Unbelief, Belief and Love
Scriptures to meditate and proclaim in prayer: Mt. 19:26, Jeremiah 32:27, Romans 12:1-2
It is often said that Muslims are hard to reach with the Gospel. For religious, cultural and spiritual reasons this is often true. However it is not impossible. The Bible tells us that nothing is impossible for God (Mt. 19:26). Do I agree with God that nothing is too hard for Him?
Is our attitude one of love?
Faith is important but do I also love Muslims? What is my most profound reaction when I meet them, when I see them on television? How would I react if a man in Muslim clothing came to my church? How would I react if a new believer from a Muslim background wanted to marry into my family? Would I be willing to give a thousand dollars so someone could proclaim the Gospel among Muslims? Would I be willing to sit and eat with a Muslim in a crowded restaurant? Have I been involved in criticizing them without knowing them? Am I fearful of Muslims? Is my main attitude toward them one of mistrust? Am I able to do as Jesus says, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”? Is this my desire, is this my goal?
Prayer Starters:
Be honest with God. Pray as He directs you. (Use the scriptures cited above.) If it seems appropriate, pray for yourself and / or other believers around the world who may also be struggling with their attitudes, ideas and actions toward Muslims. Scriptures: Mt. 19:26, Jeremiah 32:27, Romans 12:1-2
A believer’s testimony
and some significant questions about Islam and Muslims
The author of the following paragraph loves Muslims very much.
“I want you to know that I have personally survived two attempts by Muslim extremist crowds to lynch me. Once in 1986 because I was a Westerner and once because of my witness concerning Jesus Christ in 1989. I have received more death threats from Muslim extremists than I can count. I have been arrested, I have had my home searched and my Bibles have been confiscated. The police have interrogated me about my faith and witness. I have close friends who have been tortured. I think I can honestly say that I have earned the right to say that I am not naïve about Muslim extremism. But I want to ask: What does our Christian faith say about the attitude we should have as believers toward Islam and Muslims in the world today?”
“I have received more
death threats from Muslim
extremists than I can count.”
Images we have
Joseph, the author of the previous paragraph, asks other questions: What image springs to the mind of most Christians when they think about Muslims? The Twin towers? Osama bin Laden? Are we called to defend “Christian civilisation” or are we willing to lay down our lives in love for Muslims and share with them the Good News of Jesus? Are we interested in self preservation or self-giving for the Gospel? Joseph believes that the Christian faith is primarily costly discipleship to Jesus Christ the Crucified. What do we believe? (See 1 Peter 3:15, Mark 8:34-35, Mt. 5:39 and 44.)*
In the words of Floyd McClung, there is a life-giving way to think and act concerning Islam and Muslims:
Radical Prayer – Pray with love and faith for Muslims to experience the mercy and grace of God.
Persevering Faith – Believe God to raise up committed, trained believers to take God’s message to Muslims and establish new groups of believers.
Extreme Sacrifice – The militancy of Muslims is best responded to by sacrificial love and a willingness to suffer and even die to make Jesus known.
Rather than responding in fear or disdain toward Muslims, McClung believes we should respond in the opposite spirit, in an attitude of Christ-like love. The “30 Days” movement shares this belief.
* Taken from the book “From Seed to Fruit,” pages 318-323. Published by William Carey Library, Pasadena, CA 2008.
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I come from Indonesia, a country where more than 75% of the population is Muslim. It seems that you can’t go anywhere without meeting or bumping into a Muslim. We have churches in Muslim neighborhoods. When we eat out, the tables surrounding us in the crowded restaurant are full of Muslims. When we get on a crowded bus, the passengers around us are mostly Muslim. I went to a public high school where almost all the students were Muslim (Christians comprised only about 10% of all the students). Increasingly, when I meet an old schoolmate she will be wearing a hijab/jilbab or Muslim headscarf. Living with this as a fact of life in Indonesia is inevitable.
So, loving our Muslim cousins is a must. If we should contribute thousands of dollars to proclaim the Gospel to them, so be it. If a man (or woman) in Muslim clothing attends our church, we welcome them with open arms. If a new believer from a Muslim background wanted to marry into my family, why not?
I work in Sierra Leone, and a Muslim workmate I shared a book with, has come to me to say that for the past three weeks, he has been seeing me in his dreams.
I need your advice and your prayers
Praise God Beryl, that is wonderful.
My advise is to take it slow with your friend. Explain that if he has been seeing you in his dreams then God must be saying something important to him. The more he understands the importance, the more he is likely to listen to your message!
This is really great, what a joy.
Yes, I will include you and your workmate in prayer. This is so exciting and encouraging to hear. Please update and follow-up with us.
Meet Muslims.. get to know muslims.. especially if you live in the west. you may find like my son did that “hey mum, they are just normal people.. just like you and me”.
and they are.. they laugh, they cry, family is important to them, they give of their belongings in charity to the poor, they hurt when things go wrong and they rejoice when things go right.. but most of all .. they worship God.. with an intensity and love that you must know them to understand and appreciate.
This Ramadhan get to know a Muslim .. this is my challenge to everyone. .Only then will you really know what they believe and why.
