INTRODUCTION
Islam and Christianity control half of the world’s population, if not more. These religions claim the presence
of divinely revealed sources of truth in the form of the Quran, the Hadith, and the
Bible.
A brief foundational outlook on the
teachings of sin and salvation in Islam and Christianity are discussed here.
The specific intent is to highlight the points of convergence and divergence of
these subjects, so to encourage the reader into a deeper understanding leading
to a lifetime decision about his faith, practice, and eternal destination.
If both the Quran and the Bible are
divinely revealed truths, then consistency should be the hallmark of the
treatment of the subjects of sin and salvation. Any inconsistent or contradictory revelation of these subjects will reveal a vulnerability in either Islam
or Christianity.
REVELATION IN ISLAM
Comprehending the treatment of sin
and salvation will lead us to explore the assurance of salvation revealed in
the Islamic worldview. This section will highlight the subjects of sin,
salvation, and the assurance of salvation, as revealed in the Quran and the
Hadith.
SIN
Norman Giesler and Abdul Saleeb
quote the European Islamicist Stanton to emphasize the principal Islamic terms
for sin, which are khati’ ah, ithm, and dhanb.1 Sin, in Islam, is
the willful violation of a known or a given law.2
Islam also teaches that man, as a
finite creature, will be imperfect. Man becomes a sinner when he decides not to
avail the means of perfection available to him.3 Quran implies that
since man was created weak, it is quite typical for him to sin, “Allah would
make the burden light for you, for man was created weak.”4
It is noteworthy that Islam does not
condemn a man for any of his childhood sins.5
Furthermore, “The Quran also teaches
that the first sinner was Adam (Surah 2:35), and yet the general belief of
Moslems to-day is that all prophets, including Adam, were without sin.”6
ORIGIN OF SIN
It was Satan who, in the beginning,
misled Adam and Eve to disobey Allah by tasting the forbidden tree (Surah
7:12-22). “Soon after the entrance of Adam and Eve into the garden, Satan began
his mission of leading humankind astray. Man’s first parents were deceived by
Satan and were eventually expelled from heaven (7:20-25).”7
TRANSMISSION OF SIN
Chawkat Moucary describes the
Quranic teaching of the transmission of sin as follows: 8
From the
perspective of the Qur’an, sin has consequences only for the one who commits
it, for ‘no liability of one soul can be transferred to another’ (6:164, 17:15,
35:18, 39:7, 53:38). This is why Adam’s sin is seen to have had no
repercussions on his descendants. Adam repented and God accepted his repentance
(2:36-37). According to Faruqi, Adam’s disobedience was simply a
misunderstanding of what was good and what was not: ‘Adam, therefore, did
commit a misdeed, namely thinking evil to be good, of ethical misjudgment. He
was the author of the first human mistake in ethical perception, committed with
good intention, under the enthusiasm for the good. It was not a “fall” but a
discovery that it is possible to confuse the good with the evil, that its
pursuit is neither unilateral nor straightforward.’ All human beings, according
to Islam, are born in a state of moral purity. Our disobedient acts do not
fundamentally alter our status: although disobedient, we remain God’s servants
and are able to compensate for our bad deeds by doing good works.
Islam teaches that sin can be
acquired but certainly not inborn in the human being. “Therefore if man rightly
uses those special qualities which he has been endowed with, he can easily
avoid sin. Sin is not inevitable, because man is not sinful.”9
MAJOR AND MINOR SINS
“Some say there are seven great
sins: idolatry, murder, false charge of adultery, wasting the substance of
orphans, usury, desertion from Jihad, and disobedience to parents.”10
Islam also teaches that there are smaller and lighter offenses; all these will
be forgiven easily if men steer clear of the great sins.11 Surah
4:48 speaks about an unforgivable sin termed Shirk (the sin of association), “Lo!
Allah forgiveth not that a partner should be ascribed unto Him. He forgiveth
(all) save that to whom He will. Whoso ascribeth partners to Allah, he hath
indeed invented a tremendous sin.”12
SOVEREIGNTY OF ALLAH
However, “committing a major sin
does not mean that a person is no longer a believer; in this world he is
regarded as a believer whose faith is lacking; he is a believer because of his
faith and an evildoer because of his major sin. In the Hereafter, he will be
subject to the will of Allah; if He wills He will forgive him and if He will He
will punish him.”13 Even though there are major and minor sins,
Allah is sovereign over all insomuch that He judges to forgive and penalize.
