Holy, Holy, Holy!

 

Another interesting podcast from Ligonier in the “Ultimately” series. I am only interested in commenting on what he says at the end of the podcast. Starting at 05:18 minutes he says the following:

“The Bible doesn’t say that God is mercy, mercy, mercy; or love, love, love; or justice, justice, justice; or wrath, wrath, wrath. But that He is holy, holy, holy. This is a dimension of God that consumes His very essence. When it is manifest to Isaiah, we read that at the sound of the voices of the seraphim, the doorpost, the thresholds of the  temple itself shook, and began to tremble [Isaiah 6:2-4 (also Rev. 4:8)]. Do you hear that? Inanimate, lifeless, unintelligible parts of creation in the presence of the manifestation of the  holiness of God had the good sense to be moved. How can we, made in His image, be indifferent or apathetic to His majesty? God alone is holy.”

Nothing wrong with those comments of course; but it would have been even more meaningful if he had included the following scriptures with it:

Leviticus 11:

45 For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Leviticus 19:

2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.

Leviticus 20:

26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.

Deuteronomy 7:

6 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 14:

2 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

Deuteronomy 28:

9 The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.

1 Peter 1:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Revelation 20:

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Arguably, a more important consideration from our perspective is not only that God is holy, but that he wants us to be holy like him. Focusing on the holiness of God, while overlooking his desire for us to be holy like him, misses the point quite a bit.

And likewise the scriptures inform us that his angels, his habitation, his name, his sabbaths and convocations, his priesthoods and their garments, his covenants and obligations, his scriptures, his word and commandments, his prophets, his temples and sacrificial offerings, his anointing oils and ointments, the formula for incense, the hill of Zion and the city built on it etc. are also holy.

Ultimately no one can be “saved,” or expect to dwell in the presence of God in heaven, unless he is holy as he is holy, and righteous as he is righteous; and that is not achieved by “imputation”. It is achieved by living a holy and consecrated life. It is achieved by “keeping the commandments of the Lord thy God” and “walking in his ways” (Duet. 28:9); and by being “holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Peter 1:15). “Conversation” in that context, in the English of the KJV, means “conduct,” “behavior”. It means how you live your life in the world. That is how it is translated in more modern translations. It means to “purify himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). “Imputed righteousness” is another Calvinistic heresy. There isn’t any such thing. One must become righteous to be saved, not just “declared” to be such. And it is achieved by repenting of one’s sins, keeping the commandments of God, and living a holy and consecrated life thereafter.

Islam More Redeeming Than Calvinism!

 

I found the above sermon by John MacArthur in which, starting at 3 minutes into the video, he relates the following anecdote (emphasis added):

“One of my favorite events as I look back over my life happened a few years ago, and I’ve… I’ve… I’ve told this story a few times because it’s a highlight of my life. It just… it’s been a useful experience the Lord gave me. I was flying from Los Angeles to El Paso, Texas, and I was going to El Paso because I had been invited to come to a men’s conference at the civics center in El Paso sponsored by Calvary Chapels and to speak for a day there. I sat down on Southwest Airlines and in the middle seat, the dreaded middle seat, and there I was in the middle seat on Southwest progressing toward El Paso.

“We were in the air about a half an hour. I had become very aware that the man by the window was a Muslim from the Middle East. He was dressed that way and distinguished himself in that way by his presence… by his demeanor in every way. About a half an hour in, he looked over at me. I had my New Testament out. I was writing a few notes. And he said, ‘Excuse me, sir, may I ask you a question?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ He said, ‘Is that a Bible?’ And I said, ‘It is a Bible.’ ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘sir, can I ask you then another question?’ And I said, ‘Of course.’ And this was his question, ‘Can you tell me, sir, the difference between a Catholic, a Protestant, and a Baptist?’ That was his question. So I… I knew the answer, so I told him the difference between a Catholic and a Protestant, and I put the Baptists where they belong in the Protestant category sort of.

“And… and so this was perfect, and I said to him, ‘Sir, may I ask you a question?’ And he said, ‘Of course, of course.’ I said, and I knew the answer, I said, ‘Do Muslims sin?’ He said, ‘Oh, we have many, many sins.’ I said, ‘Well, do you do them all the time… all the time?’ And then he got very honest. He said, ‘In fact, I am flying to El Paso to do some sins.’ I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘I’m a new immigrant. I have just immigrated into the U.S. I came to the El Paso immigration center. I met a girl there, and we have arranged to meet this weekend to do some sins.’ Wow, that’s pretty honest stuff. I said, ‘May I ask you another question.’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘How does Allah feel about your sins?’ ‘The God al-Ilah?’ He said, ‘Uh, it’s very bad. I could go to hell forever.’ ‘Really? Why don’t you stop doing those sins?’ ‘I can’t stop.’ I said, ‘Do you have any hope that in spite of your sins, you might escape hell?’ And I’ll never forget what he said. He said, ‘I pray Allah will forgive me.’ And I said, ‘Well, why would he do that?’ He said, ‘I don’t know. I just pray he will.’”

