July 2, 20042 + 2 Does Not Equal 5
Dear Munawer:
I do field evangelism and often I come across Muslims and
when I do I ask them this question: "How do you know Muhammad is a prophet of
God and that the Qur’an is God’s Word? What is your proof?" Saying 2 + 2 = 5
over and over again will not change the truth that it equals 4 and not 5 no
matter how many times you repeat it to yourself. When you make a statement "When
we die we will see who is right!" you are not someone who is looking for what is
true. You may have anger or bitterness in your heart or pride, but that will not
save you. If by your statement that you believe that the teachings of the Qur’an
is superior over the teachings of Jesus in the Bible you mean that the Qur’an’s
teaching provides you the platform and justification for killing others and
using force and violence to accomplish your objectives in this earth, that does
not make it true. The Bible teaches in Psalm 11:5 "Yehovah tests the righteous
and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates." Jesus taught in Matt 5:5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall
inherit the earth." To be meek means to trust in God to provide you what He
wants you to have on this earth, not what you want through force or violence.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-48,
"You have heard that it was said an eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever
slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone wants
to sue you, and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever shall
force you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do
not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was
said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you,
love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be
sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil
and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you
love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do
the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others?
Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your
Father who is in heaven is perfect."
Not only did Jesus teach this, He then lived it by example.
When he was arrested to be crucified His disciples tried to defend him. He said
in response in Matthew 26:51-53,
"And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and
drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest, and cut off his
ear. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all those
who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot
appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve
legions of angels?"
Jesus did not resist those who were evil. He instead
entrusted his earthly life to God the Father to do what was right concerning His
soul. God in order to save us took on a human nature and lived among us. He
loved us, fed us and healed us. In response man tried to get rid of Him by
nailing His humanity on a cross. Paul wrote in the Bible,
"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in
Christ-Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard
equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of
a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:5-8)
What was Jesus’ response. He said Luke 23:34 "Father, forgive
them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). Jesus said in the
Gospel of John 3:14-15 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son-of-Man be lifted up; that whoever believes in Him may have
eternal-life." When God delivered Israel out of slavery in Egypt, despite God’s
deliverance and miraculous provision they grumbled constantly against God. God
in response sent deadly serpents into the camp who bit them, and those who were
bit died. When Israel repented and cried out to God for mercy, God told Moses in
Numbers 21:8-9,
"‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it
shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall
live.’ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came
about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he
lived."
In response to man killing God’s humanity on the cross, Jesus
said in John 3:14-15 that if we would just believe that is Him dying on the
cross for our sins, that He would forgive us and give us eternal life. That is
the God of the Bible, not seeking vengeance despite all the evil we did against
Him, but instead even in our killing His humanity seeking our reconciliation to
Him. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19,
"Now all these things are from God who reconciled us to
Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that
God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation."
God in Christ did not hold what we did to Him on the cross,
but instead turned it around and used it to bring us back to Himself. He was the
perfect example of love, mercy and forgiveness, God Himself. Jesus said in John
15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his soul for his
friends." The Apostle John later then wrote in 1 John 3:16 "We know love by
this, that He laid down His soul for us; and we ought to lay down our souls for
the brethren." The pagan nation of Rome was not overcome by Christians through
the sword, but through love and the sacrifice of themselves who did not resist
their captors or executioners. Rome was won over to Christianity not by the
sword, but though love, through Christians letting go of this life and gladly
laying down their lives for their enemies that they too might repent of their
hate and violence and turn to Christ.
This is in complete contrast to the teaching of Muhammad in
the Qur’an. Muhammad taught in the Qur’an:
"Truly Allah loves those who fight in His Cause in battle
array, as if they were a solid cemented structure," (Surah 61:4).
"Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you but do not
transgress limits... And slay them wherever ye catch them. and turn them out
from where they have turned you out; for persecution is worse than slaughter;
But fight them not at the sacred Mosque unless they (first) fight you there; But
if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who reject faith.
But if they cease, Allah is oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on
until there is no more persecution. And the religion becomes Allah's. But if
they cease, Let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression"
(The Qur'an, Surah 2:190-193).
