Conversation with
Muslims about Christ
Should
Every Muslim
Who Becomes a Christian Die?
Abd al-Masih
GRACE-AND-TRUTH
All Rights Reserved
Order Number: FPB
8008 ENG
2nd Edition 2003
English Title: Should
Every Muslim Who Becomes a Christian Die?
Grace-and-Truth l P.O.Box
2904 l Weirton,
WV 26062 l USA
Internet:
www.grace-and-truth.org
e-mail:
info@grace-and-truth.org
The apostle Paul confesses with all those
who converted from Judaism and Islam to Christ: For your sake we face death
all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered (Psalm 44:22),
but, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans
8:36-37).
The apostle of the nations confirmed this
confession by his death when he was beheaded in the year 63 AD, just like
James, the brother of Jesus, who had been killed a year earlier. Peter, too, is
said to have been crucified upside down in Rome in 64 AD. The risen Lord gives
some of his followers the privilege of participating in his suffering (Romans
5:3-5; Philippians 1:20-23; 2:16-17; Colossians 1:24; 2 Timothy 2:10-13; 1
Peter 4:16.19).
Dying, as Paul writes,
is a complex term, just as overcoming comprises all fields of thought
and life of the justified ones. Converts from Islam should give up their former
culture and the spirit of their religion step by step, as they grow in faith
until they are fully integrated in Jesus Christ and his church.
Whoever talks to Muslims about Jesus Christ
and his salvation can find that there are three steep barriers to
surmount by any spiritual counselor who wants to tackle the main problems of
Islam.
First of all, a Muslim
rejects any concept of the divinity of Jesus Christ. With this attitude
he excludes himself from recognizing and knowing God as Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. He rejects the unity of the Holy Trinity and separates himself from the
completed redemption. He denies justification by grace and does not want to
hear much of the privilege of rebirth. A witness to Christ must therefore ask
Jesus for helpful ways and methods to persuade a Muslim that the son of Mary is
the Son of God who has saved us from our sins.
He who has the Son has life; he who does
not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12)
It is neither wise nor helpful to start a
conversation with a Muslim by insisting at once that Christ is the Son of God,
because many Muslims misunderstand this expression as a biological fathering by
Allah through Mary, and react negatively to it.
The second obstacle for a Muslim to understand
Christ and his redemption is the rejection of his crucifixion (Sura
al-Nisa' 4:157). A Muslim does not grasp the meaning of the death of Jesus in
our place, nor of his expiatory sacrifice and our purification from all sins.
No Muslim will therefore find forgiveness of his sins so long as he rejects the
crucified Christ! Whoever talks to Muslims about the creation and the
judgement, about Abraham and Moses, about Christ's miracles and his ascension
to God has not yet touched on the core of the problem. We should help the
Muslim understand that he is a sinner. Then we can explain to him that Christ
has taken away our sins (John 1:29-31).
The third barrier that makes it
impossible for a Muslim to believe in God, his Father, is his deep suspicion
that the Bible is forged. By this blow below the belt, the spirit of
Islam has knocked out the trust of many Muslims in the Torah and the Gospel.
They believe that whatever the Jews and the Christians say are fairy tales,
fables and errors. Whoever wants to help a Muslim to grasp salvation that has
been completed for him in Christ, has to create in him trust that the Bible is
the true word of God and the changeless revelation.
These three obstacles are not merely
intellectual problems that could be cleared by logical proofs and fitting
arguments in the Islamic style. Here we find anti-Christian seductions and
collective chains that can only be loosened by grace in the power of the Holy
Spirit. Prayers – with faith that these prayers will be heard – is just as
important in outreach among Muslims as is a testimony in humility and truth,
guided by the Spirit. The love of Jesus Christ, however, remains the language
that penetrates the darkest prison.
When someone in the name of Jesus has
surmounted these three preliminary barriers of Islamic rejection, he may have
reached the central problem of Islam. The concept of Allah determines
Islamic culture in all fields, in faith, life, law and habits. It cannot,
however, overcome their fear of death, or their trembling at the coming day of
judgement. All fields of Islam are concentrated in Allah. A Muslim is more or
less a small image of his Allah. Whoever wants to help him outflank Islam must
explain the Father of Jesus Christ as the spiritual answer of the Gospel
to the understanding of Allah.
A Muslim confesses in his testimony of
faith: There is no God except Allah. Allah is only one, never
three! He is immeasurably great, unreachably far and the only powerful one. All
theological thoughts about him are insufficient and wrong. His names and
attributes overlap and sometimes cancel each other out. No human intellect can
grasp the Sublime One. He has predestined everything and demands total
submission of everyone. Allah is not a god of boundless love. He seduces
whomever he wants, and he guides rightly whomever he wants (Suras al-An'am
6:39; al-Ra'd 13:27; Ibrahim 14:4; al-Nahl 16:93; al-Fatir 35:8; al-Muddathir
74:31). He is not a god of truth, because he calls himself the most cunning of
all (Suras Al 'Imran 3:54; al-Anfal 8:30; al-Nisa' 4:142). He is the proud one
(Sura al-Hashr 59:23). His mercy is bestowed only on god-fearing Muslims who
offer their money and fight for the spread of Islam (Suras al-Baqara 2:195; Al
'Imran 3:76,134,148,159; al-Ma'ida 5:13,43,93; al-Tawba 9:4,7,108; al-Mumtahana
60.8 et al.). The spirit of Islam hates the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
and rejects Trinity absolutely (Sura al-Ikhlas 112:1-4, et al.).
The central answer of the gospel to the
Islamic understanding of Allah is the Father of Jesus Christ. The
almighty God is our Father who has bound himself forever to us, the
sinners who were made of dust, by the covenant of his Son Jesus Christ, who has
anointed us with his Holy Spirit. Our gospel does not teach us a faraway,
unreachable and incomprehensible Allah, but shows us the near and personal
Father. He cares for every one individually and knows us better than we
ourselves do. He has even counted the hair on our heads (Matthew 10:30; Luke
12:7). He sacrificed H
The difference between Islam and
Christianity is as great as the difference between Allah and the Father of
Jesus Christ. The conversion of a Muslim will lead, sooner or later, to a
separation from and then a rejection of the heartless, arbitrary Allah, until
the seeker is saved by falling into the outstretched arms of our Father in
heaven.
Such a transition does not only happen
intellectually, but by the entire existential transformation of a person. All
fields of life should be reformed into the image of the Father. On becoming a
Christian it is impossible for a Muslim to remain in his Islamic culture with
its anti-Christian spirit for a long time. All fields of his existence
have to be directed towards the Father. In prayer, he learns to talk to his
Father who will answer him in the Bible. When a Muslim becomes a child of God,
he must take off Muhammad and put on Christ! He will receive the privilege of
growing into the culture of Jesus Christ and become a member in the family of
our Father in heaven. This means the denial of his former life and a renewal
through the Holy Spirit. Taking the first step at the outset means entering
into a spiritual world unknown to Islam. The Spirit of our Father wants to
penetrate all fields of his life. Without sanctification nobody will see the
Lord! Without renewal no one can abide in Christ. That change remains an
act of grace of our Father, as long as we listen to His Son and thank Him for
calling us.
