What if the Bible is right?
According to the Qur’an, every Muslim is to confess his faith in the Jewish and Christian scriptures that make up the Bible. Surah 29:46 instructs, “And dispute ye not with the People of the Book…but say, ‘We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you’…” No two books have done more to change the world than the Bible and the Qur’an. No use of time could do more to change your life than making an honest and earnest comparison of those two books.
As you begin to compare the Bible and the Qur’an, you will be pleased to discover things that the two books have in common. Both teach that there is only one true God and that he is the creator of all things. Both portray Moses as a prophet who gave us God’s law. Both indicate that Jesus was virgin born and gave us the gospel.
As you continue your comparison of these two books, however, you may be perplexed to discover irreconcilable differences between them. For example, the Bible has all three of Noah’s sons with him in the ark, while the Qur’an has one of them drowning in the Great Flood. The Bible has Zacharias losing his voice for nine months and the Qur’an for only three days. In such cases as these and many other contradictions, it is impossible that both books are right. If the Qur’an is right, then the Bible is wrong-but what if the Bible is right?
Contradictions between the two books do not pose a problem to the Bible believing Christian, who accepts the Bible as the complete revelation from God to which no further revelation may be added. To the dedicated Muslim, on the other hand, these contradictions do pose a problem because he is to espouse belief in both books. The way most modern Muslims deal with this difficulty is to claim that the Bible has been corrupted, yet this is an extremely risky position for a Muslim to take and is a direct denial of the teaching of the Qur’an!
Surah 2:136 reads, “We believe in…the revelation given to us, and to Abraham…and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets…We make no difference between one and another of them…” Both the Bible and the Qur’an claim the divine preservation of God’s words. To hold that one book that God promised to preserve has been corrupted and the other has not clearly makes a “difference between one and another of them“-something that the Qur’an forbids!
Surah 15:9 adds the following promise: “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).” Whenever the Qur’an speaks “the Message,” it is a reference to the gospel of Jesus in the Bible-and here we are told that this message would be guarded from corruption!
In Surah 5:44-49 this premise (that the Jewish and Christian Scriptures would be guarded from corruption) is stated with unmistakable clarity. “It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein was guidance and light..by the prophets…And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel…To thee We sent the Scripture…guarding it in safety…” Do you realize what this means? According to the clear teaching of the Qur’an, if the Bible has been corrupted, then the Qur’an is itself in error because the Qur’an promised the preservation of both books!
This means that if the Bible is wrong, then the Qur’an is also wrong-but what if the Bible is right?
If the Bible is right, then the Catholic Church is in serious trouble and does not represent true Christianity. Catholics make graven images and bow down to them. This is strictly forbidden in Exodus twenty as well as in other passages. Catholics call their clerics “Father,” yet in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew Jesus preached against this very practice. Catholics took up the sword against Muslims in the Crusades. Jesus taught that one who takes up the sword is to die by the sword. In another Scripture we are told that the weapons of our warfare are spiritual and not carnal (physical) weapons. Jesus taught that we are to love our enemies-not kill them!
Perhaps these unbiblical practices explain why the Catholic Church feels a need to persecute people who follow the Bible. Do you realize that the Catholic Church for many centuries demanded the death penalty for anyone who read or obeyed the Bible? The same Catholic Church that has fought against Muslims has spent the last seventeen hundred years fighting against true Bible-believing Christians now know as Baptists.
But wait-if the Bible is right, then those Muslims who have taken up the sword are also in serious trouble with God. Would you agree with that? God does not have one law for the Christian and another for the Muslim. There is only one true God, and he is no respecter of persons! Whether a person calls himself Christian, Muslim or even atheist, he will stand before God one day and give an account of himself. Do you believe that?
In fact, if the Bible is right, then we all have a serious problem-Christian, Muslim, and atheist alike! If the Bible is right, then we are all sinners in need of a Savior.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 reads, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”
If the Bible is right, then you are a sinner in need of a Savior-as is every other person alive today!