I have two issues with that story: The first is that the Muslim guy was either an extremely ignorant one, or he is being misrepresented by John MacArthur. Every Muslim who knows anything about his own religion, knows that repentance is an essential and integral part of the theology of Islam. It teaches that God is kind, merciful, compassionate, and forgiving; and that if a sinner genuinely repents of his sins (meaning to stop committing them), he will be forgiven. It has no concept of the need for the sacrificial death of a redeemer etc., as in Christianity; but it is still very much focused on forgiveness of sins by a kind, loving, merciful, compassionate God, on condition of genuine repentance (meaning abandonment of the sin, not committing it again). The second issue I have with that story is that John MacArthur is offering him the hope of forgiveness, salvation, and “reconciliation” without repentance, which is 100% heretical and false, unchristian, and diametrically opposed to the teaching of the Bible. It is the recipe for damnation rather than salvation. He then continues:

“And I said, ‘Well, let me tell you something. I know God personally, and I can promise you, He won’t.’”

Wrong! Of course He will—on condition of genuine repentance. That is what the Bible teaches:

Acts 10:

34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

35 But in every nation [and religion] he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

To “fear God” and “work righteousness” includes repentance. It is impossible to comply with that requirement without repenting of one’s past sins in the first place. So it looks like John MacArthur doesn’t know much about God at all, otherwise he would have also known what his true doctrine should be. He continues:

“He looked at me like I was crazy. ‘You know God personally and you’re in the middle seat on Southwest? You’ve got to be kidding me.’ I said, ‘I know Him personally, and He cannot overlook your sin, the true God.’”

Only if he doesn’t repent. If he genuinely repents, and “works righteousness,” like it says in Acts 10:35, he will be forgiven. That is what biblical Christianity teaches—and oddly enough, so does Islam. So it looks like he is badly deluding himself. He does not “know” God at all. He continues:

“But I said, ‘I have some good news for you. There’s forgiveness available. There is reconciliation available with God.’”

Only on condition of repentance, which in his heretical, Calvinistic theology is almost non-existent. He continues:

“And I went on to present the gospel to him, followed it up with a letter, sent him some material, never heard from him.”

He was very wise! He stood a better chance of salvation by remaining a Muslim, and attempting genuine repentance according to the theology of his own religion; than by accepting his heretical theology of “reconciliation” without repentance, that John MacArthur with his Calvinistic theology is trying to impose on him. He then continues:

“That’s what I do. That’s what all of us as believers do. We tell people God will forgive their sins, don’t we? Isn’t that what we do? Sometimes I actually say that, sitting next to somebody on a plane when they say, ‘What do you do?’ And I say, ‘I tell people God will forgive all their sins, are you interested?’ It’s like cutting to the chase, right?”

Wrong! There is no “reconciliation” without genuine repentance. That is written all over the Bible. Teaching people “reconciliation” without repentance is a recipe for damnation, not salvation. Skipping a few lines he continues:

“Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, and I want to talk about this responsibility that we as believers have to proclaim the message of forgiveness, the word of reconciliation. And that’s the word we’re going to look at as we consider this text, 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 18 to 21. I’m reading from the NAS. It’s pretty similar to whatever one you happen to be looking at, and I want you to follow it closely, starting in verse 18. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

The Apostle Paul was notorious for saying things that are “hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16). Basing your theology on a few isolated and misconstrued passages of Paul, to the exclusion of 99% of the rest of the Bible that teach something different, is not going to result in a sound biblical theology. Nothing is taught more clearly in the Bible than the need for repentance to obtain forgiveness and reconciliation with God:

Matthew 4:

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 12:

41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Mark 6:

12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

Luke 5:

32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Luke 13:

3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 15:

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Luke 24:

47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 2:

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 17:

30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Acts 20:

20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,

21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 26:

19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Romans 2:

4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

2 Peter 3:

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Revelation 2:

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; …

Revelation 3:

19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

And to “repent” means to stop sinning—as the people Nineveh did (Jonah 3:5–10; Matt. 12:41). Jesus came not to call the righteous but sinners to “repentance” (Luke 5:32); and there is more joy in heaven over one sinner that “repenteth,” than over ninety and nine just [righteous] persons, which need no repentance (Luke 15:7). “Repentance” is the prelude to the remission of sins (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38). There is no forgiveness without genuine repentance; and repentance entails doing works meet for repentance (Rom. 2:4; also Matt. 3:8; Luke 3:8). To “repent” doesn’t just mean to “change your mind,” as the heresy of Calvinism teaches; and it is not something that just “happens” to people willy-nilly just because they have “believed”—whether they like it or not—which is another heretical teaching of Calvinism. The choice is always theirs whether to keep the commandments of God and be saved, or continue in sin and transgression and be damned. “Believing” doesn’t prevent one from doing either. “Devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19); and “believers” who sin receive a greater punishment than “unbelievers” who commit the same sin (Luke 12:47-48). He then continues:

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Five times in the verses that I read, you see the word reconcile in some form. The message of the gospel is the message of reconciliation. The alienated sinner can be reconciled to God. Reconciliation with God is possible. That’s what we proclaim. That’s what we pray. That’s what we teach. That’s what we live for. And that perhaps is what some even die for. It is the unparalleled message of reconciliation with God.”