Samuel Zwemer echoes the sovereignty
of Allah when he says, “What Allah forbids is sin, even should he forbid what
seems to the human conscience right and lawful. What Allah allows is not sin
and cannot be sin at the time he allows it, though it may have been before or
after.”14
Not only does Islam teach about the
sovereignty of Allah, but it also teaches about His transcendence with respect
to the human sinfulness, “Islam teaches that our sins cannot offend our
Creator, who stands too far above us to be directly concerned by our
disobedience. When we commit sin we wrong ourselves; God remains unaffected:
‘Whoever transgresses God’s bounds does evil to himself’ (65:1; cf. 2:57;
7:160; 18:35; 35:32; 37:113).”15 In other words, Allah remains
unaffected by human sin.
PUNISHMENT FOR SIN
The consequence of sin is very
evident in Islamic teaching, “The Qur’an is consistent in its emphasis that
“…the alternative for each individual at the day of judgment are two: the bliss
of the garden or the torment of fire.” Those who cross the sirat successfully
enter heaven and those who fall off it are thrown into the abyss of hell.”16
Allah rewards people with either the bliss of heaven or the suffering in
hellfire.
SALVATION
Chawkat Moucarry explains salvation
in Islam, “When we speak of salvation in Islam, what is meant is the way
Muslims fulfill their religious obligations so that on the Day of Resurrection
they escape God’s judgment, receive forgiveness, and enter paradise. Salvation
has four components: faith, obedience, repentance, and the Prophet’s
intercession on the last day.”17
NATURE OF SALVATION
The nature of “salvation in Islam is , for the most part, a future state experienced only in the hereafter. It includes
pardon from past sins and deliverance from hell, as well as gaining God’s favor
and acceptance to heaven.”18
MEANS OF SALVATION
The Islamic means to salvation is
only through belief and works. Salvation cannot be achieved without any of
these. Chawkat Moucarry states the importance of the first and the second
components, namely faith, and obedience, in the following words:19
Islamic
doctrine is summarized in these five articles of faith: belief in God, his angels,
his books, his Apostles, and the Day of Judgment. However, faith is inseperable
from practice (cf. 4:13-14). Foremost among the works of faith are ‘pillars’ of
Islam: the receital of the confession of faith, (I bear witness that there is
no god but God, and that Muhammed is the Apostle of God’), ritual prayer,
statutory almsgiving, annual fasting, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. A Muslim’s
salvation therefore depends on assent to the truths revealed in the Qur’an, as
well as observance of religious duties and the moral ideal.
It is noteworthy that “some Muslims
have included Jihad, an exertion in the cause of God or a holy war, as a sixth
pillar of Islam.”20
Repentance is the third component of
salvation. A Muslim must also sincerely repent and ask for divine forgiveness
(Surah 66:8; cf. 4:99; 9:102). A Muslim sincerely believes that Allah will
forgive him by accepting his repentance (Surah 40:3). He is also encouraged to
ask for forgiveness in true humility so that the divine sovereignty and
generosity will be bestowed upon him.
The fourth component of the means to
salvation is the intercession of Prophet Muhammad. This is not mentioned in the
Quran, but is based on the several narratives in the Hadith. Chawkat Moucarry
describes this component as: 21
This
intercession is seen as a privilege God has granted Muhammad and an expression
of God’s mercy towards Muslims. It is based on Muhammad’s being the last
Prophet (33:40) and on the fact that God has already forgiven his sins (48:1-3;
94:1-3). On the last day, Muhammad will ask God to grant forgiveness to the
Muslims who need it most: ‘My intercession will be for those of my nation who
committed major sins.’ In response to the Prophet’s intercession, God will
forgive many Muslims, and they will come out of hell and enter paradise: ‘Some
people will be taken out of the Fire through intercession of Muhammad, they
will enter Paradise and will be called al-jahannamiyyin (the people of Hell).
