Why do I follow the Path of Submission through Jesus Christ?

Islamo, you asked why do I believe my path is better than any other in the world, such as Islam, Hinduism, the Sikh way, Confucius, Zoraster, etc. I would rephrase that to say, Why do I follow the Path of Submission through Jesus Christ?

Let me start by saying I am fully submitted to God through the person of Jesus Christ.

We are commanded to do this in Romans 12: 1,2 “Present your bodies to God… a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God …”

Below you will find a brief explanation of why I believe the Way is made by the patriarchs and prophets of the Hebrews and Jesus and the apostles of the Greek speaking era. Uniquely, Muhammad in the Qur’an reflects back on all that had gone before him and point to this way as he referred to the Gospel and to the People of the Book.

First, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a God who makes appearances on the earth. He appeared to the father of my faith, Abraham, in Genesis 18, and stayed with him in human form for several days. He appeared to Isaiah, the great Hebrew prophet, and he appeared to the elders of the Jews, and to Moses. There are many appearances of the God of Abraham recorded in the Old Testament. See here for more on His appearances: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fOFaf6lLF4I . Dr. Michael Brown here also deals with some issues related to the triunity of God.

Secondly, Jesus, the Christ, fulfilled at least 60 Hebrew prophesies. These are all well documented in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures. See these videos for documentation of 8 of those prophesies: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zQZYwgomruk ; http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=soMHRpLFb5M .

Thirdly, I believe in the Hebrew Scriptures to be divinely inspired as the Word of God. Why do I accept the Hebrew Scriptures as divinely inspired scripture coming from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? A few of my thoughts are expressed here in this document: http://howtoknowgod.wordpress.com/2008/06/27/is-the-old-testament-historically-reliable/ I have been to the British Museum and have seen with my own eyes and have taken pictures of the artifacts which verify the existence of kings, events and places identified in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. No, the facts do not make it inspired but if you had lived in a culture like I have were, over time, myth from the Old Testament has not turned into fact in the Old Testament, then you could understand my perspective on the Hebrew Scriptures. So many discoveries in the last 40 years have put people, places and events exactly were the Hebrew Scriptures put them.

Next, Jesus, the God-Man, is the greatest man, the greatest prophet, and demonstrated God-like attributes while here on earth. Here is a short display of just some of those attributes: http://howtoknowgod.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/is-jesus-god/ Realize that this is a summary and not exhaustive. But, let it be a start to your own journey in discovering who Jesus is.

I believe that He did die by Roman execution in Jerusalem, in a place called Golgatha, and that He was buried in Joseph’s tomb as recorded in the Gospels and that He was resurrected from the grave as predicted in Scriptures, He predicted it as well as others. Here is a short treatise which represents a defense of His resurrection from the dead. http://howtoknowgod.wordpress.com/2008/06/26/the-resurrection-of-jesus-from-the-dead/ There is so much more evidence of these events which are critical to confirming that He is a historical person.

I have not completed my current research on New Testament archeology and reliability but I can rely on so many of my friends out there who have done some good work. Bezel333 on YouTube is a good friend who has some relevant info on the reliability of the Greek scriptures. What about the reliability of the Gospels? http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6PfxifZX9dk and did the historical Jesus Exist? http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrdRUSVPSBE . For a good text summary on the historical Jesus, the Gospels and of the Greek Scriptures’ reliability http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/arch-nt.html.

This whole exercise is really of no benefit if we do not consider what the message that Jesus communicated. Here is my explanation of what is involved in becoming a follower of Jesus: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3218872/9093686. I have written another approach with the same message which includes references from the Qur’an. They are listed right here on this blog: Man’s Greatest Problem.

I believe that these are sufficient to show someone, specifically a submitter under Islam that their allegiance should be through Jesus, the Greatest Prophet/Man/God who set foot on the earth. All on earth should submit to God through Jesus because He is the caliph, ultimate representative, of God on this earth.

