CHAPTER 22
Harley Talman
Harley Talman (pseudonym) served many years in the Middle East and Africa. His PhD (Fuller School of Intercultural Studies), teaching, and writings focused on Christian-Muslim studies. He was co-editor of Understanding Insider Movements.
Before I had ever met a Muslim, I took a course on Islam. I was shocked to learn what Muslims believe about Christianity, appalled by their misconceptions about Christian theology. Later I learned from mission scholars that cultural, social, and communal barriers also prevented Muslims from following Christ and were probably even more powerful than any of their theological objections.
Become Like
When I moved to a Muslim country years ago, I chose to “become like” the local Muslims and adopt their culture, imitating the Apostle Paul’s practice as expressed in 1 Corinthians 9:19–22 (NET):
For since I am free from all I can make myself a slave to all, in order to gain even more people. To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law . . . to gain those under the law. To those free from the law I became like one free from the law . . . to gain those free from the law. To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some.
Paul’s practice of adapting to specific cultures seemed logical. He became like the people he sought to win: the Jews whose religion had biblical origins, pagan gentiles who were “free from the Mosaic law,” and even the “weak” whose religious scruples kept them from enjoying the benefits of freedom in Christ.
With this in mind, I dressed like the local people, wore a full beard like the religious Muslims and immersed myself in their culture and studied their religion. Consequently, I was often asked, “Are you a Muslim?” This opened up abundant, natural opportunities to share my faith by telling stories from the Injil (the Gospels) about the life, miracles, and teaching of Jesus. Over time, I was able to share key biblical truths and correct misunderstandings and objections to the gospel using Arab proverbs, Islamic concepts, and the Qur’anic verses that speak highly of Jesus and affirm the Bible’s veracity. I saw that the more I “became like” my Muslim friends, the more likely they were to comprehend biblical truth and come closer to Christ.
Remain Like
But what happens to Muslims after they come to faith in Christ? Muslims who embrace the gospel are often encouraged, or even compelled, to “become like” the national Christians in their community or foreign missionaries. Their community sees them as becoming “converts,” not only in matters of Christian faith, but also in culture, lifestyle, and communal identity. The act of “becoming a Christian” is perceived by their Muslim family and neighbors as joining the Christian community (many of whom may only be nominal Christians), and perhaps turning into an immoral decadent Westerner. The resulting persecution and expulsion from the Muslim community are not necessarily for following Christ, but for bringing shame upon their family, rejecting their culture, and betraying their community. This phenomenon has not only been unfortunate, but often unnecessary and perhaps unscriptural, seemingly contradicting Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 7:17–20, 24 (NET):
Nevertheless, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each person, so must he live. I give this sort of direction in all the churches. Was anyone called after he had been circumcised? He should not try to undo his circumcision. Was anyone called who is uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Instead, keeping God’s commandments is what counts. Let each one remain in that situation in life in which he was called. In whatever situation someone was called, brothers and sisters, let him remain in it with God.
The essence of the principle is for a new believer “to remain in the condition in which he was called.” This emphasizes that the situation in which a believer is called—the social, cultural, and religious affiliations—is a God-given station for living out his divine calling (cf. Acts 17:26). With extensive experience in the Middle East and as a New Testament scholar, Kenneth Bailey observes:
There is no special cultural identity required for discipleship in the kingdom of God. The Jew does not have to become a pigeating gentile. The gentile does not have to be circumcised and join the Jewish-Christian branch of the church. There is no sacred culture and no sacred language. Paul is writing in Greek, not in Hebrew. He tells his readers that regardless of their ethnic origins (Jewish or Greek) there is an “assignment,” a “calling” from the Lord tailored to who they are that does not require becoming someone else. From the time of Constantine onward, the times and places where this vision of Paul has not been honored are legion.1
What are the reasons that the Apostle Paul advocated, “remaining like”? This passage surfaces at least three reasons: first, “the Lord has assigned to each one” (1 Cor 7:17) the situation in which he was called—his station is God-given (cf. Acts 17:26). Second, the believer can remain with an unbelieving spouse and yet not be defiled. In fact, the presence of the believer “sanctifies” the unbelieving mate (1 Cor 7:14). Third, remaining in one’s place may bring salvation to that partner (1 Cor 7:12–16).
These also hold true with regard to the larger social community of the one who remains. God assigned the Muslim follower of Christ to the Muslim community. His association with Muslims who do not believe and live like him does not defile him; rather his presence “sanctifies” the community for God’s purposes. Most importantly, by remaining among them, the gospel of salvation can move through the believer’s entire network of relationships, making possible a movement to Christ.
Become Like . . . Remain Like
Understanding both of these truths is essential to creating movements of Christ followers. Many missionaries have realized that they must “become like” the community they are trying to reach, motivated by a desire to win the most people to Christ. But actually, to see the greatest followings of Christ emerge and flourish, outsiders need to help those who believe to “remain like” their people. I like the way a friend stated it: We “become like” so they can “remain like.” This sounds good, but what might it actually look like?
