Let's turn to Matthew chapter 26 this evening. Matthew 26, we welcome you. Thank you for coming and joining with us this evening. We're really glad to see you and thank you. We really do appreciate just having you here in the house of God. And for those who are listening in and those who are watching in, we welcome you in the Savior's name. Matthew 26, and we'll read from the verse 46. The Lord Jesus Christ has spent time in prayer. He has poured out his soul to the Father in prayer, just prior to his death at the place called Calvary. And now it comes to the moment when they leave the garden and they meet the band of those who have come to arrest the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 26, verse 47, and while ye yet speak low Judas, One of the twelve came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, the same as he hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? And then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. And behold, one of them, which were with Jesus, stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place. For all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to the Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? Behold, but now, but how then, shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In the same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out against a thief, with swords and with staves, for to take me? I said daily with you, Teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled, and all the disciples forsook him and fled. Amen, and we'll end our reading at the verse 56. Let's just unite again in prayer. Father, Lord, I need thy help to send thy spirit and give help to all who listen to the word of God this evening, and grant, Lord, now thy blessing in all that is said and done. We offer prayer. in and through the Saviour's holy and precious name. Amen. Now last Wednesday night we began looking at the subject matter of Islam. You'll remember that a quarter of the world's population now follow and adhere to Islam and they are classified as Muslims. And on that occasion we thought about the background to Islam and how it was formed. and some of the beliefs of Islam. And we want to conclude our studies this evening by considering together a couple of other matters. And really the first matter is but a follow on, a continuation on what I spoke about when I spoke about the beliefs of islam last wednesday evening and in this first point as we continue to think about the beliefs of islam i want to really focus in upon one particular belief and that is what does islam believe about salvation what do they believe with regard to the doctrine of salvation now we're aware as bible believing christians that the bible teaches that all men regardless of what religion they ascribe to all men all people are born in sin all have sinned and come short of the glory of god scriptures are very clear that there is no man on earth that sinneth not and therefore all men because of sin are deserving of death and of punishment in hell. But we're also aware that God in his word has revealed that God in his love and in his grace has provided a way whereby sinful man can be reconciled to God and that they can be saved from their sin and from its eternal consequences. Scripture teaches that salvation comes only through faith alone in Christ alone through the death and through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. our sins can be pardoned. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved is what Paul and Silas told the Philippian jailer over there in Acts chapter 16. Whenever he asked the question, what must I do to be saved? And so faith in Christ is, as it were, the important key fundamental belief. or requirement that is required, a turning from sin and a believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, for a Muslim to experience salvation, they are taught that they must follow the five pillars of Islam in order for them to gain entrance into heaven. paradise some are a sixth pillar and we'll come to that and so then what are these five pillars of islam well let me set them out to you and give you a little word of explanation the first pillar of islam is profession of faith known as the shahada the shahada now the shahada is an arabic term for the declaration of faith in one god or one allah And his messenger muhammad now the english translation of that declaration of faith is as follows there is no god but allah And muhammad is his prophet or muhammad is the messenger Allah and the shahada is believed to be the most sacred statement in Islam and must be recited with full understanding and mindfulness of its meaning the belief in one God there is no God but Allah is really the central tenant of the Islamic faith everything else revolves around this monotheistic God this God Allah and in whom they believe. Muslims are continuously reminded of this fundamental belief as they will recite this Shahada during the five daily prayers and also at pivotal moments in a Muslim's life. The second part of this declaration of faith or the Shahada requires Muslims to acknowledge and to testify their belief that the Prophet Muhammad is God's messenger or Allah's messenger. This serves as a reminder to Muslims of the importance of the prophet Muhammad, but also as a reminder never to associate any partners with Allah, for Muhammad is simply the messenger of Allah, but he is not co-equal with Allah. Now there is where we differ from the Islamic faith, because we believe that Jesus Christ is the prophet of Jehovah. And he is co-equal with God. He is as much God as the father and as the son. And I'm sure you've seen in the news, just there, was it yesterday, this