Is Faith for All Men?
The question at hand is: Do all men have faith? The second question is: Does God give faith to those He chooses to save and choose to let the others perish?
THE KORANIC ACCOUNT
The only true religion in Allah’s eyes is Islam (Surah 3:19).
“Every child is born in Islam: it is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian” ((B. 23:179) a saying of the Prophet, commentary on the Quran in “The Holy Qur’an” page 140, by Maulana Muhammad Ali, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at Islam Lahore Inc. U.S.A.).
He, who is sovereign over the heavens and the earth, Who has begotten no children, and Who has no partner in his sovereignty. He has created everything, and established it all in its proper place (Surah 25:2).
Declare: Allah, He is One: Eternal. On Him all depend. He begets no one, nor is He begotten. There is none like unto Him (Surah 112:1-4).
People say: “Allah has begotten a son.” Nonsense, He is self-sufficient. All that is in heaven and earth belongs to Him. You have no right to make such a statement. Do you speak against Allah what you know nothing about (Surah 10:68)?
COMMENTARY ON THE KORANIC ACCOUNT
According to Mohammad, children are born believing in Islam, which according to the Koran is the only correct religion. Allah is pleased with no other.
Basic in the teaching of Islam is that God, Allah the Arabic word for God, is one person and definitely not a trinity of persons.
Christians and Jews are referred to in many derogatory ways: idolaters, infidels, unbelievers, and worthy of death. They are counted as enemies of Allah, Islam, and the blessed Prophet.
According to the Koran, Allah has no children and most surely has not begotten any. There is no one else of equal stature.
THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT
Ezekiel 18:23
“Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
Ezekiel 18:32
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
I Timothy 2:1-6
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.’
Hebrews 2:9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Hebrews 2:16
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
II Thessalonians 3:2
And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
Romans 12:3
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Romans 10:17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
I Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
I John 2:2
And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Mark 10:13-15
And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
Matthew 18:3-5
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receives Me.
Matthew 19:14
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLICAL ACCOUNT
Scripture clearly states that all men do not have faith. What Scripture does not say is that all men have never had faith or that they can never have faith if they presently do not have faith. Since faith comes by hearing the Word of God; even if someone has lost their faith it can be restored through hearing and reading Gods Word. If someone has faith and not lost it; it can be strengthened through hearing and reading Gods Word.
God does not delight in the death of anyone. Instead He prefers that people repent of their sins and be saved. He is not willing that any should perish. With this the case why would God give faith only to a chosen few? The fact is he has not given faith only to a chosen few.
Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not: For of such is the Kingdom of God.” Jesus said “children”. He did not say: some children or only this child. He said “children” as in all children. No child was excluded in this statement. That means that all children have faith. Otherwise how could Jesus say, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven”. How else could Jesus say, “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.?” Since children are pleasing to God and with out faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) all children must have faith. It must be something people are born with.
For the Apostle Paul to write that, “All men have not faith,” then faith must have been lost by some people after childhood.
The Apostle Paul also wrote, “…God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Notice the definite article ‘the’ this specifies something specific. In this case, “Measure of faith”. Each and every person receives this measure of faith while developing in the womb. It is provided by God just as the rest of the body for a child is provided by God.
God’s provision for sin extends to all men and women. So why then, would He give faith only to a few chosen, and not everyone? When Jesus received the sins of all mankind into His own body on the cross no one was excluded. The Apostle John writes that Jesus is the propitiation, or payment, for sin but not only for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world. No one is excluded. Scripture says, “That He (Jesus) by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” No one is excluded. Jesus is the only mediator between God and men. This includes all men. Again; none is excluded.
People have a choice. It is written: He (Jesus) came unto His own and His own received Him not, but as many as received Him to them He gave the right or power to become the Children of God even to them that believe on his name (John 1:11,12). No one is excluded by God but some people choose to exclude themselves. God knew before creation who would exclude themselves and who would accept His gift of salvation. Those then that He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
COMPARING & CONTRASTING THE KORAN WITH SCRIPTURE
Both Jesus and Mohammad claimed that children had a faith of sorts. For Jesus, it would be the capacity to believe. For Mohammad, it is Islam, and not simply the capacity to believe. If that were the case children would not have to be taught anything about religion. They would know its content from birth. We know from experience that children need to be taught and trained. They do not have knowledge of things from birth. It is the responsibility of the parents to train and teach their own children.
CONCLUSION
It is important that children be taught truth by their parents for a good outcome in the life of the child. At a young age children are willing to receive what they are taught. If they are taught about Jesus, and receive Him into their life, He will be their constant companion for eternity. They will have eternal life.
On the other hand, if a child is trained in Islam, then they will not believe Jesus is the Son of God. That He received their sins in His own body on the cross and tasted death for them. They would never know that Jesus is their mediator.. They would not know that they could repent of their sins, and receive Jesus into their hearts. Eternal life would escape them, and instead, they would enter perdition (eternal torment by fire in the Lake of Fire).
If you want eternal life you must believe that Jesus is God in flesh, received the wrath of God for your sins, and rose from the dead. You can repent of your sins right now and invite Jesus into your heart. A sample prayer is, “Lord Jesus Christ forgive me of my sins and come into my heart.”
REFERENCES
The Koran passages are a paraphrase of several English translations.
The Koran, translated by N.J. Dawood: A Penguin Classic
The Qur’an, translated by M.H. Shakir: Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc.
The Holy Qur’an, translated by Maulana Muhammad Ali: Ahmadiyya Anjumann Isha’at Lahore Inc. U.S.A.
The Koran, translated by Marmaduke Pickethall: Everyman’s Library
The Holy Bible is the King James translation of 1611 from the WORD program by Tom Hills with the New Creations Ministries
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