Do you have peace with God? Are you living in His righteousness?
Find out how you can stand righteous before God, in order to experience true peace!
Peace with God?
Salam ma’ Allah?
How would you describe a successful life? Our lives goal is fulfilled when we are at peace with God. We find our fulfillment in our Creator. But are we able to achieve this peace? There can be no peace without justice, before the mighty, just God.
"O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice […] And be just; which is even nearer to righteousness. Fear Allah; indeed, Allah is aware of what you‘re doing." - from Surah 5:8
How should a sinful man be able to stand before the holy God?
Shahada, salat, zakat, sawm, and hajj were given to the Muslim as pillars. Yet in the end, the person who relies on them is still the same sinner who fails to fully keep the commandments. As stated 24 times in the Qur'an, Allah does not love the sinner.
"[…] Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors." - from Surah 2:190
"[…] but He misleads, as He pleases, and guides whomever He wills. And truly, you will be held accountable for your actions." - from Surah 16:93 "He guides whomever He wills into His mercy; but for the unjust He has prepared painful punishments.“ - Surah 76:31
After death, He alone decides whether you will be saved. There is no guarantee that His favor will turn toward you – or is there?
The Words of God
Kalimat Allah
How can you find out if you stand just before God? We find the instructions and commandments of the Most High in His words. The Qur'an was sent down to confirm what was already present in the scripture (Surah 5:48; 15:1). For Allah had previously sent down the Torah and the Injil as a guidance for the people (Surah 3:3-4; 5:43). For the believers, the Scriptures are authoritative (Surah 2:136; 4:136; 29:46).
"Say, 'We have believed in Allah and in what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.'" - Surah 2:136
Above all, no one can change the words of Allah (Surah 6:34; 6:115; 10:64; 18:27).
Therefore it is indispensable to study the words of God fully.
Here we find the Creator's plan with His creation, the rebellion of humanity, and the dreadful consequence of sin – the insurmountable separation from God. Quickly, we realize that the scale of sin could never be balanced by good deeds alone. Yet we also discover that the merciful God has made a way. We see: there is hope!
The Messenger of God
Rasul Allah
Throughout human history, the Merciful One sent His prophets to proclaim His will to humanity and lead them to repentance. Yet the majority of the prophets were rejected. Eventually, the arrival of a very special messenger is announced throughout the scriptures. Moses promises that the Most High will raise up a prophet like him.
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me, from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen“ - Deuteronomy 18:15
This verse from the Torah is often applied to Muhammad, but upon closer examination, we see: the Israelites are told that this prophet "from among you, from your brothers," the descendants of Isaac, will arise. This refers to Jesus, the Messiah. A man of the law like Moses, but even greater.
"And I will confirm the Torah revealed before me and legalize some of what had been forbidden to you. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey me." - from Surah 3:50
The Word
AL Kalima
What do we learn in the Injil about the message of the Messiah? If it could be summarized in one verse, it would probably the following:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16
How could believing in him grant eternal life? The answer lies in the message of the prophets. Since the fall into sin, they have proclaimed that the merciful God would create a way to reunite His people with Him. Around 700 years earlier, the Prophet Isaiah predicted about what would happen:
"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering and familiar with pain; Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." - Isaiah 53:3-5
Here, Isaiah predicted the crucifixion of the Messiah, which has been fulfilled in the exact same manner. The Qur'an teaches that the Messiah never died on the cross and therefore was not resurrected (Surah 4:157-158). The other scriptures strongly disagree; the death and resurrection of the Messiah are their central teachings. Why? Because without them, there is no liberation from sin. Without the Risen One, there is no salvation. He endured the punishment for our sins – through Him, we attain peace. To those who prefer to rely on their own righteousness and seek to be righteous by keeping the commandments, the Messiah warns clearly:
"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" - John 5:45-47
The Merciful
AL-RAHMAN
The death of the Messiah on the cross shows us how terrible our sin is and how high the punishment of the just God is. But it also reveals the deep love of the merciful God and shows how far He was willing to go for us lost sinners. Read the following verses:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. […] He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God […]. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." - from John 1:1-14
Here we can find an even greater miracle: The Messiah is far more than we believed.
The Holy God saw the hopelessly lost human.
Out of mercy and love, He offers Himself as a sacrifice.
As 'the Word,' He enters into creation. He bears the just punishment for our sin and dies a terrible death.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." – Romans 6:23
The wrath of God is appeased, His justice is satisfied. We can now stand before Him if we accept the gift of His salvation.
Justice and Peace
AL Adl wal Salam
„Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.“ - Psalm 85:10
Are you seeking peace with God? Do you want to stand justly before Him?God wants to save you! He has prepared everything and paid the price for your sins. His righteous sacrifice was more than sufficient – The way to Him is open!
Through the cross, the merciful God offers reconciliation to a lost world.
The resurrection of the Messiah proves His truthfulness and His sinlessness. Death had no claim on Him. Now we know that death does not have the final word in our lives either.
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." - Romans 5:1
How can you recognize the true God? Read His word and seek answers therein! I encourage you to read a translation of the Bible in your language. God is able to convey His message through all languages. But above all, ask the Lord Himself to reveal Himself and give you assurance. God hears every sincere prayer and meets every earnest God-seeker.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:11-13
How can you accept God's salvation?
"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." […] For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." - Romans 10:8-13
Your salvation has a name: Jesus – God is salvation.
Note: - The quoted verses from the Qur'an are from the Saheeh International translation - Bible translation for verses from the Torah or Tanakh and the Gospel: "English Standard Version (ESV)"
