (2Ti 2:16-18). Not only do such people depart from the truth to their own ruin, but they also destroy the faith of some other believers as well (2:16-18).  

Hebrews
The apostle wrote to the Hebrews: "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb 10:26-31)

Therefore, if those who have been sanctified by the blood of Jesus deliberately keep on sinning, then there remains for them only a fearful expectation of judgement and fire that consumes God's enemies.

That's why we must pay careful attention, so that we don’t drift away, because it's possible to drift away to one's own destruction (2:1-3).  Indeed, a believer could have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from God, so we must hold firmly till the end as Jesus said (3:12-15). Be careful that none of you falls short of God's eternal rest (4:1), and make every effort to enter that rest, so no one falls by following disobedience (4:11). The warnings against falling away are real (6:4-6), and that's why we must show diligence to the very end to make our hope sure (6:11), because those who shrink back are destroyed (10:36,38-39). Surely no one will see the Lord without holiness (12:14), and we won’t escape, if we refuse Him who warns us from heaven (12:25).

James
James wrote: "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." (Js 5:19-20). He was writing to believers regarding their fellow believers who have wandered from the truth and are headed for eternal death.

All religion, including the Christian faith, is profitless (worthless) if you don’t keep tight rein on your tongue (1:26-27). For example, James said that you will receive condemnation for swearing, and if your "yes" is not "yes", and your "no" is not "no". We must be men and women of our word, or else face condemnation (5:12). Moreover, judgment without mercy will be shown to the unmerciful, whether you are a believer or not (2:12-13). Likewise, if a believer becomes a friend of the world, then he is an enemy of God (4:4). 

1 Peter
In his first epistle, Peter taught that judgment begins with the family of God, that it is hard for the righteous to be saved, and that we must obey the gospel. He said, "For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, 'If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?'" (1Pe 4:17-18)

2 Peter
In his second epistle, Peter taught: "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them." (2Pe 2:20-21). Believers who have once known the way of righteousness, and then become entangled in the world again, after escaping it by knowing the Lord, are worse off in the end than they were before they got saved.

Therefore, you must make your calling and election sure by doing what Peter instructs us to do in his opening chapter. For if you do these things, you’ll never fall (1:10-11). Moreover, you must be on guard against error, so as not to be carried away by it and fall from your secure position (3:17). If it were not possible to fall from your secure position, there would be no need to warn against it. For more on this verse, please see my in-depth, Greek-word study called Can You "lose" Your Secure Position in Christ?

Revelation
Our Lord Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, said: "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." (Rev 22:14-15). This means that only those who wash their robes can enter the Holy City, not those who practice evil. 

Based on what He had previously said to the church in Sardis, we understand that, as a believer, you must be dressed in white, being careful not to soil your robes, and you must overcome in order for your name not to be blotted out of the book of life (3:4-5). We also learn from Him that those who’ve forsaken their first love must repent or have their lampstand (their church) removed (2:4-5). And as He warned the church in Sardis, if your deeds are not complete in God’s sight, you need to repent, wake up, and obey God, or Jesus will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour He comes (3:2-3).

Also see Rev 21:7-8.

Putting it All Together
There are 207 New Testament verses found in 19 out of the 27 New Testament books, disproving the false doctrine of eternal security, more than half of which (52%) are the very words of our Lord Jesus Himself found in the gospels. Put differently, seventy percent of the New Testament books, including seven out of the eight writers of the New Testament, contain one or more verses disproving the once-saved-always-saved heresy. This does not include countless Old Testament verses that we could also cite to disprove it.

Attribution Notice: All Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Special thanks to my wife Jennifer, and my sons Christopher and Joseph, for their help  in compiling these verses together with me.

Author's note: This article is part of the series called The False Gospel of Eternal Security. If you would like to become a disciple, consider enrolling in our Doulos Training School. You may access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

The Truth About Islam

In my previous article, I explained How to Reach a Muslim for Christ. That was intended for Christians to help them in their evangelistic efforts. Here I would like to present facts about Islam that clearly prove it false to anyone who is willing to consider objectively what I am saying.