If someone does not separate himself from
Allah, but also tries at the same time to bind himself to God the Father, the
new faith only stays in his head, but does not reach his heart. Many a
conversion stops halfway. One convert said, "I have recognized and
believed that Allah is my father in heaven, who granted me everlasting
life." That man tried to reconcile Islam with Christianity. He was a
Christian with the Christians, but on seeing his wives with their children and
their relatives he turns Muslim among Muslims. The outcome was a kind of spiritual
schizophrenia. A clear distinction between light and darkness, between
death and life, is in the long run imperative. The link by faith with Jesus
Christ compels a Muslim to turn away from Allah, and to abide in the Father.
But most Muslims hesitate to complete that turning away at once; they do it
mostly step by step, as they grow in faith. But there is no getting home
without turning around.
In the Qur'an the word "grace"
occurs 38 times. Muslims believe that they are living under the permanent grace
of Allah. But in Islam, grace means something different from the Bible. Allah's
mercy rests on those Muslims who are strong, successful, healthy and honorable.
Someone who has many sons, herds, cars, racing camels and money has been
privileged be Allah in receiving grace upon grace. Allah led Muhammad toward Zainab,
the wife of his adopted son Zaid, while still married to him (Sura al-Ahzab
33:37That development is called a grace of Allah!
In the gospel, however, grace means, first,
forgiveness of all guilt! Jesus freely grants us righteousness, because he
suffered and died in our place. Often, lowly, sick, old and sad people grasp
this grace of God faster than the rich, the strong and the beautiful, who
remain spiritually empty. "Blessed are the poor in spirit!"
(Matthew 5:3). In addition to justifying grace believers receive the gifts of
grace, which are the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians
5:22-23). A convert must learn that material riches, secular values,
worldly honor, "being right" and possessing power are often contrary
to the spiritual filial gifts we received from our Father in heaven.
In Islam there is a long catalogue of
graded sins: small sins, tolerable actions, unpopular offences, real sins, offences
against the law (Shari'a), crimes, evil deeds, great sins and unforgivable
guilt. The Qur'an teaches that a Muslim can wipe out each of his sins by
special good deeds, except those in the last category (Suras al-Tawba 9:111;
al-'Ankabut 29:7). He does not see himself as a sinner! That word would
degrade and offend his whole family! It would be considered a shame to say that
a Muslim is a sinner!
Real Christians know that they are sinners
and lost when they compare themselves with the goodness and holiness of their
heavenly Father. "Nobody is good except God" (Matthew 10:18).
We are full of faults, failures, lost and condemned in our human nature. No
human being is good in himself. The perfection of our Father proves our guilt
(Matthew 5:48). Our sins and trespasses come out of a bottomless rottenness.
Only the grace of Jesus Christ is our hope. His blood cleanses us from all our
sins, and His Spirit builds a new creature in us. If a Muslim does not
recognize his rottenness in the light of God he does not know that he is a
hopeless case, but continues to think that he does not need a savior or a
sacrifice in his place!
The Qur'an teaches Muslims that Allah is
the Almighty, the Omniscient and the All-Wise. The theological consequence out
of these attributes is that he must have predestined everyone and
everything to the smallest detail (Suras al-Furqan 25:2; al-Qamar 54:49;
al-Talaq 65:3). A child in its mother's womb is fully determined from the 40th
day of its existence (Sura al-Najm 53:32). All the sins, talents and events in
its life are programmed in advance. The Qur'an insists that Allah even
predestined all Muslims for purgatory in hell (Sura Maryam 19:71,72)!
After that, however, Allah will save some that feared him, or sacrificed
a lot of money and fought in the Holy War. A deep fatalism looms over
the Islamic world, often interrupted by emotional eruptions.
In the epistle to the Ephesians (chapter
1:3-4) Christians can read that our heavenly Father has elected us in
Jesus Christ to live a holy life before Him, in His love, in order to be
conformed to the image of His beloved Son (Romans 8:29-30). This election does not
cover us like a suffocating shroud, but it activates us so that we love,
praise and serve with zeal and uprightness. It is our Father who
predestined us in Jesus Christ, and not a tyrant-god full of capriciousness!
His basic program is seen as early as in Genesis 1:27 together with its
spiritual expansion in Matthew 5:48 and John 14:9-11.
In Islam you are officially allowed to lie
under four circumstances: in Holy War (when talking to Non-Muslims),
when two Muslims should be reconciled with one another, a husband to his wives,
and a wife to her husband. Hasty oaths can be broken (Sura al-Tahrim 66:2).
Allah himself deceives those who deceive him (Sura al-Nisa' 4:142). It
is not surprising that in the Islamic world trade and life are not based on
reliability, truth and loyalty.
Jesus said: "Let your 'Yes' be
'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one"
(Matthew 5:37). Jesus himself is truth (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit is truth
(John 14:17; 16:13). Our Father in heaven is truth (John 4:24). His word is
truth (John 17:17). A convert must – like us – learn to be true! Love without
truth would be a lie, just as truth without love would constitute
spiritual homicide. We must learn to speak the truth with love, and to
combine the service of love with the truth of the gospel.
The Qur'an allows Muslims to marry one,
two, three or four wives, as long as a man is able to care for them equally
(Sura al-Nisa' 4:3). (This law has been repealed in Turkey, Morrocco and
Tunisia). Even so, most Muslims are not able to marry more than one or two
wives because they do not earn enough money. However, marriage in Islam is not
considered to be a union of equal partners. A husband can discipline his wife,
and when she remains obstinate he can beat her (Sura al-Nisa' 4:34). The
husband stands higher than the wife, just as, in court, the testimony of two
women is of the same value as that of one Muslim (Sura al-Baqara 2:282).
In addition he is legally allowed to take concubines from his female slaves
whenever he wants. The Qur'an allows a man to rule his harem like a mini
patriarch. The unity of husband and wife to solve the problems of life together
is not a topic in Islam. Islam rather means subordination, also in marriage.
Christ confirmed monogamy as having
been ordained since creation (Mark 10:6-9). The apostle Paul confessed that a
wife shall subordinate herself to her husband, but the husband should sacrifice
himself for his wife, just as Christ sacrificed himself for His church
(Ephesians 5:21:33). The subject of a Christian marriage is not who reigns, but
who loves and serves his partner more! As great as the difference is between
Allah and the Father of Jesus Christ, so great is the difference in the
understanding of marriage and practical family life in the two religions.
In former times – and sometimes even today
– a Qur'anic teacher forced the different Suras of the Qur'an upon his pupils
with the stick. They had to learn them by heart. The teacher sat over his
pupils like a little Allah on his throne. He did not encourage individual
thinking and understanding, but more learning by heart and reciting.
Generations of Qur'an teachers have shaped Islamic culture as a static way
of thought in Muslims.
In a Christian environment, a good teacher
is a fatherly friend who tries to lead his pupils to their own understanding,
thinking, analyzing and synthesizing. His personality can form the pupils more
than his teaching. He does not sit on a throne above them, but stands among
them. Christ said of himself: "The Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew
20:28). The idea of faithful service penetrates all Christian fields of
life, rather than the desire to reign. This demands a complete turnaround, not
only in the lives of the converts from Islam, but also in every person, because
the prideful desire to be right is deeply ingrained in everyone.
In Europe people smile and
say that the one who knows what work means and does not avoid it, must be mad!
In the Orient many people live according to this principle. In Islamic
countries a worker is usually treated nearly as a slave. In rural areas, which
have not been touched by socialism yet, the landlords of farms are honored like
little gods. The dependants kiss their hands and feet. Often the workers get
their salaries two or three months late so that they can't run away. Once, when
the workers of a factory in a town went on strike, the owner simply sold his
factory and sacked all his employees.
