Keys, Unlocking the Gospel for Muslims

By Colin Bearup

This is a very practical teach-yourself guide to opening up the Gospel for Muslims. It is about giving our Muslim friends exposure to Jesus rather than defeating them in argument. using studies in Mathew's Gospel as an example, Keys enables you to go beyond a few favorite passages and use scripture effectively.

Colin Bearup has worked with Muslims in Africa for over a quarter of a century and has seen a number become disciples of Jesus. Highly recommended by many missionaries and agencies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CanBooks
• Release date: Apr 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781927581049

Colin Bearup

Colin Bearup has served with WEC International among Muslims in Africa and in the UK for forty years. He is a guest lecturer at Cornerstone Bible College for Mission Training in the Netherlands, at the Nazarene Theological College's Manchester Centre for the Study of Christianity and Islam in the UK, and the Sydney Mission and Bible College in Australia. His previous publications include Keys: Unlocking the Gospel for Muslims, Clues to Africa Islam and the Gospel, and Inviting Muslims to Church.

Book preview

KEYS

A teach-yourself guide to unlocking the Gospel for Muslims

by Colin Bearup

Copyright © Colin Bearup 2012

This 2012 electronic edition is published by CanBooks. (http://canbooks.ca) The original printed edition was produced by WEC International in 2009.

Copies of this electronic version are available from the Starting Point Books (http://www.stpt.ca). This book is fully copyrighted. It should not be duplicated or distributed freely in any form without the author or publisher’s permission.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN 978-1-927581-04-9

In memory of Magdy Fahim

1951 - 1999

a wonderful man of God

Acknowledgements

I am profoundly grateful that this book did not see the light of day without the contributions of: Debbie Fahim, who translated my original from French into English, Mark Ahmad, Glenn Myers, Ruth Humphreys and John Bardsley who made invaluable critical comments; Daphne Spraggett and Jeanne Claridge who read and corrected the proofs.

Table of Contents

Foreword

What this book is. And isn’t.

1. Good News for Muslims?

2. Stop!

3. Responding to the issues Muslims raise

4. Sharing Christ through stories

5. Reading the Gospel together

Resources

Foreword

Colin Bearup's "Keys has been developed out of faithful experience in seeking to share the Good News with Muslims. Underlying Colin's approach is a spirit of humility and an urgency to do everything possible to enable our Muslim friends to come face to face with the Jesus portrayed through Matthew's Gospel. He helps the reader to get himself (as a Western Christian) out of the way as much as possible and to head off the presuppositions that Muslims have about what Christianity" means.

The bulk of the book aims to assist the Western Christian in serving up as dramatically as possible and as pointedly as possible (for a Muslim audience) what the Gospel of Matthew records. The book is very practical, suggesting ways of reading the Gospel text and exploring its meaning that will have an impact upon a Muslim. Colin's purpose is for our Muslim friends to be enabled to meet in Matthew's Gospel a Jesus of whom they have never before heard. I thoroughly commend it.

Right Reverend Doctor Bill Musk.

Assistant Bishop for the North Africa Area in the Diocese of Egypt with North Africa & the Horn of Africa, and Rector of St George's Anglican Church, Tunis. Known as Bishop Bill.

This book... what it is, what it isn’t

We live in extraordinary days. When I was a student (not that long ago), there were no books by Christians about Muslims. Well, there were, but finding them was a challenge. No one was interested. Muslims were people who lived overseas - for all intents and purposes, on another planet. No one was taught anything about Islam at school. As a keen young Christian who wanted to know everything about everything, I was totally ignorant of Islam and I didn’t even know it. Countries in which Muslims lived were in the news all the time, just like today, but their religion was not. Today the beliefs and practices of Muslims turn up frequently in the conversations of ordinary people who have no interest in religion. Halal food. Veils. Jihad. Mosques. This is new. There has never before been a time when Islam was discussed over the breakfast tables of Britain.

God is on the move. The vast majority of all the people who were born as Muslims and then found new life in Christ are alive today. We live in extraordinary times – what a shame if we miss it because we are so busy obsessing about how our country used to look so different. God is intent on the harvest being brought in and he is redrawing the map of the world to do it. (Read Acts 17:26-27). The presence of Muslims in this country is the will of God. His purpose is that they find new life in Christ. Are we with him or against him?

This book is one of many that aim to equip Christians to share the good news of Jesus effectively. It is not intended as a quick read; rather it provides reference material for people who want to train themselves to handle scripture effectively. Years ago, Christians were ignorant and did not know it. Today, Christians are still ignorant, but many of us now realise it. This book aims to be practical. It comes out of experiences overseas in a Muslim setting. There I learnt about two things. First, how to communicate with Muslims and second, that most Christians, even the professionals, don’t know how to use scripture to good effect. You don’t learn these things unless someone teaches you. The writings of a pioneer called Charles Marsh set me on the right road. I hope this volume will do that and much more for many others.

Why Matthew?

