Page 152 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

o Share with Muslims individually.
 Muslims in a group setting may feel the pressure to defend Islam, but may open
up on a one-to-one basis.
 Group evangelism has practically no success when sharing with Muslims.

Ask Your Muslim Friend to Read from the Gospels
Give your Muslim friend a copy of the New Testament and ask him or her to read through one of the Gospels.
Each Gospel is good for a different purpose.

• The Gospel of Luke is a great place to start.
o Luke contains themes that the Muslim is familiar with.
 The angel's announcement to Mary that she would bear Jesus.
 The birth of John the Baptist.
o Luke contains many interesting stories and parables.
 The story of Jesus calling Levi shows that Jesus accepts people who are considered
the worst of sinners.8
 The parable of the lost sheep shows how God rejoices when a sinner repents, and
how God is the initiator in bringing lost people to himself.9
 The parable of the lost coin shows how God seeks sinners and rejoices when they
turn to Him. 10
• The Gospel of Matthew may have a strong appeal because of some of the themes it addresses.
o Familiar themes in Matthew include:
 Ritual prayer.
 Fasting.
 Almsgiving.
 Social justice.
 Marriage.
 Divorce.
• The Gospel of John is great for focusing on Jesus' deity.
o Be sure to discuss what Jesus says about himself, especially concerning the "I am"
statements.11
 Talk about the meaning of Jesus' words in John 8:58: "I tell you the truth...before
Abraham was born, I am!"
 Share that Exodus 3:14 tells us that God's name is "I am."

Understand the Obstacles
When sharing your faith with Muslims, be patient, prayerful, and respectful. Don't ever put pressure on a
Muslim to become a Christian. There is a lot at stake, and Muslims must overcome several powerful obstacles
before putting their faith in Christ.

• Religion and culture
o Because Islam is tied to every aspect of the culture, seekers may have a hard time
disconnecting the two.
 Rejection of Islam can be akin to rejecting the culture in which one has lived their
whole life.
• Distrust of non-Muslims
o Muslims are warned not to believe in anyone outside of their religion.

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