Missiology: Reaching Muslims using the Koran

Where do religions come from? We know that all mankind came from Adam and Noah. Division begins at the Tower of Babel. God scatters man and confuses their language. Once things settle, God chooses a specific man to share his revelation with. From this point in scripture, it seems that Abraham is pretty aware that there is one God, its not until later that scripture mentions other gods. At this point, God has been distant with man. God calls Abraham into relation with Him and begins a process of renewal for the world through His covenant with Abraham; again, God wants all peoples to know Him. Later on we see scripture say, “Thou shall have no other god before me.” So we know that other people believe in other gods. Exodus 32 shows the process of this transferal from the one true God into other gods. The people want a physical presence of God, but God doesn’t give that to all people. The people turn from their previous knowledge of the one true God and worship a calf instead.

Therefore I believe that other religions are just perversions of the real thing. Other religions thus have connections back to the Truth. Don Richardson explains similar cultural connections in his book Eternity in Their Hearts. There thus should also be redemptive analogies back to the truth, where you can turn back these perversions. Kevin Greeson’s book, the Camel Training Manuel shows ayats (verses) from the Koran that point to the truth of the one true God who redeems His people through His sacrifice. The Koran can be used as a bridge to lift Jesus above prophet status, although it will not share the fullness of Christ’s plan for redemption.

Most people know that Islam has a foundation built on Christianity, thus Judaism, if you look closer into the Koran there are ayats that point to Christ as more than just a prophet. It confers with the new testament that Jesus has conquered death, that Muhammad himself was unsure about his eternal fate, and that Allah tells Muhammad to look at the “before books” (Old Testament and New Testament) for answers. Ayats from the Koran itself actually give more validity to Christ than Muhammad. Most followers of Muhammad feel that the Koran is too holy of a book to read, and that few people can actually interpret the text. Hence, for the most part, using the Koran as a bridge to the gospel is more effective with Imams (Islamic priests) than with the general population of Muslims.

Wrapped up in one passage (Surah Al-Imran 3:42-55), one can see that Jesus is not just a prophet. This text can help raise Jesus up to the deserved position of Savior. This Koranic text says that Jesus was holy, Jesus had power over death, and Jesus knows the way to heaven. This is the crux of the Koranic text to lead seekers into reading the Bible for themselves

Here are some other interesting ayats in the Koran

Surah The Sandhills 46:9 “Say: I am not the first of the apostles, and I do not know what will be done with me or with you: I do not follow anything but that which is revealed to me, and I am nothing but a plain warner.” Muhammad himself testifies that he is not the greatest, he does not know where his followers are going, and he is only a warner.

Surah Jonah 10:94 “But if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you; certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers.” This is a direct reference back to “the Book before you” aka the Bible. The Koran de-emphasizes itself.

Surah The Woman 4:136 “O you who believe! believe in Allah and His Apostle and the Book which He has revealed to His Apostle and the Book which He revealed before; and whoever disbelieves in Allah and His angels and His apostles and the last day, he indeed strays off into a remote error.” Again note the “Book which He revealed before” lifting up the Bible along with the Koran.

Surah Cattle 6:115-116 "And if you obey most of those in the earth, they will lead you astray from Allah's way; they follow but conjecture and they only lie. Surely your Lord-- He best knows who goes astray from His way, and He best knows those who follow the right course." Allah’s words can not be changed

Surah The Table Spread 5:65-66 "And if the followers of the Book had believed and guarded (against evil) We would certainly have covered their evil deeds and We would certainly have made them enter gardens of bliss And if they had kept up the Taurat and the Injeel and that which was revealed to them from their Lord, they would certainly have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet there is a party of them keeping to the moderate course, and (as for) most of them, evil is that which they do" Those who follow the Torah and Gospel will be blessed

Surah The Woman 4:171 “but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him” Jesus was sent from Allah in heaven in the form of a baby in Mary.

Surah Ta Ha 20:121 "Then they both ate of it, so their evil inclinations became manifest to them, and they both began to cover themselves with leaves of the garden, and Adam disobeyed his Lord, so his life became evil (to him)." Allah is Holy, and we have sinned against Him to cause evil

Surah The Sandhills 46:9 “Say: I am not the first of the apostles, and I do not know what will be done with me or with you: I do not follow anything but that which is revealed to me, and I am nothing but a plain warner.” Muhammad confesses he does not know where he nor his followers will go after death.

IMPORTANT NOTE: as said before, most Muslims have a high respect for the Koran, therefore while using these bridges we must use a gentle spirit. I would not confront a Muslim about these issues without first reading the book. The book will walk you step by step on ways to ask questions and order and bring it all together. My purpose is to expose the reader to some issues, so that you will be interested and dig deeper.

Wounds

Original Post from JD Greear's website

This subject is amazingly deep. God can not heal those who aren't wounded. Its in the midst of sufferings that God shows us his power and love.

Peter says the ultimate form of this happened on the cross "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24). If God is not afraid of wounding his own son for his glory, than how much more will he need to wound us for us to become dependent on him.
Its amazing to see Christians suffer victoriously. It was at the site of Stephen's execution that Paul saw Christ’s power and love before his own conversion. Tertullian says that “the blood of martyrs is seed for the church.” When Christians suffer victoriously to the point of death God is revealed in supernatural ways that cause those who watch to reflect on their own beliefs and some to question the claims of Christ.

I believe God may wound us for compound reasons. Its through common suffering that bonds and healing can be formed. When in a difficult situation you may believe you are all alone. By suffering in some of the same ways the world suffers, we as Christians can act as a bridge for someone to receive Christ. Someone going through death of a relative, divorced home, abuse, addiction, ect, is closed off to your advice unless you yourself has been there. Not to take Peter out of context, but to a lesser extent, by our wounds, our friends and family can see how we have been healed, and accept that healing for themselves.

The story of Job shows us yet another reason why God may wound or allow others to wound us. The story defies the idea that God only punishes the wicked, in case the testimony of Jesus nor Hebrews 12:7-8 doesn’t speak loudly enough. Job was a man considered righteous by God. God than allows Satan to destroy Job’s life. Satan takes his family, his earnings, his physical health, his friends; everything but his very life. What would be the purpose of wrecking a righteous man’s life. Through Job’s wounds, he proves that God by himself is enough to sustain him. Job never curses God but suffers victoriously.

For the glory of God, previous Judeo-Christian communities were demolished, so that other people would know that He was their God. Examples include the Israelites in captivity and exile being taken over so that the surrounding nations would have a chance to hear from God. Brutal wars in the old testament were fought for God’s glory. All those people died by the sword to destroy the God’s they worshipped and so that other nations would know that the God of the Israelites was the one true God. Jump past Christ’s life. The Barbarians took over the Romans, who were taken over by the Vikings all so that the conquering nation could have a chance to hear the gospel. These wars were fought by humans for earthly land and possessions. God allowed defeat and bloodshed, suffering and woundedness so that eventually more peoples would praise Him.

The crux of the whole issue is God being jealous for the glory He deserves. He will do anything He has to for personal relationship with His creation. He wounds us as individuals so that we may grow in our dependence towards Him, and others can watch with a strange awe. He may wound us as a people, as Americans so that the gospel will be carried to places who haven’t had an opportunity to hear of what He has done. When we go through these sufferings, their is comfort knowing that God’s purposes are holy and just, we know He is using us as His vessels to receive glory.