We have covered the majority of what Muslims believe.  There are just a few things left to look at.  So far we have contrasted Muhammad and Jesus.  We have contrasted Allah and God.   We have contrasted the Koran and the Bible.  We looked at the 5 pillars of Faith last time.  This time we will get down into how to witness to Muslims we will do this by looking at 2 key elements: the resurrection of Jesus, and sin and salvation.  Christ is the cornerstone we must build on with everything we do, that is why His death and resurrection are key to witnessing to people.  It is one of the keys to Christianity.  There is no other religion in the world that would even claim that their God came in the form of a man, died, and rose from the grave.  It is distinct to Christianity.   

Resurrection of Jesus 

We previously discussed what Muslims think of Jesus.  They believe that He was just a man.  That He was a great prophet, but that He was not God in the form of a man.  Additionally they believe that Jesus was not crucified, but was taken into heaven by Allah thus eliminating the possibility of a resurrection.   

This is what the Quran says  

“And for the saying: we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah, and they killed him not, nor did they cause his death on the cross, but he was made to appear to them as such. And certainly those who differ therein are in doubt about it.  They have no knowledge about it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for certain” Sura 4:157 

So they claim that someone who looked like Jesus hung on the cross, but not Jesus Himself.  The obvious question is then who was it?  There are three leading thoughts: 

• One is that the Roman soldiers grabbed the wrong Jesus.  They will say it was really Barabbas because traditionally his name was also Jesus.   

• That is a really weak thought because it would be impossible.  Judas gave away Jesus with a kiss.  We all think of Jesus as this pretty portrait of a person that stands out against everyone.  But really the kiss was probably because He blended in with everyone so well that it was needed to identify Him.  We read of this in Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:43-46, and Luke 22:47-48. 

• The second thought is that it was the shape of Jesus, but it was really Judas. 

• They like this because it gives immediate retribution to Judas for betraying Jesus.   
• This easily breaks apart because the Bible speaks to Judas’ actions and death after Jesus was taken: 

• Matthew 27:3-5 “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ And they said ‘What is that to us? You see to it!’ Then they threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.” 

• The third theory is called the “swoon” theory.  It states that Jesus was crucified on the cross, but that he didn’t actually die, he merely passed our or was mistaken for dead.  

• This is physically impossible.  Jesus was first scourged which is usually enough to kill a man.  He was then beaten and a thorn of crowns was twisted onto His head.  All this time he is bleeding and is forced to carry His own cross through Jerusalem which would cause his heart to pump faster making Him bleed out faster.  Then he was nailed to a cross, which would let out even more blood.  He hung there for 6 hours bleeding from the scourging, crown of thorns, and the three nails that pierced him.  And the last wound he would be dealt is a spear in the side.  It would be impossible for a body to endure all of this and live.  
• When they wrapped His body why did no one notice?  
• What about the Roman Solider whose job was to make sure people were dead?  Plus the other three there to witness it?   

All of these are really weak claims.  The death of Jesus is not only documented in the Bible, it is also documented in Josephus’ works.  Josephus who was a Pharisee documenting history, purely recording facts notes that Jesus was crucified.  

You can ask a Muslim how is it that Jesus endured such torture and yet was able to live through it?  How is it that the stone placed in front of the tomb was rolled away?  And then how did this severely wounded man overpower two Roman guards and walk away? 

The Old Testament even predicts the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

• Death 

• Isaiah 53:5-10 
• Psalm 22:16 
• Daniel 9:26 
• Zechariah 12:10 

• Resurrection 

• Psalm 16:10 
• Isaiah 26:19 
• Daniel 12:2 

• Jesus even said he would rise 

• John 2:19-21 
• Matthew 12:40 
• Matthew 17:22-23 

Since in Islam Jesus never died there is no way for Him to be resurrected.  Yet Christians have had this as a corner stone of their faith since the day that Jesus rose from the grave.  All four of the gospels have record of the resurrection and conversations with Jesus upon His resurrection.  The Book of Acts also records conversations with Jesus upon His resurrection.  Here are a few key verses 

• Matthew 28:6 “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” 
• Romans 6:5 “For if we have been unified together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.” 
• Acts 2:31 “he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, not did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witenesses.” 

When Jesus rose from the grave He appeared to many people.  He appeared to the disciples.  He showed them His wounds, and Thomas even touched them.  There is a record in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 

“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” 

I think the most important witness to this though is Mary Magdalene.  He chose to appear to her first.  In that culture and still even in the Muslim culture a woman’s testimony is unacceptable in a court of law.  No one would believe her story.  If a man was going to write the Bible fabricating the events that took place they wouldn’t put a woman in the story as being responsible for telling other people about Jesus’ resurrection.  It wasn’t credible.   

What the world believes and what the Muslims believe is that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a lie, or a made up story.  Would you die for something that you knew was a lie? No.   

• Stephen the first known martyr was stoned to death (most likely by Paul’s buddies) 
• Peter was crucified after being forced to watch his wife being crucified 
• Andrew was crucified on an X shaped cross. 
• James was killed by sword (Acts 12-1-3) 
• Philipp was stoned to death 
• Thomas was run through with a spear then thrown into the flames of an oven 
• Matthew was  beheaded 
• James the Less was either stoned to death or thrown from a tower and then had his head bashed in with a club 
• Matthias was stoned and then beheaded 
• Mark was dragged to pieces 
• Paul was beheaded 
• Jude was crucified 
• Bartholomew was crucified 
• Luke was hung from a tree 
• John was boiled in oil, which didn’t kill him, banished to Patmos at an old age which should have killed him and yet didn’t. Later he would die of old age.  The only apostle to escape violent death 

This is just a small record of the early church years, not looking in depth or at the next 2000 years.  Ask the Muslim you are witnessing to, if you knew that Jesus really didn’t die would you have suffered terrible persecution and been martyred for a lie?  Would you allow your wife to die for that lie? Would you let your kids die for that lie?  