1. Allah is not God Almighty

This can easily be proven and Muslims cannot prove that Allah and the God of Israel are the same. In fact, Allah is actually a personal name for the moon god that was used by the pagans in pre-Islamic Arabia. The word Allah comes from two words, Al-ilah, which were later contracted into Allah. Muslims will say that Allah simply means "the God," but it actually refers to the moon god. In pre-Islamic Arabia, Allah worship and Baal worship involved the worship of the sun, moon, and stars (see The Cult of the Moon God). This is evidenced by the fact that the symbol of Islam is a crescent moon, which appears on every mosque and minaret, as well as the flags of Islamic nations. Muslims break their fasting after observing Ramadan by observing the new moon. 

Yet Muslims still try to deny the clear historical link to their worship of the moon god. They will say that the crescent moon symbol was introduced by the Turks. But actually archaeologists have discovered that the crescent moon, which was often found on the heads of goddess idols, was a pre-Islamic symbol of moon worship.

Prior to Muhammad, Arabs believed that the male moon god married the female sun god and they had three daughters named  Allat, Al Uzza, and Manat, who were considered to be goddesses or "high gods". Muhammad rejected the part about the three daughters, but retained the belief in the moon god. In Surah an-Najm(53) aya 19-20, you have a reference to the three daughters of Allah. Although Muhammad rejected the three daughters, it is interesting to note that he sent Khalin bin Al-Walid to kill one of the three daughters (Al Uzza) and that jihadist killed her with the sword (Tafsir Ibn Kathir Part 27 of 30: Az Zariyat 31 to Al Hadid 029). While Muslims may try to cover up the occult roots of their religion, it is obvious that they worship the moon God. 

In fact, Islam and the Quran can be explained through pre-Islamic culture and religious beliefs. As I have already stated, the word Allah was not invented by Muhammad, nor was it revealed originally in the Quran. The name Allah was well-known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Muhammad's father's name was Abd-Allah or servant of Al-Lah, and his uncle's name was Obied-Allah. This is evidence that Muhammad's family was very devoted to the worship of Allah, the moon god.

The Quran itself can be used to prove that Allah is not God. 

Quran 37 verse 130 says: “Peace be upon Elijah.” 

The word that disproves Islam here is the Hebrew name Elijah, which means "My God is YHWH." This tetragrammaton YHWH is the Hebrew name for God that is transliterated using four letters, which when pointed with the correct vowels is Yahweh ("The Self-Existent One"). The "-Jah" or "-Yah" in Elijah is a contraction of  Yahweh. Thus Elijah (from El, God + Yah, Yahweh) means "My God is Yahweh." Yahweh is the Hebrew name of God in the Bible. This means the Quran is not pure Arabic as they claim, but contains Hebrew.  

In Islam, Muslims believe that the Quran is verbatim the word of Allah spoken directly from his mouth. If the Quran is verbatim the word of Allah, then why would Allah say Elijah? Why not "Allah-Jah". If Allah said Elijah in the Quran then it means Allah verbatim said his own God is Yahweh. If the Hebrew God Yahweh is the God of Allah, then who is Allah? 

Therefore, it is simply false to say that the God whom Muslims worship named Allah is the same God that Jews and Christians worship -- the Lord God Almighty.

2. The Quran is not the Word of God

This is also very easy to prove, because of the many errors found in the Quran. For example, the Quran says that Miriam the sister of Moses and Aaron is the same as Mary the mother of Jesus Christ, despite the fact that they both lived about 1,600 years apart from each other! 

In Surah 18 of the Quran, Allah said that the sun set inside a pool of murky water, which is complete nonsense. The sun is over 100 times bigger than the earth, and it would be impossible for the sun to set into a pool of murky water on earth. The Quran has many such nonsense verses, as well as many fanciful fables taken from Arabian folklore that are repeated as if they were true. It even contains fictitious tales found in Greek and Christian legends as well. 

Furthermore, it uses other sources including the Jewish Talmud, the Midrash, and many apocryphal works, as well as heretical "Christian" sources like the Gnostic gospels and their fables, not to mention Sabean sources and Eastern Religious sources, such as Zoroastrianism and Hinduism (see The Cult of the Moon God). All of these prove that it is not the Word of God.

Still Muslims claim that the Quran is perfect. In response to that, John Burton states in his book, The Collection of the Quran: "The Muslin accounts of the history of the Quran texts are a mass of confusion, contradiction and inconsistencies" (Burton, Collection, p. 231). Many verses of the Quran were lost, went missing, or were changed. Meanwhile other verses were added, and verses considered to be satanic, which contradict Muslim belief and practice, have been removed (see The Satanic Verses in Quran here). For example, one such abrogated verse was the one in which Muhammad approved the worship of the three goddesses, who were daughters of Allah. Muhammad himself confessed that Satan had inspired him with demonic verses, which he had mistakenly believed were actually revealed by God (Sura Hajj "Pilgrimage" 22:52-53). 

