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Are they sinless? Do they ever slip and mess up? And when they mess up, are they no longer Christian? If they die after committing a sin but before repenting, will they go to Hell forever?
All praises belong to Him that He has not given us a religion as unforgiving as the one you are portraying here.
I'm absolutely staggered at how little you know about Christianity.
Yes, sins, even committed by a Christian, will not go unpunished. However, Jesus died to forgive the sins of those who repent and trust in Him.
So, yes, Christianity is very tough on sin. Far tougher than any other religion. We take sin very seriously. Better still, we have a gracious God.
The main difference between the religion of Muslims that I have spoken to and classical Christian orthodoxy is this: we believe God is a just God, and is therefore obligated to bring justice. Therefore, sin is to be punished. Furthermore, you cannot simply ask to be forgiven and expect it. Imagine a murderer can say "I'm sorry, I won't do it again" before a judge. Would a judge be carrying out justice if he said "OK, you can go free then, just don't do it again". That would not be justice. So, God in His gracious mercy has provided a way out for us- Jesus pays the price (willingly) for our sins. Justice has been met, mercy has been demonstrated and grace is abounding for all who ask.
This concept is foreign to Islam, a religion that teaches a different doctrine of god. It borrows heavily from Judaism and Christianity but ultimately teaches a different doctrine.
So, Christians are not perfect or sinless, but are being conformed to the image of Jesus, if they live in faith. If not, they will go the way of sinners. Those living outside of God's grace will never have the power to overcome sin, but those living in God's grace will.
If a Christian sins on occassion, he or she is still in the faith, but he or she must repent. In fact, the Spirit of God indwelling them will make their heart contrite and they will desire nothing else than repentance, and they will not rest until they have it. If a person lives a lifestyle of sin, they are not Christians, and they have no evidence of saving faith. Their desire will not be to repent, unless compelled by God's Spirit first, an invitation to become a Christian.
The worst Muslim to have ever have lived who commits all major and minor sins besides major disbelief is still a Muslim. Very, very sinful, yes. Far from being the perfect or ideal Muslim, yes. But so long as he worships Allaah alone and does not commit acts of major disbelief, he would still be considered a Muslim. He would still be my brother in faith.
To put it this way- the Christian faith takes both sin and grace very seriously. By grace we mean that no one can save him or herself, but God saves us though we are unworthy. The sinner is helpless to save himself. No matter how many prayers they make, how many overtures to "worship" they make, how many deeds they do- they will never know if they have done enough to make up for the sins that they have committed. Their kindest acts cannot cover up the filthy rags that adorn their sins. Only God can make our filthy rags into robes of righteousness. He does this by providing for us the sacrifice for sins, and He changes our hearts and desires when we truly repent that we would be hungry to follow after His commandments, to live righteously and to do good deeds. When we are in His grace, our prayers, worship and deeds take on meaning and have a spiritual effect.
That doesn't answer my question. It seems that Jesus (peace be upon him) died (died according to Christian belief) pointlessly for peoples' sins considering that they have to be pretty much sinless anyways.
I brought that text before you because it shows that God's forgiveness is in the Gospel. The sacrifice of Jesus is for all, but not all want it.
It's the same religion with new laws just like all of the previous Messengers were sent with new laws.
While I've heard this argument, it does become circular reasoning to stick by it, and it doesn't doesn't consider all the facts necessary for a proper assessment of the religion of the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob (who has given His name as YHVH, though I will not be pronoucing it)
If I follow your logic, there is absolutely no reason to think that Mohammed is the last prophet (just because he says so!). Why? From Genesis to Malachi the people of God have been awaiting a Messiah. The Messiah is the last prophet, the last lawgiver, the bringer of truth and through Him all things will come to conclusion. After Him there is no more need of law-giving prophets, no other way of life to be revealed etc. This is the religion of the Old Testament, the religion of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah etc. All foretell of and await a final Messiah.
However, according to both Christianity and your religion, Jesus is the Messiah. So, if we believe the OT prophets, Adam, Abraham, Issac, Moses etc and it is also believed that Jesus is the Messiah, then according to the religion of God, we're not expecting anyone else, despite what others will say.
So to say that Mohammed is a prophet of the same religion is to deny the old religion and it's claim to be consummated and finalized by a Messiah. By shifting the borders to mean that religion is merely a set of temporary laws which are added to and taken away from, which Muslims have done, is to deny the whole point of the OT. The religion of God has never been just about the laws, but about the redemption of humanity through the Messiah. Both Jews and Christians believe this, but we do not agree on who the Messiah is. Muslims simply throw away (yet pay lip service to) the entire Messianic message of the prophets of God.
In other words, Islam is in a precarious position. You cannot say both that the Messiah has arrived and that there is another non-Jewish prophet after him. It's simply not been foretold by the prophets. The religion of God asks us to await a Jewish Messiah, and nothing afterward.
If the Messiah hasn't come, then Mohammed cannot be the last prophet. If Messiah has come, then Mohammed cannot be a law-giving prophet at all.
I realize of course that the only logical way around this conundrum is to deny the authenticity of the Old Testament (and the New) and change the story. This is precisely what your religion has done. I find that very difficult to accept and it is an insult to God's sovereign power and His ability to preserve His words.
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