This is a guest post by Jim Baton. Jim is an author and peacemaker between Christians and Muslims. Learn more at www.jimbaton.com
Note from Jeremy Myers: If you would like to write a Guest Post for RedeemingGod, begin by reading the Guest Blogger Guidelines.
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but a book with a poorly arranged or offensive cover rarely tempts you to pick it up and look inside. On the other hand, packaging that’s attractive to you can move you to take a closer look.
A few years ago a young Muslim woman came to us in great need. She had encountered Jesus through a dream and a dramatic healing, loved him whole-heartedly, and loved reading the Bible. But her family reacted as though she was betraying them and was hunting for her to kill her!
At first I thought her biggest issue would be the rejection of her family. I was surprised when she said that she came to us to learn how to tell her family about Jesus in a way they could understand. And the deepest struggle in her life was actually that she felt like a fish out of water in the church!
My family had lived for many years in a Muslim nation and understood this complex social dynamic well. The young woman had left a community where religion and extended family were a part of every aspect of her life. Losing that sense of community created a profound loneliness. She knew no one she could share this faith-journey with who was from her own language and culture.
Meanwhile, she’d been accepted into a local Christian community of a different ethnicity, language and culture, that encouraged her to dress differently (remove her head covering), eat differently (try some pork!), pray differently (fold your hands), change all her holidays (dropping Idul Fitri for Christmas), and so on.
She never felt like she belonged. She never felt like she could be herself.
Then we told her something that brought life back into her eyes. She told us this was the best news that she’d ever heard.
We told her she didn’t have to become a Christian to follow Jesus.
What did we mean by that? We meant that she didn’t need to join a local church, change her habits and holidays, or start identifying herself by the religion of “Christian.” She had already received the Gospel—she’d received Jesus. He is the Good News, and he doesn’t require us to accept him with unwanted, even offensive, packaging.
What would be better, we told her, was if she would bring Jesus into her world of head coverings and kosher food and Idul Fitri celebrations, and into her family.
Jesus experienced a similar encounter in John 4 when he met the Samaritan woman at the well. The religious culture of his day dictated that there should be a firm wall between Jews and Samaritans, between men and women, between the righteous and the sinner. Jesus didn’t call out to her from his side of the wall for her to change before she could approach him. He crossed over to her side of the wall.
When she brought up the theological wall that should separate them (the proper place of worship), Jesus emphasized that what God was really looking for was worship that came from the inside—“worship in spirit and in truth.” The word “spirit” is the same word for “breath”; the word for “truth” is where we get the word “reality.” God was looking for those whose very breath called out to him; whose worship was real.
The Samaritan woman got this revelation—she could be a worshipper too, just the way she was! She raced back to tell her village, and brought Jesus home to them. So we have the very first account in history of an entire village believing in Jesus as their Messiah, and they weren’t even Jewish! They were from a different religion! They may have never accepted the truth if Jews had brought it to them in a Jewish package, but Jesus broke through every wall for them. They got the Gospel because they got Jesus.
There are people all around us from different ethnic, cultural and religious (or non-religious) backgrounds who have no interest in our churches or our institutional Christianity. They feel they wouldn’t fit in there. But that doesn’t mean they might not want Jesus. They may need to encounter him freed from our unwanted Christian packaging. It may require us going to where they are instead of waiting for them to come to us.
Today my Muslim friend still covers her head, eats no pork, and celebrates Idul Fitri. She’s also introduced her whole extended family to Jesus, and many have received him as their Messiah too. She’s learned to build friendships with Christians, while being herself, and letting Jesus incarnate once again into her skin.
She got the Gospel—she got Jesus.
What do you think of how we responded to this woman? Should we have told her that to truly follow Jesus, she needs to give up her head coverings, start eating pork, and start celebrating Christmas instead of Idul Fitri? Or was our response in line with the Gospel and the example of Jesus, as we allowed Jesus to truly incarnate Himself and the Gospel in this woman’s life, family, and culture? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Jesus was not a christian, why should anyone else need to be? Follow Jesus not a religion.