There is no special cultural identity required for discipleship in the kingdom of God.
My team engaged in a contextualized ministry to Muslims in Africa. We adapted to the local customs and religious culture and sought to express God’s love through holistic humanitarian work, despite political instability and physical danger. We trained sheiks (tribal chiefs and village elders) in community health development. This opened doors for us to teach them about spiritual health and the message of the gospel. We have made it clear that we were not asking them to convert to Christianity as a religion, to change their identity and become “Christians.” Instead we urged them to enter the kingdom of God by giving their allegiance to the savior king, Jesus the Messiah, and obey His teaching that includes living “by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” the entire Bible (Matt 4:4 NKJV).
In keeping with traditional decision-making processes, the sheiks interacted with our new teaching to reach a group consensus. As a result, well over one hundred Muslim sheiks trusted in Jesus as the Messiah who has authority to forgive their sins. They could continue with religious practices such as salat (ritual prayers) and fasting, but now according to Jesus’s instructions (cf. Matt 6). Most importantly, they are in a position to lead the thousands of people in their villages to become like them in their allegiance to Christ and the authority of the Bible while remaining Muslim in identity and culture. It’s that simple: We become like so they remain like. 
CONTINUE READING Sidebar: A New Creation
It’s that simple: We become like so they remain like.
A New Creation David Anthony
David Anthony (pseudonym) and his wife lived among and discipled Muslims for more than 20 years. They were involved in helping to plant the gospel into five different Muslim people groups.
My twenty-five years of working among Muslim people was a journey alongside many who became followers of Christ. Many of them struggled with the impression that they would have to reject their people and culture to follow Christ. I did the best thing I knew to help them find answers—I read Scripture with them, asking the Holy Spirit to teach us. Reading Paul’s letters at their side helped me see his words through their eyes.
We looked carefully at Paul’s letters to Corinthian believers. His strategy to communicate clearly was simple: “I became like “ He made efforts to become like the people he strove to reach so that “as many as possible might be saved “ He says in 1 Corinthians 9:19–22 that he accepted limitations so drastic that it seemed like he had become a slave in order to win many Five times in these verses Paul says he “became like” the respective group he sought to reach Five times in the same verses he also states his purpose, “that I might win” or “so that as many as possible might be saved “ These words spoke to me. I realized what my role was supposed to be in this Muslim context. I did all that I could to become like them.
But I found that my Muslim friends were struggling with the false sense of obligation to become like me and to follow Western church traditions. We saw that Paul had wrestled with this very same question. In 1 Corinthians 7:17–19, Paul states, “Only let every one remain in the life which the Lord has assigned to him, and in which he was called by God.” Twice more he restates this principle in verses 20 and 24: “So my brothers, in whatever environment you were called there remain with God.”
Paul emphasizes this point by saying “This is the rule I give to all the churches” (v. 17). What is this “rule”? Some may say that this passage of Scripture is speaking only of marriage. However, the next verse speaks of circumcision, which is the one-word summary of compliance with Jewish religious tradition.
“Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the signs of circumcision.” We took this question as saying, “At the time he began to follow Christ, was he obeying Jewish traditions? Then don’t try to depart from those traditions.”
“Was any one at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision because neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision” (vv. 18–19). We took this question as asking, “At the time of following Christ, if someone is not observing Jewish religious traditions, he shouldn’t seek to become culturally Jewish.”
We loved the excitement of seeing God create new lives reflecting Christ’s character within their culture.
We understood the “rule” that Paul referred to was his specific practice of encouraging new believers and churches to remain within their original social and cultural environment instead of adopting another.
So if religious identity, which was thought by some to come through Jewish circumcision, counts for nothing, what does count? Paul continues by stating what does have value: “Keeping the commandments of God.” Paul’s very simple strategy became clear to us: “become like” so that those who were saved would “stay like.” Become like, stay like, and obey God.
As we continued to study, we found the Apostle Paul writing about the very same thing in the book of Galatians: “For neither being a Jew counts for anything nor not being a Jew, what truly counts is a new creation” (Gal 6:15).
And again, as in 1 Corinthians 7:17, he spoke of a general guiding principle that he called a “rule”—”Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule” (Gal 6:16). It’s obvious that Paul uses the word “rule,” not as a law to obey, but as a prevailing principle that was guiding the new Christ-following movements among gentiles. As we applied this principle among the new believers, we loved the excitement of seeing God create new lives reflecting Christ’s character within their culture. The movement is still growing in that world, but not of it. It’s a new creation in an old environment.
Notes
1. Kenneth E. Bailey, Paul through Mediterranean Eyes (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011), 217.