Carol,
Muslims may be good people, but so are Mormons and JWs. The problem is that the Christian God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, something that Muslims adamantly and violently deny. Yes, Jesus tells his followers to love their enemies. But let’s not forget that they are enemies in sheep’s clothing. The religion of Islam is a domineering religion, that requires everyone else to submit to them and not offend them, even if it is only stating that Jesus is the Lamb of God who died to take away the sins of the world. Can you tell me why some Christians are more concerned with telling others to love Muslims than with those of other anti-Christ religions? Jesus would call a spade a spade, and he would rebuke Muslims for their self righteousness just like he did with the Jews of his day.
Joe,
I’m wondering how many Muslims you have spoken to? I assure you , none that I know are self rightous in the least.. infact they are very concerned about their appearance before God on Judgement Day. They are anything but self righteous..
The West Minister Confession of faith states that we were created to :”worship God and enjoy Him forever” .. This is the desire of the Muslim .. to worship God in every part of their life and to please Him with their lives..
I liken the desire for an Islamic way of life to that which Jesus Himself discussed when he spoke of “the kingdom of heaven”. He spoke more about what the world should look like and how we should live on this earth. .. and the consequences for not doing that. This is the way Islam looks at the world.. even if it’s misunderstood by the majority of the world
I think Joe, you need to not generalise your responses about “violently deny”.. yes the Fatherhood of God is denied? but violently? The Oneness of God is the basis for all belief in God.. there is a definite divergence of belief .. but violent? by the majority of the world’s Muslims?
Carol,
You act like Muslims are the same as Christians. Muslims believe in a false god and they live by a system of works righteousness. All the righteousness they have before God is self righteousness. No one is made righteous before God by works, but through faith in the finished work, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Muslims don’t even follow the law and the prophets that Jesus spoke of. They have a whole new set of laws and regulations, something they think is superior to that of the Jews, Christians, and every other religion for that matter. I hope you are not starting to think Islam is the way, the truth and the life.
After living and working in Muslim countries in Central Asia for 4 years, working with Somali Muslims in Seattle for 3 years, and in outreach to Arab, Somali, and Urdu Muslims in Seattle, Portland and California on occasions, as well as spending much time reading and studying about Muslim beliefs, what I said is not generalizations, it comes from study and from experience. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I think it is time for Christians to stop playing around and pretending that we are one and same with Muslims. Islam is one and the same with every other false religion that denies the deity of Christ, the Father hood of God, the personality of the Holy Spirit (ie. the Trinity), and salvation by grace through faith in the atoning sacrifice at the cross.
The reason why we have to pretend we are like them is so that they don’t become angry and violent when they find out how much we disagree with them. What I have discovered is that the average Muslim who doesn’t know much about what they believe or why they believe it will listen to the message of grace with interest, but when one of the Mosque leaders comes along, or gets involved, it quickly turns into a confrontation. Like the Mormons, Muslims want Christians to think they are following the same God & Jesus, but they are not and we don’t help anyone by hiding the truth.
Joe,
I do worship the same God now I worshipped as a Christian. Why wouldn’t I believe that? I have loved and known God for well over 30 years and i am worshipping Him now as a Muslim.
The thing that changed dramatically for me, was the way I worshipped Him
Islam and Christianity are not the same.. however Islam does acknowledge that Jesus or Isa is the Prophet of God and that the Quran came to confirm the books that came before it as originally given by God to the Prophets who bought them.
You are so wrong in your understanding of Islam and the way people act and feel as Muslims.. there is so much that is cultural in many asian and african muslims and I hear it myself now that I live and worship amongst them.
But this is NOT Islam. Islam is submission to God.. and it’s lived out by acting as if you love you Him .. what you call self rightous ness is NOT that. Jesus Himself told you to do acts in his name.. Muslims give water, food and live their life doing good deeds as an act of worship not self rightousness.. belief in God as One God is the criteria that all mankind will be judged by..
The hadiths state that belief in God on Judgement Day will be worth more than all other deeds.. bad and good. This is why a Muslim at death declares the Oneness of God.
BTW the Arabic word for God is Allah.. so Christian Arabs call Him Allah. How many Creators are there?
Your reprobation of others who do not believe as you do is most disturbing, Joe. The irony here is delicious: you judge others for faith in a putatively “false” god when you yourself are so convinced of the veracity of the theological patrimony that forms the basis for your own beliefs. Even by taking prima facie the foundational texts of any of the religions you mentioned it is easy to figure out that they are all spurious; one’s credulity is tested further the more one reads.
While I do have utmost respect for truth, I realise the value in adopting an ecumenical disposition. However, I am truly appalled by ideas such as those espoused in your posts, and the sheer consternation jolts me into responding to something I otherwise would have ignored. Any solipsistic, a priori doctrine that divides people and does nothing to further humanity as a whole does not deserve respect simply because the locus of your world-view rests on it.
I read to understand others points of view (not to mention the procleptic advantages). That does not stop me from expressing my own views when I feel it is necessary. This is such a case. Your histrionics are truly stultifying and provide anecdotal evidence for our geneological proximity to the lesser evolved of our primate cousins.
My husband and I, with our children. are joining you in praying for 30 days. We are also including excerpts and daily links from this site on our blog.
Thanks so much Maria. You have a great blog there! Good ministry. I really appreciate the lin