Christianity is not a religion but a ‘relation’ with God .This relation was made possible by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Who submitted to the Father’s will by obeying Him to the extent of laying down His life for us.
I myself am a Hindu and have not changed my religion. But I am a ‘slave’ of His love as He ‘bought’ me with His sacrificial death by paying the price for the redemption of my soul. Nothing can separate me from His love (Romans 8:31-39).
Christ-followers don’t need a religious label.
I don’t believe that one size fits all here. Jesus says that his coming would bring division in families. The advice given may have been wisdom in the case of this young lady, but in a different setting could mean spiritual death. As in all things, those involved must be guided by the Spirit.
Short answer, “No”. And then there are reason’s of discipliship to say “Yes”.
I shed the term Christianity
But I will also say that few people actually follow Jesus and aren’t required to. Loving people and being nice isn’t following Jesus. That costs nothing. The cost to actually follow Him is high and few want to pay it
If you actually try loving all people it will cost you a lot if you are an Evangelical. I get all kinds of “hate mail” for loving Muslims the way I would want to be loved which is to get an understanding of Islam from people who are at least sympathetic if not ardent supporters of the faith. Loving Muslims like Jesus would will get you in a lot of hot water in many circles.
You can follow Jesus and wind up in hell. What all people (Muslims included) need to do is believe Jesus is the Son of God who died on a cross for our sins and was raised for our justification. Once you believe on Him you receive His life. He will live in you through the person of the Holy Spirit. As a new creation in Christ Jesus you can then grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Christians are followers of Jesus, I’m a Christian
So you left your family and have no possessions or traditional job and spend your hours evangelizing?
The word Christian appears in the book of Acts (11:26) at the observation of those seeing the active demonstration of those following Christ. To say or imply that a person has to leave family, give up possessions, not hold a traditional job and solely evangelizing is not inline with any teaching of Jesus. He did say that we could not be His disciple and be held to or controlled by family, possessions, jobs and other “worldly” ideology to the point of those relationships replacing Jesus as LORD (Luke 14:26).
Simply put, if we take Christ out of Christian, we are left with three letters “ian”. Those three letters stand for “I Am Nothing” without Christ. While I have not “divorced” my family or given up my possessions or left my traditional job, I do spend much time in prayer, study of the Bible, looking for and seizing every available opportunity to share the Gospel and disciple other Christians.
To say that a person does not have to be a “Christian” to follow Jesus is to say that Jesus is not worth following or identifying with. The only way that people will observe our faith is to identify with Him and that is to be a Christian and that does involve a complete lifestyle change.
When Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), he did not debate the reality of Jesus nor did he inquire as to how to pray to receive Jesus and neither did he question what the situation required. Saul responded to Jesus by asking one question, “Who are you Lord?” Jesus then reveals Himself to Saul and Saul simply and profoundly asks another question, “What do you want me to do?” and Paul followed Jesus from that point forward and was eventually identified as a Christian (follower of Jesus Christ).
To be a Christian is to be a follower and demonstrator of our faith in Jesus Christ. Paul did not return to being a persecutor of the followers of Jesus. On the contrary, he left it all behind and embraced the words he would pen to the Corinthian church, “If anyone be in Christ (there is that pesky identifier of Christians again), he is a new creation, old things have passed away and all things are made new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). He was made completely new on the road to Damascus was discipled for three years and went on His way proclaiming the Way he was previously intent on destroying.
Christ is not Jesus last name, it is His position and title. He is the Anointed One, the Messiah, the only way of salvation and to say that one does not have to be a Christian to follow Him is a misunderstanding of Who He is and what He as accomplished.
I understand what you are saying, Christ-like, or follower of Christ. Yet today the term christian is taken so many times as a religion about Christ and many therein are stereotyped as judgmental and condemning. The religion of christianity is not what I want to follow. As you said Jesus is who we want to follow, and I believe we can do that without christianity.
