Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?

Believers need to be clear about the fundamental difference


Is this true?


<aside class=”right font-alt pullquote”>”Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God. Christians worship the triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and no other god.”</aside> The Christian’s answer to that question must follow the example of Christ. Jesus Himself settled the question when He responded to Jewish leaders who confronted Him after He had said “I am the light of the world.” When they denied Him, Jesus said, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also” (John 8:19). Later in that same chapter, Jesus used some of the strongest language of His earthly ministry in stating clearly that to deny Him is to deny the Father.




There is historical truth in the claim of “three Abrahamic religions” because Judaism, Christianity and Islam all look to Abraham as a principal figure and model of faith. But this historical truth is far surpassed in importance by the fact that Jesus explicitly denied that salvation comes merely by being one of “Abraham’s children” (John 8:39-59). He told the Jewish leaders who rejected Him that their rejection revealed that they were not Abraham’s true sons and that they did not truly know God.





Evangelical Christians understand that, theologically, there is a genetic link between Judaism and Christianity. That is why Christians must always be humbled by the fact that we have been grafted onto the promises first made to Israel. In terms of both history and theology, there is no genetic link between Christianity and Islam. The Quran claims that to confess Jesus Christ as the divine Son and the second Person of the Trinity is to commit blasphemy against Allah.


We must also understand that the most basic issue is the one Jesus answered with absolute clarity. One cannot deny the Son and truly worship the Father. There is no question that the Muslim is our neighbor, but there is no way to remain faithful to Scripture and the Gospel and then claim that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. ©2016 R. Albert Mohler Jr.



 This article originally appeared at Used by permission of R. Albert Mohler Jr. , a theologian and an ordained minister, is president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as the Joseph Emerson Brown Professor of Christian Theology at Southern Seminary and is the author of several books.