Only on condition of repentance. There is no “reconciliation” without genuine, whole-hearted, sincere repentance. That is what the Bible teaches—and oddly enough, that is also what Islam teaches. His heretical Calvinistic theology is leading him far astray. He continues:

“That’s the message that I gave the Muslim on the plane that day. You can be reconciled to God. And then I explained to him how that has been made possible through the work of Christ.”

The Muslim guy was wise! He stands a far better chance of salvation by heeding his own Islamic doctrine of genuine repentance, than the abominable Calvinistic heresy that John MacArthur is trying to impose on him.

The Love of God in Islam

 

I found the above video in which Matt Slick and his three guests discuss the nature of the Love of God in Islam. They basically argue that the God of Islam is not a God of love. At around 10:38 minutes into the video Matt Slick says the following:

“… and we know that in the Quran there is the 99 names of Allah. So, Dr. David Cashin, could you talk about that a little bit, because it doesn’t say that God is love in those 99 names.”

To that David Cashin basically agrees. At around 13:17 minutes into the video he says the following:

“… you put that very well. In the 99 names of God … there is none that relates to love per se. … because God is relationship; that is why there can be love. And so the 99 names of God can never say love, because love implies relationship …”

So I searched the Internet to see what the 99 “names” (attributes) of God are, and what they actually say. I found several websites that list the 99 “names,” both in Arabic as well as translated into English. I found several of the “names” that directly mention, or indirectly relate to the love of God. I have listed them below, arranged in the order of relevance:

#	Name	Transliteration	Meaning
47	ٱلْوَدُودُ	AL-WADOOD	The Most Loving
83	ٱلْرَّؤُفُ	AR-RA’OOF	The Most Kind
82	ٱلْعَفُوُّ	AL-‘AFUWW	The Pardoner
1	ٱلْرَّحْمَـانُ	AR-RAHMAAN	The Most or Entirely Merciful
2	ٱلْرَّحِيْمُ	AR-RAHEEM	The Bestower of Mercy
14	ٱلْغَفَّارُ	AL-GHAFFAR	The All- and Oft-Forgiving
32	ٱلْحَلِيمُ	AL-HALEEM	The Most Forbearing
39	ٱلْمُقِيتُ	AL-MUQEET	The Sustainer
92	ٱلْنَّافِعُ	AN-NAFI’	The Propitious, the Benefactor
42	ٱلْكَرِيمُ	AL-KAREEM	The Most Generous
43	ٱلْرَّقِيبُ	AR-RAQEEB	The Watchful
44	ٱلْمُجِيبُ	AL-MUJEEB	The Responsive One
99	ٱلْصَّبُورُ	AS-SABOOR	The Forbearing, The Patient
16	ٱلْوَهَّابُ	AL-WAHHAAB	The Giver of Gifts
17	ٱلْرَّزَّاقُ	AR-RAZZAAQ	The Provider
23	ٱلْرَّافِعُ	AR-RAAFI’	The Exalter, The Elevator
24	ٱلْمُعِزُّ	AL-MU’IZZ	The Honourer, The Bestower
30	ٱلْلَّطِيفُ	AL-LATEEF	The Subtle One, The Most Gentle
56	ٱلْحَمِيدُ	AL-HAMEED	The Praiseworthy

The numbers in the first column indicate the order in which the “names” appear in the original list. I have rearranged them to put the most relevant ones first. So it looks like the God of Islam is very much a God of mercy, compassion, benevolence, forgiveness, and love (as well as of justice, judgement, fairness, etc.). So what they hope to achieve by spreading falsehood about Islam I have no idea. I have never met a Muslim who has deliberately tried to misrepresent Christianity or Judaism. They may have misunderstood certain aspects of their theology, but they don’t try to deliberately misrepresent them with malicious intent, as these guys are doing.

Their aim is to make Islam look as bad as possible, by any means possible—right or wrong, honest or dishonest. But the Muslims don’t do that. They show respect to both Christianity and Judaism. They refer to Jews and Christians as the “people of the book,” meaning that they consider them to be believers in a true religion, and respect their beliefs. They consider their own religion to be superior; but at the same time they show respect to both Christianity and Judaism, and consider them true Abrahamic religions, worshipping the one true God. They don’t try to spread falsehoods about Christianity or Judaism, as these guys are trying to do to them. Maybe that is why Islam is expanding and progressing, and gaining followers; while mainstream Christianity is shrinking and declining. The Muslims have the advantage over the Christians. They occupy the higher moral ground. They are not dishonest, deceitful, and hateful towards the Christians, as they are towards them.