morning, the news with regard to a film that has been brought out with regard to Mohammed's daughter. Well, the Islam, the Muslims are up in arms. They went to certain cinemas, I think it's Cineworld, I'm not too sure which one it was, and they have protested outside those cinemas and as a result that company has now withdrawn that particular film because of the veneration that they have for Muhammad. And so they believe that Muhammad is Allah's prophet. Whenever someone wishes to convert to the Islamic faith, The reciting of the Shahada really marks their entrance into Islam and their life as a Muslim. That will be the first thing that they will do as a converted Muslim. Converting from other religions, they will then make this declaration of faith. There is one God, but Allah. There is no God but Allah. And Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, or Muhammad is his prophet. Those are the very first words that a Muslim baby will hear. Whenever a Muslim baby is born, the father of that child will whisper into the ear of that child that particular declaration of faith. There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet. I believe the first thing that I whispered into my daughter's ear was, for God so loved the world. that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And so that's the first thing that they hear, and the Muslim will strive for the shahada to be the last thing that they hear just prior to their death. There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet. And so that is the first pillar They must make this profession of faith, this declaration of faith. The second pillar of Islam is prayer. And it's known in Arabic as Salah, S-A-L-A-H. Now Salah is an Arabic term for the ritual prayer that is compulsory for every Muslim to perform five times a day. Five prayers are offered. five times a day by the Muslim. The first prayer that is offered is known as Fajar and that takes place pre-dawn, so before the sun ever rises. Muslim will be up out of their bed, and they will be saying this prayer Fajr. And then there is the next prayer, Dahadar, which takes place just after the sun reaches its zenith. So just after noon, the Muslim will pray again. And then another prayer, Azar. which takes place between noon and sunset, Magarib, which takes place after sunset, and then Ashhad, which takes place during the night or sun time at the night season. And every Muslim across the world will unite in prayer at those five specific times each day, and they will direct their prayers to the Kaaba. Now, if you remember back last week, the Kaaba is that cube-like black structure in Mecca that houses the various idols that Muhammad's tribe were guardsmen over, those 360 deities, with Allah being the greatest of those particular deities. And so they will face towards Mecca and they will pray and they will offer their prayers to Allah. And this uniting in prayer really connects all of the followers of Islam together. The congregational prayer on a Friday afternoon is also compulsory and must be said in a mosque. There's a sermon preached And then prayers are said by the attendees in uniform rows. And so the Muslim prays five times a day. Now in scripture, there is warrant for a specific number of prayers, although we're also reminded by the Lord Jesus Christ that men ought always to pray. and not to faith. We should always be in a spirit of prayer, but in the Old Testament we have a number of examples wherein there were men who prayed three times a day. You'll know one of them, obviously Daniel. Daniel praying three times a day and he faced towards not Mecca, but he faced towards Jerusalem to the Holy Temple and then the psalmist David he spoke about praying three times a day Psalm 55 and the verse number 16 and 17 as for me David said I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud and and he shall hear my voice. I'm not going to stipulate with you this evening that these are the times that you must pray. And although it would be a good, at least three times a day, it would be a good time to bow our heads and our hearts before the Lord. But before we go out into the day, we should pray. We're gonna meet many a thing, many a person, and an individual. Many a trap, many a snare that the devil will place in our way. We need the Lord. We need his unfailing, his power. We need his spirit to live the Christian life. We need his armor to protect us. We need him to guide and to lead us and give us all the graces of God that we require and the fruit of the spirit, all that they would be born to their greatest degree within our lives. We certainly need the Lord before we go out into the day. Then at noon we could reflect on his mercies through the morning, and then at evening time we return to confess our sin, the sins of the day, and also to seek for grace and help for a new day, if God will so permit. And then to offer our thanksgiving for his manifold mercies, mercies that have been new every morning, that we've experienced throughout the day, And so, we believe in prayer, just as the Muslim does. The third pillar of Islam, of the five, is known as alms, or it's called zakat, zakat. Now, zakat, or almsgiving, is mandatory for Muslims, compulsory. Can't get away from it. It requires that a Muslim donates a fixed portion of income to community members who are Now, for every Sian adult Muslim, and this is a stipulation, every Sian adult Muslim who owns wealth over a certain amount, now that amount is known as Nisab, he or she must pay 2.5% of that wealth as Zakat. And therefore, if your total assets, after any debt debts owed, if they amounted to, let's take a round figure, 10,000 pounds, then you would be required to pay 250 