Dear Muslim Friend,
this message is to you from someone who wants to help you be sure you have peace with God and are ready for the day of His judgment. with your background, you already know there is only one true God and that He is all-powerful. you believe that God has given us His revelation. but very possibly you do not have peace with God. I want to share with you the reason why and how you can find this peace. the core problem we all face is sin. we all have sinned. we also know god is holy and cannot tolerate sin. likewise we know there will be a day of judgment when sin will be judged. we must not ignore sin; sin separates us from God.
Sin has consequences. death is a consequence of sin, as are the other sicknesses and problems in this world. but the worst consequence of sin is eternal separation from God in hellfire. truly, sin has terrible consequences!
it is not according to the nature of God to turn a blind eye to our sin. because God is holy, He cannot overlook sin. that would take away His holiness. God also is a God of mercy, but His mercy will never neutralize His holiness. he cannot sacrifice one of His divine attributes to practice another.
in light of these truths, what can a holy merciful God do about sin? it is not possible for God to overlook sin, for He is all-knowing . He cannot allow sin in heaven, for he is holy. this problem goes beyond our ability to find an answer - but God has the answer.
Forgiveness is the answer. but how can we be forgiven?
you have probably heard of Jesus Christ. it is through Jesus that we have God's answer to the problem of sin facing us. we read of this in the new Testament of the Bible, a book whose primary message is to show us how to find peace with God, the Bible is outstanding. it tells us about the creation of the world and then the fall of man into sin, and ho God made a way for man to be forgiven and free from sin. read on to see what the Bible says we must do to find our answer to the problem of sin. Jesus fills a great and important place in this.
the Bible teaches us again and again that men are compulsive sinners. there is much history in the Bible that confirms this fact; and if we are honest, we know this is also true today. stealing, lying, adultery, covetousness, disrespect and anger are common today and always were. we must hand our heads in shame and admit that we all are guilty of some of these sins. to find peace with
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God, we each need to be ready to acknowledge this and stop trying to hide our sins, be two-faced or blame our sins on others.
the Bible teaches that sinless or innocent blood that is shed in death can atone for sin. in the Old Testament of the Bible, God -planned for people to sacrifice animals for their sin. animals were considered innocent, because they did not consciously sin against God - they are not able to, because they cannot make morel decisions. so such innocent blood was shed to give temporary reprieve from God.s judgment on sin.
but animals cannot fully atone for human sin. 'for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins'. Hebrews 10.4 what is needed to provide that atonement is the blood of a guilt-free person, but the Bible teaches us that there are no such innocent persons. no man, woman of child is completely without guilt. not one person is able to die for another's sin, because each is born with a sinful nature that he inherited from his parents. as people are born and grow up, they all sin and are therefore disqualified as redeemers from sin. there is no hope for the human race from within itself because 'all have sinned and come short of the glory of God'. Romans 3.23
the New Testament tells us of the wonderful answer that God was willing to provide for the human race. since there was no innocent person, God Himself provided what is needed for redemption and forgiveness. animal deaths could do a little - they could provide a temporary solution. but if the death were by God, the atoning quality would be limitless! but how could that be possible? Could god die? God is a spirit and spirits do not die. the New Testament is the record of how God was able to accomplish this. let's further consider this wonderful answer.
What God did was almost beyond comprehension. the Bible tells us that God Himself came to this earth as a human being in the person of Jesus. Jesus showed His divinity by the miracles He did - including healing the sick, walking on the water, bringing dead people back to life and silencing a storm. though a human being , Jesus led a sinless life, making Him the answer to the problem of sin. only He was able to be a sacrifice for sin - a sinless person.
the Bible tells us that Jesus was qualified. He was innocent. He was human - born of a woman. he was willing. he died a sinless man. Praise God! the account of His suffering and death is recounted 4 times in the gospels, the first 4 books of the new Testament. it was foretold by the prophets many years before it happened. you can read it yourself. He was put on a roman cross by His enemies where he hung for 6 hours. according to the Bible, after Jesus had hung on the cross for 3 hours, the afternoon sky became as night and when Jesus died three hours later, there was a violent earthquake.