In the Sudan, militia sometimes surrounds
villages in the south, shoot the men and take the women and children as slaves.
The law of slavery in the Qur'an and in the Shari'a has yet to be abolished.
Muslims understood themselves as a class of lords. Animists should be killed or
made slaves. Jews and Christians can exist as "protected"
second-class citizens and are allowed to serve their Islamic masters (Sura
al-Tawba 9:28-29).
Christ, however, lived among us as a
servant. He is humble and gentle. He worked as a carpenter, and not as a
trader. Jesus called penitent fishermen to follow him, who were used to hard
work. Christ does not appoint lords, but servants. Our God is gentle and full
of love. He who follows him will be conformed to his likeness. A
believing employer will care for his employees and will not exploit them.
Socialism could only grow where Christianity has prepared the way for it.
In Lebanon, parents sometimes give their
children strange names: Napoleon, de Gaulle, Bismarck, Stalin and Nasser. These
can be found on the enrolment lists in schools and on certificates. Once a
teacher called across the street to another teacher: "Hitler has not yet
paid his school fees!" When asked, he confirmed that the name of the
father of a girl was indeed Hitler. Many people in the Orient are waiting for a
strong man who will sweep away corruption with an iron broom. Gamal Abd
al-Nasser, Khomeini and Saddam Hussein were much adored dictators, followed by
the masses. "Saddam is the king of the world!" could be read sprayed
on a wall in an Islamic slum in Secunderabad, India! Muslims are waiting for
dictators, little Allahs, not for democratic presidents who can be voted in or
out. They are prepared to fight for their idols, just as Hisbollah and Hamas
sacrifice their lives for Allah.
But Jesus said, My kingdom is not of
this world. I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this I came into
the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears me (John
18:36-37). A Muslim must learn to understand what Jesus said to Peter: Put
your sword back in its place, for all who take the sword will be taken by the
sword (Matthew 26:52).
He who comes to Jesus will be changed:
The proud will become humble, the lazy industrious, the fanatic meek, and a
dictator in a family can become a servant of all. Faith in Jesus changes us
into the likeness of our Father in heaven. When we pray: "Hallowed be
thy name," this request should cause a spiritual revolution in our
hearts, in our churches and in individual converts. A spiritual change is
imperative for anybody who wants to become a mature Christian. It can only be
realized in the power and the love of our Father (Romans 5:5) through our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.
II. Remaining in or Separating from the Family?
People in the Middle East
and many Muslims in general do not function as individuals first. They are
closely connected to their families by blood, soul and custom. They live as
"we" together with their relatives in line with the same
principles, the same religion, and in a mutual responsibility for one another.
Many were married or chosen for higher studies, or entered into influential
positions in the government by the decision of the clan. Without his family or
clan the individual in the Orient is nothing and feels lost.
In big cities a person
lives lonely and detaches himself slowly from the bonds of his clan. So the
Orient today is moving away from the "we" to the "I."
Muslims are becoming individuals. But their relations with their village are
still stronger than their being absorbed in a great city.
A person in the Orient has
not yet fallen to the level of a nonentity in the masses. He does not regard
himself as a number. He has not yet slid down into being nameless like many in
the Americas and in the industrial countries of Europe. He is still a member of
his clan.
Evangelists should be
slower in calling individual Muslims to make a decision for Christ. They are
not yet an "I," but still live as part of their "we." Not
only do their own hearts have to decide, but also the other members of their
clans will have their say.
The traditional bond
within the clan is the strongest barrier for a Muslim to overcome to become a
Christian! The family does not allow him to step out of line. No speck of dust
should fall on the honor of the clan; much less can anyone of them become a
renegade, an infidel or a convert. If a Muslim becomes a communist or an
atheist that may be tolerated and considered to be a spiritual deviation in his
development. But woe upon the member of a clan who becomes a Christian! An
Islamic sect maintains that the breaking away of a son or a daughter signals
adultery of his or her mother! By all means the clan wants to impose strict
obedience on each one of its members, in regard to religion and society.
If anyone wants to
evangelize Muslims he should visit the family of an interested seeker if
possible, and not separate the individual from it. Parents and relatives should
see that the new friends are reliable and honest people. It is important to
avoid distrust since sects, parties, fanatics and gangs also try to attract
individuals.
You read in the Qur'an
that a Muslim should not make friends with Christians or Jews because they
won't leave him in peace until he becomes like them (Sura al-Ma'ida 5:52.57 et
al). But at the same time you read in the Qur'an that the Christians are
the best of the Muslims' enemies because they sympathize with them and are not
arrogant (Sura al-Ma'ida 5:82).
Experience shows that in
most cases an entire clan will not agree to be evangelized. Nevertheless we
should try, even if only in five to ten per cent of the cases an entire
household will be won over to Jesus when you approach the clan. It really
happens sometimes!
When a parent sees that a
child is reading the Bible or other Christian books they do not object to this
meditation at once but tolerate and sometimes even welcome it. In the age of
science and media everyone should be informed of everything – but not
believe and yield to it! Biblical knowledge is accepted, but they stress
that any deeper sympathy for and any spiritual binding to Christianity is
taboo.
As soon as it becomes
evident that a youngster or adult seeker is seriously interested in Christ and
His Gospel, an uncle is usually asked to talk to the person in question. The
uncle calls him back into conformity with the clan, warning him or even
threatening him in order to obtain a promise to leave the blasphemous unbelief
of the Christians.
If such a warning by the
family does not have any effect, a series of small but increasing penalties are
put into action. The pocket money is stopped, clothes are hidden, school
attendance is interrupted, letters are withheld or the postman is bribed not to
deliver them, there are beatings and tension and quarrels erupt in the family.
His friends and teachers are informed that they would put pressure on him,
physical injury through severe beating is the penultimate measure. Girls are
locked into small rooms without food and water where daily beatings enforce
their unconditional submission. In extreme cases a person is reported to the
police with false accusations, which can bring merciless torture until it
becomes clear that the crime is "only" religion and not smuggling,
homosexuality or treason. Threats of death should be taken seriously if they
come from the seeker's own family members. All this is carried out with hate,
bitterness and fear. The apostle Paul writes: "Indeed, we face death
all day long, but in all those things we are more than conquerors through
him who loved us."
In order to show how
spiritual counselors should not act in these threatening situations, we
relate the story of a true event:
In Bangladesh a foreign
missionary had found access to a group of teenager boys aged 16 to 18. Some of
them accepted Christ. The enthusiastic missionary advised them: "Go home
and tell your families that Jesus has given you eternal life!"
Nur ul-Alam was obedient,
went home and said to his father: "Daddy, Jesus has given me eternal
life!" The father stared at his son and asked: "Who has given you
what?" The boy answered: "The son of Mary has put his spirit and his
love in my heart." The father then called for his older sons: "Bring
the bamboo sticks!" and ordered them to beat their brother until the evil
spirit would leave him. Nur ul-Alam later said: "They beat me until they
were tired." Then his father came and asked: "Are you now free from
the foreign spirit that has entered you?" The son answered: "Dad, the
eternal life in me is eternal. It will not leave me." Then the father
called his brothers: "Bring the knives!" They tore the clothes off
his body and cut crosses in his skin, from the neck down to his legs. When the
boy stood in front of them bleeding, the father came again and asked: "Are
you now free from the spirit of eternal deception?" But the boy answered
in tears: "Dad, you can kill me. But I will live in eternity. The new life
in Jesus never goes out of me." Angrily the father ordered his older sons:
"Bring salt and pepper!" They rubbed hot spices into his skin from
head to foot. He screamed in pain. They cried with him because they wanted to
save him from hell. They could not endure the procedure any longer and left him
lying in the salt and pepper and left the room. After a while the boy was able
to escape into the night, he threw himself into the river to wash the spices
from his sores, found a small boat and punted to the missionary's house, knocked
on the door and waited.
