Abdul moved in next to you or possibly he works with you. You have been wondering how to approach him about his soul. He has even come to church with you once but he didn’t seem to get it. Why not? There are a few obstacles in his mind that keep him from understanding the message of Christ in the words you are using.
What Abdul needs to know:
1. God loves you
-Abdul has been taught 99 different names for God. None of them are love. He needs to know that like the woman was searching diligently for her lost coin in Luke 15, God loves him and is searching for him.
2. You are a sinner
-Abdul already knows he sins but he doesn’t think that he is that bad. He thinks that his sins are just “misdeeds” caused by a faulty memory he was born with. He needs to understand that all have sinned against God like the woman caught in adultery in John 8 and all those who wanted to condemn her.
3. Sin must be paid for
-Abdul thinks that when he gets to heaven God just might forgive him. He needs to know that there is no way that Christ will forgive him because his sins have offended a holy God. He needs to know that the prophet Isaiah says in chapter 59:1-2 that his sins have separated him from God.
4. Christ came to pay for YOUR sins
-Abdul needs to understand why God would let his Son die. It’s not because God is weaker than man but because God chose to die for man to provide the payment.
5. YOU must personally pray and accept Christ
-God is not personal to Abdul. He needs to understand like Nicodemus in John 3 that he must personally pray and accept Christ as his Savior.
Obstacles in the Muslim Psyche
Abdul has some preprogrammed thoughts that need to be understood so that they can be cast down by the Word of God:
1. Umma: “I, like everyone else, was born a Muslim”
2. Allahu ya’alam: “Only Allah knows. I cannot know the future decisions of God”
3. Maktub: “I cannot impact the future decisions of God”
4. Arrusul: “Jesus WAS sent from God. Out of the 124,000 prophets, he was a great prophet.
5. Deyanat Samawi: “Muslims and Christians believe the same things.”