How can I be pleasing to God?
Last night in a discussion with an Egyptian Muslim man, I asked him if he needed a miracle in his life. He said, "everyone needs a miracle". I asked him to be more specific. He didn't need any healing in his body, but then asked, "How can I be pleasing to God"? He wanted me to pray for him about this. I told him that I knew the answer to his question.
I quoted Galatians 2:16 - "...a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus". This of course is exactly the opposite of what Islam teaches. Every Muslim believes it is by their good works, their works of the law, that they can be justified.
Since my new friend had never heard anybody completely contradict/deny everything he had ever been taught about how one can become pleasing to God and enter heaven, I needed to illustrate what I had just said.
I explained to him that in Christianity, we are made acceptable to God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life and we are given a ticket to heaven (so to speak). We cease being slaves and become sons and daughters who will inherit the Kingdom.
Only if our eternal salvation is something settled beforehand can we ever serve and obey God with pure motives. If my salvation is always in question, then my motives will always be mixed. I won't be able to serve God out of love and gratitude, because I will always be trying to earn his favor. As a Muslim I explained, your motives will always be selfish in doing good works. As a Christian, since I've already been given everything freely, it becomes possible to obey God out of love and pure motives.
I asked him, "if you had a faithful slave who served him flawlessly and obeyed him perfectly and a son who was disobedient, who would get the inheritance after you died"? He replied, "The son of course". I explained to him that only the sons and daughters will be able to enter God's eternal Kingdom.
The concept that our eternal destinies can be settled, secure and for certain is a completely foreign one in the mind of Muslims. Pray for this man who had his question answered - will he now choose to be made acceptable and pleasing to God?
I quoted Galatians 2:16 - "...a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus". This of course is exactly the opposite of what Islam teaches. Every Muslim believes it is by their good works, their works of the law, that they can be justified.
Since my new friend had never heard anybody completely contradict/deny everything he had ever been taught about how one can become pleasing to God and enter heaven, I needed to illustrate what I had just said.
I explained to him that in Christianity, we are made acceptable to God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life and we are given a ticket to heaven (so to speak). We cease being slaves and become sons and daughters who will inherit the Kingdom.
Only if our eternal salvation is something settled beforehand can we ever serve and obey God with pure motives. If my salvation is always in question, then my motives will always be mixed. I won't be able to serve God out of love and gratitude, because I will always be trying to earn his favor. As a Muslim I explained, your motives will always be selfish in doing good works. As a Christian, since I've already been given everything freely, it becomes possible to obey God out of love and pure motives.
I asked him, "if you had a faithful slave who served him flawlessly and obeyed him perfectly and a son who was disobedient, who would get the inheritance after you died"? He replied, "The son of course". I explained to him that only the sons and daughters will be able to enter God's eternal Kingdom.
The concept that our eternal destinies can be settled, secure and for certain is a completely foreign one in the mind of Muslims. Pray for this man who had his question answered - will he now choose to be made acceptable and pleasing to God?
Comments
Post a Comment