"O ye who believe! what is the matter with you, that, when ye
are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye cling heavily to the earth? Do
ye prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of
this life, as compared with the Hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish
you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not
harm in the least. For Allah hath power over all things. Unless ye go forth, He
will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him
ye would not harm in the least. For Allah hath power over all things." (Surah
9:38-39).
This is completely opposite to what Jesus taught who said
"Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you, pray for those who
persecute you," and then did it by example not just words by dying on the cross
for our sins.
Only one of these teachings is true: Jesus’ or Muhammad’s. To
which of these did God show His favor and proof that he was His sent messenger?
Muhammad died, was buried and is dust. Jesus also died, but on the third day God
the Father raised Jesus Physically alive and healthy from the grave to prove to
us that He was sent by Him and was truly His messenger to us. The Apostle Paul
tells us in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 that there were over 512 witnesses to that
fact who walked with him for forty days after His resurrection and then
witnessed His ascension to heaven. Jesus proved He was truly of God. How? By
coming back from the dead. Muhammad claimed to be a messenger of God but died in
the lap of His wife and was buried and turned to dust. Jesus is alive, Muhammad
is dead. Jesus is a living Savior, Muhammad could not even save himself.
Your comments show you are not looking for the truth nor that
you care about your soul or your influence of others whether right or wrong. You
are not about truth. Jesus said in John 18:37 "For this I have been born, and
for this I have come into the world, to BEAR WITNESS TO THE TRUTH. Everyone who
is of the truth HEARS MY VOICE.’" Jesus then came back from the dead to prove
His claim true. Only He holds the keys to life and death, only He can save you.
If you go to the grave without him you will have no future, That is not a
threat, that is a fact. God forces His salvation for our sins through Jesus
Christ upon no one. He gave us free will to repent of our sins and receive this
free gift of His or reject it.
I wrote you what I wrote you because I care about your soul.
God gave you a free will to do good or evil. The choice is yours. I care about
you, I encourage you to repent of your hate and to turn to Jesus and allow him
to heal your soul and save you from your sin and give you eternal life while
there is still time, before it is too late, while you can do good and influence
others to turn to Jesus’ truth He proved true through His physical resurrection
from the dead. That is why Jesus claimed with boldness in John 11:25-26 "I am
the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies,
and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die" and why His disciples
proclaimed in John 2:22 "When therefore He was raised from the dead, His
disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture, and the
word which Jesus had spoken." That is how we know Jesus is true and that the
Bible only is His word. The Christian faith is not a blind faith, but faith
based on solid historical fact, on the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Note what His followers stated about the truth they preached:
John 20:27-28 "Reach here Your finger, and see My hands; and
reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but
believing." Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’"
Acts 1:3 "To these He also presented Himself alive, after His
suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty
days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 15:5-8 "For I delivered to you as of first
importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of
whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James,
then to all the apostles; and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He
appeared to me also."
2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales
when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we
were eye witnesses of His majesty.
1 John 1:1-3 What was from the beginning, what we have heard,
what we have seen with out eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled,
concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and
bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and
was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that
you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the
Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
They were eye witness of the death, burial and physical
resurrection of Jesus Christ. They did not repeat over and over 2+2=5 to
convince themselves something was true. No. They were eye-witnesses of His
resurrection from the dead and witnessed his ascension to heaven, over 512
witnesses. That is why the Bible is called the Old and New Testament, it is a
testament of several witnesses, not just one, as the Apostle John proclaimed,
about what they heard, saw and touched. In contrast Muhammad claimed many things
just as many other religious figures of history have done but who gave no proof.
Anyone can claim to be a messanger of God, and have, for their own political
agenda to rally men to their death and have. I always find it interesting that
the leaders of Islam, that while they rally their followers to blow themselves
up for the cause of Allah, they live on to a ripe old age and are unwilling to
sacrifice themselves. Jesus made comment about these kind of rulers, he said in
John 10:10-15,
"The thief came only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came
that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd;
the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hireling, and
not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beheld the wolf coming, and
leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. He
flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the
good shepherd; and I know My own, and my own know Me, even as the Father knows
Me and I know the Father; and I lay down my soul for the sheep."
