Is Jesus then a liar?

Submitted by Leonard R. Viola (United States), Jun 29, 2005 at 16:12

It seems most peculiar to me that Islam should purport to worship the God of Abraham (and to be his descendants) and that Mr. Pipes should assert that in saying so, they do indeed worship the same God as Christians. I think a single passage of Scripture clarifies the matter very succinctly. In the eighth chapter of John's Gospel we find this very telling exchange between Jesus and some of the Jewish leaders and people of His day:

(37) "I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill Me, because My Word hath no place in you. (38) I speak that which I have seen with My Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

(39) They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. (40) But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. (41) Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God."

Interestingly, Islam does indeed purport to worship the God of Abraham, and they also profess to be Abraham's children, either through Ishmael or the sons of Keturah. However, like the Jewish audience whom Jesus was addressing above, Islam, and by extension those who embrace it, since it is simply antichrist, seeks to kill Jesus Christ. You will observe in verse 37 above that Jesus claimed that He spoke that which He had seen with His Father, and yet Muhammed taught, and Muslims believe, that Jesus' revelation of God was defective.

Please notice however, that in verse 39, Jesus asserts that if one is truly a child of Abraham, then they will believe His, Jesus', Words. He further asserts that what He has told them is Truth that He has heard from God - and again, Islam teaches, and Muslims believe that Jesus, although a prophet, was a liar! Yet Jesus had something more to say on this matter in the 14th chapter of John's Gospel:

(6) "Jesus saith unto him, I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."

Here Jesus asserts that not only did He speak the Truth, but that He was the Truth Incarnate! and furthermore that He Is the ONLY Way to God! Islam, and apparently, Mr. Pipes, both patently deny this. However, Jesus had something significant to say in this regard also:

(43) "Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye cannot hear My Word. (44) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (45) And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not. (46) Which of you convinceth Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me? (47) He that is of God heareth God's Words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." John 8:43-57

You will of course notice that Jesus asserts that those who cannot hear the truth are not of God, they have NOT been born again - which is not to say they cannot embrace the Truth, but simply have not yet. He then states that those that are of God hear God's Words (those He has spoken) - yet both Mr. Pipes and Muslims reject them. He also makes a very interesting reply to Pilot's interrogation

(37) "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice."

For those that are professing Christians, I would suggest that you be very careful what voice you listen to, and that you not follow strangers, thieves, and robbers - 'who come to steal, to kill and to destroy", otherwise, you quite obviously are not of Jesus' sheep fold. (See John 10:1-11).

Len Viola

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