Objections Handling - MidEast. Objection Five


OBJECTION 5: “It isn’t fair/possible for one person to take the sins of another.” / “God can only forgive sins that are committed against Him; He will not forgive sins that humans commit against humans.”

Steps: 

  1. Say, “You know that God is merciful and forgiving, and you also know that he acts with justice in everything he does (see Surah 4:135). When God revealed His law through the prophet Moses, he gave commands about forgiveness. Can I show you one of them?” 

  2. Share Leviticus 6:1-7. 

  3. Ask, “What does God command a person who sins against his neighbor to do?”

  4. Discuss their response, then say, “It’s interesting that God says the person sinned ‘against the Lord’ by deceiving his neighbor. Sins hurt people, but sins are ultimately against God. And God commands the sinner to reconcile with his neighbor, but God also demands a blood sacrifice. According to God’s Law, the money fixes things between humans, but a sacrifice is what fixes things between us and God.”

  5. Say, “But God also promised that things wouldn’t always be this way. Through the prophet Isaiah, God said He would send someone who would take away our sins.”

  6. Share Isaiah 53:10-12. (If you have time, read all of Isaiah 53 together.) 

  7. Ask, “Can anyone interfere with the will of God? You know that whatever God wants to happen, He just says ‘Be!’ and it happens (Surah 36:82). And through Isaiah, God said it was His will to forgive the sins of many because of the sacrifice of one special righteous person. Does that sound familiar?”

  8. Say, “The night before Jesus died, he told his followers, ‘This prophecy must be fulfilled in me: “He was counted as one of the sinners.” Because the things that have been written about me have their fulfillment’ (Luke 22:37). He is quoting the Isaiah prophecy and says it was written about him!” (If you have time, read Luke 22:37, 41-43.)

  9. Ask, “Before we looked at these passages, you said one person can’t take the sins of another person. After what we have studied together, what do you think now?”

  10. Depending on their response, you can invite them to follow Jesus, continue studying these things with the More than a Prophet story track, or discuss other objections. 

Objection 5 Example Dialogue


YOU:

“You know that God is merciful and forgiving, and you also know that he acts with justice in everything he does (see Surah 4:135). When God revealed His law through the prophet Moses, he gave commands about forgiveness. Can I show you one of them?”


FRIEND:

“Sure.”


YOU:

(Open to Leviticus 6:1-7 and ask them to read it; or, share the simple version below.)

God said this to Moses: “If anyone sins in any way against God by deceiving his neighbor, or by robbing someone, or by oppressing him, or by lying, he must give back what he stole or caused someone to lose in the full amount plus an extra fifth. And then he must bring a perfect ram to the priest as a sacrifice to cover his guilt in God’s eyes. And the priest shall sacrifice the animal to restore the person’s relationship with God, and the person will be forgiven for his sins.” 


YOU:

“What does God command a person who sins against his neighbor to do?”


FRIEND:

“He has to give back what he took plus extra.”


YOU:

“Definitely, he has to make things right with his neighbor. What else does God command him to do?”


FRIEND:

“I guess he has to sacrifice an animal.”


YOU:

“Right. It’s interesting that God says the person sinned ‘against the Lord’ by deceiving his neighbor. Sins hurt people, but sins are ultimately against God. According to God’s Law, the money fixes things between humans, but a sacrifice is what fixes things between us and God. But God also promised that things wouldn’t always be this way. Through the prophet Isaiah, God said He would send someone who would take away our sins.” (Open to Isaiah 53 and ask them to read it; or, share the simple version below.)

Isaiah said, “God’s servant has carried our grief and our pain, but we thought he was afflicted by God. But he was pierced for our sins; he was crushed for our offenses against God. Every single one of us turned away from God, but God put all of our sins on him. He was oppressed, but he didn’t defend himself; he was quiet like a lamb before it is killed. Even though he had no sin, it was God’s will to crush him, so that he would be an offering for our guilt. He is the righteous one, and because he bore our sins and was considered a sinner for our sake, many of us will be called righteous.”