But if you will indulge me I believe also that the Qur’an gives Him the highest honor and that the Qur’an honors the People of the Book and that the Qur’an honors the Book.

Before I touch the Qur’an however, I should say that Muhammad(MHRIP) never hinted at the belief that the Book to which he refers is corrupt—far from it. No, as I said, he honors the book. I need to ask you: Do you believe that Allah is all powerful? Of course you do! Then isn’t He powerful enough to protect His own Word? Of course He is! There is no way that Allah would allow His Word to be changed. No, the Bible has not been corrupted. If you need more on this thought see here: http://howtoknowgod.wordpress.com/2008/06/27/has-the-new-testament-changed/ .

Here is just some of what Muhammad said about the former scriptures.

From the Qur’an:

O believers, believe in God and His Messenger and the Book He has sent down on His Messenger and the Book which He sent down before. Whoso disbelieves in God and His angels and His Books, and His Messengers, and the Last Day, has surely gone astray into far error. 4:136 Dawood

People of the Book, you will attain nothing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which is revealed to you from your Lord. 5:68 Dawood

Another translation: People of the Book, you do not stand on anything, until you perform the Torah and the Gospel, and what was sent down to you from your Lord (Qur’an).

Sher Ali Say, `O People of the Book, you stand on nothing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel and what has now been sent down to you from your Lord.‘ And surely what has been sent down to thee from thy Lord will increase many of them in rebellion and disbelieve; so grieve not for the disbelieving people.

The Torah and the Gospel were not corrupt at this time, otherwise, Muhammad would not have encouraged us to observe them. Also, according to Muhammad I must observe the Torah and the Gospel because I am a person of the Book.

About Jesus:

The angels said: “…Jesus, son of Mary; high honoured shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God (nearest to God).” 3:45

Muhammad recognized the honor previously bestowed on Jesus and sought to give him the same honor. He is the Highest of all who has ever set foot on earth. He is to get the glory and the honor and no that is not idolatry because of who He is. I think it is clear but just to be sure, I don’t say anything here about Mary.

I love the passage in 37: 99-109 :

Sher Ali

99 And he said, `I am going to my Lord. HE will, surely, guide me.’ 100 And he prayed, `My Lord, grant me a righteous son. 101 So WE gave him the glad tidings of a forbearing son. 102 And when he was old enough to run along with him, he said, `O my dear son, I have seen in a dream that I offer thee in sacrifice. So consider what thou thinkest of it !’ He replied, `O my father, do as thou art commanded; thou wilt find me, if Allah please, steadfast in my faith.’ 103 And when they both submitted to the will of God, and Abraham had thrown him down on his forehead, 104 WE called to him, `O Abraham, 105 `Thou hast, indeed, fulfilled the dream.’ Thus, indeed, do WE reward those who do good. 106 That, surely, was a manifest trial. 107 And WE ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice. 108 And WE left for him a good name among the succeeding generations. 109 Peace be upon Abraham !

This is a picture of the plan of God—at the time of Abraham and through the ages. This passage mimics the Genesis account in the Towrah. God called Abraham to Himself. God calls us to Himself. He called Abraham to make a sacrifice. He calls us to make a sacrifice. All the while He knows that what He calls us to do is impossible for us to perform as it was impossible for Abraham to perform. Why is that? Because even if Abraham had offered his son, it would not have covered his and his family’s sins. God knew that it would require a “mighty”, some translations say “tremendous” sacrifice, to take away the sins of Abraham and his family. Per Genesis, God provided a ram, a lamb, and Abraham did the only thing he could do, he BELIEVED God and Genesis says “it was credited to him as righteousness.” My interpretation is that we must believe God and the sacrifice that He has offered in order to receive His salvation. That is the only way God will see us as righteous in His eyes. And we know that His view of us and the world is the ONLY view of us and the world that counts.

Thank you for reading this I hope it gave you a perspective on what is involved in following Jesus and fully submitting to Him. Have a blessed day.