Which Gospel is the Correct One?

When we witness to Muslims, we need to understand that they don't understand the Bible. Many things about Scripture puzzle genuine seekers. And as for mockers, they just want to disprove and nullify God's Word. Be kind and patient with both since they need to hear the gospel from us.

As 1 Peter 3:15 (KJV) admonishes, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

One question Joe Casey mentioned in his video series is that Muslims wonder which of the four gospels they should read. After all, shouldn't there only be one?

We know that each gospel writer had a different reason and readership in mind when they penned their books. Luke 1:2 (KJV), explained,  "Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;"

Like Luke, Mark wasn't an eyewitness of Christ's ministry but a student. In Mark's case, he learned from Peter. As the disciple with the foot-shaped mouth said in 2 Peter 1:16 (KJV),  "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty."

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, wrote in John 20:30-31, (BBE) that, "A number of other signs Jesus did before his disciples which are not recorded in this book:  But these are recorded, so that you may have faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so that, having this faith you may have life in his name."

He also wrote in 1 John 5:13 (KJV) that, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

Matthew wrote to Jews so that's why the first chapter of his gospel was about Christ's genealogy. As he said in Matthew 1:17 (KJV) about our Lord, "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations."

And as I've noted before, the Bible is authoritative and inspired, unlike the
Quran. What I wrote here will also go into my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Muslims are just as deserving of being presented with the gospel as any other group. Let's not shun but love these deceived folks.

On Thursday, I'll tackle the question of animal sacrifice. Stay tuned.

Saturday Song: Klaatu, "Hope"

Did you know that there are two kinds of hope? The first is a wish for something good. The second is an assurance of good things from God Almighty. The first is based on wishful thinking but the second is based on the Lord's faithfulness.

A Canadian band called Klaatu wrote a song about hope. It's part of a concept album about a lighthouse keeper on a devastated planet. The last of his kind, this alien spent the last day of his life coming up with a universal prayer. Hope was the only idea which fit his criteria.

Listen to Klaatu's song here.

The Bible has much to say about both kinds of hope. One example of the first kind of hope, or the lack of it, is Job 7:6 (KJV). "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope."

But we have the experiences of thousands of years of faithful believers that the trials of our lives aren't in vain. Psalms 31:24 (KJV) reminds us, "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD."

Our hope is an abiding trust in our heavenly Father and his good plan for us. Psalms 38:15 (KJV) expresses this well. "For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God."

And like the psalmist wrote in Psalms 42:5 (KJV), our hope in our heavenly Father can lift us out of even the deepest depression. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance."

The Apostle Paul, persecuted and on trial, held onto the hope promised to Israel and all who would believe in the Saviour. Acts 26:7 (KJV) says, "Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews."

This hope is more than a wish, it's a work of sanctification. As 1 Peter 3:15 (KJV) reminds us, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

So, what do you think of Klaatu's "hope" and what I've written? Please feel free to comment.

On Monday, I'll be posting about who the real child of promise was.