3. Muhammad is not a prophet of God 

This can also be easily proven, because Mohammed was a liar. There are also other moral and ethical issues with the life of Muhammad. For example, he had multiple wives at one time, and even married a little girl named Aisha, who was between six and nine years old; thus he had an unnatural desire for little girls. According to 65:4, Muslims were allowed to marry prepubescent girls. He also owned slaves, and had sexual relations with them. The verse in the Quran that allows for this is 4:24, along with others (23:1-6; 33:50; 70:22-30). While being a polygamist may not in itself disqualify him from being a prophet, the fact is that he had more than four wives and concubines, which exceeded the limit he placed on his followers in Quran Sura 4:3.

One Muslim scholar and statesman Ali Dashti listed twenty-two women in Muhammad's life. Sixteen of them were wives, two were slaves or concubines, and four of them simply "gave" themselves to satisfy his sexual desires through fornication. One of his wives was actually the wife of his adopted son Zaid, which violated the Quran's restriction against doing so in Sura 33:36-38. Certainly the historical record of his harem is well documented, and has been presented many times by able scholars.

Moreover, Muhammad was a greedy thief who began robbing caravans after leaving Mecca, and used that vast wealth to lure people to Islam (Ali Dashti, 23 Years, p. 86-87; Encyclopedia Britannica, 15:648). He would not tolerate criticism from anyone, and even had a man named Abu Afak—who was more than a hundred years old—killed for writing a poem criticizing people for converting to Islam. Then he called for the death of a woman named Asma who wrote a poem in response to that killing, calling for people to resist Islam. Umayr bin Adiy al-Khatmi went to her house that night and killed her. When Muhammad heard what he did, he said, “You have helped God and His apostle, O Umayr!” 

Muhammad’s violence was directed towards groups as well, such as Jews and Christians. In fact he vowed to rid the Arabian peninsula of them and leave only Muslims. There is an account of one incident in Medina where he even beheaded hundreds of Jews who had surrendered to him. 

When Muhammad would receive his so-called revelations that he wrote down in the Quran, which he said were given by the angel Jibrīl (known as Gabriel in English), he would go into seizures, begin foaming at the mouth, grunt like a camel, and then act like he was in a trance. Many have considered him to be demon possessed.

The Muslim belief that Muhammad was sinless is completely false and baseless. There is not a single verse in the Quran that teaches or even remotely suggests that he was sinless. In fact, Sura 18:110 states that he is a mere man like anyone else, and in Sura 40:55 Allah told Muhammad to repent of his sins, or one translation says Allah commanded him to ask forgiveness for his sins.

For more on this, see The Historical Muhammad: The Good, Bad, Downright Ugly.

4. Islam is not a monotheistic religion

Actually, Islam is not a monotheistic religion. Muslims pray not only to Allah, but also to Muhammad. While Muslims would not consider that practice to be worship of Muhammad, they do speak to him in prayer, since he is considered to be a mediator for them with Allah on the day of judgment, who can pray for their forgiveness (Q 4:64). In fact, approaching Muhammad is actually synonymous with invoking Allah. According to a renowned Sunni exegete Ibn Kathir: "...coming before Muhammad is going to or standing before Allah, since Allah decided to make his forgiveness dependent on Islam's prophet." {also see section on Muhammadanism here).

They also venerate the Black Stone at Kaaba in Mecca called "Hajre Aswad" from the Sanskrit word Sanghey Ashweta or non-white stone. This is essentially a type of Vedic ritual using a lord Shiva Lingam like the Hindus have in their temples, representing the energies of the world and beyond (The Shiva worshipers in India also use the same symbol of the half moon). Muslims walk around the Kaaba seven times (ṭawāf, circumambulation), as part of their pilgrimage to Mecca, a practice not done at any other mosque but this one; and many Muslims even try to kiss the Black Stone.

This Hindu practice of idol worship that still clings to Islam, as well as the prayers that Muslims offer to Muhammad, violate Islamic law itself, which forbids idolatry or polytheism. According to Wikipedia: "In Islam, shirk (Arabic: شرك‎ širk) is the sin of idolatry or polytheism (i.e., the deification or worship of anyone or anything besides Allah). ... Within Islamic law, shirk is an unforgivable crime since it is the worst sin: Allah may forgive any sin except for committing shirk." Therefore, these idolatrous practices clearly prove that Islam is not a truly monotheistic religion. 

