Page 3's heading is "GOD LOVES YOU". Here's where the booklet gets a demerit, but it's easily corrected by whiting out "YOU" and writing "THOSE WHO ARE HIS" in place of "YOU". The verses shared on this page only speak of saints in covenant relationship with God. They don't address the unconverted. The premier flaw with modern evangelism is its use of "God loves you". True, there is a common-grace love God shows to all humanity, in that He "did us good, and gave us rain from heaven, filling our hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:17). Also, the rich young man who turned away from Christ, whom "Jesus, beholding ... loved." (Mark 10:21), and especially that since God tells us to "love thy [unsaved] neighbor as thyself" (Mark 12:31), then He Himself cannot do less than that. But ... there's a qualitative difference between God's love for His redeemed flock and the general kindness he shows to everyone else that modern evangelism makes little distinction about. Most modern evangelicals tend to assure those currently under His wrath that "God loves you," as an incentive to repent. It's the wrong message. No gospel preacher in the Bible ever used this "Billy Graham/Billy Sunday/Charles Finney" kind of pitch. "Repent, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15, Acts 2:38) is what they said. God forbid Muslims should get the same message: "Allah loves me, and has a wonderful plan for my life?" I don't think so.
The rest of the booklet is near-perfect. Page 8's heading is "GOD IS HOLY". This is an aspect of God's nature not stressed or even defined in Islam. The Qu'ran doesn't even make a qualitative difference between such "sins" as eating pork vs. lying, for example. Instead, it bundles all offenses against Allah together, whereas Scripture makes distinctions here, and actually defines holiness. This is instructive for modern Christians as well, because when they hear America's televised version of the gospel, what they mainly hear is an appeal to their wants, needs, life problems; all valid approaches IF tethered to a biblical appeal to be reconciled to an offended and holy God.
Page 10's heading is "THE THINGS GOD COMMANDS". Page 11's heading is "THE THINGS GOD HATES", followed by "PEOPLE FALL SHORT OF GOD'S REQUIREMENTS" and "OUR OWN WORKS CANNOT PLEASE GOD". Islam is so fixated on the "do's and don't" of making Allah happy. It's a religion of what man does to earn salvation. Muslims have 5 surahs or "duties" they must do in order to be good Muslims: their Confession of Faith, their Ritual Prayer, their Obligatory Alms, their Fast of Ramadan and their Pilgrimage to Mecca: all man-made laws that still give no assurance of heaven. But the booklet majors on biblical law to show the reader a) God's requirement to obey it perfectly, and b) the impossibility of keeping it perfectly before a God who demands perfection. It uses Mark 10:19, where Christ re-quotes from the 10 Commandments to show their relevance and importance to New Testament believers. Since most evangelicals are antinomian in various degrees and think that God's law has nothing to do with God's grace, this section would make a great primer for them as well.
Page 20 is called "SACRIFICE NEEDED TO RECONCILE US TO GOD", and it majors on Abraham's offering of his son. Muslims understand the concept of sacrifice, and Abraham's attempted sacrifice of his son figures big in the Qu'ran. The booklet uses that as a launching off point to talk about Jesus. Very clever. More about the tract "THE THINGS GOD COMMANDS" in a future blog.
The rest of the booklet is near-perfect. Page 8's heading is "GOD IS HOLY". This is an aspect of God's nature not stressed or even defined in Islam. The Qu'ran doesn't even make a qualitative difference between such "sins" as eating pork vs. lying, for example. Instead, it bundles all offenses against Allah together, whereas Scripture makes distinctions here, and actually defines holiness. This is instructive for modern Christians as well, because when they hear America's televised version of the gospel, what they mainly hear is an appeal to their wants, needs, life problems; all valid approaches IF tethered to a biblical appeal to be reconciled to an offended and holy God.
Page 10's heading is "THE THINGS GOD COMMANDS". Page 11's heading is "THE THINGS GOD HATES", followed by "PEOPLE FALL SHORT OF GOD'S REQUIREMENTS" and "OUR OWN WORKS CANNOT PLEASE GOD". Islam is so fixated on the "do's and don't" of making Allah happy. It's a religion of what man does to earn salvation. Muslims have 5 surahs or "duties" they must do in order to be good Muslims: their Confession of Faith, their Ritual Prayer, their Obligatory Alms, their Fast of Ramadan and their Pilgrimage to Mecca: all man-made laws that still give no assurance of heaven. But the booklet majors on biblical law to show the reader a) God's requirement to obey it perfectly, and b) the impossibility of keeping it perfectly before a God who demands perfection. It uses Mark 10:19, where Christ re-quotes from the 10 Commandments to show their relevance and importance to New Testament believers. Since most evangelicals are antinomian in various degrees and think that God's law has nothing to do with God's grace, this section would make a great primer for them as well.
Page 20 is called "SACRIFICE NEEDED TO RECONCILE US TO GOD", and it majors on Abraham's offering of his son. Muslims understand the concept of sacrifice, and Abraham's attempted sacrifice of his son figures big in the Qu'ran. The booklet uses that as a launching off point to talk about Jesus. Very clever. More about the tract "THE THINGS GOD COMMANDS" in a future blog.