Religion is the enemy of the truth. What you call yourself (Christ Follower, Disciple of Christ, Christian) isn’t the issue. The question is who are you (to coin The Who)? Are you someone trying to follow the ways of Jesus or have you come to the point of realizing that it is impossible to follow Jesus? Freedom comes when you realize you are separated from God by YOUR sins and that Jesus, through His death, burial, and resurrection, came to reconcile you to God. Once you believe the gospel you are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit. It’s Christ in you that makes you a new creation …. a Christian.
I’m a Christian
Well Christian means to be Christ like, my answer is yes.
Since this paragraph isn’t a biblical explanation of what it means to be a Christian, then of course she doesn’t need to be THAT kind of Christian: “Meanwhile, she’d been accepted into a local Christian community of a different ethnicity, language and culture, that encouraged her to dress differently (remove her head covering), eat differently (try some pork!), pray differently (fold your hands), change all her holidays (dropping Idul Fitri for Christmas), and so on.”
It’s almost impossible to go thru life without a label – even “Christ follower” is a label that’s not always clear. And of course Jesus wasn’t a Christian – but neither was He a Christ follower. He is the head of the church; “Christian” being a word that originally meant “little Christ” and would only make sense for his followers.
We are free in Christ to wear the clothing we are comfortable in, and abstain from any food we wish.
I think that Jesus speaks to people in their own culture and brings them to Himself.
I absolutely AGREE. with you Nolen
You cannot be both a Muslim and a follower of Jesus
I can be whatever i want to be.
Yes but it is clear that any deception about who we are is not following Jesus, however church culture is not a requirement and probably a hindrance to be a disciple but beware Islam has a culture steeped in false belief that must be recognised. The lady in question needs discipling not according to church traditions but according to the bible and this issue is not really answered sufficiently in this article.
You can be a follower of Jesus and still retain cultural dress and practices. This is classic, textbook, graceful, sensitive, loving mission…..
No you weren’t wrong. Reading through the comments reminds me of how we still attempt to put Jesus into some manageable form, term, and ideology. I’ve now started to write my description and each attempt is just another manifestation of the same. Jesus is God. Isn’t that enough
To be honest a Christian is a follower of Christ, hence the name Christian which has supplanted followers of “the way”, which defines one as a follower of Christ. I agree that observation of our holidays (Christmas for one which was picked out to coincide with a pagan holiday) or easter is not required for salvation. We know from scripture that faith in Jesus Christ is all that is required for salvation. And if you believe Jesus Christ is God, you’re a Christian. About the only thing I’d say a Christian should to do that a Muslim doesn’t is celebrate the Lord’s supper by taking part in communion. Once again, if you live in an area of the world where that’s not likely to happen, your still saved by grace through faith. I do take issue with the title of your article though. It should have read “I told a Muslim in order to follow Christ she doesn’t need to become a white washed tomb” since it’s evident you think that’s what church goers are.
She WILL become a Christian when she accpets Jesus as her Messiah!
Well, lot of Conservatives say they’re Christians but they don’t seem to follow Jesus.
We could reflect on the narrative in Genesis that describes how God made language divisions at the famous Tower of Babel. From this story we get the idea that cultural diversity is in fact something that God wants and has actually created.
If God is good then cultural diversity is beneficial.
The west has dominated Christian iconography for so long, I think we have assumed that the western cultural version of Christ is the “true” version. Sola Scriptura we declare and yet what is seen all over the place in the west is that absurd image of the man with long fair hair, simpering eyes and Greco/Roman features. Jesus we say it is. What rubbish.
And the western style of basilicas set up as Sunday morning lecture halls dominated by salaried preachers. The church, alias western mediaeval culture.
Though I do suggest that we need to beware of syncretism. If we are too easily accepting of blending the Christ way with other ways, the other way tends to start to dominate ( e.g. Catholic church in parts of Latin culture ) and we can end up with a sort of Christian flavoured paganism.
However it could be a good thing that other influences are impinging on the ubiquitous western view, we might start to realize that God is much bigger than we try to make Him.
Isn’t God creative, and what is creativity ?