In contrast, what do the leaders of Islam do? They send their
own followers to a horrible death and then run and hide in other countries and
make more plans to use their sheep as bombs against their claimed enemies. Jesus
didn’t flee but laid down his life for His sheep.
Christianity is the only message proved true and backed by
its founder Jesus Christ through His physical resurrection from the dead. The
Bible states "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way
of death." Islam claims many things but gives no proof. Its method of conversion
is threats and fears because it has no proof. It is a religion of conversion
through fear while Christianity is a message of God’s love. I do not need to
wait until we go to the grave to know what is true, Jesus already gave me His
proof: His physical resurrection from the dead. His message was a message of
love and trust in Him to deliver you from your enemies. Islam is a message of
hate and to take vengeance on your enemies. Jesus came back from the dead to
prove His message true. Muhammad died, was buried and turned to dust just like
Darwin and Joseph Smith and all other religious founders of history did. He
proved nothing. I understand the frustration you feel when you see evil in the
world. I feel that same frustration. At times I feel great anger as I see my
nation self-destruct through it’s rejection of God and His Word the Bible. It is
not easy to sit idly by when you see evil growing in the world. Believe me I
understand your frustration. However, Jesus made it plain that His kingdom was
not of this world. He said in John 18:36,
"My kingdom is not of this world, if My kingdom were of this
world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to
the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."
The Bible teaches about the followers of Jesus Christ that we
are aliens in this earth. The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:18-20,
"For many walk of whom I often told you, and now tell you
even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is
destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who
set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which
also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."
This world is not our destiny. That is why we do not fight
and plunder others to get what we want. Why we do not kill torture and kill
others if they do not turn to Christianity. I am an Evangelist, a man called of
God to proclaim the Christian message of God’s love and forgiveness through
Jesus Christ. My calling is to share Jesus’ love and forgiveness with others
like Yourself. What you do with that truth, however, is between you and God
because God only wants subjects in His kingdom who by their own free will and
choice choose to be a part of His kingdom. In fact, that is the only reason why
we as Christians are still on this earth, to share the love of Jesus Christ with
others like yourself so you also can be saved and have an eternal future in the
kingdom of God. This life is temporary, heaven is forever. Paul wrote in 2
Corinthians 4:16-18 "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is
decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light
affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all
comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things
which are not seen are eternal."
If Jesus did not need us here to share His love and
forgiveness with others so they too can have eternal life and an eternal hope
and future in heaven, God would just take us home to Heaven now. We are here to
offer you also eternal life through Jesus Christ and to be a citizen of His
kingdom also. However, not through force, but through our sharing with you His
message. This earth is not our destiny. The Bible teaches us we are not to love
the world. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:15-17,
"Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If
anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in
the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride
of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing
away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever."
For those without Christ this temporary life on earth is all
they will ever have. That is why Jesus isntructs us that if man takes away what
is ours, let them have it. It is all they will ever have. Jesus taught us by the
very example of His life and death that we are not to grab onto the world
because His kingdom is not of this realm. He came here to save us from this
present age. The bible tells us that Satan is the God of this world and that he
gives it to whom he chooses.
Munawer, I encourage you to let go of your hate and the world
and to instead turn to Jesus and let him save you. Do you know what happens when
a person is bornagain from above? God instantly gives that man His Holy Spirit
and recreates his human spirit alive and makes him or her one spirit with Him.
The Bible states:
Ephesians 1:13-14 "In Him, you also, after listening to the
message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were
sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our
inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the
praise of His glory."
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is
a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
1 Corinthians 6:17 "But the one who joins himself to the Lord
is one spirit with Him."
What does that mean? Paul wrote in Romans 14:17 "For the
kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy
in the Holy Spirit." Paul tells us in Galatians 5:22-23 that the fruit of the
Holy Spirit is love, joy and peace. This means that God’s nature is love, joy
and peace. When you receive Jesus into your heart and become one spirit with God
through the Holy Spirit, you instantly experience God’s nature of love, joy and
peace, you experience Heaven, and know you are saved and will go to heaven.
