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19 - The Facts on Islam
SECTION V
The Accuracy of the New Testament Text
19. What can Muslims do who desire to
know they have eternal life?
If you are a Muslim who is
willing to accept the evidence and who desires to know that you have
eternal life, what can you do? Jesus promised that all who believe on Him can
know that they now possess eternal life: "This is eternal life, that they
may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent"
(John 17:3). "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life"
(John 6:47). "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who
sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed
over from death to life" (John 5:24); "my sheep listen to my voice; I know
them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life. and they shall
never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:27-28).
If you have longed for a personal relationship with God, a
relationship in which you know that He loves you, and yet you have been unable
to find this in Islam, then the true God offers you this opportunity. God tells
us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). God
has promised us full forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 10:14) if we turn from our sin
and turn to Christ, believing on Him for salvation: "For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans
6:23):
For God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he
has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3:16-18).
And,
We accept man's testimony, but God's
testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given
about his Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in
his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar,
because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And
this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in
his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God
does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of
the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (1st John
5:9-13).
If you sincerely desire to
know God personally, to know that your sins are forgiven - and that a place in
heaven is reserved for you (1st Peter 1:4-5), you can know this by
praying the following prayer to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and
Savior:
Dear God:
I acknowledge my sinfulness before You. I
confess that I have been trying to earn my own salvation by following the
teachings of the Koran. But I now realize that Allah is not the true God. I
recognize my need for forgiveness and now realize that Christ died for my
sins on the cross. I receive Him as my personal Savior and Lord. Give me
courage and strength to face the opposition I may encounter. Help me to lead
others to You as well. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
We recommend that you begin to
read the New Testament to know more about the true Jesus Christ. In addition,
attend a church that honors Christ as Lord and the Bible as God's Word. Talk to
God daily in prayer. The following books will help you grow in the Christian
life: (1) J.I. Packer, God's Words (Baker Academic); (2) Francis
Shaeffer, True Spiritually, (Tyndale); (3) Abdiyah Akbar Abdul-Haqq,
Sharing Your Faith with a Muslim (Bethany); and (4) Mark Hanna, The True
Path: Seven Muslims Make Their Greatest Discovery (International Doorways).
John Ankerberg & John Weldon
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