Very God of very God for Muslims

During the last three days at the Regional Justice Center, I've been following up with Sam, a 20 year-old inmate with an Islamic family background.  Another chaplain and two really faithful inmates, one a converted Muslim, recently worked through the gospel with him.

Sam said he believes Jesus is his Savior through whom he received the forgiveness of sin. 

Can Jesus be Savior and forgiver of sin and not be God? 

Is Allah of the Quran the same as the Father and the Tri-une God of the Bible?

I am not to persuade nor convince him, the work of the Holy Spirit. The next time we meet will now be after I return from Africa on November 20.

He hasn't read the Quran extensively but has a pretty solid understanding of Allah. He discovered a chain of statements in the book of Sura from the Quran asserting Muslims are to read and trust in the writings of Moses, David, the prophets, and the gospels.

I am using, "The gospel for Muslims--an encouragement to share Christ with confidence," by Thabiti Anyabwile as a tremendously clear resource as I pray and read through issues in sharing with Sam.

Our meetings are very peaceful and full of respect.  He wants to share Jesus with his family but struggles with what the Bible says about God as  Tri-une and if Jesus was a man or is God.  I asked him to read John 1:1-18 before we met today.

Is the Trinity a man-made doctrine that intentionally perverts the truth by "you guys?"  He repeatedly asserts the Bible has been perverted around the doctrine of the Trinity, a man-made doctrine.

I am committed consistently to not speaking a negative word about Islam nor the Quran.  Today, he peppered me with questions about who the Bible says Jesus is.  He believes Jesus is a man. We worked through Hebrews 1:5-13: David, Psalms 2:7, 104:4, 45:6-7, 102:25-27, 110:1; Moses, Deuteronomy 32:43; Isaiah in 61:1 and 3;  Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7

"Don't say say it is contradictory because what we think it says," I repeated.  "Would you read the Biblical passages and look honestly at what the Scriptures the Quran's Sura repeatedly state are trustworthy about Jesus?"

John 1:1-4 was hard for him.  I repeated it for him slowly several times as it is a section I have memorized.  He doesn't allow me to thoroughly answer his questions as he moves on to a set of more questions.

We read through the role of the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Birth of Jesus from Matthew 1:18-25.  We have the Father speaking through Isaiah, the Holy Spirit bringing about the birth, and the birth of Jesus, as the Son of God, a stunning Tri-une God passage.

We also read through Christ's response to a rich young man in Mark 10:17-22 where Jesus raises up the definition of a good teacher to the striking attribute of God's goodness.  Jesus holds Himself up as the One God who is truly good. Mark reported Jesus loved this young man.  My heart is to love Sam.

Is he being dishonest or manipulative?  I don't read it that way.  He is clearly seeing the Quran and the Bible do not agree on the very heart nature of God.  I ask him to identify the differences as he becomes aware.

We are committed to continue meeting together. Today, it was very, very clear this is outright spiritual warfare over this man's soul and the souls of his family. My place is to ask him questions and answer his questions by turning to Bible passages.