How to Share the Gospel with a Muslim… WITHOUT Offending Them

From The Word on the Street.

Every Muslim’s desire is to make it to Heaven and (understandably) avoid the damnation of Hell. To try to achieve salvation they fast, pray, and do religious and other good works. In that respect, a Muslim is no different than the average unsaved churchgoer who hopes that God will allow him into Heaven because of his good works. And of course, we want to see both Muslims and churchgoers make it to Heaven. So how do we talk to a Muslim without making it seem as though we are proudly saying that he is wrong and we are right? I have a few thoughts.

What I’m going to say may initially sound almost heretical, but it’s not. It is using discretion. If I want to awaken someone who is sleeping soundly in a dark room, I wouldn’t shine a flashlight in his eyes. That would be offensive. Instead, I would use a discreet light-dimmer. We can gently relate essential biblical truths in a way that doesn’t compromise but upholds Scripture. We can give light without offense.

Here goes: 1) I don’t tell Muslims that Jesus is God. 2) I don’t say that Jesus died “on the cross” or that He is the “Son of God,” and 3) I don’t say, “The Bible says . . .” Jesus said it’s the work of the Father to reveal that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16,17). So let God handle that one. Muslims think it’s blasphemous to say that God had a Son, and so it’s wise to set aside certain truths until an appropriate time, if we want hearers.

Once the conversation has begun, ask him this important question: “If a man has committed very serious crimes (such as rape and murder), and he says that he is sorry and that he won’t do it again, will the judge let him go?” You want him to understand that no good judge will ever dismiss such a case. He would probably be indignant, and say, “Of course the criminal should be sorry, and of course he should not do it again.”

Belabor this point, because you are going to come back to it. Have him repeat his answer—that no good judge will dismiss a case just because the criminal says he is sorry and won’t do it again. Help him to see that such a thought is morally ridiculous.

“God is a Judge, and we are criminals in His eyes. So anything we offer Him is an attempt to bribe Him, and the Bible says He will not be bribed.”

Share on twitter Share on facebook

Now take him through the moral Law, the Ten Commandments. Show him that his Creator desires truth in the inward parts—that God sees his thought-life, and He views lust as adultery (it is wise and biblical to refer to “the prophet Jesus” when you quote Matthew 5:27,28) and hatred as murder. You are aiming, with God’s help, to shut him up under the Law—to leave him without excuse. You want to put him up the river Niagara without a paddle, so he will see that his salvation has to come from outside of his own futile efforts. Pray that the Holy Spirit convicts him that his sin is very serious in the eyes of a holy God.

Then ask him if he will be innocent or guilty on Judgment Day. Will he go to Heaven or Hell? He will almost certainly say that he will make it to Heaven because he is repentant for his sin. In essence, he is telling the Judge that he is sorry and that he won’t do it again.

He reveals that he is trusting in his religious works for his eternal salvation. That’s when you remind him that a good judge would never dismiss a case on those grounds, and neither will God—not in a million years. God is a Judge, and we are criminals in His eyes. So anything we offer Him is an attempt to bribe Him, and the Bible says He will not be bribed. Justice must be done, and that’s why he needs Someone who can wash away his sins. He needs Someone to pay his fine. That’s when you tell him that God provided a Savior! The gospel is good news indeed for a humbled works-righteous Muslim.

Again, remember to belabor your illustration—that being sorry and not committing the crime again are not sufficient grounds to dismiss a case. If you don’t drive that point home, you will regret it when he tries to cling to works as his hope of salvation.