If the Bible is right, then you are condemned by a holy God and you deserve to go to hell.
Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Revelation 20:14 adds, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” You might say, “I don’t want to die and go to hell.” Well, if the Bible is wrong, then perhaps you have nothing to worry about-but what if the Bible right?
The Bible teaches that the first man and the first woman that God created sinned against Him, and because they sinned, they had to die. The Bible also teaches that every one of us has sinned and deserves death. Not only that, it teaches that because of our sin we are already dead spiritually. This is why Jesus taught that we must be born again! Consider Jesus’ words to a very religious Jew. He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” Don’t forget that both the Bible and the Qur’an teach that Jesus gave the gospel.
If the Bible is right, then no atheist has any chance of making it into heaven (the kingdom of God) unless he first becomes born of the Spirit. If the Bible is right, then no Jew has any chance of making it into heaven unless he is first born again of the Spirit. If the Bible is right, then no Christian has any chance of making it into heaven unless he is first born again of the Spirit. If the Bible is right, then no Muslim has any chance of making it into heaven unless he is first born again of the Spirit.
If the Bible is right, you are a sinner. If the Bible is right, you are condemned. If the Bible is right, you have no chance of heaven unless you are first born again of the Spirit. But wait! This all sounds like very bad news. The word “gospel” means “good news”-not bad news. Yes, and the person who gave you this tract did so because he wanted to share this good news with you!
“What is the good news?” you ask. The good news is that if the Bible is right, you can be born again. If the Bible is right, you can have assurance that you will make it into heaven. The Bible tells us that we can know that we have eternal life.
If the Qur’an is right, we are all in trouble “for Allah loveth not transgressors” (Surah 2:190) and “loveth not those who do wrong” (Surah 3:57). We have all transgressed God’s law and done wrong-and we know it! How then can we have any hope of God loving us?
If the Bible is right, there is hope. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)
If the Catholics are right, then we must work for salvation. If the Qur’an is right, then our good works will be weighed against our bad. But what if the Bible is right? If the Bible is right, then salvation is a free gift for all who receive it by faith. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Most Muslims have never heard the overwhelming evidence for the inspiration and preservation of the Bible. Most have never seen the mountains of well-documented evidence (including archaeological finds of this century) proving that the King James Bible used by Bible-believing Christians today is an accurate translation of the Bible used by Christians in the first centuries after Christ (predating both Catholicism and Islam). Most Muslims are just hoping that their leaders are telling the truth when they say that the Bible has been corrupted. But what if the Bible was preserved as both it and the Qur’an taught it would be? What if the Bible is right?
The person who wrote this tract cares for you very much. He believes that the Bible is right! If it is, then you can have assurance of a home in heaven. No religion on earth grants this assurance. The Bible does!
This author personally knows hundreds of Muslims who have come to believe, as he does, that the Bible is right! They have a joy that they never knew before. They also have a personal relationship with God and an assurance of eternal life. It is the author’s earnest prayer that you would have the same.
Why not find out for yourself if the Bible is right? Purchase a King James Bible today and begin reading it. You should begin with the gospel of John. Before you read, why not pray this simple prayer? “God, if the Bible really is Your Word, and if Jesus really is Your Son, then open my eyes and give me faith to believe it.”
Ask questions of our Pastor. He would be thrilled to share with you in your search for the truth. Seek out an independent Baptist church, like Harbour Light Baptist church and listen to the preaching. Dedicate some of your life to consider the all-important question, “What if the Bible is right?” The destiny of your eternal soul rests upon it!
The way to heaven is not a religion, but a relationship. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ shed His blood for the sins of the whole world. He died in your place and was buried and rose again the third day. He offers you salvation as a free gift! If the Bible is wrong, then Moses was wrong! If the Bible is wrong, then Jesus was wrong! If the Bible is wrong, then Muhammad was wrong about it being guarded from corruption! If the Bible is wrong, you cannot be born again of the Spirit of God and receive eternal life as a free gift by putting your faith in God’s Son. But just think-what if the Bible is right?
By Mark A. Bachman