“Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.…” (1 John 2:22-23 NIV)

There are hard truths in the Bible; the verses above are just a sample.

Here is a question that eventually must be faced by those who call America their home:  does the Bible, or the Quran, teach truth?

You don’t have the luxury to sit on the fence on this, because the rise of Islam in America will soon force you to choose one or the other.

Islam is not content to be just another religious group in the world, peacefully co-existing along with others of different religious persuasions.  No, Islam seeks to dominate and exercise control over all others.  This is the problem.

Certainly there are moderate Muslims in the world who don’t share the jihadist mindset of many of their brethren.  These peaceful Muslims are much like you and I:  they want to live peacefully, desire to practice their religion free from governmental interference, and raise their families in an environment free from prejudice and fear of persecution.

But the problem with Muslims in general and the Quran in particular comes into sharp focus when they choose to live here in the United States and seek to alter the fabric of our Judeo-Christian foundation by claiming that the Quran is the inspired Word of God that all must follow and practice.

Again, for peaceful Muslims who simply want to do their best to raise their families alongside their American Christian neighbors in an environment of mutual respect and tolerance, the inherent differences between Islam and Christianity remain hidden and don’t usually create undue tension between the two faiths.

But when a group of Muslims begin spending big money in the heartland to put up billboards that boldly proclaim that Jesus is a Muslim, sparks are sure to fly and a line has been crossed in the sand.

I mentioned in my last blog how absurd it would be for the Mormons to dot the landscape with billboards that read, “Jesus was a Mormon!”  This would naturally cause a stir among evangelical Christians who recognize the falsity of this statement and the Mormons could rightfully expect a reaction from the Christian community.

It is unclear what kind of a reaction the Muslims expected the Christians living in Columbus, Ohio, to have when they woke up and were greeted with several billboards in their city which read, “Jesus is Muslim.”  Maybe they thought there would be no reaction at all, having already observed how lackadaisical the majority of people are to religious discussions and subjects.

Personally, part of my reaction is to comment on my blog and to point out that, according to the Bible in 1 John 2:22-23, anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar and, even said more strongly, is an “anti-Christ.”

Those words from the apostle John, revered for his many references in the Bible to “loving one another,” suddenly take on an entirely different force and meaning when we use them as a measuring stick to determine the truth or falsity of the teachings of the “prophet” Muhammad.

Islam flatly rejects the belief that Jesus is either the Christ or the Son of God.

Islam finds it blasphemous that Christians believe that God has a Son whose name is Jesus.

Islam denies that Jesus died on a cross (Quran 4:157), striking at the very heart of Christianity and gutting it of its central message of John the Baptist when he exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 ESV)

If Jesus did not die on the cross, the concept of the “Lamb of God” is a mere sentimental idea that does nothing to reconcile guilty sinners with a holy God.  The death (crucifixion), burial and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah, is the cornerstone of Christianity.  Remove it and the entire edifice falls (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

This is why the billboard erected with Muslim money is not only repugnant to Christians, but blasphemous.  When Muslims claim that Jesus is a Muslim, they are denying that He was crucified, that He died on the cross, and that He was raised from the dead after being buried in the tomb where He was laid after His death from being crucified.

Since this is true, what two things can we confidently assert about Muslims and the teachings of Muhammad when we compare their beliefs with 1 John 2:23-24?

Hard truths may not be easy to digest, but so are lies.