Islam, one of the world’s largest religions, rises from the sands of seventh-century Arabia and claims a place in the stream of Abrahamic faiths. It confesses that there is only one God and honors many figures known to the Bible, including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Yet when we test the central claims of Islam beside the Scriptures, deep and decisive differences appear. The Bible’s witness about who God is, who Jesus is, how sinners are saved, and what the Scriptures themselves are bears a shape that Islam does not share or accept (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 1:1; Acts 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16).
This article sketches the world out of which Islam emerged, then lays the Bible’s message alongside Islamic claims with respect and clarity. The goal is not to score points but to obey the Lord’s call to “always be prepared to give an answer… with gentleness and respect,” even as we hold fast to the exclusive claims of Christ and the grace of the gospel that saves by faith alone (1 Peter 3:15–16; John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8–9).
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Historical and Cultural Background
Islam began in the early 600s with Muhammad of Mecca, who reported receiving messages from the angel Gabriel and announcing them as the word of God. Those messages were later gathered in the Qur’an, and additional guidance came to be drawn from hadith — reports of Muhammad’s sayings — and from the early community’s practice. Within a generation Islam spread across Arabia, and within a century it reached from Spain to the Indus through a mix of preaching, political expansion, and trade. Its five central acts of devotion formed a visible shape in daily life: a confession that God is one and Muhammad is His messenger, ritual prayer at fixed hours, fasting in a set month, almsgiving to care for the needy, and pilgrimage to Mecca when able (Matthew 6:5–6; Acts 10:2).
The social vision that took root bound worship to law. Over time scholars developed sharia — Islamic religious law system — from the Qur’an and from interpretive traditions. This web of guidance regulates worship and moral life and, in many places and eras, civil and criminal matters. By contrast, the New Testament shows Christ building a people who are citizens of many nations and yet bound together by one faith, one baptism, and one Lord, whose kingdom is not advanced by the sword but by the Word and Spirit (Ephesians 4:4–6; John 18:36; Acts 1:8).
Christians confess that God’s plan moved through eras and covenants. In time past He spoke by the prophets, but “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,” who is the exact radiance of God’s glory and the one through whom He made the universe (Hebrews 1:1–2). That claim about how God speaks and acts stands at the heart of any comparison. The question is not only which practices shape a life, but who Jesus is and what He has done according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
Biblical Narrative
The Bible’s story begins with the one true and living God who made heaven and earth and declared His creation good (Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:31). He formed man and woman in His image and placed them under His word, which they disobeyed, bringing sin and death into the world. From that day every human is born with a bent heart and stands in need of mercy, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and the heart is deceitful above all things (Romans 3:23; Jeremiah 17:9). Yet God promised a Redeemer who would crush the serpent’s work and bless the nations through Abraham’s line (Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:3).
That promise narrows through Israel’s story. The Lord revealed His name to Moses, gave His law, and set a sacrificial system in place to teach that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness,” even as He promised a Servant who would bear sin and a King who would reign forever (Exodus 3:14; Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 53:5–6; 2 Samuel 7:12–13). The prophets looked ahead to a new covenant in which God would write His law on hearts and remember sins no more, a hope that required more than human effort and more than ritual purity (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36:26–27).
In the fullness of time the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus the Messiah was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived without sin, and taught with authority that exceeded even the most honored voices of Israel (John 1:14; Luke 1:35; Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 7:28–29). He claimed equality with the Father, received worship, forgave sins, and made promises only God can make, so that Thomas would confess Him as “My Lord and my God” and the apostles would preach Him as the Lord to whom every knee must bow (John 10:30; Mark 2:5–7; John 20:28; Philippians 2:9–11).
The Gospels record His crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, His burial, and His bodily resurrection on the third day, all “according to the Scriptures,” after which He appeared to many witnesses and ascended to the Father’s right hand (Luke 23:33–46; Luke 24:36–43; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8; Acts 1:9–11). This is the heart of the good news: “Christ died for our sins… he was buried… he was raised” and now “there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Acts 4:12). Salvation rests not on a ladder of works but on the finished work of the Son, received by grace through faith apart from works of law, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5–7; Romans 3:24–26).
From Pentecost onward the apostles proclaimed Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord, calling Jews and Gentiles alike to repent and believe the gospel, to receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and to enter a new family in which there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus (Acts 2:38–39; Acts 10:43–45; Galatians 3:28). The Scriptures of Israel and the writings of the apostles stand together as the inspired and fully trustworthy word of God, breathed out by God and profitable to equip the saints for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21).
Theological Significance
Set against that narrative, the differences between Islam and Christianity are not small matters at the edges; they are centered on the person and work of Christ and the very nature of God. Christianity confesses one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of essence and a distinction of persons revealed across the Scriptures and named by Jesus Himself when He commands baptism into the one name of the Three (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). Islam denies the triune life of God and insists that God is one person only. The Bible’s claim does not contradict God’s oneness; it unfolds it. The Son is not a rival deity but shares the nature and glory of the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, giving life and sealing believers for the day of redemption (John 1:1; John 17:5; Ephesians 1:13–14).
Christianity proclaims that Jesus is the eternal Son who took on true humanity, died as a sin-bearing substitute, and rose bodily. Islam honors Jesus as a prophet but denies His deity and often denies His atoning death and resurrection. The apostles rest salvation on the very things Islam rejects. Without the cross and the empty tomb, our preaching is useless and so is our faith; with them, God has demonstrated His love and justice, justifying the ungodly through the blood of His Son (1 Corinthians 15:14; Romans 5:8–9; Romans 3:26). The difference is not merely academic. It is the difference between a gospel of grace grounded in God’s act and a message of human striving that cannot give assurance (John 19:30; Hebrews 10:12–14).
