Becoming a Child of Allah
We are nearing the end of this course and come now to the most important material we shall cover. Through our study of Allah's word we have learned much. We have seen how sin first entered the world and the human race. We saw how, from Adam, sin passed to all men. All men came under Allah's curse and face the penalty of eternity in hell. We studied the law and how Allah gave man various laws at various times. Yet, since no one can keep the law no one can be saved by it. Rather, it helps men see their sin and points them to Allah's grace. We then looked at how at various times Allah made special temporary grace arrangements for men. Allah's grace was available to those to put their faith in Allah's promise and accepted it. Those who did not believe Allah nor accept his grace arrangement were destroyed. They received the just punishment for their sins. We looked at Allah's blessing on and how it was to extend to all men for all time. We then saw that in Allah provided the means by which to fulfill his promise to . We also saw how the of was a sign or symbol pointing to the coming of a final perfect for all men. We saw that, just as Allah provided an animal for to sacrifice in place of his son, so now Allah has provided a sacrifice for us in the death of Isa. According to the , Isa is "the Lamb of Allah who takes away the sins of the world". We have seen in Isa's life, death and resurrection how prophecy was perfectly fulfilled. Finally, we saw that of all men only Isa is alive in heaven interceding before Allah for his disciples. Now we come to the most important question of the course. How can I become a disciple of Isa and be sure of going to heaven?
Prophets and were considered righteous by Allah because of their faith (Iman)
It will help our understanding if we look again at the life of . Let us see what the says about how was made righteous in Allah's sight, and how we too can receive this blessing of . It is written,
Even as Ibrahim “believed Allah, and it was credited to him as righteousness.“ Know therefore that those who are of faith, the same are children of Ibrahim. Al-Kitab, foreseeing that Allah would justify the nations by faith, preached the Injil beforehand to Ibrahim, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.“ So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Ibrahim. For as many as depend on legalistic observance of the Taurat’s shariah are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things that are written in the book of the Taurat, to do them.“ Now that no man is justified by shariah before Allah is evident, for, “The righteous will live by faith.“ Shariah is not of faith, but, “The man who obeys these things will live through them.“
Al-Masih redeemed us from the curse pronounced in the Taurat, having become a curse for us. For it is written, "Everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed," that the blessing of Ibrahim might come on the nations through al-Masih ‘Isa; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
(Injil, Galatians 3:6-14)
It is evident from this passage that was considered righteous in Allah's sight because of his faith. Instead of trying to justify himself through his own good work, depended on Allah's grace and trusted in Allah's promises. The same is true of the followers of . They recognized they were condemned before Allah through the law (shariah). Thus, they admitted their sin and guilt to Allah, and sought his grace. When Allah said his grace was available through they believed him and obeyed. According to his command, they sought perfect animals and offered them according to Allah's rules. We are in the same position today. Like and we cannot hope to be saved by obeying the law. Even though the law is good, we as sinners, cannot obey it and hands only bring down its curse. Therefore, we must follow the example of Allah's people of the past by following the steps below.
How we can also be considered righteous before Allah
1. Admit to Allah that you are a sinner and cannot keep his perfect and holy law.
2. Recognize that by your disobedience you deserve only death and eternity in hell.
3. Accept Allah's final grace arrangement, that is,
A. Choose Isa as your perfect , the one who fulfilled Allah's blessing and promise to .
B. Believe and accept Allah's promise that Isa died to take away your sins.
4. With Allah's help and strength seek to live a life pleasing to Allah according to the teachings of Isa. In your own power you can never please Allah, but through trust and dependence on Allah's strength and forgiveness you can seek to live according to his will.
The above may seem difficult to understand at first. Perhaps an illustration would help. Imagine you are standing on a riverbank and want to get to the other side of the river. You cannot swim and you have no boat, so what can you do? First you must find out if there is a bridge. Once you know there is a bridge and where it is, then you must cross over the river using the bridge. Some bridges are sturdy, but others are not very well built. When you see the bridge, you must decide whether or not you will trust the bridge to hold your weight and not collapse. However until you put your trust in the bridge and use it, it does you no good.
Getting to heaven is like crossing that river. Through al-Kitab we learn that Isa is the only bridge to heaven. By trusting in Isa we can get to heaven. You might understand that and even be able to explain it to someone else. However, have you ever actually used that bridge to Allah? Until you do, it will do you no good. Have you put your faith in Isa and accepted his sacrifice as the covering for your sins? Allah offers you the gift of eternal life through the of Isa, but you must accept it. You can accept it now by praying to Allah sincerely and humbly, and telling him you accept Isa as the covering for your sins.
