A Different Gospel: Why Islam Cannot Stand with Christianity

🕌 A Different Gospel: Why Islam Must Be Confronted

The Crescent Against the Cross Article 1

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1. The Weight of Paul’s Warning

The apostle Paul does not leave us in the dark when it comes to rival gospels. He writes to the Galatians:

> “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

— Galatians 1:6–8

Few words strike as directly at the claims of Islam. Here is a faith system built on the testimony of an alleged angel. Here is a message that contradicts the cross, denies the Sonship of Christ, and burdens men with law apart from grace. Paul tells us plainly: this is not another path to God; it is a distortion.

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2. The False Unity of “Abrahamic Faiths”

We hear much in our day about “three great Abrahamic religions”—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The phrase sounds irenic, but it misleads.

Abraham is indeed the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4–5), but the covenant promise flows not through Ishmael but through Isaac, not through Muhammad but through Christ. Paul makes this plain: “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Romans 9:8).

To speak of Islam as “Abrahamic” in the covenantal sense is to erase the very line God established. Christianity is not one faith among three, but the singular fulfillment of God’s plan in Christ. Islam does not stand beside Christianity as a sister religion—it stands against it as a rival kingdom.

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3. The Nature of a Counterfeit

Satan rarely builds new religions out of nothing. He twists what God has given. Just as the serpent in Eden quoted God’s Word only to distort it (Genesis 3:1), so too Islam borrows biblical language, figures, and fragments—yet recasts them to lead astray.

Jesus is named but reduced.

Abraham is invoked but rerouted.

The law is exalted but stripped of gospel.

The result is not a neutral alternative, but a dangerous counterfeit. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

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4. Captives, Not Enemies

It is vital to say: Muslims are not our enemies. They are fellow image-bearers, held in bondage. Islam enslaves through fear—fear of judgment, fear of failure, fear of men. But the gospel of Christ frees.

When we confront Islam, it must be with both teeth and tears:

Teeth to expose the lie and guard the flock.

Tears for those who bow in chains when Christ offers liberty.

The missionary heart of Paul should guide us: “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1).

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5. The Eternal Stakes

To downplay Islam as “just another religion” is to forget eternity. Jesus declared: “Unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). Islam explicitly denies this belief. It strips away the very hope of salvation.

If Christ has not been crucified and raised, then faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:17). If He has, then every system that denies it is damning. To speak politely of Islam without confronting its error is to withhold the only message that saves.

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6. The Call to the Church

Discernment. We must refuse to adopt the world’s language of “Abrahamic solidarity.” The church must not yoke herself to Islam through interfaith alliances that blur the line of the gospel.

Compassion. We must love Muslims enough to tell them the truth. Evangelism to Muslims requires courage, patience, and tenderness. But it also requires clarity: Christ alone saves.

Confidence. We must not fear the advance of Islam. Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). The crescent rises and falls, but the cross endures forever.

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7. The Greater Kingdom

The vision that steadies us is not defensive but victorious:

> “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

— Revelation 11:15

The crescent cannot outshine the cross. The final word over history is not Muhammad’s sword but Messiah’s throne. To confront Islam is to unmask its counterfeit claims so that the true King may be seen more clearly.

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✍️ Reflection & Application

Personal: Where have you been tempted to think of Islam as simply “another way” to God? How does Galatians 1 challenge that?

Church: In what ways might your congregation unknowingly foster syncretism or soften the uniqueness of Christ in interfaith contexts?

Mission: Do you pray regularly for Muslims—that the Spirit would open blind eyes to the gospel of the glory of Christ?

For Families:

Teach your children that Jesus is not one prophet among many but the Son of God, the only Savior.

Pray together for Muslim neighbors or nations, asking that God would send workers into that harvest.

✒️ The Pilgrim’s Post