Recently, I took a short vacation with my family to a predominately Catholic country. While there, a local Adventist pastor arranged for me to speak at a prison.

I was led through a series of about six gates into the heart of the oldest active prison in that region of Europe. It had been used by the Nazis in World War II. I met with three prisoners. Prisoner A was serving a life sentence without possibility of parole. He is now a baptized Seventh-day Adventist who radiates love for Christ. He said, “I tell my guards, ‘Though it may look like I am a prisoner, I am a free man. Jesus has set me free. These walls don’t confine me. I have a mission to testify of salvation to the other 1,200 inmates here.’” His eyes shone as he gave testimony of his transformation. His comments were purposeful and warm, his body muscular and disciplined, his appearance well-groomed. He glowed like the Hebrew boys in Babylon after their 10-day test.

Prisoner A had invited Prisoners B and C along. Prisoner B was obviously interested in the gospel, but the worry and fear written on his scarred face showed it hadn’t all sunk in yet. Prisoner C looked like the stereotype forger on prison-break movies—quiet with double-thick glasses, an unkempt moustache, and a sweet smile.

Knowing these men had Catholic backgrounds, I crafted my message for them. My topic: five truths every Muslim must come to know. (Of course, I’d handpicked the truths so they would be the very things my Catholic prisoner friends needed to know.) For an hour and half, the men eagerly ate up all five truths. Here is a brief summary:

1. Muslims must know Jesus is more than a prophet.
We read Hebrews 1:2, 3. I focused on Jesus in His power and strength. Just when we were about to leave the passage, Prisoner A interrupted to point out the very important last phrase, “. . . when He had made purification of sins.” Thanks for bringing me back to what’s really important for us humans, Prisoner A!

Yes, Jesus is more than a prophet. He forgives sins and cleans lives. I then told a story of walking along a dry creek bed with a friend here in Turkey. My Turkish friend noted that, “Where there is water, there is life.”

I agreed and then diverted his thoughts. “You know, the Bible often compares the devil’s territory to a desert.”

“Yes! I can see that,” my friend agreed.

Then I pushed him a bit farther. “Messiah Jesus said about Himself, ‘I am the water of life.’” My friend was shocked and pondered silently for about 10 minutes as we walked. Everyone in the world needs to know that Jesus is more than a prophet.

2. Muslims must know the Bible is God’s reliable method of teaching us about His work to save us.
Springboarding from the concept of Jesus as more than a prophet and the question of why Jesus is pictured with a double-edged sword in His mouth, we looked at Hebrews 4:12. The Bible is God’s double-edged sword, which wars against sin and is more skillful than a surgeon’s scalpel. Then we went to 2 Timothy 3:16 and talked about the Bible being God’s gymnasium for righteousness to build spiritual muscle. I told the prisoners about how my Muslim friends consider the Koran a mysterious book with almost magical qualities but how few have actually read it and how even fewer study it. Most Turkish Muslims live by tradition. Prisoner A spoke up: “That’s like the Catholics in our country.”

3. Muslims must know it is by grace that God has succeeded in giving us salvation.
In an attempt to popularize their religion, many Muslim books teach that people are saved by faith. On analysis, it is clear that they are talking about faith in the merit of their deeds. I told my prisoner friends about the scale I have so often heard Muslim people talk about. Good deeds on one side, bad deeds on the other. If you are lucky, you can inherit a few extra good deeds from those who had plenty. Prisoner B spoke up: “No one could pass that test.” We looked at Ephesians 2:8, 9 and Romans 5:8, 9. This led Prisoner B to comment that he could see why some Muslims, frustrated at the thought of facing the scales, would blow themselves up with explosives in an attempt to perform the ultimate good deed.

4. Muslims must know we have a friend in the judgment.
Here, we talked about Jesus’ role as our lawyer (I Tim. 2:5). Because these prisoners could easily relate to judgment, I asked them how they would have felt if they had gotten to court and found a much-loved brother serving as their judge. Then we eagerly consumed John 5:27 and Hebrews 2:10-14. We talked about how Muslims don’t believe they have a friend at their judgment. Instead, they have a legend that if they kill a sheep in this life, it may help them cross the razor-sharp wire that spans the chasm over hell. Prisoner A caught onto the symbolism immediately and asked why Muslims don’t see Jesus as the Lamb of God.

5. Muslims must know God’s spirit lives in the believer as a helper, achieving God’s goals in his life.
Muslims misapply John 14:16, 17 and say it points to Mohammed. Unfortunately, Mohammed is dead and can’t be much help at all. Jesus said He would give the world a Helper. That was a vital message to the early believers who hadn’t heard that there was a Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2). It is the Holy Spirit who softens us, who teaches us, who sanctifies us. The Holy Spirit steadily confronts us and offers us choices and challenges so that God’s character of holiness is produced in us. Prisoner C pointed to Prisoner A as being a perfect illustration of what the Holy Spirit can do in a life. I agreed. From life imprisonment to life forever.

As I passed again through the prison doors after hugs and handshakes from my new friends, I reflected on how eagerly those Catholic men had absorbed a message of grace when I used the Islamic shortcomings as a parable to teach it. Someone else’s defects are much easier to analyze than one’s own.

Suddenly, I was struck with an idea. I could picture myself returning from this predominantly Catholic country and my Turkish friends asking, “How was your vacation?”

I would say, “Great, but you know, there are five things Catholics really need to know.” I could see my friends sitting up, ready to listen. Everyone has curiosity about the faults of their foe.

So, this month, I am praying for an opportunity to tell a Muslim the five things Catholics must come to know. I think that, upon hearing these points carefully tailored for Muslim ears, my Turkish friends will both readily agree and deeply reflect.

If the Lord opens an opportunity, I will say, “First, Catholics need to know that evolution, idolatry, pork eating, alcohol, etc. have crept into the Catholic Church because they have forgotten that the Bible is inspired and authoritative and God would have us study it.” (The Koran speaks against Catholic idolatry, so Muslims will agree, but they’ll also ponder because they don’t read the Bible either.)

“The second thing I have observed is that Catholics who seek forgiveness from priests need to know that Messiah Jesus is the only mediator between God and humans.” (Muslims believe Jesus is alive in heaven; they just don’t know what He is doing there!)

“Third, Catholics who rely on ritual prayers and pilgrimages to Mary monuments, etc. need to know that our salvation is a free gift of God, not earned by works.”

“Fourth, Catholics need to know that there is a judgment coming, and Peter won’t be of any help.” (My Turkish friends will laugh, but it will be a perfect springboard for speaking about the real Helper and the true judgment.)

Finally, I will say, “The fifth thing I observed is that Catholics who are living worldly, materialistic lives need to know that God’s Spirit wants to help us come away from worldly desires.” (Sincere Muslims want to come apart from the world, but they struggle because they rely only on human power.)
I think any decent Turk ought to agree with that list and might find an awful lot to think about while scrutinizing their neighbors. I know I have.

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