From the perspective of salvation it
is interesting to note that Allah forgives whom He pleases, and punishes whom
he pleases (Surah 2:284; 3:129; 5:18; 40; 48:14). “Salvation is always a divine
prerogative and favor, even when granted to believers; although they may have
followed the teaching of Islam perfectly, they will have done nothing more than
carry out their duties to their Creator.”22
If a Muslim’s evil deeds outnumber
his good works, Allah in His sovereign mercy will forgive His people’s evil
deeds either directly or in response to the Prophet’s intercession. The forgiven
Muslims are taken into Paradise immediately, or they will have to atone for
their sins in hell, and then enter Paradise. Unbelievers will gain eternal
hellfire. Norman Giesler and Abdul Saleeb explain the sovereignty of Allah’s
judgment as follows: 23
God’s grace in
saving the sinner on the day of judgment is seen in the fact that he multiplies
the good deeds of the person. The reward for a good deed is ten times more than
it should be while punishment for an evil deed is only in equal proportion. The
evil of the believer is even changed into good (4:40; 6:160; 25:70). According
to one tradition, Muhammad insisted that “without the mercy of God no one can
attain salvation by virtue of his action.” His companions asked, “Not even you,
O the messenger of God?” He replied, “Not even I. God will, however cover me
with mercy.” God’s mercy is also shown in the belief that after certain period
of time God himself will bring out a large number of the damned from hell, not
because of their own merit but to demonstrate his compassion on his creatures.
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
Despite the teaching of forgiveness
of sins, it does seem that the Quran does not offer a convincing, unshakeable
assurance of salvation to its believers. Norman Giesler writes: 24
From the very
beginning of Islam almost all Muslims have feared for their eternal destiny.
Al-Ghazali informs us: Yet all the fathers used to refrain from giving a
definite reply concerning belief, and were extremely careful not to commit
themselves. In this connection Sufyan al-Thawri said, “He who says, ‘I am a
believer in the sight of God,’ is a liar; and he who says ‘I am really a
believer,’ is an innovator…’ To many Muslims the lack of assurance of salvation
is not considered a weakness but a reality that can motivate continued
obedience.
Some Muslims also believe that the
ultimate destiny of people is unknown and no one knows what his end will be.
But whoever appears to be a kafir (one who denies) in the sense of major kufr (denial)
is to be judged accordingly and treated as other kafirs are treated. The
Prophet said: “A man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise as far as other
people can see, but he is in fact one of the people of Hell. And a man may do
the deeds of the people of Hell as far as people can see, but he is in fact one
of the people of Paradise.”25
An exception to this lack of
assurance is when a Muslim who fights in a Jihad (holy war) gains a direct
access to heaven, for the Quran declares such admissions as the best form of
rewards (Surah 3:195; cf. 2:25; 3:157-158; 4:57; 95-96; 22:58-59).
REVELATION IN CHRISTIANITY
Islam accepts the Quran and Hadith
as the primary sources of divine revelation, whereas Christianity considers the
Bible as the sole source of divine revelation. In order to have a common thread
running through this document, this section will also deal with sin, salvation,
and the assurance of salvation from the Biblical standpoint. However, dealing
with sin and salvation without any mention of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
central figure of Christianity and the Savior of mankind will portray this work
in poor light.
SIN
Sin is lawlessness, says the Bible
(1 John 3:4 [NIV]). Sin is a failure to measure up to the divine standard. The
Bible also teaches that to sin is to fall short of the glory of God (Rom.
3:23). Man is to do everything to glorify God, but when he fails in this
endless endeavor, he sins (1 Cor. 10:31). When a man fails to honor God in all
that he does, he sins against God. The definition of sin from the Biblical
perspective is always in relation to God and His moral laws. Wayne Grudem
defines sin as, “failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude,
or nature.”26 He focuses on man’s moral nature while defining sin,
since the Bible says, “like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath”
(Eph. 2:3). Man violates God and His laws through his act and attitude because
his very nature is corrupted by sin. This is precisely why the Bible says,
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me”
(Ps. 51:5).
ORIGIN OF SIN
The Bible records that the serpent
that deceived Adam and Eve is none other than Satan himself, “…the great dragon
was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the
whole world astray” (Rev. 12:9). This leads us to conclude that sin was present
in the angelic realm even before it entered into the world. “Sin first found
expression in the angelic world. Lucifer sinned first. His sin was pride, a
desire to be like God. When he sinned, many angels, who also were created holy,
joined Lucifer in sin. They followed in his rebellion against God. Sin entered
the universe. God’s plan allowed for its entrance through free will.”27
In this context, the Bible reveals that all of God’s creation was good, this
included Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:26-31). In other words, Adam and Eve were not
created sinful but became sinful when they succumbed to Satan’s temptation
(cf. Gen. 3).