When the man opened the
door and saw the blood-covered boy before him, he was shocked and said:
"It is better for you not to enter my house because they are surely after
you. Go on a few kilometers to the house of a faithful family of our community,
they will take you in." The boy, marked with many crosses, had to go out
into the night alone!
Missionaries should not
exploit young converts as multipliers with western methods, but must understand
their environment, feel and suffer with them and take responsibility for them.
A beginner in faith should
not be called on too soon to give his testimony openly; a newborn baby cannot
yet walk and talk. The new believer should first mature in word, wisdom, prayer
and love, until he – with the right words, at the right time – can confess his
new faith. Often he cannot speak openly to his family, but he can
testify through his way of living, his serving, his kindness and his prayers
that something new has entered his life.
A convert should not leave
his father's house because of tensions and pressure. If he is thrown out by the
front door he should enter by the back door. No one loves him more than his
parents! His active silence, his eloquent service and his reverence for his
parents often speak more clearly than words that could generate hatred and
anger. However, as soon as his life is in danger, the responsible spiritual
counselor, the group or the church to which the convert belongs, must take him in,
protect him and stand up for his rights. But in offering such help they must
beware of harboring underaged people, since the law does not allow it.
Partners in marriage will
be threatened with divorce if they believe in Christ. Falling away from Islam
is one of the few cases when a woman can demand divorce. In that case the
children belong to her alone. If a husband divorces his wife because of her
belief in Christ, she loses all rights to her children and can be driven from
the house. We can hardly imagine what some mothers suffer for Jesus' sake in
the Islamic world.
Muslims rarely act in such
an extreme way as to torture and to kill their own family members. Two thirds
of all Muslims are more or less liberal and care little about religion. But in
order not to lose their reputation and acceptance in the Islamic society they
cannot afford to keep a renegade in their midst. They try to separate
themselves from the one who has stepped out of line, or if possible send him
abroad.
But one third of the
Muslims vent their hatred when one of their clan members turn to Jesus. They must
punish him in order to save him, or they should try to destroy him. For
both parties it is painful when one of them becomes a Christian, but only a
minority of clans are fanatical enough and prepared to kill a renegade.
Nowadays new believers in
real danger do not wait too long, but run away before they are killed. They
hide with friends or escape to countries under assumed names.
A convert who is not yet
an independent "I" and lives in the "we" of his clan wishes
to lead his closest relatives to Jesus when he has received the spirit of
Christ's love after his conversion. But that exactly is their reason for
rejecting him and hating him all the more (John 16:1-4). Nevertheless, new
believers cling by faith to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, who challenged
the prison warder, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, so you will be saved –
you and your household" (Acts 16:31).
Should we not spare the
converts this suffering? Again and again believers ask: "If turning to
Jesus causes such pain, isn't it more merciful to let Muslims remain in their
own religion?" If one argues in that way he has understood neither
Muhammad nor Christ. In Islam there is no salvation, no assurance that sins are
forgiven, no redemption, no peace, no Holy Spirit and no life everlasting. A
Muslim without Jesus Christ is lost and spiritually dead! The Son of God alone
was able to say, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes
to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). There is no way to the
true God apart from the cross! If you want to keep converts from suffering you
are like Peter who wanted to keep Jesus from going to the cross (Matthew
16:22-23). The severe answer of Jesus applies to all those who want to keep new
believers from suffering.
Our Lord clearly says, "Everyone
who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or
fields for me and the Gospel will receive a hundred times as much and will
inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:28-30; Mark 10:29; Luke 18:29). Jesus even
goes a step further and says, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more
than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more
than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow
me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:37-38; 16:24-25; Luke
9:23-26; John 12:25).
It is easy to speak or
write these words to others, but it is very hard to endure them. Therefore it
is our plain duty to accept all believers who are persecuted for Jesus' sake
into our spiritual family and care for them until they can care for themselves.
At the time when a convert
is advancing spiritually and is breaking away from the "we" of his
clan, he faces special temptations which he has to overcome, although still a
beginner in faith.
As a Muslim, a convert had
thought that all revealed books like the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel and the
Qur'an come from the original book in heaven and harmonize with each other. But
it does not take long until a convert finds unbridgeable differences between
the Bible and the Qur'an. The Gospel testifies that Christ is the Son of God 50
times, the Qur'an denies it 17 times. The last day in Jesus' life is reported
most exactly with all his suffering and death. But the Qur'an claims, "They
did not kill him, they did not crucify him. It only was made to appear so to
them" (Sura al-Nisa' 4:157). The Gospel reveals 187 times that God is
the Father and our Father. The Qur'an, however, says that Allah is no father,
and there is none like him (Sura al-Ikhlas 112:1-4). In the Bible we read about
monogamy, about divorce being forbidden, about forgiving one's enemies, and
about the Holy Spirit dwelling in those who follow Christ. In the Muslims' Holy
Book, however, Allah allows polygamy, divorce is a right of the husband
whenever he likes, there is a divine duty for revenge or for paying blood
money, and it is impossible for anyone to receive a divine spirit – Allah alone
is great! All others are his slaves – even Jesus and the Holy Spirit!
The convert therefore is
confronted by the question: Which book holds the true revelation and which one
is a hoax or a lie? That question need not come from outside. It rises within
him, from the heart. We should not give neat answers. He himself must recognize
the truth, in order to be able to withstand the attacks of his clan and his
friends. We must accompany him in prayer, to guide him to helpful passages in
the Bible, to think with him in all his difficulties, until he himself
recognizes through the Word of God: The Bible alone is the true Word of God! It
is full of life and power. The Qur'an is misleading, it is a forged revelation
and the product of an anti-biblical spirit.
A second temptation can
affect the spiritual existence of a new believer. The Qur'an indicates that three
sins can never be forgiven:
Everyone is cursed who adds another
god to Allah (Sura al-Tawba 9:29).
Everyone who leaves Islam and becomes
a Christian is cursed three times (Sura al-Baqara 2:161).
The wrath of Allah falls on the one who kills a Muslim on purpose, without
a reason for revenge (Sura al-Nisa' 4:93).
Whoever invites a Muslim to Jesus, at
the same time calls him to commit two unforgivable sins, which in Islam
correspond to the sin against the Holy Spirit in the Gospel. If a Christian
would be asked to blaspheme against the unity of the Holy Trinity, he would not
contemplate but indignantly refuse it. The inner obstacle that a convert must
overcome is similar. He must voluntarily sin against something that was sacred
to him before, in order to gain Christ and eternal life. We should never press
him to make a hasty decision, but should accompany him with prayers and
counseling, and help him to get deeply rooted, assured and comforted in the
Gospel (Romans 8:14-16; 1 Corinthians 12:2-3).
For Islamic ears there are
several warnings in the Qur'an to the effect that everyone who breaks off from
Islam will lose the merits of his good deeds and have nothing to show at
Allah's judgement that could balance out his sins (Suras al-Kahf 18:105;
al-Zumar 39:65; et al.). But Christ assures him: "My grace is
sufficient for you! Your deeds are not enough to justify you anyway. My shed
blood is your righteousness!"