Jesus said in Luke 17:20-21 "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be
observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold,
the kingdom of God is within you." This is what he meant. Heaven takes place in
your heart, not in what you have. Heaven is just the manifestation of God’s
presence and nature of love, joy and peace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52
weeks a year non-stop. However, Jesus said "In the world you have tribulation. .
. . if they hated Me, they will hate you also." This is why Jesus did not fight
for this life. He gave up His earthly life as an example for us. He did not
commit suicide, but He did not fight his enemies. He was God, he could, as He
said, have called a legion of angels to His rescue, but He came into the world
not just to save us but by example to show us how to live, not by trying to gain
what we want through violence, but though surrendering to Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord and accepting whatever He chooses to provide us and praising and
thanking him for it. For those of us who suffer for His name sake, Jesus said
this in Matthew 5:11-12,
"Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute
you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice,
and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the
prophets who were before you."
His promise is great reward in His kingdom. He put it another
way in Matthew 6:19-21, He said,
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where
moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where
thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also."
Paul wrote to those of us who have received Jesus as Savior
and Lord in Colossians 3:1-3,
"If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking
the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your
mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died
and your life is hidden with Christ in God."
We have died in Christ and are raised with Him and seated
with Him in the heavenlies. This earth is not our destiny. That is why we do not
fight to hang onto it. God wants only people in heaven who want to be a part of
His kingdom by free will choice. That is why we do not force people to convert
to Christianity. Yes, because we love and care about you we urge you to turn to
Christ. We present to you Jesus absolute proof to the truthfulness of His
message so you can see that the message is true and make a decision not blindly
but based on His absolute proof: His physical resurrection from the dead, but
just as you said in your letter, if you choose to go to the grave hanging onto a
message God gave no proof He delivered through Muhammad, you have the free will
to do so.
Jesus example was non-violence and it was his letting go of
this world that led to our very salvation. You see Satan could not see this. He
believed that if he could kill the Son of God in His humanity that He could
destroy God’s plan for man to redeem man, not knowing that his very killing of
Jesus on the cross was the very instrument God used to save man from his sins
and regain man’s rulership over the earth in the future when Jesus returns. It
was Jesus’ death which clutched Satan’s power of death over man out of His
hands. Munawer, I do not wish you to go to the grave unsaved. I wish you to know
God and His salvation through Jesus Christ so you to can go to heaven forever.
In the following links I explain what the Bible teaches about the Creation,
Constitution and Fall of Man and how that relates to why God had to take on a
human nature in the person of Jesus Christ in order to attain our salvation from
our sins:
Please take the time to read these two chapters. Give God a
chance to show you what is true. That is all I ask. I do care about you and your
soul. I want you in heaven with me forever. That is what I wish for anyone I
meet regardless of who you are or background: eternal life with Jesus in Heaven
forever. Jesus said in John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know
You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." He said in
Revelation 3:20:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My
voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and will dine with him, and he
with Me."
I encourage you to open the door of Your heart and invite
Jesus in. Pray like this:
"Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and repent of my
known sins. I ask You now to come into my heart as Savior from my sins and as
Lord of my life. Heavenly Father, thank You for forgiving my sins through Your
Son’s death and shed blood on the cross and that I now have eternal life. Now
take control of my life, and through Your Holy Spirit lead me into your will and
plan for my life; in Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth’s name, amen."
If you do, God's Promise to you is eternal life:
1 John 5:11-12 "And the witness is this, that God has given
us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life."
Colossians 1:27 "To whom God willed to make known what is the
riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory."
2 Corinthians 13:5 "Test yourselves to see if you are in the
faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that
Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?"
John 5:24 Jesus said "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who
hears My word, and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come
into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."
Note it says when you believe on Jesus and receive Him as
Savior and Lord, you do not come into judgment, but pass out of death into
eternal life.
Munawer, I wish you well.
Sincerely in Jesus,
Dale P. Kruse
Pastor Evangelist
Bible
Internet