5. The Quran affirms the Bible

Islam acknowledges that Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus are true messengers of God, who received revelation and were given scriptures that are authentic. In chapter 3, verse 3, the Quran states, “...And he (God) sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel).” Since the Quran affirms the Bible, then we can easily go to the Bible and learn that Islam is a false religion. There are many such verses in Scripture, but here are a few sorted by relevance:

Joh 14:6 -  Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Deu 13:1-3 - If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder,  (2)  and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them,"  (3)  you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

2Pe 2:1-3  But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them;bringing swift destruction on themselves.  (2)  Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  (3)  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

2Pe 2:14-19  With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed;an accursed brood!  (15)  They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.  (16)  But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey;an animal without speech;who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.  (17)  These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.  (18)  For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.  (19)  They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity;for "a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him."

Gal 1:6-8  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel;  (7)  which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.  (8)  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse!

Mat 5:44  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...

Joh 8:58  "Very truly I tell you," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

1Ti 2:5  For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,

Gal 2:19-21  "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  (20)  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (21)  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Jas 2:10  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

Eph 2:8-9  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith;and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;  (9)  not by works, so that no one can boast.

Act 4:12  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to man by which we must be saved."

Rev 22:18-19  I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this scroll.  (19)  And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from him any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

Joh 8:24  I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am He, you will indeed die in your sins."

Closing Words
In summary, I have just explained that Allah is not God Almighty, the Quran is not the Word of God, Muhammad is not a prophet of God, Islam is not a monotheistic religion, and the Quran affirms the Bible, which proves Islam to be a false religion. 

The message to Muslims is the same as it is to everyone else, "Repent and believe the gospel for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. He came from heaven, lived a sinless life, was crucified on the cross and shed His blood as a sacrifice to pay the price for your sins, died, and was buried. Then He rose from the dead three days later and sits at the right hand of God. He is full of mercy and compassion. He loves you with an everlasting love, and will set you free from all your chains. Unlike the tomb of Muhammad, which still contains his bones, the tomb of Jesus Christ is empty, because He has risen from the dead, and is alive forevermore. 

Because He is alive, millions of Muslims are converting to Christianity around the world. In fact, one Muslim source estimates that as many as six million Muslims a year are converting to Christ. The reason a substantial number of them are doing so is that they are having dreams and visions of Jesus Christ. Many are having dreams of a shining man, dressed in white, telling them about Jesus. Christ is appearing to them in their sleep (see Millions of Muslims Convert to Christianity: Having Dreams & Visions of Christ and More Than Dreams). If you are a Muslim, let me encourage you to pray and ask the Lord Jesus to reveal Himself to you. You could pray, "Jesus Christ, if you are real, please come to me and reveal Yourself to me." Then believe He will do so, and expect it to happen.

There is no hate here or malice, but only love and the hope that precious souls whom the Lord Jesus died for will be saved through what I have presented. Salaam (See Author's Note below).

Resources: I strongly recommend reading the following books: 

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission.  

Author's note In this blog, I have not only written this article exposing the truth about Islam, but I have also exposed false "Christian" religions, cults, and heretical movements like Roman Catholicism, the Russian Orthodox Church, the evangelical prosperity movement, the evangelical eternal security doctrine, agnosticism, antinomianism, relativism, atheism, humanism, ecumenism, the New Age movement, the Jehovah's Witness, the Mormons, also known as the Latter Day Saints (LDS), as well as the oneness doctrine of Unitarians. I have even exposed the popular, international Hillsong church, as well as certain novels that are popular among Christians. Therefore, this is not an Islamophobic article, and I am not an Islamophobe, but a lover or people and a lover of Truth who seeks to shine the light of God's Word into all areas of darkness, regardless of where they may be. 

I also recommend reading You Must Be Born Again, How to Reach a Muslim for Jesus ChristMillions of Muslims Convert to Christianity: Having Dreams & Visions of Christ, From Bewitched to Born again and HealedScripture AloneAccurately Handling the Word of TruthExposing HeresyThe Rise of AntichristsThe Origin of Sin, Satan, and Secular MusicBy Grace Alone, and Righteousness by Faith not Law. You can access the Home page of this blog for more articles on Truth and heresy, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master.


Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.