The ultimate goals of Christianity and Islam couldn't be more different. The goal of Islam is fundamentally submission to Allah: Islam means submission to God, and a Muslim is one who submits. While Christianity teaches that Christians should submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the ultimate aim of Christianity is the knowledge of God: "This is eternal life, that they may know you the one true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3) Redemption, reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ, is the necessary stepping stone to attaining the knowledge of God. In fact, "mere forgiveness" without the knowledge of God corresponds to the stage of "a little child" (1 John 2:12-14) Sins are forgiven, but new converts are expected to grow into fathers, "who know Him who has been from the beginning." This intimate knowledge of God, grounded in the Truth, which is Christ Himself, leads to "sincere worship." (John 4:23-24) Christ presumed that true worship is based on genuine knowledge, for "we worship what we know." (John 4:22) False worship, by contrast, is adherence to beliefs and traditions not grounded in the Truth. In the case of Islam, "worship" is submission to an unknowable god called Allah. Indeed, the demand to submit to a god who cannot be known should alert Muslims to the nefarious presence informing Islam. Interestingly, Mohammed himself thought he was demon-possessed after his violent encounter with an "angel of light"-- Gabriel.
Resurrection Power: the Evidence of Salvation
This episode builds on the previous program, asserting that mere propositional knowledge about Christ is insufficient for salvation. Many of us have encountered "believers" who insist they are saved based on a past recitation of the sinner's prayer, though evidence that they are presently FOLLOWING Christ is absent. This past confession amounts to acknowledgment of the facts of the gospel [propositional knowledge], but devoid of subsequent following of Christ, is an empty confession that doesn't save. The above scenario highlights the necessity of the ONGOING application of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to anyone who claims to be a Christian. And, it is part of the constitution of every believer, "if anyone would be my disciple, he must deny himself, pick up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24) "Following Christ" then is the ONGOING application of our Master's life to our lives. So the application of the resurrection of Christ to everyday life, as it turns out, is foundational to being a Christian.