CORRUPTION OF NATURE AND TRANSMISSION OF SIN
Though made in the likeness of God,
Adam and Eve were the first violators of God’s command. Because of this
violation, the likeness of God in man was corrupted. This corruption was and is
continuously transmitted into the following generations. The Bible records
that, “when Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his
own image; and he named him Seth” (Gen. 5:3). Though made in God’s likeness,
because of his sin against God, Adam procreated Seth in his own likeness – an
assertion to the corruption of human nature and transmission of that very
corruption into the following generations. Thus man is inherently sinful. He is
sinful at the time of his creation in his mother’s womb.
CONSEQUENCE OF SIN
In God, there is no sin. HE is a holy
God. Thus sin in mankind demands God’s wrath (Eph. 2:3). As a result of their
disobedience (sin) against God, Adam and Eve experienced death. Hence death was
the consequence of sin (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 6:23).
We understand from the Bible that
Adam and Eve died a spiritual, physical, and eternal death. Adam and Eve hid from God the moment they sinned against him (Gen. 3:8). Thus
spiritual death was experienced immediately upon sinning, which resulted in a
separation from God. As a result, they were forbidden to eat of the tree of
life (Gen. 3:22). This was the first form of death experienced by Adam and Eve.
The second form of death which they experienced was a physical death (Gen.
5:5). The third form of death was the eternal death, which is the final result
of the spiritual death – eternal separation of man from God. In other words,
a man by birth is sinful and is destined to go to hell to suffer eternal
separation from God, if he refuses to accept the new life given to him by God
(John 3:36).
DIVINE PLAN TO DEFEAT SIN
Adam and Eve were driven out of the
Garden of Eden by God when they sinned against him. In the process, they lost
the opportunity to eat of the tree of life to live forever. The almighty and
the omniscient God of the Bible knew that his creation can do nothing to gain
their status of regaining their fellowship and likeness of him who created
them. Having allowed the existence and increase of sin, God in his
foreknowledge possessed the plan to defeat sin, which was even revealed during
the course of his curse on Satan (Gen. 3:15b). In this cosmic plan, God through
the second person of the blessed trinity - the Lord Jesus Christ, revealed a
divine deliverance for mankind from the clutches of sin and death. “The
truth is that we are all sinners before the holy God who created us. And only
that God can rescue us from the futility of life without Christ. Our Savior is
the Lord Himself!”28
THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD: THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
Sin brought about a chasm
(separation) between the holy God and a sinful man. Hence there was a necessity
to restore the fellowship. Jesus Christ was God’s plan to restore the lost
fellowship, so to enable man to taste life with God forever. Christ is the
Savior who came to seek and save the lost mankind (Luke 19:10). “His own life
on this sin-cursed planet was sinless. The holy life he lived relates to his
substitutionary death,” says Robert Lightner. 29 The Bible teaches
us that Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:2), and that
Christ’s sacrifice is a onetime sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world
once and for all (cf. Heb. 10). Only an eternal and a sinless God can sacrifice
himself, once and for all, to deliver man of his past, present, and the future
sins. One of the most important teachings of the Bible is that Christ is the only way to the Father (John
14:6). In other words, one can only experience eternal life by believing in
Christ.
PREEXISTENCE, ABSOLUTE DEITY AND PERFECT HUMANITY
Robert Lightner writes, “Jesus
Christ is the only person who ever lived before He was conceived. This is true
because He is the God-man. In Him absolute deity (eternal) and perfect humanity
(incarnational) were united in one divine person forever.”30 Wayne
Grudem states that Christ was fully human to effect the representative
obedience (Rom. 5:18-19), and to offer himself as a substitutionary sacrifice
(Heb. 2:16-17). Although the word ‘incarnation’ is not mentioned in the
Scriptures, the church used this term to refer to the fact the Christ was God
in human flesh. The Bible affirms the fact that Christ lived a sinless life
(John 8:46; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 1:19).