pounds. And that zakat is considered as an act of worship because it is a form of offering thanks to Allah for the means of material well-being that one has required now the christian is to be an individual involved in alms giving we ourselves are to commit ourselves to such giving do you remember the savior's sermon on the mount he said these words take heed that ye do not your arms before men to be seen of them otherwise ye have no reward of your father which is in heaven Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound the trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Wherefore, I say unto you, they have the reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand knoweth what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be secret, and thy father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Alms, the giving of material wealth to others in order to relieve the poor. And this is why I believe that every Christian should be a tither by conviction. A tither by conviction. I believe that we should tithe our income. What is a tithe? A tithe is a tenth of the income. Bring in... the tithes, Malachi said, into the storehouse. And so I believe that we should all be a tither by conviction, and then on top of the tithe, then there should be offerings that are offered to God, because it is all of his wealth. We have only become the recipients of that part of the wealth, his wealth, that he has permitted for us to partake of. and that which he has gifted us with. And so we are really giving back that which is God's. And I believe that we should give to the work of God. I believe we should give to missionary endeavor and those who are in material need. We are to do ands, brethren and sisters. Remember what James said? Remember we studied the book of James? To see a brother who is destitute of food and of clothing, And to see that individual and to tell that individual to go his way, he said, that's a man who has a dead faith. That's not a living faith. That's a faith that's dead. There's no life in it. Brethren and sisters, we live with those around us to whom we could do good to and to do alms towards as God would lead and as God would guide us. The fourth pillar in Islam is fasting. Fasting, it's known as Suwam. Suwam is the Arabic term used to describe the act of fasting. And then, and past the age of puberty, all healthy Muslims are required to fast during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan, you've heard of that? It is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. That fasting entails not only abstaining from food and drink, but also an abstaining from intimate relations from sunrise to sunset. Displacing speech and behaviour is also prohibited. To sustain the needs of the body throughout the daylight hours of Ramadan, there is a meal that is usually at before sunrise and then after sunset. The last 10 days of Ramadan are very special. And then the 27th night of the month, it's called the night of power. Muslims believe this is when Muhammad first received the Quran. And in that night, they say that the gates of paradise are opened. The gates of hell are locked up tight. And some will spend the whole night in the mosque praying and reading the Quran. And according to Islamic teaching, if a Muslim on that particular night, the 27th night of the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, if a Muslim genuinely asks for forgiveness on that night, then their sins are forgiven. Fasting is said to promote the Muslim's self-discipline, dependence on Allah, and compassion for the needy. And brethren, sisters, we believe in fasting. There are times in our lives when we need to fast. We read there with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. He talked about fasting and how whenever we come to fast, we're not to make ourselves appear that we are fasting. But our fasting, just like our praying and our almsgiving, is to be done in secret, and God will reward us again openly. The fifth pillar of Islam is pilgrimage, and it's known as the Hajj. Now if health and finances permit, every Muslim must go on a sacred pilgrimage. the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage is performed over a period of five to six days. The pilgrimage season begins in the 10th month, following the month of Ramadan, and lasts right through to the middle of the 12th month. And each year, approximately 25,000 British Muslims travel to the city of Mecca to perform this pilgrimage in unity with all other Muslims across the world. As a pilgrim, the person is not permitted to smoke, to swear, to shave, to clip their nails, or engage in any form of intimate relations. Fighting and arguments are also banned. and participants are prohibited from hunting, killing, or unjustifiably breaking anything. There are 19 steps to the pilgrimage, and I'm not going to go through them all. But one step is called the stoning of the devil. And during that ritual, Muslim pilgrims, they throw pebbles at three walls. Now, they formally wear not very broad pillars, but now they have been broadened out to be made into 26 meter long walls. The reason was that as people aimed, they had a bit of like an aim like myself, not very good. And so what happened as they passed either side of the pillars where there were some pilgrims and they were hitting the other pilgrims on the other side of the pillar and people were getting injured. So now there's these large, broad, walls and now they throw these stones. Brethren and sisters these are intellectual individuals, these are educated people and they believe that by simply throwing a stone at a wall that this will merit salvation for them and permit them or pave the way for them to get