Born Again: Reaching Muslims with the Gospel

The gospel stands against every false picture of Jesus. Islam may honor Jesus as a prophet, teach His virgin birth, and even speak of His return, but it denies that He is God, that He died on the cross, and that He rose again. That denial tears out the very heart of the gospel, because without the blood sacrifice there is no remission of sins, and without the resurrection there is no good news of life.

The mission field has moved into the neighborhood. Muslim families are living, working, shopping, and raising children in communities that have long had access to the Bible. Those people are not merely a threat to fear or an ideology to fight. They are souls who have been born under a false teaching about Christ and need somebody who will love them enough to open the Bible.

John 3 gives a simple golden hook for beginning that conversation: “Did you ever hear the story in the Gospels where Jesus told off a Jewish rabbi?” Nicodemus comes to Jesus with religious credentials, knowledge, and curiosity, yet Jesus tells him plainly, “Ye must be born again.” Physical birth brings a person into this world, but spiritual birth is necessary because Adam’s sin brought spiritual death, separation from God, to every person. The kingdom of God cannot be entered by religion, good works, family background, or trying to do things one’s own way.

Jesus brings Nicodemus to the big picture in John 3:16. God loved the world, gave His only begotten Son, and calls whosoever will to believe. Salvation comes through one door and one Person, Jesus Christ, who shed His blood to pay sin’s debt. Muslims get saved the same way Americans, Iranians, rich people, poor people, and everybody else gets saved: by humbling themselves, believing the truth about Christ, and confessing Him.

The gospel proves powerful enough to transform even those raised to hate its claims. A sixteen-year-old girl’s simple cassette tape brought an Iranian Muslim teacher face to face with a God who died for sinners rather than demanding that sinners die for Him. God’s Word still does that work. The church needs courage, compassion, prayer, and laborers for Muslim immigrants nearby and for doors that may be opening across the Middle East.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus must be rightly believed Islam’s respect for Jesus cannot save anyone if it denies His deity, His cross, and His resurrection. The real Jesus is not merely a prophet pointing toward truth. Christ is God’s Son, the sacrifice for sin, and the risen Savior through whom eternal life is given. [43:26]
• 2. New birth is not religion Nicodemus possessed learning, position, and religious standing, yet Jesus still told him, “Ye must be born again.” Spiritual death cannot be cured by moral effort or religious familiarity. Only the Spirit can bring a sinner from separation into living fellowship with God. [64:43]
• 3. Muslims need love and truth Muslim neighbors are not beyond the reach of God’s rescue plan. False teaching can bind a person deeply, but an open Bible and a faithful witness can expose the lie and show Christ clearly. Love for an enemy does not soften the truth; love carries the truth to those who need it. [75:08]
• 4. The gospel does its own work A teenage girl did not need advanced training or every answer before she offered a Muslim teacher a cassette about Christ. God used the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to awaken a hunger for the true God. Faithful Christians must not wait for perfect confidence before putting God’s Word in front of a searching soul. [74:22]
• 5. Closed doors may be opening Saudi Arabia, Iran, immigrant communities, and other Muslim contexts need prayerful laborers. God can open doors that have been shut for generations, but open doors still require people willing to enter with the gospel. The Lord of the harvest must be asked to send forth laborers.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [30:05] - Missionary Background and Revival Burden
• [33:35] - A Call to Repentance in America
• [35:20] - The M and M’s: Islam and Marxism
• [37:20] - Missions to Muslims and Bible Lands
• [39:26] - The Mission Field in the Neighborhood
• [40:42] - Islam’s Different Jesus
• [43:26] - Why the Cross and Resurrection Matter
• [44:36] - Sharia Law and Apostasy
• [49:58] - How the Gospel Came to One Family
• [54:39] - The Golden Hook for Muslim Witnessing
• [57:29] - Nicodemus and the New Birth
• [61:14] - Spiritual Death Through Adam’s Sin
• [67:11] - God’s Rescue Plan in John 3:16
• [69:27] - Sharam’s Journey From Islam to Christ
• [75:08] - Loving Muslim Neighbors With the Gospel
• [76:12] - Open Doors in Saudi Arabia and Iran
• [80:40] - Invitation to Salvation and Surrender

Bible Reading

John 3:1-16
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 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.
[57:29] [01:01:14] [01:07:11]

Genesis 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
[01:01:14]

Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Matthew 9:38
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
[01:20:03]

Observation questions

1. What facts does John 3 give about Nicodemus’s position, his reason for coming at night, and what he already believed about Jesus?
2. What two kinds of birth does Jesus distinguish in John 3, and what does He say is necessary to enter the kingdom of God? [59:36]
3. According to Genesis 2:17 and the explanation of Adam’s sin, what kind of death came through disobedience, and what did that death separate people from? [01:03:19]
4. What does John 3:16 say God did because He loved the world, and what is promised to the person who believes in His Son? [01:07:19]

Interpretation questions

1. Nicodemus had religious knowledge and a respected position, yet Jesus told him he must be born again. Why does this show that religious activity, family background, and good works cannot make a person right with God?
2. Jesus says that physical birth produces flesh and spiritual birth produces spirit. How does this help explain why a person cannot fix spiritual death simply by trying harder to live a better life? [01:04:14]
3. Romans 10:9 joins believing that God raised Jesus from the dead with confessing Jesus as Lord. Why are the death and resurrection of Christ not small details, but essential parts of the gospel? [43:36]
4. John 3:16 says that God loved “the world,” and Jesus offers life to “whosoever” believes. How should this shape a Christian’s view of Muslim neighbors, immigrants, coworkers, and people raised under false teaching? [01:08:06]

Application questions

1. Can you clearly point to a time and place when you personally turned to Christ and trusted Him as Savior? If that is unclear, what questions do you need to settle about whether you have been born again? [01:05:21]
2. Is there any way you have been tempted to depend on church familiarity, good behavior, family history, or religious knowledge instead of resting fully in Jesus Christ? What would humble faith in Christ look like in that area?
3. Think about Muslim people you may see at work, school, in stores, or in your neighborhood. Do you tend to respond with fear, suspicion, avoidance, compassion, or prayer? What would it look like to treat them as souls dearly loved by God? [01:15:08]
4. A simple question can open a meaningful Bible conversation: “Did you ever hear the story in the Gospels where Jesus told off a Jewish rabbi?” Would you feel comfortable using a question like that to begin a conversation? What might keep you from opening John 3 with someone? [56:33]
5. The gospel does not require a person to have every answer before sharing God’s Word. What is one simple way you could put the gospel before someone this week—by sharing John 3, inviting them to church, giving them a Bible, or telling them what Christ has done in your life? [01:14:27]
6. Jesus Christ is the one door of salvation for every kind of person—rich and poor, American and Iranian, religious and unreligious. Is there anyone you have quietly treated as too difficult, too different, or too far gone for the gospel? How can you begin praying for that person by name? [01:07:53]
7. Jesus commands His people to pray for laborers for His harvest. How could this group regularly pray for workers among Muslim communities nearby and in places where doors for the gospel may be opening? [01:20:03]