This month, I had the privilege and joy to visit a Muslim majority country as a tourist to celebrate my 10th anniversary with my wife (2 years late). We had a wonderful trip. The stories of the Christians we met were encouraging, the rich history was enchanting, the monuments were breathtaking, and the artifacts were incredible. Even the food was great. I immediately settled into the good-natured humor of the locals, but my heart broke for them. It was hard to stomach the reality that 80% of the people I met were deeply rooted in darkness and were without the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is perfectly loving and kind, but His teachings would be considered intolerant by many in the world today. Jesus pointedly said that He is the only way to God and that anyone who does not believe in Him will die in their sins (John 8:24; 14:6).
Remaining silent about personal beliefs may seem like the right thing to do around people of other religions, but true love requires truth. It is a hard truth to swallow, but anyone who dies outside of Christ will be separated from God in Hell for eternity. Moreover, Paul’s words to the Romans teach that the message of the Gospel must be preached and believed in order for anyone to receive salvation from God’s wrath on the final day of judgment. Paul writes,
For “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” (Romans 10:13-15).
So, if Muslims must be reached, and God has entrusted to us the work of reconciling them to Himself, how should we go about it? What is the best way to reach a Muslim? This is an interesting question because, just as Christians come in all shapes and sizes, Muslims are not cookie-cutter copies of each other. In my experience, witnessing to African Muslims in Uganda is very different from witnessing to them in majority-Muslim countries, which also stands apart from preaching to progressive Muslims in the Western world of the United States. Therefore, I cannot tell you exactly how you should talk to every Muslim you ever meet. Instead, I would love to share the tips I have learned from witnessing to the lukewarm Muslims of Gulu, in the hopes that some of them will translate to your outreach attempts in your context.
Directness – I have learned that Muslims are generally direct people. Furthermore, it has come to my attention that shyness to converse about religion is often taken as unbelief by Muslims. Therefore, I have learned to partner the kindness of my tone and candor with very direct words. That is why I always begin my conversations by simply asking, “What made you decide to be a Muslim?” or “What would you think about becoming a Christian?”
Herd Mentality – I have also learned that Muslims are very communal people. Every time I ask a Muslim those questions, I always, without fail, receive a response along the lines of “I am a Muslim because my people are Muslim,” and “I cannot become a Christian because my family is Muslim.” I love this response because it really opens the door for the Gospel when I give my patented answer, “That’s great, what would you think of your whole family becoming Christians?!”
Theological Confusion – In my context, many Muslims do not actually know their own doctrine, and oftentimes, the little knowledge I have about their religion is greater than theirs. That is why Muslims in my context nearly always pivot the conversation to universalism, claiming that Christians and Muslims worship the same God anyway. To this, I predictably respond with either “Oh, you worship Jesus as God, too?” or “You believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, too?” (I know they don’t, but I like catching them off guard).
The Lynchpin – At that point in the conversation, I always bring up the crux of the issue, Jesus’ resurrection. Once it is established that I want the person and their entire family to come to Christ and that we do not already worship the same God, I always point out the major difference between Christians and Muslims: Jesus resurrected from the dead, and Mohamed did not. At this point, many Muslims will point out their belief that Jesus did not actually die, but Allah just tricked people into believing that He did (Surah An-Nisa 4:157), to which I would respond, “Why do you want to follow a deceiver?” However, most Muslims in my context do not know what Islam teaches about Jesus’ death or resurrection, so I simply continue the conversation by pointing out the fact that you can visit Mohamed’s cadaver under the Green Dome in Saudi Arabia, but Jesus’ Garden Tomb in Jerusalem is still empty. After pointing this out, I always follow it up by saying that I would rather follow someone who defeated death than someone who was defeated by it.
The decision – After pointing out how I would rather follow a live person than a dead one, I always cut to the chase and make the decision plain by stating the fact that we cannot both be right. I kindly and calmly say, “We have to take this seriously, because one of us is right and one of us is wrong. If you're right, I will go to Hell. But if I’m right, you will go to Hell. But I know Jesus is right, that He is God, and that we should follow Him because He proved Himself by rising from the dead.”
Now, it is important to note that I have never had anyone decide to accept Christ on the spot as a result of this conversation, but immediate conversion is not really my goal. Rather, my hope is to plant seeds. I want to plant the seed of doubt in Islam, because it is a false religion that cannot obtain salvation. I want the idea that their whole family could change religions to hold fast in their minds. I want them to dwell on the eternal weight of their decision. Most importantly, I want Muslims to consider the implications of Jesus’ resurrection!
In Christ,
Pr. Matt Harris
P.S.
If you would like to know more about reaching out to Muslims, you should look into the following things:
1. The Islamic Dilemma – Islam cannot be true because the Quran affirms the Bible, which denies the theological claims of the Quran. (So, if the Quran is false, it’s false, and if it’s true, it’s still false).
2. The Fatherhood of God – One of the tragedies of Islam is that it bluntly denies the Fatherhood of God. Muslims are often intrigued and confused by the prospect of relating to God as a Father.
3. The Justice of God – The Gospel, Jesus taking the wrath of God’s justice upon Himself so that He can give us God’s grace, is the only way to explain the harmony of perfect justice coinciding with perfect mercy (See Rom. 3:26). However, the god of the Muslims does not have perfect justice as he grants everlasting life arbitrarily.
4. The Picture of Marriage – Good Christian marriages are glorious pictures of God’s personal relationship with humankind: unhindered communication, undying affection, mutual pleasure, self-sacrificial care, willing responsibility, grateful submission, beauty, fun, and love. Contrastingly, orthodox Muslim marriages depict the Islamic concept of God’s relationship with man: distant and stale subjugation with one-directional pleasure.
P.P.S.
If you are going to talk to Muslims, make sure you can articulate and defend the doctrines of the Trinity and the Hypostatic Union!
Login To Leave Comment