Series summary
In my final post for the series on Islam, I would like to revisit a few of the key issues I covered during the series. I will then finish with some additional insights into sharing Jesus Christ with a Muslim.
Is Islam a violent religion? If the standard for answering this question is the Qur’an, the life of Mohammad and the Muslim rulers that followed his death, then the answer is yes. The Qur’an has multiple passages that promote the killing of pagans and people of the book (Jews and Christians) for various reasons. The Prophet Mohammad was a military leader who ordered the deaths of hundreds of individuals and the rulers who took over after his death, aggressively advanced into other countries to spread Islam by the sword. Violent Muslims have utilized all three sources throughout history to support their actions.
Theologically, Allah is far different from the God of the Bible. Islam rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and as a result, believes Jesus was simply a man that was one among many prophets who spoke for God. Mohammad was the last and greatest prophet. Muslims deny Jesus was fully God and fully man and that he died on the cross; someone (likely Judas) was substituted for Jesus and was nailed to the cross. They deny the truth of the resurrection.
Muslims believe to enter heaven they have to perform the five pillars of faith and daily be a good person. To them the Christian doctrine of salvation by grace through faith is simply false. Allah controls all who enter heaven and the Muslim lives under the burden of never having the assurance of heaven. I once asked a Muslim if he had an assurance of heaven and he said no. This led to a one hour spiritual discussion that challenged him. Grace and heaven are a good place to get into a spiritual discussion with a Muslim. It has been my experience Muslims love to talk about issues of religion.
Whenever you share your faith the Apostle Paul wrote about being thoughtful to all who need Jesus. Paul’s goal was to be sensitive to the non-Christian in order to earn the right to share the Gospel. Paul writes in, 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.” To summarize what he said, “The Gospel is offensive enough; don’t you add to it.” When sharing with a Muslim we need to be sensitive and not erect walls. The violence issue is a wall that likely will end all discussion.
When you share ask questions. This will provide the direction you need to move forward. You could ask the person do you have the assurance of heaven. When they say no share with them how through the cross they can have assurance. I have an audio teaching on my web site called, “Sharing with a ‘good’ person.” It is a true story of a one hour taxi cab ride with a Muslim driver and how I showed him good is not good enough. Learn these illustrations and you can share with just about anybody who believes heaven is earned.
Some Recommended Books:
Unveiling Islam by Ergun and Emir Caner
Answering Islam by Norman Geisler and Abdul Saleeb
The Ambassador's Guide to Islam by Alan Shlemon
Terrorism, Jihad, and the Bible by John MacArthur
Fast Facts on Islam by John Ankerberg and John Weldon
