Pioneers UK & Ireland Blog

I often reply to a Muslim friend with this illustration. Imagine that copies of a book written by Mr Mahmoud were given to every family in your town, including your family. All the copies were the same and each copy was a perfect reproduction of the original book. Later, someone suddenly claimed that the book had been changed and could no longer be trusted. Would you have accepted that claim when you had a reliable copy in your hands? Surely you would have said, ‘Wait a minute. I’ve got a copy of the original book at home and it hasn’t been changed.’

So it is with the Bible.

The original manuscripts were reproduced very carefully. Whenever a new copy was made, it was strictly checked. Many reproductions of the original manuscripts existed. If someone wanted to change the Bible they would have had to gather all the reproductions from each house – from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East – and then change them. Is that possible? No! Even if one copy had changed, people who owned the true copies would have noticed and condemned it.

Manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments dating back to several hundred years before the rise of Islam are displayed in well-known museums across the world (including London). Anyone can compare the Bible we have today with these manuscripts and see that it has not been corrupted. These all confirm the integrity of the text Christians use to this day.

Muhammad himself believed that the Bible that existed in his day was authentic. (Qu’ran, Surah 3:3, 4:162-163, 5:58-59, 6:154-157, 9:111, 21:7, 21:48-50, 35:31, 40:69-70, 46:12, 46:29-30).

I would ask my Muslim friend: When was the Bible changed? Before or after Muhammad? If it was changed beforehand, he is accusing Muhammad of being a false teacher. On the other hand, it could not have been changed afterwards because the Bible had been translated into many languages and widely distributed across the world by then.

When a Muslim says that the Bible has been changed, I strongly challenge him. I point out that he is unconsciously blaspheming by accusing God on two counts:

a) Firstly, that God is a liar by not keeping His promise to protect His Word (Psalm 119:89; Matthew 24:35)

b) Secondly, that God is not God since he was unable to preserve his holy Word. It would mean that man is greater than God – which is blasphemous.

Begin with the Muslim mind. I encourage every evangelist to study the heart language of the Muslim they are reaching. Research as many metaphors and illustrations linked to the word son as possible. Here is one illustration you might use for an Arabic-speaker. The phrase ‘son of…’ (ibn) is used to signify where a person is from. I once asked a friend about his origins and he replied, ‘I am the son of Tunisia.’ Did he mean that Tunisia had taken a wife? Or that the nation had given birth to him? Of course not! He simply meant that he is Tunisian and has Tunisian characteristics. When the Bible says that Jesus is the Son of God, it means that he has the characteristics of God. Those who speak Arabic will understand the following sentence, فلان عربي ابن عرب (this man is an Arab, the son of an Arab). We use the phrase to emphasise the man’s Arab origin. It is a way of stating that he is truly an Arab. So when the Bible says that Jesus is the Son of God, it means that he is truly God.

We should not only help Muslims realise that they have misunderstood but provide a positive definition for the Son of God. The title is far deeper and richer than they realise. The prophets Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David and Isaiah would have understood the true meaning of the phrase ‘the Son of God.’ I would highlight the great prophecies of Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6 7 concerning the promised child to be born.

The Scriptures testify that the child who was to be born would be called ‘Immanuel’, (which means God with us) and ‘Mighty God’. Point your Muslim friend to the religious leaders’ reaction to Jesus when he claimed to be the Son of God. If you asked any Jewish person before the birth of Jesus, ‘Who can be called the Son of God?’ they would reply, ‘Only someone who is divine, equal to God.’ That is why, when Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, they accused him of blasphemy and crucified Him.

Many Muslim friends make this claim. But it is simply not true. Jesus did call himself the Son of God on several occasions and in many different ways. Draw the enquirer to verses like these: Matthew 16:15-17, Luke 22:70, John 14:1-11, John 10:22-36. The question of Jesus’ eternal sonship should inevitably lead you to talk about his deity.

– How would a fake crucifixion bring any glory to God, especially if nobody knew about it until 600 years later at the time of Muhammad?

– If God really wanted to rescue his prophet, why didn’t he just lift Jesus up to heaven in full view of everyone? It would have been even more wonderful for people to see with their own eyes what God was doing. Why did he have to do it secretly? It makes no sense.

– God would not deceive people by making them think that it was Jesus whom they were crucifying, when in fact it was someone else. God doesn’t lie!

Muslims say that Allah is so great that he wouldn’t have allowed his prophet to die. Address this by asking them which of the following would be a greater act by God:

a)  To deceive people and snatch Jesus up without letting him die.

b)  To let Jesus die and then raise him from the dead?

Raising someone from the dead is certainly the greater act. Christians proclaim, ‘God showed his awesome power by raising Jesus from the dead.’