into heaven. Why did they do this? Well they say that this ritual is symbolic of the actions of Abraham. Now you'll remember that they do believe, and many of our Old Testament prophets, they believe that Jesus Christ is a prophet, but that Muhammad is the last prophet. And so they believe in Abraham. And they believe that these actions, the throwing of these stones, really are symbolic of the actions of Abraham when he was faced with having to sacrifice his son Ishmael. not Isaac, they say that Abraham was tested by Allah to sacrifice his son Ishmael, the son of Hagar, not the son of promise, the son of the flesh. And so on the way to carry out this commandment to sacrifice Ishmael, according to Islamic faith, Satan repeatedly tried to change Abraham's mind. And as Abraham reached a certain place, a particular place where these pillars or these walls are now found, he was instructed by the angel Gabriel to throw seven stones at Satan. He obliged and they say that Satan fled immediately. The three gemarit or pillars indicate the three places where Satan tried to dissuade Abram from obeying the command of Allah. And so they take these stones and they throw them at these pillars, believing that in this way they are meriting, meriting salvation. As I said, some believe that there is a sixth pillar to Islam. Now not all, many deny that it is a sixth pillar. You will have heard of it. It's called jihad. Jihad. Now the general meaning of the term jihad means striving. There are three types of jihad recognized by Muslim scholars. There is an inner struggle, this inner struggle that maintains self-discipline, this battling with evil within one's heart, this striving for moral and religious perfection. That is known as jihad. Then there is a striving against Satan, this struggle against temptation and spiritual oppression. That's known also as jihad. And then there is jihad against infidels, unbelievers, and hypocrites. This is really a fight against all those who reject or oppose Islam. And this form of jihad is the most common usage of the word The Baqarah Hadayath is considered to be one of the most trusted and authentic Islamic texts next to the Quran itself. And if you look at that text, 97% of its references to Jihad refer to a war like Jihad against unbelievers. Only 3% really refer to this inward struggle. with sin this jihad against this moral tendency to do that which is wrong and so muslims have regarded jihad as a struggle for islam to gain preeminence over every other world religion the quran represents islam as a militant faith let me give you an example in the quran In the Sutra 9, verse 5, we read these words, Then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war. But if they repent and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them, for Allah is all forgiving, most merciful. This verse is known by Islamic terrorists as the verse of the sword and it is this verse that is often cited from the Quran by such terrorists to justify a violent jihad and then in the Quran Sutra 9 verse 125 all ye who believe fight the unbelievers who guard you about and Let them find firmness in you and know that Allah is with those who fear him. Now Islamic scholars will say that these words, they need to be taken in their context. The problem is that the fanatic and the fundamentalist Muslim doesn't take these words in its context. But rather instead they take these words to wage war against Islamic non-believers. They take up the sword. They take up the sword. Just compare the words and the actions of Muhammad to the words and the actions of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Muhammad, he encouraged his followers to fight the unbelievers. He also commanded his followers to kill any Jew that comes under your power. But Jesus said, In Matthew 5 verses 43 to 45, you have heard that it had been said, I shall love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. What a contrast between Mohammed and Jesus Christ. Muhammad, the preacher of hatred, the preacher of war. Jesus Christ, the preacher of love, the preacher of peace. By request, by command, by implication, Muhammad had many people murdered during his lifetime. If you insulted Muhammad, if you doubted his credibility, if you spoke out against Muhammad, you were murdered. wherever when the Lord Jesus Christ came to be arrested, and that's why we read Matthew chapter 26. Whenever Peter drew out his sword to kill the Savior's enemies, Jesus Christ said these words, put up again thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. See, regardless of Islam's claims, History records that Mohammed intimidated and murdered people to propagate his ideology. Since Muslims look to Mohammed as a source of inspiration and a model for their behavior, Muslims then find support for Islamic terrorist activity in the life and in the teachings of their prophet, Mohammed. Whilst the vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving people, There are some who take the example of Muhammad to justify their terrorist activities. While Islam attempts to conquer the world by a physical sword, Christians are commanded to conquer the world by a spiritual sword, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. You see, Islam teaches that a person must attempt to reach heaven by their good works, hoping that their works, their deeds, their adherence to these five pillars will outweigh the bad works that they do, and that Allah will then admit them into paradise. And so Islam leaves the world, including the Muslim world, in a state of uncertainty with regard to salvation. For how many good works must a man do? How many prayers must a person say? How many and how much money must a person