The Scripture also extensively
affirms the absolute deity of Christ (John 1:1, 1:18, 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Titus
2:13; Heb. 1:8) as the eternal second person of the blessed Trinity, one equal
to God the Father in all his divine attributes. Jesus Christ’s deity was
absolutely mandatory for the following reasons described by Wayne Grudem:
31
(1) only
someone who is infinite God could bear the full penalty for all the sins of all
those who would believe in him – any finite creature would have been incapable
of bearing that penalty; (2) salvation is from the Lord (Jonah 2:9 NASB), and
the whole message of the Scripture is designed to show that no human being, no
creature, could ever save man-only God himself; and (3) only someone who was
truly and fully God could be the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5),
both to bring us back to God and also to reveal God most fully to us (John
14:9).
THE PROPHET, PRIEST AND KING
The Bible also reveals Christ as
Prophet, Priest, and King, which is described in the words of Robert Lightner
as: 32
The fulfillment of God’s ministry
of reconciliation and communion with man is embodied in Jesus Christ. As our
prophet He secures our knowledge of God and the future. As our priest He
accomplishes atonement for our sin and reconciliation to God. As our King we
look forward to the time when the world will submit to Him, when “at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and
of those under the earth” (Phil. 2:10).”
This God-man Christ, who is the
Prophet, Priest, and King of all mankind died an onetime sacrificial death for
all the sins of mankind – past, present and the future. The Bible reveals that
Christ not only died, but God raised him from death (Acts 2:24; Rom. 6:9) and
seated him at his right hand (Eph. 1:20), and he will come again in glory to
judge the living and the dead (2 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 9:28).
SALVATION
In a Christian setting, salvation
refers to God’s preoccupation with the eternal spiritual welfare of mankind.
God saves a totally depraved man, who through God’s enabling presence believes
in the Lord Jesus Christ. God supernaturally transforms the believer through the forgiveness of sins and restores the believer to favor with him.
SALVATION IS FROM GOD
The Bible declares that salvation is
from the Lord (Jon. 2:9; Acts 4:12). In other words, God had to make the first
move to save mankind from the clutches of sin and death, “Guilty sinners dead
in trespasses and sin and without any merit before God will not and cannot
initiate contact with God. God must make the first move if ever He and wayward
sinners are to be reunited. He has initiated a plan to bring sinners back to
Himself.”33 Only the righteous Christ can satisfy and fulfill every
demand of God’s offended holiness and righteousness.
SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
The Bible emphatically asserts that
salvation is only by the grace of God through a believer’s faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, “for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this
is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can
boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). This statement totally destroys any possibility of
including works of man as a means to attain salvation.
“Salvation consists of three steps:
effectual calling, conversion, and regeneration. Through the Holy Spirit, God
calls the unbeliever to salvation. The human response to that call involves
turning from sin to faith in Christ. Faith also includes belief. God responds
by regenerating the person to new life in Christ.”34 Man’s response
to God’s calling is also an enablement of God. Salvation is from the Lord. Man,
possessing the free will offered by God, freely consents or freely rejects the
offer of salvation from God.
CHRISTIAN LIFE: CONTINUING TRANSFORMATION
“After the miraculous work of
salvation, God continues the transforming process to make the believer into the
image of Christ. Sanctification is the process of being set apart from sin
toward becoming holy and toward the goal of leading a sinless life. While this
is not realized in this life, it is the goal.”35 Millard Erickson
adds that “in addition, the Lord’s Prayer implies that until the Kingdom of God
comes completely on earth, it will be necessary to pray, “Forgive us our sins.”
Our conclusion is that while complete freedom from and victory over sin are the
standard to be aimed at and are theoretically possible, it is doubtful whether
any believer will attain this goal within this life.”36
Millard Erickson concludes that,
“the Christian life, as we have seen, is not a static matter in which one is
saved and then merely reposes in that knowledge. It is a process of growth and
progress, lived not in the Christian’s own strength, but in the power and by
the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And it is a process of challenge and
satisfaction.”37 This then is the glorious Christian life, led by
the power of the Holy Sprit, the third person of the blessed Trinity. The Holy
Spirit empowers every Christian to win valuable victories over sin and evil in
this world. The God of the Bible encourages every believer that he would never
leave them nor forsake them (Deut. 31:6,8; Heb. 13:5).
The salvation of a Christian is
completed by God enabling the believer to remain strong in his faith through
the rest of his life. The believer grows in God because of God’s powerful
presence in his life. So a believer becomes more and more like the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thus he will fulfill God’s will and purpose for his life.