Through faith we are set free from slavery to sin
The four steps given may seem very simple to you at first. However, if one really understands them and in sincerity follows them, one's life will never be the same. As the says,
Therefore if anyone is in al-Masih, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. (Injil, 2 Corinthians 5:17)
One's life will be transformed. Instead of continuing to live as a child of this wicked age one becomes a child of Allah. As it is written,
But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become Allah’s children, to those who believe in his name (Injil, John 1:12)
Instead of being a slave to your own sins and lusts, Allah gives you the strength to seek to please him and live a holy life. It is written,
What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under shariah, but under grace? Astaghfirullah! Don’t you know that to whom you present yourselves as servants to obey, his servants you are whom you obey; whether of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? Alhamdulillah! Once you were slaves of sin, but you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were entrusted. Being made free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you presented your bodies as servants to uncleanness and wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your bodies as servants to righteousness resulting in holiness. For when you were servants of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now, being made free from sin, and having become servants of Allah, you have the fruit of holiness, and the result of eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of Allah is eternal life in al-Masih ‘Isa our Lord.
(Injil, Romans 6:15-23)
This is an amazing thing that deserves closer attention.
Through faith we can obey Allah
Surprising as it may seem at first sight, we who have been saved by Allah's grace apart from the law are now set free to obey the law. Far from looking down on Allah's law and disregarding it, we, who have been saved by faith in , are set free from bondage to sin. We are given the power by Allah to obey his good and holy law. Thus, for example, when asked what the greatest commandment was Isa answered,
One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Taurat?“
‘Isa said to him, “‘You shall love Allah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' The whole Taurat and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.“
(Injil, Matthew 22:35-40)
Far from being set free from obedience to this law, by faith in Isa we are now for the first time set free to obey it. We can for the first time love Allah with all our hearts and obey him. We are set free from slavery to our own desires and through Allah's strength are able to love others as ourselves. Amazing as it seems, those who have been saved by faith apart from the Law are the only ones able to obey the Law. All those who attempt to be righteous before Allah through the Law or through their own works and efforts, are bound by their own sin. Much as they may hate it, they are prevented by their own pride and selfishness from living in true obedience to the Law. The outward action may be correct, but their inner thoughts (that only Allah knows) condemn them. But now, we who have been set free from slavery to pride and selfishness are able to worship Allah in holiness and purity.
Isa is the second Adam
We have just seen that when a person in sincerity, humility, and brokenness admits his sin to Allah and places his faith in Isa as Allah's way of forgiving sins, the person is made new by Allah. Destructive effects of Adam's sin are corrected. Pride, lust, selfishness, jealousy, and fear that were created in man's life through the sin of Adam is corrected and wiped away. By Allah's power and mercy, man has the potential to be the beautiful creation he once was before the sin of Adam. He has the potential to live once again in a personal and loving relationship with Allah just as Adam and did before they fell. Isa corrected what was destroyed by Adam. In this way Isa the Messiah is a kind of second Adam. Through the first Adam all men became sinners and guilty before Allah. Through Isa, the second Adam, man has the potential to enter again into the relationship with Allah he had before the fall. This is explained very clearly in the ,
But al-Masih has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in al-Masih all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)
Or again,
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive Allah's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, . Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through our Lord. (Injil, Romans 5:12, 17-21)
By faith we partake in the blessings of
We, then, who by faith have accepted Allah's grace arrangement, the of Isa, become partakers in the blessing of . Just as Scripture says about , so we too are counted righteous in Allah's sight because of our faith. Through our faith in Isa, we become Allah's children and friends of Allah. In fact, it is written,
The testimony is this, that Allah gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who does not have Ibn Allah does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of Ibn Allah, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of Ibn Allah. (1 John 5:11-13)
We who have become partakers in the blessing of by faith are assured of eternal life. We know we are saved and will spend eternity in Allah's presence in heaven. This may be difficult to understand at first. The reason we can be certain is that our certainty rests on Allah, not us. If we were trying to be saved through obedience to Allah's law then we could never be certain. Even if by some miracle, we had kept it perfectly in the past we would always live in fear and uncertainty of the future. At any time we could be led astray by Satan or by our own desires and lose all hope of salvation. However, those who have been saved by Allah's grace through faith do not live in fear and uncertainty. Their salvation rests on what Allah has done not what the individual person has or has not done. It is Allah who planned and executed our salvation. It is his grace, his work, not ours. It is all his and we, by faith in him and his promises, can only accept or reject it. Those who accept it live in peace and security while those who reject it live in uncertainty and fear. In the next lesson we shall be looking at the results of acceptance and rejection in more detail.