Sin and Salvation in Islam 

A great quote that I heard to go with this is “It has long been said among Christian theologians that a weak view of sin will always lead to a weak view of salvation. If one does not recognize a serious sin problem for human beings, then one will generally minimize any need for an atonement.” 

We see that happening within the church let alone within what I will call Abrahamic religions or pseudo Christian religions.  We see the lessening of sin, meaning that the consequences aren’t that bad, then meaning that we don’t really need a savior because we didn’t really do anything wrong.   

According to Islam Adam did sin in the garden and was expelled but he did not gain a sin nature at that point.  They believe that it was a minor slip-up, that Adam repented and the whole thing was forgotten.  What they fail to realize is that the Garden was a representation of our relationship with God.  While we were sinless He would be amongst us and we would live in great fellowship with Him.  After sin we were removed from this fellowship.  That is why Adam was expelled from the Garden.  Because God could no longer be in fellowship with sin.   

There are two deaths that were witnessed by the eating of the apple.  The first one was immediate, Adam and Eve died spiritually.  We are all dead spiritually because of that sin.  That is Adam’s inheritance to us.  This is why Jesus tells us we have to be born again.  We must be born again spiritually.  In Ephesians Paul reinforces for us that we are “dead in our trespasses and sin”.   

Islam denies the Christian doctrine of original sin and that sin nature is inherited in all men.  They believe that people are born innocent and remain so until each makes him or herself guilty by a guilty deed.  They interpret Adam’s disobedience as his own personal misdeed.    This concept that people are born pure or innocent is called fitrah.   

Romans puts this argument to bed.  

• Romans  5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”  
• Romans 5:19 “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”  
• 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 paraphrased “For since by man came death…in Adam all die” 
• Psalm 51:5 “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” 
• Genesis 8:21 “every inclination of his hear is evil from childhood.” 

Muslims do believe in sin but that it is sinfulness caused by human weakness.  They believe that through their own strength they can free themselves by choosing to follow Allah and because of this there is no need for salvation.  It is a religion of works at that point.   

Their belief that sin chosen not inherent is even contrary to the Quran. 

• Sura 12:53 “surely self is wont to command evil” 
• Sura 14:34 “surely man is very unjust, very ungrateful.” 
• Sura 16:61 “And if Allah were to destroy men for their inquity, He would not leave therein a single creature.” 
• Sura 96:6 “Man doth transgress all bounds” 

Salvation in Islam is achieved through surrendering completely to Allah.   

“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he will be one of the losers” – Sura 3:85 

“In the day of judgment, they whose balances shall be heavy with good works, shall be happy; but they, whose balances shall be light are those who shall lose their souls, and shall remain in hell forever.” – Sura 12:102-103 

“Allah …punishes whom he pleases and forgives whom he pleases.” – Sura 5:40 

There is no assurance of salvation.  The will recite extra prayers, observe extra feasts, give more to charity, more pilgrimages to Mecca, all just to try and make sure they have more good than bad.   

The exception to the no assurance of salvation rule is if you die in service to Allah.  This means to die as a Jihad.  This is why we see so many radical Islamic groups popping up, and they instantly go after Christians as infidels.   

There is no assurance of salvation.  That is the key to witnessing to them, the same as with any other works based religion.  Show them how they have sinned. Most people don’t realize it because society accepts it.  Even if you take away the inherited sin nature everyone has sinned because they have lusted/committed adultery for someone or hated/murdered someone.   

Because it is works based you have to do enough good to outweigh your bad.  Well what does the bad weigh?   

According to Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  What is equivalent to death? How many good works will make up for your death even once not to mention every sin that you have ever committed?  You don’t know, you never know.  To think that Allah will forgive some sins because you have done good works means that he is a subjective judge.  That he gets to choose.  You have zero idea if you are on the right path or not.   

The Bible says 

• Ecclesiastes 7:20 “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” 
• Isaiah 64:6 “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” 

Our God is not subjective, He is objective.  There is only one payment and that is death.  That is why Jesus came to die for us, so that we wouldn’t have to. That through Him our penalty is paid and we may live eternally with Him.  And that is a free gift from Him, you don’t have to work for it never knowing if you have ever done enough to earn it.  All you must do is confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. – Romans 10:9 

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” 

1 John 5:11-13 “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” 

What you need to remember when witnessing is that they must understand that being sorry is different that repentance.  If you commit a crime and the fine for this crime is a million dollars and tell the judge that you are sorry for doing it is he going to let you go? No, because justice has not been done.  The judge must make sure that the fine is paid otherwise he wouldn’t be a good judge.  The same goes with sin.  We must have our fines paid.  And Jesus did that.  We must remind them of the seriousness of sin.  Walk them through the 10 commandments and show them how they are sinners.  Everyone will try and trivialize their sin.  We must show them how serious it is and what the consequences are.  But remember in all of this to love them.  We can be hard and callused and that won’t get us anywhere.  But if you make it fun and somewhat light in nature you will reach them easier.