YOU:

“What does the prophet Isaiah say was God’s will?”


FRIEND:

“To crush the person he was talking about. Sometimes God punishes us to test us. Is that what is happening here?”


YOU:

“It seems like God has a different purpose here. God said it was His will to forgive the sins of many because of the sacrifice of one special righteous person. Does that sound familiar?”


FRIEND:

“I’m not sure. I don’t recognize it.”

OR

“Because of my question, I guess you’re talking about Jesus.”


YOU:

“Yes—Jesus quoted this prophecy and said it was referring to Him. The night before Jesus died, he told his followers, ‘This prophecy must be fulfilled in me: “He was counted as one of the sinners.” Because the things that have been written about me have their fulfillment’ (Luke 22:37).” (If you have time, read Luke 22:37, 41-43.)

“The prophecy was about a promised savior who would receive the punishment our sins deserve, and it said His death would bring our healing and forgiveness—just like the animal sacrifice in God’s law. And Jesus said that He came to fulfill that prophecy! Before we looked at these passages, you said one person can’t take the sins of another person. After what we have studied together, what do you think now?”


FRIEND:

“You may believe it for yourself, but it doesn’t work for me, because these passages in the Bible could have been corrupted to fit with the Christian idea of Jesus.”

OR

“Can Jesus’s sacrifice heal and forgive me as well?”

OR

“I am not sure. Can you tell me more?”



OTHER OPTIONS: “God cannot be known by people.” / “God would not want a relationship with people.” 

OR: “God cannot suffer/die.” 

OR: “God cannot have a son.”


Common Questions

Many times, our friends might ask us questions that we are not sure how to answer. These are not objections to Jesus, but they deal with things that are close to our friends’ hearts, and the way that we answer them is important. Like Paul told Timothy, we are called to be kind, patient, and gentle when correcting those with false ideas. 


“The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.” 

2 Timothy 2:24-25


“Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” 

Ephesians 4:15


Thus the goal is to show love even while we share truth, gently redirecting the conversation to the gospel, keeping the main thing the main thing. 


“What do you believe about Muslims?” 

Possible answer: 


“What do you believe about Muhammad?” 

Possible answer: “The Injil tells us that, in the past, God spoke to us many times by many prophets, but in these final days, he has spoken to us by His Son, and His Son is the perfect revelation of Him. This son is Jesus. So, because we have the Son of God, we should not need a second prophet. Can I tell you a story about how Jesus revealed God to me?” Then share a relational Bible story using an experience from your own life. 

Don’t: Criticize Muhammad, argue about his life, or call him a false prophet; these approaches can cause big problems. 


“I’ve heard that the Bible has prophecies about Muhammad.” 

These are all clearly taken out of context. With all of them, you can ask your friend to show you where the prophecy is, and then read the whole passage with them, clearing up any misconceptions along the way. There are two common ones we can look at here.  

  • Deuteronomy 18:15: “Moses told the Jews that God would raise up a new prophet like him from their brothers. This was referring to Muhammad, because Ishmael was the brother of Isaac and Muhammad was a descendant of Ishmael.” 

    • Possible answer: “Ishmaelites would be the cousins of the Israelites, not their brothers. The clearest meaning of ‘from among your brothers’ when speaking to Jews is a Jewish prophet, like Jesus was. Can I share with you a passage that shows how Jesus fulfilled this prophecy?” Then share Acts 3:18-23.

  • John 14:16-17: “Jesus said that God would send a ‘Counselor,’ a ‘Spirit of Truth,’ after Jesus went to heaven. This counselor was Muhammad.”

    • Possible answer: “This is from a very important story, when Jesus is giving His final message to His closest followers before His death. Let’s keep reading.” Find John 14:16, then read down to John 14:26. Read John 15:26, then John 16:7-16. “It is clear that Jesus is talking about the true Spirit of God, not a human prophet. And Jesus also says that He is able to send the Spirit of God to us, because everything that belongs to the Father belongs to Jesus. Do Jesus’s words sound like something a normal prophet would say? What do you think about this?”