The bitter pill that every convert must
swallow is the verdict that, according to the Shari'a, a renegade must
"die" (Sura al-Baqara 2:217). Strangely enough, the Qur'an does not
say that he must be "killed". This fact led the Islamic lawyers to
look into Muhammad's traditions as to whether any of his "oral"
statements required the killing of a renegade by an Islamic state. But since
sentencing a Muslim to death for a reason that is not clearly mentioned in the
Qur'an is not legal, the lawyers have pushed through the order to kill
converts by way of consensus of the Islamic legalists. They differ only
in the question on how long the period for reflection in prison may be before
executing the death sentence. Some say three days, others a whole month, during
which Islam should again be explained to an apostate to bring him back to his
roots. If he definitely refuses the repeated call, the death penalty should be
carried out.
Most Islamic states, however, do not
carry out the execution of the converts! Universal human rights oppose the
Shari'a. Therefore liberal Islamic states refuse to execute that Islamic
law. They point to the one single verse in the Qur'an that speaks of the
"death" of a convert only, but not of "executing" or
"killing" him (Sura al-Baqara 2:217). "Allah will judge him and
will let him die one day; the government does not have the mandate to kill
him," some legal advisers state.
Fundamentalists among the Muslims however think
differently. They demand the total implementation of the Shari'a at once and
the execution of every single renegade without mercy. For that reason new
believers in Christ accused of untrue suspicions, are imprisoned, examined,
tortured, and their release is held back for months, until eventually foreign
politicians or presidents put in their word to get them set free. When they
were in prison, some of them were promised: if you again confess the Islamic
creed twice you will be released at once. One imprisoned mother replied,
"I prefer to remain arrested with Jesus Christ instead of looking after my
children without Christ." When the father, for his children's sake,
confessed the Islamic creed twice, they laughed at him and told him, "You
only pretended to have accepted Islam again for your children's sake. In your
heart you remain a Christian. So you will not be set free."
Most Christians in the West and in Korea
have no idea what it legally means for a Muslim to become a Christian. While
liberal states may not kill the apostate, his fundamentalist clan is obliged to
wipe the disgraceful spot off their name and to kill the 'godless' character.
In Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and other conservative Islamic states, the
death penalty is publicly carried out with proven apostates. The former King of
Morocco, Hassan II, when questioned by a delegation from Amnesty International,
answered with the following: "In our country we have the basic law: Allah,
the king and the country. When somebody comes and maintains that there is a
better religion than Islam, we have to examine him at the hands of medical
specialists to see whether he is still right in his mind. If this is the case
and he goes on propagating his unbelief we have to punish him."
The most wily temptation a new believer
will face comes from the part of benevolent missionaries. In the Qur'an they
came across two verses claiming that all followers of Christ are Muslims (Suras
Al 'Imran 3:52; al-Ma'ida 5:111). Those naive readers of the Qur'an, however,
did not see that these two verses were an open trap, laid by Muhammad, for a
Christian delegation from Northern Yemen. In these verses he let the apostles
of Christ confess that they were good Muslims already, so that the bishop and
the king from Wadi Nadjran should understand: If the apostles of Jesus were
Muslims – then we also should be Muslim-Christians! Then we will be left in
peace and not be persecuted. But the king and the bishop were spiritually alert
and did not fall into the trap. They remained Christians and were subjugated
and driven out from their country a few years later. Today Muhammad's tempting
whisper has been spread in all the Islamic countries again: "You need not
turn to Christ openly and one-sidedly. Believe in Allah and also in Muhammad!
You can be a Muslim and a Christian at the same time. Just as there are
Messianic Jews, there can be Muslim Christians, too!"
Those false prophets know neither Islam nor
have they considered the decisive words of Jesus and the Apostle Paul. Islam is
an anti-Christian spirit (1 John 2:21-25 and 4:1-5) and represents a
wrong revelation through a fallen angel (Galatians 1:8-9). Muslims are bound in
a collective spirit and need to be released through the power of Christ. If you
think you can evangelize Muslims without the crucified Son of God you will be
judged by the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:32-33; 16:23-25; Romans 1:16-17; 1
Corinthians 1:18-24 et al.
The late Sudanese President, Turabi,
exploited these two verses from the Qur'an and officially announced that all
Christians in Sudan were Muslims and that Christian men could marry
Sudanese Muslim girls. In doing that he followed the footsteps of Balaam who
advised Balak to identify his people by mixed marriages with the Israelites.
Thus the customs of the clan would swallow up all Israelites within a few years
(Numbers 31:16; 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11; Revelation 2:14). Turabi was condemned
by Saudi-Arabian religious jurists for his anti-Islamic approach.
The aim of the teachers of
contextualization is obvious. If a convert appears as a Muslim and remains a
Muslim, but is a Christian at the same time, he will not suffer persecution,
pain and death, and he will deliver his church from trouble, danger and
sacrifice. But those teachers ignore the fact that one cannot mix water and
fire, and that night flees from day. Dusk appears only as a transition, not as
a permanent state of affairs!
In Egypt, a contextualizing missionary won
an officer of the secret service for Jesus and assured him that he could remain
a Muslim and be a Christian at the same time. The officer found this idea
thrilling because that way the doors to both social classes were opened to him.
He won numerous Muslims for this syncretistic way. But one and a half years
later he felt that he was neither fish nor flesh, neither a good Muslim nor a
true Christian, and demanded to be baptized in another church. Afterwards his
colleagues from the secret service accused him of having fallen away from Islam
and punished him with all the tortures he had used before to bring back
renegades to Islam. But he remained faithful to Jesus and was able to escape
abroad with the help of friends.
A little while later the entire
contextualizing group blew up and landed in prison. The daily newspapers wrote
angrily with mocking headlines: "Christian wolves in Islamic sheepskins
try to seduce ignorant Muslims!" Foreign families in custody were set free
by the embassies of their states some weeks later and were expelled from Egypt.
Those well-meaning, credulous friends
perhaps never noticed that mission among Muslims is understood as seduction and
as a breach of peace. According to the Qur'an this offence is more severe than
murder (Sura al-Baqara 2:217). Whoever creates trouble in a country can be
killed or crucified. Also, the amputation of one of his hands and of the
opposite leg may be inflicted on him, or he could be expelled from the country
(Sura al-Ma'ida 5:33). According to the Qur'an and the Shari'a, mission is a capital
crime. The seducers as well as the seduced should be sentenced to death,
whether they acted as tentmaker missionaries or lived as Muslim-Christians.
A witness of Christ who dresses as a Muslim
and pretends to be a Muslim but actually is a servant of Christ, is considered
legally to be a renegade Muslim, according to Islamic law, and is subject to
the death penalty. In addition he is branded as hypocrite, defrauder and
heretic. According to the Shari'a he can be killed on the spot, without a
verdict.
A Muslim often does not know the detailed
laws of his Shari'a. Whoever serves among Muslims should not lead seekers to
Jesus too fast and superficially. Above all, they should not be baptized too
early. A young believer should know what it means to become a Christian.
Spiritual maturity is more important than attractive reports of the many
baptized. Quality should come before quantity!
If anyone thinks about these different
steps of how individual Muslims come out of their Islamic society, clan and
family, he can understand that a convert can identify himself with the words of
the Apostle Paul:
For your
sake
we face
death all day long;
we are
considered as sheep
to be
slaughtered.
