4. How to Have Spiritually and Culturally Relevant Conversations

For people who want to share Christ with a Muslim, the question I am most commonly asked is, “How do I carry a spiritual conversation?” Said another way, “how do I go from just being with a friend, talking about life to talking about Jesus?”

While I want to address this relevant issue, I want to be clear, there are no pat answers, no one, two, three steps, there are only Biblical principles to follow. Let me illustrate those below. Let me also suggest that it should not be lost upon us, that never is the Gospel given the same way twice in Scripture. This is for a reason, the (only) Gospel is given within a cultural context, and also considers the immediate life situation of the person being shared with. Let me illustrate this by giving the Biblical principles with some examples.

Start with Felt Need (Immediate Life Situation)

Let me begin by explaining what the term “Felt Need” means. What we’re trying to communicate here, and what we certainly see modeled by Jesus, is that it’s important to begin with the immediate life context of the person you wish to share with.

An easy way to categorize the life situation or immediate context of people is to by looking at Acts 2:42 which says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Allow me to suggest that the Apostle’s “Teaching” deals primarily with the intellectual needs of the person, “Fellowship” concerns our social, relational needs, “Breaking of Bread” touches upon both the social and physical needs of people, and “Prayer” certainly deals with the spiritual concern of people.

With this in mind, I’ll just briefly mention two examples of how Jesus used the “Felt Need” as a bridge to share the Gospel.

Take for example the Rich Young Ruler. To fully understand this, read Mark 10:17-31. In Mark 10:17 we read, “As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’”

We see from his question, the pressing issue and reason he approached Jesus was due to an intellectual consideration. He didn’t approach Jesus because of a physical, emotional, or any other kind of need. And Jesus used his question (and felt need) to engage him with the truth and cost of the Gospel.

Another example of how Jesus began with the felt need of the person is with Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. Consider the desperate way Jairus approached Jesus because of a physical need. Mark 5:22-23 record this, “A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived, and seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet and pleaded with Him urgently, ‘My little daughter is near death. Please come and place Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live.’”

Jesus used Jairus’ immediate life situation to engage him about the truth of who He is and what He could do, so as to lead Jairus to understand the Gospel. Without a doubt Jairus’ immediate life situation that Jesus used was a physical need.

After Jesus engaged people via their felt need, he began to share truth applying the second Biblical principle that I’ll explain here.

Known to Unknown (Begin with their cultural religious understanding of the Gospel and build a bridge to what they don’t know but need to understand in order to accept the Gospel).

It is imperative that we understand the importance of this Biblical principle when we evangelize, especially with a Muslim. Let me mention again, the Gospel was never presented the same way twice by Jesus. Why do you think that is?

Could it be because, when Jesus shared the Gospel with an individual, he not only took into account their level of knowledge and understanding, he spoke to them within their cultural and religious context to take them from what they did understand to a place of what they didn’t understand. It is imperative that someone understand the Gospel if they are going to accept it.

Let me explain this principle in general terms, then I’ll give some specific Biblical examples.

When Jesus shared the Gospel with Jews, He often used a vocabulary talking about the Kingdom of God. He did this because the Jewish people of Jesus’ day were trained to think of a relationship with God in terms of the Messiah coming and beginning his earthly kingdom.

When Jesus shared the Gospel with Nicodemas, a Jewish religious leader, He used the concept of the kingdom and familiar Old Testament examples (see John 3:1-18) to help Nicodemas traverse from his known to that which he didn’t know, which was he needed to be born again. John 3:3.

In contrast to Jesus sharing with Jews, familiar with the Old Testament Law and prophets, when Jesus explained the Gospel with a gentile (non-Jew) He did not use the Law or Kingdom terminology to make the Gospel understood. He spoke and explained to gentiles within their cultural and religious context.

Let’s look at John 4 and what we often refer to as the “Woman at the well.” This Samaritan woman wasn’t a Jew, nor did she belong to the Jewish religion, which explains why Jesus didn’t use kingdom terminology or Old Testament examples to explain the Gospel. To the Jews, the Samaritans were socially and culturally disdained, shunned and not considered worthy of the Jewish religion.

Knowing this, the first thing Jesus did, before He began to contextualize the Gospel so it would be understood by her, Jesus broke down the social-cultural barriers by asking her for a drink of water from the same well that she was about to draw water from.

Next Jesus took her immediate need (for physical water) and explained from her “known” and led her to the unknown, that He is the Living eternal water. Jesus did this by engaging her about what she did know and understand about God from within her religious context, “where should we worship?” and led her to the truth of who He is. See John 4 for a fuller understanding of this.

The point of the principle “Known to Unknown” is that we ascertain their level of understanding about God and the Gospel and we then lovingly and with cultural relevance build bridges to explain the Gospel message so it will be understood. For it to be understood, we must use a vocabulary and examples from within their religious and social context.

It’s as we explain the Gospel that we also incorporate the cost to receive it.

Cost General and Personal

Inherent in our encounter with a Muslim concerning the Gospel, as they grow to understand it, we must be faithful to explain the cost of what it means to be a Jesus’ disciple. Jesus did this both in general terms and specifically to individuals.

In a public format Jesus explained the cost to follow him in general terms by saying, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

But when Jesus explained the cost to an individual he did it in a personal and relevant way to their particular life situation.

For example, to the Rich Young Ruler, who held onto his riches as a means of righteousness and security, Jesus told him the cost to inherit eternal life was to "….Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Mark 10:21

Jesus explained the cost to follow Him to the religious leader Nicodemas, who was sure that his being a physical, spiritual descent of Abraham was the means to eternal life, that he needed to be “born again” John 3:7 if he was going to enter God’s eternal kingdom.

Summary

To begin and carry spiritually and culturally relevant conversations, we must be sensitive to perceive the felt needs of the person with whom we are speaking. It has been my experience, the more and deeper I love the person I’m talking to, the easy it is to discover and meet them at their deepest need.

As I bring truth into their immediate context, I do so considering their world view and present understanding of God. The better I understand their concept of God, the more effectively I’ll be able to explain truth to them in a way that will be understood.

The cost to follow Jesus, essentially requires that we give up everything that we believe gives us security or worth toward obtaining eternal life. Jesus wants it all, we must be sure to explain that as we engage Muslims with the only truth that can save. To not do so can easily lead to a syncretistic view of salvation.

If you would like more explanation or training on now to effectively incorporate these Biblical principles in your day to day engagement with Muslims, contact us. Tabi and I would be honored to teach any group of people interested in how to share the only Gospel with our deeply loved Muslim friends. We have a very practical workshop designed to equip you to share Christ more effectively with those Muslims we so dearly love.