In the bible we are told that from nature we can learn God’s power and His divine nature ( Romans 1 ) and we see that nature is so diverse; an almost endless variety of shapes, colours, habits and sizes. That’s the divine nature reflected.
The west has tried to hold God in a strait jacket for so long. We can’t do it, His Spirit, like the wind, is going where He will.
Silly question, a follower of Christ is a Christian.
The term Christian has even more baggage than any sect of Islam. Drop it!!! Follow Jesus!!!
Be who Jesus was!
Follow Christ!
Be Christ!
I find Jim’s story compelling and very believable. It is us who have wound Christ up into culture and church history and as Neville said you cant but God in a strait jacket. As ambassadors of Christ it is our challenge to work within culture in… appropriate ways. The reason we need to do that is because God does it and has been for 2000 years or more. Great story Jim!
So nice to read this article. This scenario recalls what is happening in northern nigeria where lots of Muslims are struggling ” to follow Jesus” in a different settings. It has created woes and hardship for them. I believe the need this understanding to share Jesus. But the big question is, can they observe all the 5 daily prayers to belong? This the only way to still belong. Thanks so much for sharing. Dr. Suleiman G. Purokayo
Amen
I think cultural variety is not the insurmountable issue of concern. The way of Christ can accommodate culture and social traditions as Jim has related. That is a wonderful result and shows the surprising way in which the Spirit moves.
But I suggest that there is a difficulty that arises when the question is not what a Muslim is going to be, but what Jesus is.
If a Muslim is to confess that Jesus is Lord, then Mohammed is not Lord and Allah is not Lord. And that is a deadly clash.
But Jesus assured his followers that what is impossible for men is possible for God.
Yes, Neville! This is the crux. If she can do that within the bounds of her culture that’s great. But there may come a time when the religion (Islam) of her culture demands that she conform to Allah or be damned. Then she will be required to make a hard choice. We do not and never will follow Jesus by conforming to cultural demands.
‘Following CHRIST’ makes you a CHRISTian, yes.
“14 If you are insulted because of the NAME OF CHRIST, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you SUFFER AS A CHRISTIAN, do not be ashamed, BUT PRAISE GOD THAT YOU BEAR THAT NAME. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4)
“18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the NAME OF GOD’S ONE AND ONLY SON. 19 This is the verdict: LIGHT has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3)
Christian means a follower of Christ . Christianity is not a religion , but is a way of Christ to be followed for heavenly/eternal life .
I sense in many of Jesus’ interactions that it wasn’t so much what we do for God as what a loving God can do for us – empower us to love others as ourselves. I don’t detect anywhere in Jesus’ interactions any hint of someone saying the sinner’s prayer and all that entails. Jesus when leaving this earth says the Spirit, and not some Book subject to many interpretations, would guide us (Jn. 14:16). This young lady now knows about a loving God she can seek guidance from. I would not presume to tell anyone how God is guiding them unless they are spreading misbeliefs of a loving God.
No!
Galatians 5:6 NIV
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
I believe you did the right thing, yes. Tradition has it’s place but it is not necessary to be a follower of Christ. Why turn someone who wants to worship Jesus away simply because their culture is different? Personally, the only thing I didn’t really like was the wording of “you don’t have to be a Christian”. A Christian is a follower of Christ, and I rather like the word. It’s the western church traditions that aren’t essential. But that’s just my opinion. 🙂 keep up the good work! God bless!
