MUSLIMS are suited to be loved and when millions of them around the world are fasting during this month of Ramadan, Christians should pray for some specific concerns, preacher and author John Piper said.
Those who reject the Jesus of the Gospels are found in churches, synagogues and mosques, but during this Ramadan month we need to pray for the Muslims who sincerely want to worship God but do not realize who Jesus is, said the pastor for preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minn., on his blog on the Desiring God website.
Jesus said that he would die, that he would die for the ransom of the sinners, that he would rise from the dead, that he is the Messiah, and that he is God, but “traditional Muslims deny all of these truths,” said Piper, who did his doctoral work in New Testament Studies at the University of Munich, Germany.
The author of many books, including the award winning Spectacular Sins, then showed how Jesus views those who deny Him. Jesus said seven things about them. They do not “know” the true God, they do not “honor” Him, they do not “love” Him, He is not their “Father,” they do not “have” Him, they have not “heard” or “learned” from Him, and they “reject” Him, Piper said, giving a Bible verse for each point.
“Neither Muslims nor anyone else truly worships the true God if they reject Jesus as he really is in the Gospels,” said Piper. How do we respond to this? By loving them.
“Muslims in particular (along with Jewish people and others who reject Jesus as he offers himself in the Gospels) are especially suited to be loved by Christians,” he said. “Jesus came into the world to awaken and save those who rejected him – like we once did,” he added, quoting Mark 2:17, “And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’” Source: Christian Post
