Hello everyone.
I am a student from Bangladesh. I come from a Muslim background, but I am very interested in learning more about Christianity.
I want to be honest that I am still learning and trying to understand. At the same time, I feel some fear and uncertainty about how this interest might affect my life where I live.
I do not have a job yet, and I am thinking about my future. I would really appreciate advice from you about how I can continue learning in a wise and safe way.
Thank you for your kindness, patience, and guidance.
You have a challenge for sure. Becoming a Christian is not simply a change of religion. It means a new life and new nature within. The problem of all mankind is the nature that we were born with. We have the nature of a sinner. That means we do not have to try to sin. It's automatic.
"Sin" means to miss the mark. It's an archery term in Greek. God's standard is absolute perfection. Who has never lied, never rebelled, never been proud, stubborn or selfish? We may be right at times, but never all the time. And that is what God demands.
The problem is worse than we think. Sin is so offensive to God that He refuses to accept any sinner into His presence. We are all condemned to eternal separation from God, which is commonly called hell. It is spiritual death, separated from God for eternity. And sin is a debt that we owe God. We are unable to pay that debt That's the bad news
God knows that we cannot meet His requirement for perfection. So He does two things that we cannot do. First, God provided the remedy for sin. As we said, it's a debt that we owe God. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. We are already dead, so we have nothing with which to pay our debt.
God sent Jesus, who is God but who put on the form of a man. Jesus lived the perfect life that God demands form us. The He gave Himself up as a sacrifice for our sins, taking the punishment that is due to us. Muslims know about Abraham. You may recall that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his own son. God did not require Abraham to go through with the sacrifice. Abraham prophesied that God would provide the sacrifice. And that sacrifice is Jesus, the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world".
The second problem is our nature. God does not want us to remain dead to Him. So God includes us in Jesus, who rose from the dead. As we die with Christ to be forgiven, so we are raised with Christ to receive new life. It's hard to describe what that is like. When I was born again, it was as if I had been searching for meaning to life and finally found it. That was over 50 years ago and I remember it as if it were yesterday.
I understand your concerns. Islam does not take kindly to people turning away from it. You will likely be disowned by your family. It's easy for me to say in a safe country like Australia. But I will say that you cannot make a better decision for your life. Knowing Jesus is the greatest joy that anyone can have.
God is speaking to Muslims all over the world. Some Muslims have seen visions of Jesus and others have had dreams. I read one testimony of an Iranian Muslim. He had a dream where God told him the address of an Iranian Christian. God said go there and he will tell you how to be saved. Be assured that God loves you. Jesus loves you enough to die in your place. Islam cannot offer you that kind of love.