But, in all
those things
we are more
than conquerors
through him
who loved us.
For I am
convinced
that
neither death nor life,
neither
angels nor demons,
neither the
present nor the future,
nor any
powers,
neither
height nor depth,
nor
anything else in all creation
will be
able to separate us
from the
love of God
that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans
8:36-39)
Integration into existing churches appears
often as the most sensitive part of the three great problems which
people from Islamic origin, who follow Christ, may suffer. Most Orthodox, Roman
Catholic and Protestant churches in Asia and Africa, and sometimes even in
Europe, are not inclined to accept new believers from Islam. A variety of
reasons for this decision can be listed as follows:
·
Sometimes Muslims await financial
help and are ready to change their religion like a T-shirt for the sake of some
money – but superficially, and only as long as the money lasts. "Whose
bread you eat, his song you sing!" That principle is valid in the world of
Islam, too.
·
Now and again a girl, believing in
Christ, brings along a young Muslim to be baptized, so that she can marry him.
They know that a mixed marriage is not welcomed in their society. Such an
intention may be proper on both sides, but the clan, the law and society are
against it. This kind of 'conversion' is often dishonest, and can cause a lot
of trouble.
·
According to the Islamic regulations
for minorities, any kind of missionary work among Muslims is forbidden to
native Christians (Suras al-Baqara 2:217; al-Ma'ida 5:33). A parish that
tolerates evangelism amongst Muslims by "one" of its members should
be punished and eventually shut down. We can understand that priests, pastors,
and bishops pay careful attention so that no member of their parish will
participate in any evangelistic work among Muslims openly or by mandate of the
governing body of their church, because in that case their church could be closed
by government.
·
Some foreign or national
evangelistic teams occasionally take interested Muslims to a local parish so
that the pastor can baptize them and take in the new believer. Then they are
surprised that the responsible elders show no interest and refuse to accept the
newcomer. That is understandable, for an outreach team should not work without
the knowledge of some elders, who further their service and support it.
Those elders should be informed beforehand, so that they can support the
services of the active group by their prayers and would be prepared to accept
the new believers into their families to protect them from all attacks, and
guide their further steps.
·
A bird wanting to lay an egg builds
her nest first, not the other way round! All friends who are prepared to do
evangelistic work in Islamic countries should first build prayer groups within
or outside the existing churches, which support the ensuing services, needs and
responsibilities. If one gathers such prayer groups he will see more fruit in
the long run than an adventurous type who soon will leave the field again.
There are a few people in all churches who are in favor of outreach among
Non-Christians. You must pray to find them.
If a Muslim, during his
spiritual transformation and after his painful expulsion from his clan and his
society dares to approach a fellowship of believers or a church, or tries to
contact Christians, priests or pastors, he is often deeply shocked. He
feels: they do not trust me! They think I am a beggar, or I want to seduce one
of their girls, or they suspect I am a spy! It is as if a bucket of ice-cold
water is poured out over him while he is just entering the door to
Christianity!
Of course, Muslims use a
different vocabulary in everyday life than most Christians and, if they use the
same words, they carry different meanings. They dress and behave differently
from Christians so that the natives quickly notice the differences. Both
parties feel the invisible wall.
The first thing a
convert needs is trust, understanding and love! Believing, praying brothers and
sisters should come and meet him, talk to him, invite him to their homes and
make him feel like he is a brother and belongs with them! But such an
invitation should not be made by a family with marriageable girls, because in
that case the invitation would be misunderstood.
The parish, however, ought
to be the nest where a re-born convert can feel at home. The fellowship
with those who follow Jesus is the new "we" for him, which he
seeks and which he needs after being expelled from his clan. The parish is his
new family apart from which few can survive. It is as important to prepare the
community to accept converts, as it is to actually reach out.
Elders and pastors should
not encourage nor allow the new believer to give a testimony of his faith from
the pulpit or from elevated desks. It would be counterproductive to make a
convert seem great and important - he would soon burst like a blown-up balloon.
He should be given small services in the community and responsible tasks in the
group, so that he feels that he has been accepted and treated like others. Like
us he is a justified sinner by the grace of God.
When a family of
Christians accepts a convert they should also protect him. Hospitality in the
Near East is sacred to Muslims and Christians. There was a brother who barred
the way to avenging relatives at the door and told them: only over my dead body
can you reach our fugitive brother! They retreated without success, frustrated
by the Arabic custom of hospitality.
When a Muslim becomes a
Christian and still lives in a Muslim neighborhood he will usually lose his job
because he is looked upon as being cursed by Allah, his angels and all Muslims
(Sura al-Baqara 2:161). For them, he has become unclean (Sura al-Tawba 9:28).
No Muslim should have fellowship with this eater of pork and drinker of wine
any more nor give him work!
It is an urgent task for
the pastor of a parish or an evangelistic leader to find or create jobs
for the new believers in Christ. It is not enough to invite new converts for
lunch into the families in turns. In the long run, that is a degrading matter.
Also, converts should not be handed small or large gifts of money. That would
be considered as a disgrace for an honorable Muslim! They are not beggars, but
brothers and sisters. What they need is a solid job or training for an
occupation. Some of them must even learn to work hard. There are many problems
in this area.
A pastor had his church
hall painted several times a year, in order to create work for converts. He
wanted to help them by any means. That way he gave them the feeling of having
done a valuable job. Other pastors asked them to chop wood, dig in the garden,
clean the house and the courtyard, work as messengers, type manuscripts, do
translations, sell books or do other jobs, in order to give them real work and
not just baksheesh.
Converts often lack
occupational training or a completed education at school. Some girls need
training in sewing, young men in computers, tests as a taxi driver or a
scholarship to finish school. All that costs money. That money should not be
given away unconditionally, but provided only as loans to be paid back.
In the beginning, no big sums should be given. Only when small sums have been
paid back faithfully, we may expect greater loans to be repaid. "Whoever
can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is
dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much" (Luke 16:10).
On an occasion a Muslim
appeared at a Bible society in an Islamic town and asked for Bibles to sell
them in the market on the sidewalk. When the agent hesitated, the Muslim said:
"Try me and give me two Bibles only, then I will bring back the money for
one of the Bibles, and I will keep the money for the second as my
payment." The very same day the street vendor brought the money and got
four Bibles to sell. Two days later he brought the money for two Bibles and received
eight Bibles. He was faithful with the small amounts, so that there was no risk
in trusting him later with 16 or 20 Bibles, which he sold in open market where
no Christian could dare offer Bibles.
When new jobs have to be
found or created it has proved worthwhile to have a prayer group backing the
evangelistic team. Since most of the praying people also work, they are most
likely to know where and when there are vacancies.
An evangelistic outreach
among Muslims not only means spiritual counseling but also caring for their
physical needs. After a team of Bible school students, who served on the island
of Fort Lamy in the Indian Ocean, had come back depressed and downhearted
following on a futile crusade, a young Muslim from that island appeared at the
door of one of the students a week later. He told him that he had picked up and
read one of their tracts, which had been thrown away. Simply because of his
interest in the tract, the fanatical islanders expelled him. The Bible school
student, at whose door the expelled fellow had knocked, asked his teacher:
"What shall I do with this young man now?" When he heard the answer:
"You have found a brother," he quickly answered, "Yes, a
spiritual brother!" When he was asked what he would do if his own brother knocked
on his door as a fugitive, he said, "I would open the door wide and tell
him: 'My bed is your bed and my fridge is open for you.'" When the Bible
school student was told that the expelled Muslim was not only a spiritual
but also his real brother for whom he was responsible, he bowed his head
in shame because he understood that mission among Muslims not only means
spiritual service of the Word, but also substantial sacrifices.