I think your approach is spot on, as far as it goes. I would take it farther by telling her that there is a way to follow both Mohammad and be a follower of Christ. She could be, and looks like she already is, an Isawi Muslim. Isawi means Isa (Jesus) and wi (way), so a Muslim (one submitted to God) who follows the Way of Jesus. She needs to be told that all the Christians, like many commenting on this article, who believe our salvation comes from orthodoxy (right belief) and not from orthopraxy (right living) are barking up the wrong tree. They have introduced a concept of salvation foreign to Jesus, his Apostles, and the early church. The cross of Christ was not meant to provide a means of forgiveness for a humanity that is universally condemned for the sins they could not avoid if they had wanted to (doctrine of Original Sin) but God gave his Son as a graphic and powerful demonstration that God forgives any and all, and invites everyone into the Kingdom of God wherein a person is given the Holy Spirit to help overcome and be free from sin. Muslims regard Jesus as one of their prophets, but have used textual reliability issues as a smokescreen for their own bigotry and rejection of the New Testament even though Mohammad confirmed the Gospel and affirmed those who followed it. Ironically Muslims have substituted the even less textually reliable Hadith and fatally complex and Pharisaic Sharia Law in place of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This article focuses on clothing, meat, and holidays which from the standpoint of contextualizing the Gospel for a different culture is a good thing to do but the real issues a Muslim will have, or should have, are not being addressed.
The term “Christian” was originally a term of scorn that did not ever originate as a follower of Jesus. The term Christian is of pagan Roman root…followers of Jesus, simply took it on in that time and culture.
Thanks for the many interesting comments! I’m happy to respond to a few here.
LABELS
Roger, great comment on this issue of unhelpful labels. When I use the word “Christian” in the article, I’m not talking about the young woman’s theology, which is Bible-based and may be closer to the American evangelical than, say, the liberal Episcopalian pastor down the street! I’m talking about which group of people she identifies with and therefore accepts the “label” of.
There are millions of Muslims around the world, like this young woman, who don’t understand Arabic. They recite Arabic prayers but often don’t know the meaning of what they’re saying. They attend services on holidays in Muslim mosques, but can’t understand any portion of the sermon that’s in Arabic. If you asked them to name the “5 pillars of Islamic faith” they might not even be able to do it. So what makes them Muslim? They were born Muslim. Their family, village, everyone they know is Muslim so they must be too.
Now if that is the way this young woman perceives her own faith–doing the 5x/day prayers, fasting for Ramadan, covering her head, avoiding pork, celebrating holidays–what does she perceive Christianity to be? It’s that religion that doesn’t fast, doesn’t cover, eats pork, and celebrates Christmas–that is her perception of Christianity.
The question for her then, is when she receives new life through the Messiah, Jesus, and allows her theology to be newly developed based on the Bible, which socio-cultural group does she want to live out this new faith in–her Muslim socio-cultural group, or a foreign Christian socio-cultural group?
In our independent-minded Western approach to religion, we gather around those with similar doctrines. In the East, people gather around personalities that they trust–because of a connection like family ties, friend of the family, from the same village, speaks the same language, etc. This is why transplanting a young woman from her background in a Chinese church doesn’t feel right to her, and why she wants to let Jesus’ kingdom be the yeast that transforms her whole natural community.
Another great topic brought up–
TRADITIONS
Thanks Neville, Grahame and Emily for commenting on this!
Christianity as an institution has adopted many wonderful (and some not-so wonderful) traditions. These vary according to ethnicity, language and so on.
But the vast majority of these traditions do not accurately reflect how Jesus lived and ministered, nor the apostles in the book of Acts.
In Acts 15, there had to be a special “Jerusalem Council” to sort out whether new Greek believers would be required to maintain some of the Jewish traditions. I find it interesting that only 3 recommendations were made (related to the most offensive sin issues of immorality and idols, and the sensitivity to Jewish brothers issue of being able to eat together), with James specifically saying he didn’t want to “burden” the new believers with the Jewish laws.
As Western Christians, the last thing we want to do is to burden new believers from other contexts with our Western Christian traditions.
So what exactly are we looking for in a Muslim who chooses to follow Jesus?
+allegiance to Jesus as Savior and Lord
+reliance on the Bible for truth
+being led by the Holy Spirit
+in a faith community
I contend that if you observe those 4 transformations in any group, God Himself will guide them into how and what their new faith should look like. It may look nothing like ours–just like the Samaritan believers or the new Greek churches looked nothing like the Jewish synagogues that had embraced Jesus as Messiah.
To paraphrase Peter after witnessing Cornelius’ home receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit–“God poured out His Spirit on them just as he did on us! Blame Him, don’t look at me!”
