How To Share The Gospel With Muslims near Resurrection Day

One of the most favorite and well-known verses from the Bible is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

When the Bible says that Jesus died so that “whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life”, it really means whoever…

People sometimes take this verse and try to change “whoever believes” to “whoever is a good person and believes” or “whoever hasn’t done anything ‘unforgivable.’” But the fact is, all God requires is our repentance and belief in Jesus, even if this happens on the deathbed, on the last breaths of someone who truly lived a terrible life.

“Whoever believes” really means anyone. This includes Islamic terrorists. This includes Muslim husbands who beat their wives. This includes Muslim mothers who unknowingly oppress their children. This includes you and me because, without Jesus, we are all sinners.

We cannot believe or act as if anyone is too far gone for Jesus’ blood to reach them. Sometimes, we judge others and feel that they don’t deserve to receive salvation because of what they’ve done to us or other people. These are the moments when we need to look inward and learn how to forgive. Look to Jesus as our example because He is the one who died on the cross to pay the price of our sins when we never deserved a second chance.

And now that we have received the gift of salvation, it is our job to tell our Muslim friends that they can receive this gift too. Celebrating Resurrection Day is not just for believers to remember and celebrate Jesus’s resurrection, but we can also use this day to share the Good News with Muslims!

Bible Verses to help share Jesus’ resurrection with Muslims

When we see Muslims through God's eyes, we have compassion for how lost they are in Islam. Christ-followers need to have humility and remember that we once lived lost and sinful, unable to save ourselves. Bible verses about Jesus’ resurrection are a great starting place to share the Good News with Muslims.

2nd Corinthians 5:19 “... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

Since we are washed by the blood of Jesus, God does not hold our sins against us, no matter how horrible they are. We are a new creation in Christ, and as part of the ministry of reconciliation, it is our job to do the same – loving our Muslim neighbors and never holding their sins against them.

1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

We are only born again through God’s mercy on us. There is nothing we could ever do to earn it, so we should never expect Muslims to earn it before we share the Gospel with them!

Ephesians 2:5 “When we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)...”

Romans 3:23-25 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.”

We all are dead in our sins without Jesus. You, me, and our Muslim friends. But we all are invited to a new life with Jesus through God’s amazing grace towards us.

How to share the good news of Jesus’ resurrection with your Muslim friend

Jesus died for everyone, but not everyone knows this good news! Here are some steps you can take toward sharing this amazing news with your Muslim friends:

Be authentic in your faith! Once they see that you act differently from how the world does, they will want to know what sets you apart from everyone else. This opens a door for you to talk about your faith.

Of course, this is more than just “lifestyle evangelism.” Sometimes, when we try to focus on how “good” we behave, we are worried more about how we are portrayed than how we can bring glory to God. Being authentic in your faith also means witnessing and sharing honestly about what God has saved you from and how you rely on Him every day!

Ask them if you can share your testimony! There’s nothing wrong with a straightforward conversation starter like, “Jesus has changed my life. I would love to tell you how if you are okay with that.”

Muslims are taught they must earn Allah’s favor and be “good enough” to get into paradise. When sharing your testimony, focus on how God saved you because of how loving He is, not because of anything you’ve done.

Offer to pray over them! Muslims are usually open to having Christians pray for them, and this is a great time to show the personal relationship you have with Jesus.

Muslim prayer is entirely different from how Christians are taught to pray in the Bible – they must recite Quranic verses with perfect pronunciation and perform specific movements for the prayer to be accepted by Allah. While you pray, thank Jesus for His sacrifice for everyone’s sins. Show that you can personally bring requests before God and thank Him for His unconditional love.

Invite your Muslim friend to church. This is a good step to take if you have already shared about your faith or if they show interest in knowing more. Take this Easter as the opportunity to invite your Muslim friend to church! This is a great time to bring a Muslim to church, similar to bringing them for Christmas.

A Prayer for Muslims during Easter

Jesus, I adore you. Thank you for the gift of your sacrifice and resurrection that allows me to have a relationship with you. Please give me the words to speak to my Muslim friends so that they may know about this gift too and accept it! Open up their hearts to receive your love and grace. Amen.