give? All of these things are left in the air. And with regard to the Declaration of Faith, is there sincerity when the Muslim is saying it? It leaves a person without any assurance of salvation. But thank God for the believer. There's assurance of salvation. These things are written that you might know that you have eternal life. The Spirit witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God. Thank God within our hearts tonight, there is the assurance of salvation. And if we died, we would be with Christ. What an assurance we have. Secondly, and very quickly, there's the battle. The battle, beliefs and then battle. Where does the battle rage? Well, it rages where it always rages, in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every false religion makes error or errs on the doctrine of Jesus Christ. That's what you need to ask. Whatever religious body or whatever religious grouping you ever attend, you need to ask the question, what think ye of Christ? That's a test. So what do they think of Christ? Well, the Quran teaches that Jesus Christ was only a man. Let me read these very quickly. The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam. He created him from the dust and said to him, be, and he was. And so he likens Jesus Christ simply to be like the first man, Adam, and all of Adam's descendants. The Quran teaches that Jesus Christ is simply a man, a created being, just like Adam was. However, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the eternal, self-existent God. Colossians 1, 15 to 17, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. all things were created by him and for him he is before all things and by him all things consists the quran teaches that jesus is one of Allah's apostles or messengers, but not a member of the triune Godhead. O people of the book, commit no excuses in your religion, nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, was no more than a messenger of Allah and his word, which he bestowed on Mary and the spirit proceeding from him, so believed in Allah And his messengers. However, the bible teaches us that jesus christ is the son of god at his baptism The father will declare from heaven. This is my beloved son In whom I am well pleased the quran teaches that jesus christ wasn't crucified They say this is sutra 4 157 that they say and boast, we killed Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah, but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differed therein are full of doubts with no certain knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not. They do not believe that Jesus Christ was crucified, but the Bible teaches us that he was. Speaking of Jesus of Nazareth, Peter in the day of Pentecost will say in Acts chapter two, him being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. The Quran teaches that Jesus Christ will be a witness against Christians on the day of judgment. And there is none of the people of the book, speaking of Christians, but must believe in him before his death. And on the day of judgment, he, speaking of Jesus, will be a witness against them. However, brethren, sisters, Christ will not witness against us on that day. Rather, he will own us as his children. These are they. And that was given me before the foundation of the world. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Not even Christ will lay a charge against us. Thank God for that day. What a contrast between Islam's prophet Muhammad and Christianity's prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ. Muhammad was a prophet of war. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. Muhammad's disciples killed for their faith. Christ's disciples were killed for their faith. Muhammad's method was violent compulsion. Christ's method is voluntary conversion. Muhammad practiced force. Christ preached faith. Muhammad's tomb is occupied. Christ's tomb is empty. Hallelujah. Oh, to pray, to pray that God will move mighty power within Islamic nations, where the word of God is going forth in various ways. You need to remember that for a Muslim to convert to Islam can result in disinheritance, loss of children, imprisonment, banishment from one's country, and even to the extremity of death. because they're looked upon as traitors. They're looked upon as apostates. The Christian author Robert Redmond said this, the biblical Christ is the Muslims only hope of heaven. And the church is under orders to evangelize the Muslim world and everyone else as well. The biblical Christ is the Muslims only hope of heaven because Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh on to the father but by me. May God enable our brothers and sisters who are living in Islamic nations May God enable them to preach the gospel. May that gospel find traction among a people who follow after a false prophet rather than Jesus Christ, the only prophet of Jehovah. Oh, may God work in their hearts and bring them to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's stand for a brief word of prayer, please. Our Father in heaven, we come before thee and how thankful we are for the truth, truth of God reaching these hearts of ours. We thank thee that there's something that rings true about what we read in scripture. We do not read in any other so-called holy or sacred book. We thank thee that we have got all that we need in the covers of this Bible, for life and for godliness, and to show us the path of salvation, the way of salvation, repentance from our sin and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Bring, O God, these darkened souls to Christ. And may the light of the gospel reach into the heart and soul we pray. We offer prayer in and through our Savior's precious name.