Thank you Dr. Suleiman for your question about the 5x/day prayers!
REDEEMING MUSLIM FORMS
I rejoice with you at what is happening in Nigeria, even as we hear similar stories all around the globe. Muslims are discovering that the highly esteemed prophet ‘Isa in the Al Qur’an is far more important than they thought. He is beginning to take his rightful place as Al Masih, the Messiah, who heals, delivers, forgives, and saves from the final days’ judgment.
Should new followers of Jesus like the young woman I shared about continue her ritual prayers 5x/day?
Personally, I believe this is a question the new follower of Jesus needs to ask God for themselves. Who am I to tell them what to do? They have the Word and the Spirit, and in community God will guide them into all truth.
I know some Muslims who continue this practice, and after they finish each prayer time, they add on extra time with the Lord praying “heart prayers” in their own language. I know other Muslims who have left behind the ritual to just pray heart prayers.
I imagine their choices may be influenced by why they were praying the ritual prayers in the first place. If they were praying purely for “credit” when they die, Jesus’ salvation reveals they no longer need to pursue credit with God. If they were praying as a way to stop their daily activities and remember God (like many of my friends claim), why would we want them to keep working and forsake such a godly habit? Now as they remember God they have even more to be thankful for!
A dear Muslim friend came to me recently with a question. He had learned heart prayer from us, and we’d prayed together for years. He always struggled to do his ritual prayers though, because he found little life in them. So he asked me, “If my 5x/day prayers are supposed to help me remember God, but now I’ve learned to pray heart prayers all day long, don’t I already remember God? If I can keep in an attitude of prayer, enjoying God’s presence as I work, eat or play, why would I have to stop to perform a ritual prayer?”
This is not a Muslim who has embraced Jesus yet, just a seeker who is seeing beyond the forms of worship to their purpose.
My encouragement to you is to not worry too much about which forms new followers choose to keep or cast aside, but to focus on developing the transforming life of Christ inside them (breath and reality) and let the Spirit show them how to express what’s inside in a way their community can understand.
And one final comment for Kirby–
ISAWI MUSLIMS
Brother, sounds like you have some experience in this and I’d love to talk to you more! But maybe let’s move our dialogue to my blog or my email.
You can find me at http://www.jimbaton.com
Blessings!
Great article. What you did was righteous and good I believe.
Very interesting point. These are my thoughts:
To be “a Christian” is actually not our description of ourselves – from the beginning it was other people’s descriptions about the people believeing in Jesus. Other people could see that a group of people reminder them of Christ and so they were called Christians.
(Act. 11:26 )
Christ is a person, not a way of life/ a way of behavior patterns. But I do think that He will lead us to part from things that are symbols of other gods. The important thing is for us to let HIM do that in our and other people’s lives and at the time He chooses. For some it can be food and drinks for another person holidays and traditions. Paul is very clear about not letting anything bind us, but he is saying it’s not the same for everyone of us. We would like it to be simple – do this and not that and we get religion….
“The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” (Acts 11:26). Based on how the word was originally used, anyone who claimed to be a follower (disciple) of Jesus was called a Christian. Surprisingly, the term was used only three times in the New Testament. In many parts of the Scriptures, a follower of Jesus is often referred to as a believer, a disciple or a saint. For sure there were believers of Jesus who continued to observe Judaism and Gentile practices. The kingdom of Jesus crosses cultural boundary lines. Being labeled or not as a “Christian” is irrelevant.
Me? I rather be called a follower of Jesus.
Christmas is a Pagan holiday not for the followers of Christ but everything else WAS great!
More articles like this are so needed in the world at this time!
Thank you for this!
It takes great Grace and deep revelation to arrive at this point. Growing and working on the Fields in Northern Nigeria has helped us have this same understanding. My Dad calls them “secret disciples.” Because many Muslim brothers and sisters will visit our home at night for prayers, studies or deliverance from demonic attacks.
We believe in sowing the seed of the gospel and letting it take root. Thanks for sharing this.
God bless you!