Q & A

Question: For a Christian to be made into right relationship with God, he must believe (trust) in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. Moslems who trust in Allah will find it does no good. Jews who trust in Jehovah will find it does no good. The "correct" Jesus must be in the salvation equation. As for a prior article you wrote, I still would question your use of the thought, "Each of the monotheistic religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Most lay Christians will not understand where you are coming from and will misinterpret what you are saying. They think there could be three roads to God. Your reactions? I feel I need to respond to your email, even though I think I know what you mean. If you were to say to a Muslim or a Jew, "Muslims who trust in Allah will find it does no good. Jews who trust in Jehovah will find it does no good," the result would be disastrous and your witness would be ineffective. And you would be saying something I don't think you mean. Here is how I think they would hear you, "Your faith in God is no good." Now I do not know you, but I don't think you want to diminish or scorn anyone's faith in God. I think you want to build up the faith of others, even those who do not see God the way you do. Jesus did not mock the faith of the Jews or Samaritans. He filled their faith with a greater understanding by telling them what the Father was like. You may still object to what I said because you believe the God of the Jew is not the God of Jesus, but your responses have never adequately countered my position. Your only attempt to blunt my point is based on the fear that people might misunderstand. We are not well advised to take theological positions on the basis of fear. Some people will always object to something, but we cannot remain silent for fear of misinterpretation. (Allow me to be playful. Saying Jews, Christians and Muslims believe in the one same God is not nearly as objectionable as saying others' faith does no good.) Now what I think you intended to say was, "Our faith in God for salvation is made possible because of Jesus." My limited experience encourages me to say to Jews and Muslims, "Jesus came to show us what the Father was like and to save us from our sins." This central belief allows them to understand the heart of Christianity and encourages the Holy Spirit to draw them to the winsome Jesus.

--Dr. Lyle Pointer, pastor and Professor of Evangelism at Nazarene Theological Seminary, will answer your questions about personal and local church evangelism. Questions and answers will be posted on the website and One-on-One. Send your questions to evangelism@nazarene.org.

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