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| Pastor teaches country church (Photo by S.A.). |
(The
Cross and the Crescent) Muslims can understand as little about
Christianity as many Christians understand about Islam. Yet both are
evangelistic religions. Christianity practices evangelism, and
proclaims the Good News of Jesus Christ. Islam practices Da'wa
(a Call) inviting all to accept its faith. Against such a background,
the message... can be summed up in a single statement:
That
if God calls us to evangelize the Muslim world, He will give us
everything we need to do it successfully. For God never orders us to
do the impossible.
To start
with, though, we need to ask what difficulties underlie the task of
evangelizing Muslims, and why it is that many Christians have
effectively “given up” the challenge. I suggest there are two
factors at work. These have to do, first, with the weakness of the
Church, and second, with the resistance of Islam.
1. Lack
of obedience to the Great Commission
The
greatest impediment to the evangelizing of Muslims lies in the
Christian Church. A weak and lukewarm Church neglects its first duty,
which is missions. Divided believers have much time to fight—and no
time to witness. Many congregations are self-satisfied. They prefer
the cozy atmosphere of their closed fellowships to the challenge of
going out to reach the lost. The result is that believers “lose
touch” with the surrounding world. They actually drive sinners away
because nobody wants to be like them.
By
contrast, the Spirit-filled and Spirit-obeying believer witnesses to
God's saving power, and thus leads others to know Christ as personal
Savior.
2.
Lack of confidence in the Christian faith
In
almost all countries where Christians are a minority, they exhibit a
lack of confidence, both in themselves and in what they believe. The
act like the ten spies who returned to Moses from Canaan and declared
that the proposed invasion should be called off (Num 13:28-33).
In
Muslim states, this behavior is reinforced by social attitudes dating
back to the seventh century Covenant of Umar. A major purpose of the
Covenant was to protect the life and property of
non-Muslims—particularly Christians and Jews—who were resident in
Muslim countries. But it did so on strict conditions. First, that
Christians put no obstacles in the way of a fellow Christian who
desired to become a Muslim. And second, that Christians make no
attempt to convert Muslims to Christianity.
Caliph
Umar ibn al-Khattab used the Covenant to consolidate his conquests.
He would present it to Christians in subject territories and demand
they sign....
Centuries
later, the terms of the Covenant remain deeply embedded in the way
Christian and Muslim communities relate in Islamic nations.
Against
this background, it is important for Christian minorities in Muslim
countries to know what is expected of them. They should be a creative
minority—the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and the
leaven that leavens the whole lump (Matt 5:13,14; 13:33).
(Continued
later.)
--Abdul
Hadi
The
Cross and the Crescent (excerpt)
Abdul
Hadi is an international Bible scholar who has lectured and taught in
several countries around the world; a Christian apologist,
evangelist, and international authority on Islam.
Dare to Pray with Faith
Power for the Nations
of the World. God will
bless your Nation in
Return. “Your Kingdom
come, your Will be
done on Earth as it is in
Heaven.”
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