DAY 17 - 31 Days of Evangelism Tips and Training

Witnessing to Muslims Do's and Don'ts! 

 

Ten DO's:

1. Do know what the Bible teaches. Being well grounded in the faith is essential.
2. Do respect Muslims as people for whom Jesus died. The Bible says that "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19).
3. Do show sincere respect and friendship to Muslims.
4. Do listen to their real needs. Ask questions.
5. Do focus the conversation on Jesus Christ after you establish a relationship of trust and friendship. Use the Word of God.
6. Do give literature about Jesus and the Bible.
7. Do invite a Muslim friend to a function at church in order to develop friendships with other Christians. When appropriate, offer to take your Muslim friend to a church service.
8. Do become well informed about Islam. Books about missionaries to Muslims or Muslim converts to Christ are especially inspiring.
9. Do be available. We may not appreciate what a tremendous step it is for Muslims to convert. Even in North America, they face ostracism from their families, and, especially in the case of Muslims from the Middle East, they live with the fear of physical reprisal and even death.
10. Do pray that the Muslim heart may be softened for the gospel. "Whatever good may be done is done and brought about by prayer, which is the omnipotent empress," wrote Luther. "In human affairs we accomplish everything through prayer".

Ten DON'Ts:

1. Don't treat the Qur'an disrespectfully. It is one thing to disagree with the teachings of Islam, another to ridicule them.
2. Don't treat the Bible disrespectfully by placing it on the floor, for example. Above all, don't undermine the Bible by ungodly living. Remember that being a Christian means living by the Word as well as talking about it.
3. Don't get into a battle of the books, - the Qur'an versus the Bible. Let the Bible speak for itself. The straightforward assertions of the Bible are powerful, and through them the Holy Spirit works.
4. Don't make assumptions about what the Muslim believes. Ask him or her.
5. Don't attack the name Allah as a false god. This is a touchy issue, since many Arabic-speaking Christians inaccurately use the name Allah to refer to the God of the Bible. It would only incite anger to point out at the start that some scholars believe the name Allah is related to the pagan moon god of pre-Islamic Arabia.
6. Don't attack Islam, Muhammad, or the Qur'an. Light candles instead of cursing the darkness. Depending on their relationship to Islam, some Muslims may themselves be critical of the faith and ready to hear the other side.
7. Don't be insulting. It would be foolish, for example, to invite a practicing Muslim over for a pork dinner and wine, since Islam forbids these foods.
8. Don't witness alone to a person of the opposite sex.
9. Don't give up. Many have prayed and witnessed for over a dozen years before the person became a Christian, and many of those new converts have gone on to become great theologians and workers for the cause of Christ.
10. Don't be afraid. It can be intimidating to share our faith, both for us and the other person(s) involved. But Paul writes, "...God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7). 

Testimony From a Former Muslim

How can we witness to Muslims and be ready to answer most of their questions and allegations without getting tongue tied or short for answers? The answer is: Study and know your Bible, and study the Qur'an as much as you can.

In this article, I will briefly discuss allegations that state that the Bible has been tampered with and corrupted by Jews and Christians. If you are a Christian trying to evangelize and witness to Muslims, you might come across the exclamation, "Has not the Holy Bible been corrupted by Christians?" Or, "Has not the Bible been replaced by the Qur'an?"

To answer this, we will go right back to the Qur'an itself. The Qur'an frequently refers to the Bible and the Christians; it states that the "Injil"--that, is the Gospel--is their light and guidance. "We bestowed on him [Jesus] the Injil wherein is guidance and light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah [the writings of Moses]--a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off evil" (5:46). Also, the Qur'an states that the Injil is guidance for all mankind: "He has revealed unto you (Mohammad) the scripture with truth, confirming that which was revealed before it, even as he revealed the Torah and the Gospel aforetime, for guidance to mankind" (3:3, 4).

If Mohammad was in doubt concerning the Qur'an, the Qur'an states that he was to go back to "the people of the book," another term for the Jews and the Christians: "And if you (Mohammad) are in doubt concerning that which we revealed unto you, then ask those who read the scripture before you" (10:94).

You see, not once does the Qur'an state that the Injil is corrupted. Where, then, do Muslims bring their allegations from? They basically rely on Christians' ignorance of the Qur'an and, ironically, of the Bible as well.

So my friend, if the Injil, the Bible, is corrupted, then why does the God of Mohammad tell him to refer to it as a light and guidance to the people before him? Please be informed and prepared to represent God's word and defend his truth. For there is no other truth you want to spend your time and energy on!

Christ's peace,

--Name withheld

Source: http://truthinlovetomuslims.com/node/5