You love Jesus Christ and His words in the Bible. And you want to witness to Muslims. So you try to study up on Islam from a Christian perspective. And soon you find that popular Christian writers say these things about Islam:

• Allah is the Arabic name for God
• Muhammad was a well-meaning man who sought to oppose evil and idolatry in his day
• We should use the Qur'an wherever it agrees with the Bible

You have been reading up in the Qur'an, and you have bookmarked a number of verses. You are all set to convert people to Christ from Islam, using their own book! So you set out to talk to a Muslim.

"Did you know that the Qur'an says Jesus is divine?"

"Really? Show me."

"In Sura Al-Imran 3:49 it says, '...I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah's leave: And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Allah's leave...'" If he heals the blind, the lepers and raises the dead, then Jesus must be God!"

"Ahh, but the Qur'an also says in Sura Al-Mu'minun 23:91, 'No son did Allah beget.' And not only this, but also 12 other verses in the Qur'an say Allah has no son. (See Suras 2:116; 4:171; 6:101; 10:68; 17:111; 18:4-5; 19:35; 19:88-95; 21:26; 25:2; 39:4; and 43:81) And if Allah had no son, then Jesus is not Allah's son. And if Jesus is not Allah's son, then he is not divine.

"Besides, the Qur'an is very clear: Jesus is a created being. Sura Al-Imran 3:59 says, 'The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was.' If Jesus is created, then he cannot be God."

Discussion over.

You remain hopeful. After all, this is only your first time. So you go talk to another Muslim, Qur'an happily in hand.

"We should be able to talk as brothers. After all, we are 'People of the Book' and your own Qur'an says we are saved."

"Do you think so? Show me."

"In Sura Al-Imran 3:114 it says, "They believe in Allah and the Last Day; they enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong; and they hasten (in emulation) in (all) good works: They are in the ranks of the righteous." I believe in Allah (the Arabic name for God, right?) and the Last Day. I believe in doing what is right. So I as a Christian am also "in the ranks of the righteous."

The Muslim smiles, takes your Qur'an and says, "Oh, but you do not understand. Look here. Just two verses later it says, 'Those who reject Faith, neither their possessions nor their (numerous) progeny will avail them aught against Allah: They will be companions of the Fire,-dwelling therein (for ever).' So if you reject the faith of Islam, you will dwell in fire forever. You are greatly mistaken. You are not my brother unless you submit to Allah and to the religion of Islam."

Discussion over.

What went wrong? You used verses that bridged the gap between Islam and Christianity, and at each turn the Muslim simply identified another verse that contradicted it. You search the Qur'an for answers, but find none.

And that is the problem: You made the Qur'an the Authority. Game over. You lose.

The minute you accept the Qur'an as the authority – you are rejecting the Bible as the sole authority. Do you really want to do that?

The only true way to witness with the Qur'an is to show its contradictions! And Mohammad Al Ghazoli's Christ, Muhammad & I is a good place to find them. Show them how contradictory their book from Allah is. Then show them the amazing consistency and clarity and understanding there is in the Bible.

Place the authority where it belongs - with Christ and His Holy words in the Bible. But Muslims say the Bible has been perverted! Their own Qur'an even tells them so! Sura Al-Baqara 2:75 says, "Can ye (o ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you? Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it." The Muslim will tell you - "My Qur'an tells me that your Bible has been perverted! Why should I read it?"

Most say, "The Bible hasn't been perverted." And then they try to show that the Qur'an says the Bible is guarded from corruption in Sura Al-Hijr 15:9.

But the truth is much more powerful.  Hold up your King James Bible and say:

"Yes, it has! Can you imagine God giving so powerful a book and the devil and his people not trying to pervert it? But we have rejected the corrupt Bible, and accepted the one that is not changed! Want to see what the unchanged Bible says?"

Now you have a way to witness from God's word.

Don't settle for man's or the Devil's words, when your true authority is the scriptures, the words of God. Who knows? By honoring God and His words, maybe you can bring salvation to this precious person deceived by Allah. May God bless you as you do.