Christians believe that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. He redeemed us from the penalty of our sins — eternal torment and separation from God — by taking upon Himself our sins and guilt, and paying our penalty by dying in our place.
It doesn’t seem like an even exchange, does it? He gets our sin and we get His righteousness. His righteousness reconciles us to the Father. And it happens the moment we believe in and accept Christ’s substitutionary death.
It is a plan and a gift without compare.
But Islam has no Redeemer. Muslims believe that The Mahdi — their messiah — will someday arrive to redeem Islam, but not individuals. To reach paradise, you have to be good enough on your own. But you can never know for sure if you really are good enough. All you really know is that one drop of “impurity” makes the whole person impure. How terrible to face the end of life not knowing if you’ve qualified for paradise.
So Muslims searched Islamic teaching for what we might call a “workaround.” An action that will guarantee paradise even though the person’s life could not possibly qualify him or her.
And they found it in the Quran. Martyrdom.
In short, Islam teaches that no matter how wayward and “sinful” the life you’ve lived — even right up until your last breath — if you die as a “martyr” for Islam, you and your family are guaranteed instant entrance to paradise. And, as a bonus, 72 beautiful virgins to pleasure you eternally. (The exact number of beautiful virgins is a matter of debate among Islamic scholars, but 72 is the popular idea in the western media.)
That explains why so many “martyrs” for Islam, like Anwar al-Awlaki (who was killed by a U.S. drone strike) and several of the 9/11 hijackers frequented strip clubs and prostitutes right up until the end. They knew they had a workaround: Death for Islam while dealing death to the .
This is one thing that is wrong with Islam. It assures salvation ONLY to the martyr. No one else can know if they are good enough for paradise.
But God has a better way: Jesus. People who think of Islam and Christianity as basically the same could NOT be more wrong. Muslims work hard in their search for redemption in a faith without a Redeemer.
Consider the differences. One faith says you either have to be perfect in your goodness or die as a martyr to be saved. The other says that Someone who truly was perfect died FOR you. Paul said, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses (sins) against them… He made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:19, 21 NASB)
And the even better news? This redemption is not restricted to an elite few. The door is open to ALL, to “whosoever will.” (Revelation 22:17 KJV)
from the Hal Lindsey Report – May 6, 2016