God had provided the sacrifice for sin!
the Bible account continues. Jesus was put in a typical grave close to Jerusalem. but he did not remain there. on the third day, he rose from the dad and was seen by more than 500 people before he ascended into heaven again 40 days alter. the Jewish authorities did all they could to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ. but his tomb was empty because he had risen from the dead. the disciples of Jesus, who had been so fearful and discouraged when Jesus was crucified, became fearless and powerful messengers of peace. being filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they boldly preached the truth about Jesus' death and resurrection (Acts 2) the message of salvation has changed the world!
there are conditions to be met for the sacrifice of Jesus to save individuals. His sacrifice has the power to save everyone, but it will not save anyone who odes not follow certain conditions. these can be followed by anyone; rich or poor, strong or weak, master or servant, handicapped or healthy - anyone. they are not conditions to get something from us; rather, they are conditions to get something from us; rather, they are conditions that will prove our willingness.
the first stipulation or step, is honesty. we must acknowledge our sinful condition and stop trying to hide our sin. some people pretend that they are not so sinful,-at least not as bad as someone else. like a person who is sick physically, we need to be ready to admit we need help. the Bible says; 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceiver ourselves and the truth is not in us'. I John 1.8
the next stipulation is faith. when someone is physically sick, he needs to go to a doctor he trusts. in the same way, we must trust Jesus with out spiritual problem. Just as we cannot follow the orders of 2 conflicting doctors at the same time, we cannot trust in salvation through Jesus Christ at the same time we trust in some other method of salvation. our response must be like Paul's : 'and he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? and the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city and it shall be told thee what thou must do. Acts 9.6
the Bible teaches us that God loves us all and is not willing that any should perish. the responsibility is laid on each of us to trust our salvation to Him. God will not force us to be saved. he calls us and he asks us to trust Him, 'that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish , but have everlasting life, for God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3.15-7
'the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. II Peter 3.9
the third stipulation is willingness to repent and confess Jesus as Lord of our life. 'If thou shalt confess with they mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. fro with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10.9-10 this will include forsaking sin.
the fourth stipulation is submitting our lives to god's will. you understand this well. Muslim means 'surrendered to God'. however, God wants more than forced submission. He want loving, willing obedience. like a child who loves his parents and wants to do their will, so the child of God wants to do God's will, revealed in the New Testament by Jesus Christ. obedience to god is also for our spiritual benefit and protection. obedience brings blessing and it is the only way to be able to live in victory over the temptations to do evil.
'and we are His witnesses of these things and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom god hath given to them that obey Him'. Acts 5.32
'and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.' Hebrews 5.9
'Weeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently'. I Peter 1.22
if we are willing to follow these stipulations for salvation, we will find the burden of sin rolled away and will receive a peace beyond description. yes, there will be temptations and hardships. but we will be able to face them with god at our side.
'therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. and not only so. but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience, experience and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us'. Romans 5.1-5
when we have experienced this salvation, we will also want to obey the Biblical command to be baptized into a church that truly believes and practices the Bible. 'Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the holy Ghost. Acts 2.38 'then they that gladly received his word were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. Acts 2.41 baptism is a public testimony of the cleansing power of God in our heart and our commitment to submit ourselves to a brother hood of believers. it is the natural result of having been justified by faith and of being at peace with God.
Questions that may be raised:
1. what about the crusades? the Crusades were conducted by people who did not follow Christian teaching. through history and even today, many people have called themselves Christians but failed to follow the teachings of Christ, who taught us to love our enemies. the reasons why they did what they did probably varied, but they all acted outside of god's perfect will. they did not represent true Christianity.
2. What about the broken homes, immoral dress and lack of respect in the Western world? is this not the result of christian freedom?
the answer again is that these things are outside of Biblical New Testament Christianity. the western world is rapidly leaving Christian principles; as a result, wickedness is growing. no nation can be truly Christian, because the New Testament teaches that the church and state are separate and different. nations raise armies and promote many other things that are incompatible with Christ's teaching to love our enemies and do good to them. true Christians have always been groups of people living within nations and representing a kingdom that is not earthly but heavenly. true Christians are always opposed to the sins of immorality, drunkenness and the evil music around them.
if you are really interested in finding peace with God, please read the Bible, especially the New Testament. you may want to start in the epistle of I John and the gospel of John, which are easy to read and understand.
we would also be ready to answer your questions and help you to understand.
Jesus gave his invitation: 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. take My yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls. for My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11. 28-30 James Martin
Rod and Staff Publishers, Inc., Crockett, KY 41413 Telephone: 606.522.4348 other contact: 215.721.9821
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