Anyone not yet married as
a young man or woman at 30 years-of-age in the Islamic world is looked at with
suspicion by their own clan and friends and is considered as unhealthy or
abnormal. It is necessary for any male or female convert to find a partner in
marriage who believes in Christ.
Several Muslims consider
baptism only as one of the many ablutions a Muslim should perform before
praying. But when he gets married to a Christian girl the breach between
himself and the clan and the Islamic society (Umma) is final. Marrying a
Christian woman means a deeper severance for many Muslims than baptism.
It is a pity that
Christian parents rarely let their daughters marry a convert. They fear that,
because of his Islamic background, he might beat their daughter – or worse. In
event he pronounces the Islamic creed twice while in a rage and he relapses
into Islam, all the children will belong to him only, and his wife could
inherit only one eighth of their common possessions.
On the other side, former
Muslim girls prefer to marry foreign Christians in order to be able to
emigrate. So they leave the native believers alone, unmarried. Hence the latter
are commanded to marry Muslim girls. Then the faith of a convert is in danger,
because his Muslim wife can ask for a divorce at any time since he has left
Islam, whereupon all their children and all their possessions belong to her.
Wisdom and merciful
guidance from Jesus Christ is necessary so that two believing partners – if
possible, both from Islam – find one another. Only then is a blessed family life
in the name of Jesus ensured. This could also be the basis for a new house
church. Only if both partners agree on taking the risk of secret meetings in
their flat can those meetings take place. If such meetings are discovered, both
partners can be imprisoned and their possessions confiscated. Marriage in the
name of Jesus Christ has far-reaching consequences and is a way of founding new
home churches.
The brothers and sisters
who are responsible for existing churches should provide contacts between Christian
young men and marriageable girls, so that they can meet and talk. That is quite
complicated in rural Islamic areas but no problem in big cities any more. The
way in which young men and girls live together at universities, libraries, at
airports and in parks clearly shows the trend.
An example, which looks
old-fashioned, may challenge us to do it better:
In Morocco there lived a
handsome Christian man who was the headmaster of a school. He could not find a
suitable partner for his life. So he said, "I have made 'the bond of Adam'
with God. Just as the Creator let Adam fall into a deep sleep, then took one of
his ribs, and created Eve from it, the most beautiful woman in the world, and
presented her to him afterwards, in this way I will no longer look out for a
wife, but will wait for the Lord to present me with the best of them all."
And the Lord sent him an
old missionary sister who greeted him and said, "Emir, it is time to get
married!" He replied, "Thank the Lord!" She went on, "I
have got a list with the names of 80 Christian girls who all want to marry a
follower of Christ." - "Excellent," Emir answered. The old lady
continued, "Now you choose one of these for yourself." Emir replied,
"But I don't know these girls." The missionary said, "That is unimportant.
You take your pencil, close your eyes, pray and let your hand sink on the
paper. The one on which the tip of your pencil points, that is the girl the
Lord has prepared for you." Emir uttered, "I am dying!" The old
lady answered, "Never mind. Now it is time to marry." Emir sighed,
took a pencil, let his trembling hand fall on the paper, opened his eyes and
read the name of the chosen one. "Where does she live?" he gasped.
"500 km from here, in the south, on the coast," was the answer.
"Take your car, drive down to her and tell her, 'God sent me to you so
that we can get married.'"
Half in a shock, Emir took
his car, went off, arrived at the place where she lived, found her house, rang
the bell, and – a miracle – she was home. He stammered his message and indeed –
they got married a little while later.
After some months,
however, Emir wrote to his friends: Pray for me that I may learn to love my
wife, for she has a hard head and does not want what I want, and when she wants
something, I don't want that either. Our living has become a continual dying.
As a Christian, I neither want to beat her nor divorce her. Pray that I may
learn to love my obstinate wife. Today they have several children and are a
blessed couple after having worn down each other's sharp edges.
Not everybody will admire
that old sister's method, and we neither recommend nor carry it out! But she
united more Christian partners in marriage than many clever theologians. Many a
young man has sighed and said, "Alas, may the Lord send me such an angel,
too!"
In purely Islamic
countries like Morocco, there are no civil marriages; they can only be
made in front of the sheikh in his office. But in most cases a special gift
helps him to sign the necessary paper without being present in the ceremonial
rite, so that no one has to lay his hand on the Qur'an. But the children from
such a marriage remain Muslims. In countries like Morocco there is no legal way
to change one's religious affiliation recorded in a passport!
When a convert and a
believing woman marry this also means in many Islamic countries that two clans
are unified. Talks, research and negotiations are necessary until the dowry for
the bride has been paid and all sides are content. After the family ceremony
that joins the two clans, Christian young couples often celebrate a second
marriage rite in their underground church, which they consider as the true
beginning of their married life.
Apart from the problem of
looking for the suitable partner in marriage, there are often other problems in
Islamic countries:
Married converts sometimes
cannot be accepted in congregations because they have four wives and numerous
children. In Sudan, a parish decided to baptize such big families and to accept
them, if the head of the family confesses in front of the community that he
sinned without knowing and followed a wrong law. He cannot divorce his wives
and children because he is responsible for them. He must openly consent to the
fact that, in his unbiblical status, he cannot take any responsibility as an
elder of the church.
In India, a medical doctor
with four wives and 20 children became a Christian. He decided to evangelize
his wives and to keep the one that would accept the Gospel. He divorced all the
others who rejected the Son of God, but kept all the children with him. The
revenge of the eldest son of one of the dismissed mothers was to bury his
father after his death in the Islamic way!
Joining a parish, finding
a job and conducting a Christian marriage are three important
steps to integrate converts into a Christian church. The problems connected
with these practical steps sometimes need more prayer, faith, time and strength
then the evangelization of the Muslim and his separation from his clan. Many
converts hide their faith in Jesus Christ from their relatives partly or
wholly, until they are self-supporting and can live in their faith with a
Christian partner.
Critical Developments
After his conversion to
Christ a young convert is still far from being a mature Christian. He needs
time to grow in faith, in love and in hope. He should, as we should too, read
the Bible regularly and make his decisions in prayer. He should learn to
forgive others, just as Jesus has forgiven us (Matthew 6:14-15). Christ's order
not to judge other people's offences is included (Matthew 7:1-5).
A convert quickly notices
the weaknesses of other Christians. He sees how the pastor steps onto the
pulpit with his head high and preaches from the pulpit in a tone different from
his normal way of speaking. He sees that there are rich and poor Christians at
church and that the rich ones are respected more, whereas the poor ones are
overlooked and hardly noticed. The fashion show at the Sunday service is just
as obvious to him as is the talk behind the backs of the people who are not
present. But when the person they have talked about appears, they all pretend
to be very friendly. "They are hypocrites!" the convert soon says.
Some pastors behave like peacocks that show off their feathers. You see little
love, much pride and indifference. He will soon say, "Christians are not
better than Muslims! There are divisions, ambition and crudity to be seen, all
around."
What a convert must learn
is the secret of mutual forgiveness, of prayer for others, of self-denial, of
self-accusation in front of God, and a spiritual humility. The secret of
Christendom is to forgive, not to be perfect! We should forgive a brother and a
sister daily up to 490 times only.
