Soteriology — the doctrine of salvation — “really does matter,” said Phil Roberts, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. “How a person gets to heaven, or how they think they get to heaven, will determine how they live and how they die.”
Roberts’ comments came during the annual conference of Evangelical Ministries to New Religions (EMNR) hosted by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) Jan. 29–31. EMNR is a professional association for those in ministry to “cults” of Christianity, new religious movements and world religions. Many of the top thinkers in apologetics gathered to discuss ways to reach people with the gospel of Christ.
During the opening session, titled “Why they blow themselves up: Islamic soteriology and terrorist martyrdom,” Roberts noted that some Muslims, based on their interpretation of the Koran, believe that being a martyr for Allah in jihad is the only way they can have assurance of salvation.
“What is the reward for those who bear the sword, who go forward into the jihad and die in its cause?” Roberts asked. “It is forgiveness of sins, mercy from Allah and a life everlasting in paradise.”
The Koran only offers assurance of salvation for those who die during a jihad or those who die on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Roberts said, noting that “You could be the perfect Muslim … if you do it all well enough, long enough [then] maybe, maybe, you might make it to paradise.”
This belief, Roberts said, is what incites Islamic terrorists to devise and execute plans involving taking their own lives in order to accomplish the directive of the Koran to “fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them,” found in Sura 9:5.
However, Roberts said there is a problem with the equation for Muslims who honor the Koran — the Koran prohibits suicide.
“Yes, there’s the promise of encouragement and salvation for those who die in jihad, but for those who die in suicide, they are to face the judgment of Allah,” he said. “The twist the modern suicide bombers and their rationalizers make is that if you die in jihad using your body as a weapon, it’s not really suicide.”
Roberts contrasted the Islamic view of salvation with the Christian belief in the assurance of salvation based on the work of Jesus Christ. The key to evangelizing Muslims, Roberts said, is an accurate communication of the greatness and goodness of the gospel, emphasizing not that God says He is merciful, but that He demonstrated His mercy through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection. (BP)
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