Christianity teaches that Scripture is the final written rule for faith and life, a completed canon that bears the breath of God. Islam claims that the Qur’an corrects and supersedes the Bible and often asserts that the Bible has been corrupted. Jesus, however, affirmed the Law and the Prophets as the word of God, appealed to them as unbreakable, and promised His apostles the Spirit who would bring to remembrance all He said and lead them into all truth (John 10:35; Luke 24:44–47; John 14:26; John 16:13). The apostolic writings therefore do not rest on human will or private interpretation, but on men moved by the Holy Spirit who spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20–21). To add a later book that overturns the gospel preached by the apostles is to invite the very warning Scripture gives: even if an angel should preach a different gospel, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8–9).
Christianity also teaches that humans are fallen in Adam and cannot lift themselves to God by effort, while Islam tends to view people as born inclined to submission and able to attain God’s favor through obedience and repentance. The Bible says that the mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God and cannot submit, and that no one will be justified by works of law. Only by grace, through faith in Christ, can sinners be made alive and counted righteous (Romans 8:7–8; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:4–5). That grace produces obedience as fruit, but it never rests the hope of heaven on the scales of our deeds (James 2:17; Titus 2:11–12).
From a grammatical-historical, dispensational lens, the church is a mystery revealed in this age, a people formed from Jew and Gentile into one body by the Spirit through the gospel, while God’s promises to Israel remain intact and await their full future fulfillment under Messiah’s reign (Ephesians 3:4–6; Romans 11:25–29). This framework does not change the core contrasts above; it simply situates them in God’s unfolding plan. The Lord has spoken finally in His Son and will judge the world by the man He has appointed, having given proof by raising Him from the dead (Hebrews 1:2; Acts 17:31).
Spiritual Lessons and Application
Believers are called to speak the truth in love. That begins with clarity about the gospel. We confess that “there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all,” and we invite our Muslim neighbors to consider the cross where God’s justice and mercy meet (1 Timothy 2:5–6; Isaiah 53:5–6). We keep the person of Jesus at the center of every conversation, because to see Him is to see the Father, and to honor the Son is to honor the Father who sent Him (John 14:9; John 5:23).
We also practice gentleness. The servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting opponents with gentleness in the hope that God may grant repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:24–26). Many Muslims value devotion, family loyalty, modesty, and community care. We can affirm the dignity of such concerns while bearing witness that works cannot remove guilt and that only the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin (Micah 6:8; 1 John 1:7). Our lives should adorn our doctrine so that those who oppose us may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us (Titus 2:10; 1 Peter 2:12).
When we are asked about the Trinity, we answer from Scripture. God is one, and yet the Father sends the Son and the Father and the Son send the Spirit, and all three are named together in one divine name at the font of baptism (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 3:16–17; John 14:26; Matthew 28:19). When asked whether Jesus is the Son of God, we explain that this title does not mean physical generation or a second god, but true deity and unique relationship, the eternal Word who became flesh to redeem us (John 1:1; John 1:14; Colossians 2:9). When asked about Scripture, we show Jesus’ confidence in the Bible He read and the promises He made about the Spirit’s work in the apostles, and we invite our friends to read the Gospels with us and to meet the living Christ there (John 5:39–40; Luke 24:27; John 16:13).
We should prepare to address fear and pressure. In some communities changing religious identity brings shame, loss, or danger. The Lord Himself warned that following Him may cost family ties, property, and even life, yet He also promised a family a hundredfold and eternal life in the age to come (Mark 10:29–30; Matthew 16:24–25). We must be ready to walk with those whom God is calling, bearing their burdens, welcoming them into the household of faith, and trusting the Shepherd who knows His own and calls them by name (Galatians 6:2; John 10:3–4).
Finally, we keep our own hearts from pride. We did not find God; He found us. We did not climb to heaven; the Son came down. Our righteousness is not our own; it is a gift counted to us for Christ’s sake. That posture will keep our words salty with grace and our prayers warm for those we long to see come to Christ (Luke 19:10; Romans 3:21–24; Colossians 4:6). We pray for kings and all in authority, for the peace that gives space for the gospel to run, and we ask the Lord to open a great door for effective work and to grant us boldness to make known the mystery of Christ (1 Timothy 2:1–4; 1 Corinthians 16:9; Ephesians 6:19).
Conclusion
Islam and Christianity both confess one God, honor Scripture in some sense, and call for moral lives. But at the points that matter most the roads diverge. Christianity proclaims the triune God revealed in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It proclaims Jesus as the eternal Son who died for our sins and rose bodily and now offers forgiveness and righteousness as a free gift to all who believe. It rests on the Bible as the fully trustworthy word of God completed in the apostolic witness to Christ. Islam denies the Trinity, denies the deity and atoning death of Jesus, and points people to a path of works that can never quiet a guilty conscience or satisfy divine justice (Romans 5:1; Hebrews 9:14; John 14:6).
The Christian response is therefore clear and compassionate. We reject every message that replaces the grace of God in Christ with human effort, even if it comes with ancient pedigree or claims angelic origin. At the same time we love our Muslim neighbors as ourselves, honor them as bearers of God’s image, and hold out the good news that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (Galatians 1:8–9; Genesis 1:27; John 3:16). The Savior who saves to the uttermost still calls, still forgives, and still gathers a people from every tribe and tongue, and He will not turn away any who come to Him (Hebrews 7:25; Revelation 5:9; John 6:37).
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect… keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:15–16)
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