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
A believer in the Lord Jesus Christ
can rest secure in the assurance that his salvation is permanent; nothing can
separate him from the love of God that is in Christ (Rom. 8: 38-39). A believer
rejoices in the prospect of his eternal life. This assurance of salvation does
not encourage him to live a life as he pleases. Having been converted and
regenerated the believer’s life produces fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:
22-23) because of the Holy Spirit’s presence in his life. The Spirit’s work in
a believer’s life results in conviction on biblical grounds that God will
ensure that nothing will separate a believer from God’s love.
GLORIFICATION OF A CHRISTIAN
The final stage of a Christian’s
salvation is the glorification of the believer. Glorification “involves the
perfecting of the spiritual nature of the individual believer, which takes
place at death, when the Christian passes into the presence of the Lord. It
also involves the perfecting of the bodies of all believers, which will occur
at the time of the resurrection in connection with the second coming of
Christ,”38
DAY OF JUDGMENT
Having said these, we should recall
the fact of the Bible’s teaching that all those who believe in Christ will be
with God forever (Rom. 8:1). The unbelievers who reject Christ will be
subjected to eternal punishment (Rom. 2:5-7; Rev. 11:18, 20:12-15) on the day
of judgment when Christ will judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim.
4:1).
Endnotes:
1Norman L. Giesler, and
Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam, (Michigan: Baker Books, 2002), 46.
2S.M. Zwemer, The Moslem
Doctrine of God, (Boston: American Tract Society, 1905), 50.
3Badru D. Kateregga, and
David W. Shenk, A Muslim and a Christian Dialogue, (Scottdale: Herald Press,
1997), 45.
4Mohammed Marmaduke
Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, (Kuwait: Dar al-Islamiyya), 82.
5Badru D. Kateregga, and
David W. Shenk, A Muslim and a Christian Dialogue, (Scottdale: Herald Press,
1997), 45.
6S.M. Zwemer, The Moslem
Doctrine of God, (Boston: American Tract Society, 1905), 53.
7Norman L. Giesler, and
Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam, (Michigan: Baker Books, 2002), 43.
8Chawkat Moucarry, Faith
to Faith, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 95-96.
9Badru D. Kateregga, and
David W. Shenk, A Muslim and a Christian Dialogue, (Scottdale: Herald Press,
1997), 45.
10S.M. Zwemer, The
Moslem Doctrine of God, (Boston: American Tract Society, 1905), 51.
11Ibid., 51.
12Mohammed Marmaduke
Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, (Kuwait: Dar al-Islamiyya), 84.
13‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd
al-Hamid al-Athari, Islamic Beliefs, (Riyadh: International Islamic Publishing
House, 2005), 137.
14S.M. Zwemer, The
Moslem Doctrine of God, (Boston: American Tract Society, 1905), 51.
15Chawkat Moucarry,
Faith to Faith, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 99.
16Norman L. Giesler, and
Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam, (Michigan: Baker Books, 2002), 121.
17Chawkat Moucarry,
Faith to Faith, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 99.
18Norman L. Giesler, and
Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam, (Michigan: Baker Books, 2002), 124.
19Chawkat Moucarry,
Faith to Faith, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 102.
20Norman L. Giesler, and
Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam, (Michigan: Baker Books, 2002), 126.
21Ibid., 103.
22Ibid., 104.
23Ibid., 127-128.
24Ibid.
25‘Abdullah ibn
‘Abdul-Hamid al-Athari, Islamic Beliefs, (Riyadh: International Islamic
Publishing House, 2005), 148-149.
26Wayne Grudem, Bible
Doctrine, (Michigan: Zondervan, 1999), 210.
27Robert P. Lightner,
Sin, The Savior, and Salvation, (Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1991), 25.
28Ibid., 44.
29Ibid., 49.
30Ibid., 49-50.
31Wayne Grudem, Bible
Doctrine (Michigan: Zondervan, 1999), 241.
32Robert P. Lightner,
Sin, The Savior, and Salvation, (Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1991), 84-85.
33Ibid., 140.
34Millard J. Erickson,
Christian Theology, (Michigan: Baker Academic, 1998), 941.
35Ibid., 979.
36Ibid., 986.
37Ibid., 995.
38Ibid., 1008.