On the other hand,
so-called "mature" Christians should learn not to condemn converts
hastily. Many Islamic phrases cross their lips, but are better left unsaid. In
their married life, military-like manners of the husbands must die, and the
Christ-like will to serve others must grow. They need time to learn to work
industriously for eight hours a day, so that they may earn a living for their
families. In politics they should not condemn their adversaries, but love them
and pray for them. The collective hate of the people for neighboring states
needs profound redemption. The filthy propaganda on television, in magazines
and on posters calls for the power of the Holy Spirit to shut off the TV and to
overcome the unclean dreams that stem from it. Passivity in fatalism should be
conquered by a conscientious responsibility in Christ. Without sanctification a
convert will not see his Lord, either.
Where is the solution to
these problems? As Christians, we need the eyes of a mother when we deal with
converts, not the eyes of a police officer. The latter sees the offence and
writes his report. The mother also sees the mistakes of her child, but she will
punish it with love and hope for its improvement!
A mother changes her
baby's diaper several times a day. That is not a pleasant task. But the mother
and sometimes even a father do this task of love as a matter of course. For how
long—a week—a month—Three months? And then do they get tired and become fed up
and throw the diapers together with the baby into the trash? Impossible,
perverse! Why? A mother is a mother and a father is a father. They clean their
child many times, for one year, two years, and longer, if necessary. A deep
love compels them to do so.
We should serve a former
Muslim spiritually for years to become fully-fledged, sanctified and prepared
to serve in the name of Jesus. The ongoing power of the Son of God is stronger
than we think; Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory
that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the
world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5)
The love of Jesus Christ
compels us to go on serving those whom have abandoned the spirit and the habits
of Islam and have accepted Christ and his ethos. The example and the
faithfulness of many Christians is decisive, as Pastor Iskander Jadeed, a
former Muslim, wrote:
If all Christians were real
Christians,
no Muslim would remain a
Muslim any longer.
Q U I Z
Dear reader!
If you have studied this booklet carefully, you can easily
answer the following questions. Whoever answers 90% of all questions in the
eight booklets of this series correctly, can obtain a certificate from our
center on
Advanced
Studies
in helpful
ways for conducting conversations with
Muslims about Jesus Christ
as an encouragement for his/her future services for Christ.
1. What
are the three main barriers that servants of the Lord have to overcome in order
to guide a Muslim to Christ?
2. What
is the biggest problem that separates Islam from Christianity?
3. Who
is Allah in Islam?
4. What
does the Father of Jesus Christ offer His children that Muslims know nothing
about?
5. Why
can Allah in Islam never be considered to be our Father in heaven?
6. What
does grace in Islam mean and what does it mean in Christianity?
7. Why
can a Muslim ask Allah to forgive his mistakes but at the same time hardly ever
consider himself to be a sinner?
8. What
is the difference between being predestined in Islam and being chosen in
Christianity? Why do Muslims often "explode" emotionally in spite of
their fatalism
while Arab Christians tend to be more active, clean and patient?
9. Why
is there no Spirit of Truth in Islam? Under what circumstances do the outlines
of the Shari'a allow a Muslim to lie and even to break oaths?
10. What
are the differences between Muslim polygamy and Christian monogamy?
11. How
are lessons taught in school under Qur'anic teachers? Why do children there
acquire more knowledge than skills of reasoning and problem solving?
12. Why
has the Qur'an and the Shari'a not abolished slavery, allowing Muslims in
Western Sudan today to rightfully possess slaves? How does the spirit
underlying these principles influence the relationship owners of factories or
farms have with their respective workers?
13. Why
will democracy always remain Anti-Islamic? Why does Holy War in Islam
invariably aim at establishing a religious state?
14. How
long does it take for a Muslim to restructure his mind, abandon his Muslim
culture and become a mature Christian? Why is superficial contextualization
counterproductive in a Biblical outreach among Muslims?
15. What does it mean that many Muslims
still live in the bondage of their clans and have not yet become individuals?
How should this reality influence the strategy of our outreach?
16. Where
does the Qur'an say that Muslims should not take Jews or Christians as friends
or partners in business?
17. Why
can a Muslim family allow its members to read Christian literature but hardly
ever allow them to become Christians? Who in the clan is usually chosen to warn
seekers from following Christ by faith?
18. What
long list of punishments will be inflicted by conservative parents in order to
save their offspring or relatives from abandoning Islam?
19. Why
should a convert not leave his Muslim parents and family too soon? How should
he behave if he cannot openly speak about his new faith?
20. What
percentage of Muslims are liberal and how many tend to be conservative, obeying
the Qur'an and the Shari'a?
21. How
can a Muslim find out which books claim to be of heavenly origin and contain
real revelation? Is the Qur'an a divinely inspired book?
22. Which
three sins in Islam can never be pardoned? What does it mean for a convert when
he is called to Christ?
23. Why
is every convert from Islam to Christianity legally regarded as sentenced to
death even if the Qur'an does not demand his execution?
24. Are
all Christians "Muslims" as the Qur'an claims? What is the aim of
this Muslim trap and what dangers does it entail?
25. How
should biblical contextualization be distinguished from unbiblical and
humanistic contextualization? (read Matthew 16:21-23)
26. Why
is love without truth a lie and truth without love killing?
27. Where
can one find many churches that are not ready to accept converts from Islam
into their membership?
28. What
are the main reasons why church leaders and elders hesitate to accept converts
from Islam into their communities? How can we overcome this terrible attitude?
29. How
should we accept faithful converts into our fellowships so that they can feel
at home with us and find their new clan and "nest" in communion with
us?
30. Why
is it more useful in some Muslim countries to first gather seekers in satellite
fellowships before bringing them to the main church meetings?
31. Why
should church elders make jobs available for converts and how should untrained
converts be prepared for a vocation? Why must they learn to work as hard as we
do?
32. Why
should we in the beginning not offer seekers or converts unconditional
financial gifts (Baksheesh) and instead help them with small loans?
33. How
should we help converts from Islam find a Christian spouse for marriage? Why do
Muslim families often consider marriage with a Christian believer as more
serious than baptism?
34. Why
is a Christian marriage in some Muslim countries neither possible nor legally
binding, making followers of Christ and their children remain Muslims according
to their passports?
35. What
must the board of a church decide if a Muslim with two, three or four wives
asks for baptism? Should he divorce his additional wives? And what about his
children from the different wives?
36. Why
should a convert from Islam marry a Christian believer and not a Muslim? What
is the probable outcome in each case?
37. Why
are Muslim converts often shocked by the behavior of church leaders and other
members of the church? What is the spiritual secret in a Christian community?
38. Which
mistakes in the behavior of converts from Islam may shock some conservative
Christians?
39. How
long should a convert be forgiven his serious mistakes while still considering
him to be a real Christian?
40. What
is the great secret for successful outreach among Muslims? Why is follow-up
more time consuming than evangelistic outreach?
Every
participant in this quiz is allowed to use any book at his disposition and to
ask any trustworthy person known to him when answering these questions. We wait
for your written answers including your full address on the papers or in
your e-mail. We pray for you to Jesus, the living Lord, that He will enlighten,
call, send, guide, strengthen, protect and be with you every day of your life!
Yours in His service,
Abd al-Masih and his brothers in the Lord
Send your replies
to:
GRACE-AND-TRUTH
P.O.Box 2904
Weirton, WV 26062
USA
or by e-mail to: info@grace-and-truth.org