Posted on 09/26/2004 2:18:01 AM PDT by newberger
For the past several months I have been in correspondence by email with an teenager who became a Christian two years ago but who is considering giving up the faith to become a Muslim.
Since I am well trained in apologetics and theology I've used all my knowledge to try to convince him to keep the faith. He has expressed stong appreciation for my concern a number of times but hasn't replied very often.
This week on the web site where I met him he said that he plans to "take shahada" (publiclly recite the one-line Muslim creed) and become a Muslim this week. I emailed him but he has not responded. As a result, I plan to email him once more, this time not with apologetic arguments but with a from-the-heart set of resaons why I am a Christian and not a Muslim.
PLEASE pray for wisdom and tact for me and for a receptive heart for my young friend. When he posts on the Islamic web site, he glows with his admiration for the faith but I only have clues as to what his reasons are. He seems to have a very (negative) stereotyped understanding of Christianity.
I know that such astep is not final in God's site and I won't cease to pray for him but I'm concerned that *he* will consider it a final step.
Paul (aka Newberger)
Prayers going up.
You have my prayers during liturgy this morning.
Please post your replies to newberger
newberger, my prayers for you, this boy and the family who worries for him. May you all be touched by our loving God! I pray for the right words to flow from you.
Salvation, thank you for the ping
Blessings,
trussell
If you want on/off my prayer ping list, please let me know. All requests happily honored.
Ephesians 2:8, 9 - "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the the gift of God.
Not of works, lest any man should boast."
There is nothing that we can do to become a Christian and achieve salvation
except to open the door when God knocks.
Even our faith in Jesus Christ is given to us by God.
I don't pretend to know God's plan, but if your friend has truly accepted Jesus
into his heart, he will be a Christian no matter what he labels himself in future life.
If he becomes a lost sheep, he will be found. He's still part of the flock.
As a Christian, Jesus becomes his righteous umbrella, and God sees no
wickedness. Jesus has already paid for his sins - past, present and future.
We must always remember that everything goes through God's hands first. God
will allow evil to exist according to His plan.
If your friend has been tempted by the false prophets of the Muslim faith, it may
be because God wants him to learn a valuable lesson. God will never forsake him.
Pray for him. The rest is up to God.
Dear Lord Jesus, please give Paul the guidance and help he needs. Please open the heart and mind of the person he is trying to bring to You. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, Amen.
I will pray for the young man also. I debate muslims over on paltalk daily it seems... And i have seen many so called christian women fall away into islam. I agree they were never born again. They are wooed and charmed By the muslim men and willing to give up anything for them. I would like to share a few scriptures.. 2 Timothy 3:6
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because[2] to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
7Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[4] and again, "The Lord will judge his people."[5] 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Keep us informed on what happens. I pray the holy spirit keeps him from uttering those words of denial.. By The way..
The shahadas i have heard of former christians, The muslims have added to it and make THEM PUBLICALLY DENY JESUS.. REALLY QUIET SCARY !
In Matthew 10:32-33 he says, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Let me add 2 wonderful stories. 2 christian women i know did take shahada... One within 2 weeks was on her face in repentance KNOWING WHAT SHE DID WAS WRONG. She told me she could not sleep at night she had totally fallen apart after denying Jesus.. She is truly born again now. Also another one pretty much same story. She was muslim for about a month and during that time she became the most evil person. She was at war inside and she since Gave her life back also Praise God!!!! They got a taste of the darkness and realized it
You've got them. I'll pass it on to the priests.
We must be very careful in making judgements about other people's relationship
with God. God looks at the heart, not the person, and we never know His plan.
We cannot look at the actions of a Christian and judge the condition of his soul.
The second verse you quoted is:
Hebrews 6: 4,5,6: "It is impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made
partakers of the Holy Ghost,
And have tasted the Word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to open shame."
This is a very good topic of discussion which ties in well with this thread.
The meaning of these three verses has been debated countless times.
First, some background:
The Book of Hebrews was written by an unknown author, probably Paul, to a
group of Christians living in Italy (?) who were leaning toward abandoning their
faith in Jesus Christ and resuming their faith in Judaism.
The theme of the whole Book is the superiority of Christianity over Judaism.
Some denominations believe that the "falling away", as would be the case if one
accepted the religion of Islam, prevents one from ever receiving a Second
Salvation.
I'm of the studied opinion that "once saved, always saved".
The verses say to me that I have been illuminated ["enlightened"] once. I cannot
be illuminated again. I cannot be double saved.
Were that not so, a heirarchy of saved souls would exist with the ones receiving
the most number of "savings" being at the top of the heap and deserving the most rewards in Heaven.
This would cheapen and degrade the sacrifice of my Savior.
The quote from Matthew illustrates Satan's aims on this earth.
Many Christians went to their death in Roman times because they would not deny
their Savior.
For Muslims to insist that their converts deny Him, proves that Islam is a tool of
Satan.
And there you have it.
She was born again the first time.
I was debating on whether to post the hebrew scripture lol :) I know its been debated.... :)... Suffice it to say If a person has truly been born again They could never do this or if they had become cold to the Lord They might do it only to be an absolutely miserable creature after the fact. One in particualr who reverted about 6 months ago she has changed so much. Shes so cruel hateful and mocking Jesus now. I feel shes in middle of major spirtual war inside of her :(
You can count on it.
I've seen the same thing. Sometimes these wars for the soul go on for years.
I pray that she will come home quickly.
We Christians on this forum are so very truly blessed. We were firm in our faith before God allowed Satan to be loosed.
We hang onto each other for strength, and God does the rest.
Prayers going up in gratitude for your faithful witness and for this confused young man. May God open his eyes to the Truth.
"When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin."
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven.
When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and need HIS strength to carry on.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's good grace, somehow."
"Share this with somebody who already has this understanding, as reinforcement.
But more importantly, share this with those who do not have a clear
understanding of what it means to be a Christian, so that the myth that Christians
think they are "perfect" or "better than others" can be dispelled."
Thank you, TexasGirl
Paul, my prayers are up for you and this young man.
I pray for this young man.
It sounds like he is getting propoganda from a person he will not reveal - I would be surprised if he was so swayed through a website alone.
and Amen.
Prayers on the way!
Prayers sent that this individual will grow in the Grace of Christ.
Prayers sent.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.