Five Pillars of Five Pillars of Faith and Faith and Truth Truth By Jafar bin SalaamBy Jafar bin Salaam

Pillar 1 – There is One True God and He wants us to know Him and His will

for our lives. • God is the ALL-POWERFUL (omnipotent) Creator of the universe. He has the ability to reveal Himself and accomplish His purposes.

• While God is transcendent and apart from His creation, He is not far away. With His ability to be EVERYWHERE at the same time (omnipresent), He is near.

• God knows EVERYTHING (omniscient). Because He knows everything about us, He wants us to know Him and His will for us so that we can fully experience His Goodness and Mercy. He desires a relationship with each of us… men, women, and children.

 

The different colors represent both distinction (primary colors) and the multifaceted nature of the One True God as seen in the visible spectrum of Light. The triangles reveal essential elements of God’s nature.

Pillar 2 – God is Loving and Just, and He wants us to be holy

because He is Holy.Understanding these Attributes helps us to know God

and correctly

understand His plans

and purposes

for us.

Yes, God is Holy. He is perfect and sinless. God is Just. He does not scheme or act inconsistently with his character and nature. It is amazing, but wonderful, that God is Love! He has good intentions and desires for those who will accept Him for whom He is and will trust Him even when His ways are difficult for us to understand.

His standards are extremely high… we too must be perfect even as God is perfect.

This creates a perplexing dilemma for all people.

  

Pillar 3 – Because no person is perfect and sinless, we all suffer the Shame and Dishonor of our ungodliness and come under the divine justice of God.

OUR UNHOLY AND SINFUL THOUGHTS, WORDS, AND ACTIONS MAKE EACH OF US IMPERFECT AND SINFUL PEOPLE. IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW SMALL THE IMPERFECTION, ANY SPOT, FLAW, OR FAILURE CAUSES EVEN THE MOST UPRIGHT PERSON TO BE DISGRACED IN THE LIGHT OF GOD’S PURE HOLINESS. WE ARE GUILTY, NOT JUST IGNORANT. WE ARE CONDEMNED WITHOUT ANY MEANS TO ESCAPE PUNISHMENT BY OUR OWN EFFORTS.

Can anything be done to remove the shame, dishonor, and spiritual death brought on by our sin?

Pillar 4 – In His Love and Mercy, God offers a unique solution to the horrible consequences of God’s Wrath. Jesus

Christ (Isa al-Masiih), the ONLY sinless one, acting with HONOR, gave himself as the covering sacrifice to remove our sin

and SHAME.

Isa al-Masiih (Jesus the Messiah) is the Word of God and the Spirit of God manifested in the human flesh. Contrary to misconceptions by many, this is not “shirk” or associating another with God. What is the difference between God, His Word, and His Spirit? There is no difference, as each is only a manifestation or expression of that One True God. Many Muslims believe that the Qur’an is eternal and uncreated and yet they are not accused of shirk because it [the Qur’an] is physically present in this world as ink on paper! It is the same with the person of Jesus. As the very expression of God, Isa al-Masiih is the only means of removing the shame of our sin, imperfections, and unholiness. No amount of education or good works could ever make us clean before a Perfect, Holy, All-Knowing, and Just God. God Himself initiated and paid the price to restore honor to us through the sacrifice of Isa al-Masiih on our behalf.

Pillar 5 – If, by FAITH, we recognize our sin and shame, turn away from it, and SUBMIT to God’s unique solution in the death and resurrection of Isa al-Masiih, then our honor will be restored, a relationship with God will be established, and eternal life will begin.It is God’s desire for everyone to receive His solution to our problem of sin and shame, however, He does not force us to conform. God establishes the context for forgiveness (a perfect, sinless, sacrifice), the condition for forgiveness (faith in God’s unique provision for sin), and the consequence of our response to God’s gracious gift (submission = eternal life, rejection = spiritual death and hell).

Doing something because you are “forced” to does not reflect right motives, but choosing to make the right decision is very honorable. God honors us and gives us dignity as humans by allowing us to choose. We honor God when we acknowledge our need for Him and submit to (accept) His provision for our imperfections and failures.

Will you honor God and have your honor restored by receiving Isa al-Masiih (Jesus, the Messiah) into

your heart and life by faith?

Enter the Family as a Child of God

If you are willing to submit to God by accepting His unique solution to remove your sin and shame through the perfect sacrifice of Isa al-Masiih on your behalf, pray the following prayer, by faith, as an expression of your heart’s desire.Dear God,I want to know You and Your Will for my life. I want to call you “Father,” become your child, and have eternal life. I yield to Your revelation and accept Your Unique solution for the problem of my sin and shame. By faith, according to your Word, I invite you, Isa al-Masiih (Jesus Christ), into my heart and life to forgive me of my sins. Thank you, Father, for removing my sin and shame and for restoring honor to me that I may live to honor You. Amen

Part of the Family and Part of the Community

When you place your trust and confidence in Isa al-Masiih, to remove your shame and sin, you become a child of God. As a member of God’s family you will never walk alone.The children of God gather together for fellowship, for mutual encouragement, for worship, for prayer, and for teaching from God’s Word. The gathering of believers, followers or disciple of Isa al-Masiih, is called the church. These local communities are also part of a larger worldwide community of God’s people, His children, His family.

Sowing, Growing, & Reaping

The Holy Spirit of God is the one who produces growth in the life of a follower of Isa al-Masiih by what we plant.P ray for wisdom & strength: BE a new person.L earn from God’ Word: KNOW the truth; study the BibleA pply those lesson in your daily living: DO the truth.N urture your relationship with God and fellow believers.T ell others about the good news of God’s Love and forgiveness.

From these things you will reap a harvest of a transformed life.

After a person becomes a child of God through faith in Isa al-Masiih, it is normal (in obedience to His command) that they identify with Him through baptism.

Abiding & Bearing Fruit

Isa al-Masiih said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for

apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (Injil)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no

law.” Galatians 5:23-23 (Injil)Live by faith each day and you will grow in the understanding of your new identity as one upon whom God as bestowed honor and who honors

God by a fruitful witness.

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