Let us return to the scene of the cross and question the eyewitnesses:

– The centurion in charge of Jesus’ crucifixion later confessed faith in him because Jesus exhibited such holiness. A sinful traitor like Judas (which some Muslims claim was the replacement) would never have left such an impression.

– The gospels record seven statements that Jesus made while on the cross. No one else could have said such remarkable words. For example, how could anyone other than Jesus pray for God to forgive his persecutors while in excruciating pain?

– The criminal executed alongside Jesus would not have called on him for salvation, nor would he have received salvation, if Jesus had been just another sinner on a cross.

If possible, I would end by emphasising how the Muslim’s claim questions the trustworthiness of God. Would God promise for centuries that the Messiah would come to die for our sins, and then, at the last moment, when Jesus was about to die, exchange Christ for an impersonator? Does this description fit God? Not only would this make God out to be a liar, but he would have left us with no salvation from sin!

A father who lived in the UK had a son studying at a university in the US. During his term break, the father wanted his son to come and attend a big family wedding in the UK. Since airline tickets are very expensive, the father decided to buy the tickets for him.

First, the father wrote a letter saying that he knew how expensive the tickets were so he would purchase the tickets and post them to his son. He instructed the son not to buy the tickets himself (he couldn’t afford it anyway!), but wait for his father’s correspondence. Then he sent him another letter saying that he was arranging the tickets and that they would be enclosed in the next letter. ‘Wait for that letter’, wrote the father, ‘and then use those tickets to come and see me.’ When the third letter arrived, the son opened it and found the promised tickets!

The son was happy and excited about his trip to the UK, but then saw another letter arrive in the post. This fourth letter was not written in the father’s handwriting, but had his name signed at the bottom. The letter told the son to throw away the tickets and instead to take flying lessons and build an airplane so he could fly to the UK and see his father. Now, what do you think the son should do? Should he throw away the first three letters and obey the fourth?

So it is with the followers of Jesus. The Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (Psalms), the writings of the prophets and Injil (Gospel) are God’s letters to us. They all tell us that our sins stop us from having peace with God. We do not deserve to go to paradise. Left to ourselves we cannot purchase our way there. But God in his kindness promised to send us the ticket himself – the Saviour! All the prophets in the Old Testament, like Noah, Abraham, Moses and David, reminded people of God’s great promise of a Saviour who would pay the penalty that our sins deserve. The Injil, God’s final letter, describes how God fulfilled that promise. The Saviour has come. The way to heaven is open. Like the son in our story, should Christians ignore all these precious letters from God, and look for a new one? Certainly not!

If the promised Saviour has come, why should we look for someone else? If I now know how my sins can be forgiven and the certainty of heaven, why should I look for someone else or another book? If Jesus is the centre of God’s plan to save sinners then we require nothing more. Just as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy doesn’t need a fourth book to complete it because the evil Sauron has been defeated, so we don’t need any new books or prophets after Jesus to reveal God to us. Jesus has conquered evil and Satan. On the cross he cried, “It is finished!”

Imagine that one day you go swimming and jump into deep water. You find yourself in trouble. Drowning! You are dying, but you cannot save yourself because you do not know how to swim. You are hopeless and helpless. You need help. Someone approaches and yells, ‘Pull yourself together and save yourself! Come on, do it yourself!’ What a terrible thing to say to a drowning man.

A second person arrives on the scene and actually jumps into the water. He starts swimming. He says, ‘Look at me. Learn how to swim and do the same. Then you will save yourself’. How ridiculous! There is no time for you to learn. In fact, a drowning man is absolutely incapable of learning anything.

Now a third person approaches. He dives into the pool, grabs you and drags you out of the water. You might resist Him, but out of compassion he saves you from death. Now, which one of these three people would you thank the most? Surely the third one.

Religion is like the first two people. By nature we are drowning in our sin. We are in a mess because of our separation from God. Religion tells us, ‘Save yourself. Do this and that. Don’t do this or that and you will be saved.’ Some religious leaders are seen as examples. Their followers are told that if they imitate their lifestyle, they will be saved. It is like the second person who jumps into the water.

But religion cannot save us. We are hopeless. The Bible says that we are incapable of saving ourselves. That is why we need someone to jump into the water of our life and get hold of us and save us from our sin. This is exactly what God has done. He has provided a way for sinners to be brought back to Him.

God came into this world in the Person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, He died as our perfect human substitute. He took the punishment that we deserve for our sin. He bridged the insurmountable chasm that separates us from God.

Left to ourselves we are lost. Only Jesus, the infinite Son of God, was able to take that infinite punishment in our place.

It is unwise to reject God’s saving plan. What would you make of a drowning man who refuses the help of a lifeguard? When someone accepts Jesus’ offer to save (by trusting in His death and resurrection), Jesus forgives their sin and grants them a place in Paradise.