A Neighbor Who Takes God Seriously
About two billion people, roughly one in four on earth, are Muslims. The word Islam means submission, and a Muslim is one who submits to God. Your Muslim neighbor may pray five times a day, fast through the daylight hours of a whole month, and give to the poor as a duty. He may take God more seriously than many who call themselves Christians. That is a good place to begin a conversation, and a good reason to understand him well.
This study has three aims: to hear what Muslims believe from their own sources, to answer from Scripture, and to help you share the Gospel with a Muslim friend. It is not a study of politics or current events. Muslims are a vast and varied family. Some are devout, some are Muslim mainly by culture, and many know the Qur'an only in part. Treat what follows as a map, and then ask your friend what he believes.
Everything comes down to three questions. Who is Jesus? Did He die on the cross? Can a person know that God has forgiven him? Islam and the Gospel answer all three differently, and John gathered all three into a few lines.
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”1 JOHN 5:11–13 · KJV
We can honor a Muslim friend's devotion and still tell him plainly that he that hath not the Son of God hath not life (1 John 5:12). Respect does not require silence, and truth does not require contempt.
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For Deeper Study
- Reasoning from the Scriptures with MuslimsAmazon Ron RhodesA conversational guide to the main points of difference, with passages to read together. Evangelical and dispensational.
- Seeking Allah, Finding JesusAmazon Nabeel QureshiA former Muslim's moving account of how he came to trust Christ, and a window into a devout Muslim home.
- No God but One: Allah or Jesus?Amazon Nabeel QureshiThe same author compares the two faiths and weighs the evidence for the cross and the deity of Christ.
- Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the CrossAmazon Norman L. Geisler and Abdul SaleebA careful explanation of Muslim beliefs and a reasoned Christian response.
- The Meaning of the Glorious KoranAmazon Marmaduke PickthallThe primary source, in the English translation quoted in this study. The translator was a Muslim. Read what your friend's book actually says before you answer it.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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Engaging Other Religions
Sincerity is not the same as truth: every religion makes exclusive claims, and Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father.
Open Doctrine