Reading testimonies of how the Lord Jesus has met with Muslim peoples right in the heartlands of Islamic territories, always inspires the Christian reader.

By Elizabeth Peltola

Jesus loves personal introductions! He wants Muslims to know who He is, and He is clear he is much more than the mere human miracle-maker the Qur’an makes him to be. A common theme runs through the testimonies of Muslims who leave Islam –Jesus meets them either in person, or as they read/listen to the Bible, and He calls them to follow Him.

Their journey starts a search to seek out Christian friends and Church communities to explain their experiences and to help them walk with Jesus.

So why do so many books written to help Christians share their faith with Muslims, centre on Islamic cultures (sometimes helpful to learn if we are relocating to those cultures)? Most books zero in on Islamic practices and beliefs as if they are the bridge to gospel telling. Now, it can be helpful to understand Islamic beliefs –my own books include comparisons with Islamic beliefs– but they should not be our central focus.

The most shocking ‘advice’ I’ve read over the years are the books that tell us not to start with Jesus! They suggest we leave Jesus out of any gospel-telling story for a very long time. Practical advice is given to ‘win over’ Muslims in friendship or earn their respect, before any speaking of the gospel starts. Friendship and being winsome is a given for Christians engaging other people, both within our church circles and outside of them, so what bridge does the Bible give for good-news conversations with Muslims?

What bridge does the Bible give for good-news conversations with Muslims?

The Bible starts with “the word”, or more accurately “the voice of God” –Jesus! Genesis 3 gives us the story of Jesus walking in the garden he had planted, calling out to Adam and Eve. He obviously knew them, but this time they were hiding. Too late they had decided they knew better than him. Immediately their idiocy made them realise shame and guilt for the first time –the consequence of wrongdoing. This was a new experience for them, and it was something the Lord had warned them about.

Still, Jesus comes to speak with them… it is always face to face. He seeks out friendship with them and quickly gets to the important side of things –in this case the hope of rescue and victory over the greatest deceiver of all time (Genesis 3:15).

The ‘mighty’ creature Satan (Job 41:12), or Shaytan to Muslims, who was previously filled with light, has now “fallen” and now wears a mantel of evil. This accuser of human beings has never ceased to work his evil, yet he is incapable of stopping the Christ from intervening in a person’s life.

The man of truth, the Messiah, (called al’masih to many Muslims), continues to introduce himself to those who don’t yet know Him. He might use a name they might recognise, sometimes it is ‘Isa’, though this is not the correct name for Jesus in Arabic, it is how most Muslims refer to him because of the Qur’anic use of the name. But Jesus always corrects the Qur’anic view when he meets Muslims and reveals He is God come to us. He meets them face to face.

It’s why Moses was so convinced of the Lord he spoke with directly `-Moses used to see “the form of the Lord” (Numbers 12:8) and speak with Jesus “face to face” (Exodus 33:11). Of course we know it is Jesus, because many verses, such as Colossians 1:15 tell us that Jesus is the seen face of the invisible God. That invisible God is the Father; this side of eternity we would die if we saw His face. Though He too turns up in person, His face remained hidden. We see this when he met with Moses on the mountain (Exodus 33-34). We see this too when the Lord on earth, who had just eaten a meal with Abraham and Sarah, brought down fire from the Lord in the Heavens, to bring judgment on a few cities who had given themselves over to utter depravity.

So we don’t see the face of the Father. He is usually referred to as ‘God’ in the New Testament, but we see the face of the one who continually comes down to speak directly with people on earth, and he is often referred to by his titles, “Emmanuel” “prophet” “king” “Saviour” “Son of Man” “Son of God” “Son of David”...

Many a convert from Islam can testify to this Jesus, as can many Christians of all nations from all backgrounds. And even if we do not see the face of Jesus this side of death, what a joy for every believer to know they will, the other side of death!

The ‘incarnation’ is the big word used for the Jesus who turns up to directly speak with so many throughout history. Many a word has been written about the ‘incarnation’ of Christ; basically the immersion of God into the lives and communities of human beings. Though the depth of what the incarnation is all about deserves a life-time study.

It is a wonderful example of how Church must be for its community and towards the peoples outside it. Our Church family life is to be a witness to the world who does not know Him. For those of us who love Muslims (note, that does not mean we believe, or accept Islamic beliefs, on the contrary we disagree with them if we are faithful to Jesus), it means our churches will be incarnational. Perhaps this isn’t an actual word, but it works to explain Church life based on the example of Jesus. And that’s a key point, church life is built on the culture of Jesus, which is always to call us out from something of the past that holds us back (Hebrews 11, 12:1-3).

What’s more, Church life must also be based on the example of the Trinity and how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit live and work together, and this is something we must explore in some detail…