Muslims believe in Holy Books. The notion that God has spoken through scripture is a familiar one to them. Quoting verses you have memorised (or have sort of memorised...) may impress your pastor, but Muslims want to see it on the page. If you have such a thorough knowledge of the Bible that you can open it with ease and confidence to address any issue on the spur of the moment, you will find an audience with Muslims. The bad news is that, for most of us, that is a big ask. Mastering a single book such as a Gospel though, that can be done. And that is what this volume is for.

Setting out to master one Gospel thoroughly also makes a lot of sense. Walking around with whole Bibles in your pocket to give away would require eccentric attire to say the least. A single Gospel is practical to carry. The idea advocated here is to familiarise yourself with Matthew’s Gospel so that you can use it with skill. Whether you end up reading it aloud, giving it away, lending it or leading studies on it, you will be able to do so with confidence.

Why Matthew? Because Matthew is brilliant. It describes the life and teachings of Christ. It includes hot topics like religious hypocrisy, facing persecution and the end times. Again and again it roots the good news in God’s word to the prophets. The fact is that it is quite possible to share the gospel without ever referring to John 3:16 and, surprising as it may seem, many have done in other periods of history and in other cultures.

Why not the other Gospels? They are OK too. Maybe someone else can write about how to use them. Matthew has a lot to offer. Learn to use Matthew and you will soon learn how to use the others too.

Who is this book for? It is intended for anyone who wants some help in communicating the gospel to Muslims. There is a tremendous diversity among the Muslims out there – from born-and-bred British to newly arrived student, from illiterate refugees to university professors, from fanatically religious to thoroughly secular. This book is intended to enable ordinary Christians to equip themselves to meet any of these challenges.

Which translation should you use? Copies of Matthew’s Gospel are available in a variety of translations. Obviously, you need something in clear English. You also want something that does not quickly fall to bits. The more it looks like a holy book the better. Muslims tend to assume that a book containing pictures is not scripture. There is such a thing as a specialist Gospel which contains notes on key terms to help the Muslim reader. One example would be The Holy Injil from IBS.

Some people worry about language. If you speak another language, you should be able to adapt the material offered here. If your Muslim friends do not speak English brilliantly, you might want to offer them something in their own language, but that will make it much more difficult for you to answer questions about what they are reading. Even if they have their own copy as well, you should operate from a text you are confident with.

Keys

For all sorts of reasons the gospel is locked to Muslims. Terms apparently familiar to them carry different meanings. They have been taught to think in a way that is hostile to basic gospel principles. They have even been warned against being deceived by it.

Your opportunities to witness will come in a variety of forms – chance encounters, planned visits, established friendships and so on. Sharing Christ is spiritual work and cooperating with the Holy Spirit is the only way to fruitfulness. The time for harvest has started, but it is still not a simple task. What this book does is to provide you with a set of practical tools, keys even, to help unlock the gospel for your Muslim neighbours.

Chapter 1 Good News for Muslims?

The word gospel means good news, something to celebrate. In Matthew 4:23 we read that Jesus went all through Galilee preaching the good news of the kingdom. The content of his message is summarised in verse 17: ‘Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Now, ‘repent’ isn't the good news. It is rather an order, an exhortation, and, if we are honest, it sounds to us more like a sort of veiled threat. And while it is certainly God's command, it is not – in itself – something to celebrate. Nevertheless, at that time and in that place this message was indeed received as good news. The people to whom these words were addressed were first century Jews. As heirs of the prophets, this was extremely good news. They knew that God had made certain promises, that one day he would intervene in the world to establish a new relationship between himself and humanity, that he would conquer evil. Although the Jews had not correctly understood everything that God intended to do, they did know that the arrival of this period was good news indeed, and that it would be good to get ready for it. For them, the message that Jesus was preaching was good news. It meant that the moment had arrived when God would fulfill his promises.

In the Acts of the Apostles, we read how the word of God was announced to the pagans of the ancient world. In Acts 13:46-48 we are told that Gentiles, the non-Jews, received the good news with joy. Why? They didn't know anything much about the promises of God. They hadn't studied the scriptures, nor were they waiting for a Messiah. They lived in a world full of rival philosophies, and they were dominated by all kinds of gods, each one with its own temple and its own idols. They were also acquainted with the Jewish people, dispersed throughout their cities. In them they saw a people who worshipped just one, invisible God, a God of justice and mercy who had given them holy books. Many Gentiles wanted to participate in this religion, but the Jews insisted that they alone were a chosen people. ‘Sorry chaps, the only true God has established an exclusive relationship with just the one people, which happens to be ourselves.’ Imagine then, the delight of many of these Gentiles when the apostles came along, explaining not only that God had accomplished everything foretold by the prophets, but also announcing that the Messiah Jesus was Saviour and Lord for all nations. The message no longer excluded them; they were indeed hearing a message of good news.

We find the same pattern repeated elsewhere. In the various times and places where the gospel has been preached, quite different aspects of it have been welcomed as the good news. Dr Martin Goldsmith recalls finding that people were emphasising that Jesus was ‘the Way’ in Indonesia, ‘the Truth’ in Malaysia and as ‘the Life’ back in 1960s England –