Good News!

Good News!  This has a wonderful sound to it, doesn’t it?  Everybody likes to hear good news!  Good news is like a cool breeze on a very hot day.  Good news brings a blessing to your life and fills your life with joy.   However, bad news saddens you and brings a curse or a problem into your life.  We all prefer to hear good news, don’t we? 

The Qur’an tells us that Allah has sent us a message of Good News. 

 Sura Al Imran (Sura 3) 45 – Behold! The angels said, “Oh Maryam!  Allah has chosen you and purified you – chosen you above the women of all nations.”  Behold! The angels said “Oh Maryam, Allah gives you Good News of a Word from Him: His name shall be Masih (Messiah) Isa.

 Injiil, in Arabic, means ‘Good News’.  The original Injiil was written in Greek.  In the Greek language an ‘evangel’ was a message of good news.    So the word ‘Evangel’ was used as the word to describe the life and message of Isa Masih.   Evangel was then transcribed into Arabic as ‘Injiil’.  If you will listen as they are spoken, you will hear that they sound alike.  When ‘Injiil’ is translated into English in the Qur’an, it is translated as ‘Gospel’.  Gospel is the English word for ‘Evangel” or ‘Good News’.   The words Injiil and Gospel mean the same thing.  They both mean ‘Good News’.

 So why is the message of Isa called Good News?  What is this Good News?

First the Bad News!

 The term ‘Good News’ assumes that there is bad news.   Suppose I came to you and said “Good News, I have paid off all of your debts.”  That would only be good news if you had debts.  If you had no debts to pay, this would not be good news at all.

 Before we can understand the Good News message of Isa, we must first understand the bad news that affects everyone in the whole world.  The Injiil explains the bad news very clearly:

 Both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews), they are all under sin, as it is written: “There is none righteous, no not one.”  There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of Allah.  The wages (penalty) of sin is death. [1]

The story of sin began long ago.  The Holy Books teach us that Allah created everything, even the angels.  Allah also created Shaytan as a most beautiful angel.  But Shaytan began to be filled with pride and wanted to be like Allah.  He led a rebellion in heaven against Allah.  Of course, Allah is more powerful than Shaytan, so Shaytan and the angels that joined his rebellion were thrown out of heaven.[2]

Then Allah created man.  The first man was Adam.  Allah created him from the dust and breathed life into him.  Then he put Adam into a deep sleep and created Howa from one of his ribs.  Allah put them in a place called the Garden of Eden which means the ‘Garden of Delights’.  Allah would talk to Adam and Howa and they could talk to Him.[3]  Allah told them how they should live in the Garden.

Then the LORD Allah took them and put them in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.  And the LORD commanded the man saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”[4]

As long as they obeyed Allah and did not eat the forbidden fruit, they were innocent.  They did not know evil.  Because they obeyed Allah, they were righteous and could stay in Allah’s presence.  To be righteous means to have no disobedience to Allah – to have no sin.  But one day, Shaytan came and tempted Howa and she ate of the forbidden fruit.  Then she gave some to Adam and he disobeyed Allah and ate it also.  Suddenly they were changed on the inside.  They were no longer innocent; their eyes were opened and they knew evil.  They were no longer righteous because they had disobeyed; they felt guilt and shame because of their disobedience.  They tried to cover their nakedness with leaves from the garden, but they still felt the shame.

Allah came to them.  He knew what they had done.  They did not physically die that day.  But that very day Allah sent them out of the Garden and out of His presence.  Allah had said, “In the day you eat of it you shall die.”  So Allah has shown us what death means.  It is not just the death of our physical bodies.  It means separation from Allah. 

From this story we learn five very important and unchanging truths about Allah and man:

• Allah made us for Himself; to be in a relationship with Him.
• As long as Adam was righteous, He could stay in Allah’s presence.
• When Adam became unrighteous, He could no longer stay in Allah’s presence
• It took only one act of disobedience (sin) to make Adam unrighteous.
• Death means separation from Allah, Who made us to be in a relationship with Him.

 The Injiil tells what happened in the Garden when Adam sinned and disobeyed Allah:

 Therefore, through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, and death spread to all men, because all sinned.[5]

When they sinned, Adam and Howa were sent out of Allah’s presence in the Garden of Eden and they were never able to go back.  And none of their descendants were able to go back into Allah’s presence in the garden.  We have all sinned too.  From the moment that Adam sinned there has not been another person from Adam’s bloodline who was completely righteous and without sin.  We see this clearly from the Before Scriptures:

Dawood  Surely, I was sinful at birth and from the time that my mother conceived me.[6]

Sulieman  When they (Israel) sin against you – for there is no one who does not sin – and when they return to you with all their heart, have compassion on them.[7]

Ayyub  What is man that he could be pure?  Or one born of a woman that he could be righteous?  If God puts no trust in his holy ones (angels) and even the heavens are not pure in his sight, how much less man who is vile and corrupt and drinks up evil like water?[8]

Eshiyah  All we like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. All of us have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (in Allah’s sight) we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind our sins take us away.[9]

Yerimiyah  The heart of a man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.  [10]

Injiil  There is none righteous, no not one.  All have sinned and come short of the glory of Allah.[11]

But doesn’t the Qur’an say that all of the prophets were without sin?  Actually it does not say this.  Listen to what the Qur’an does say:

 Sura Ta Ha (Sura 20) 120-121  But Shaytan whispered evil to him: he said, “O Adam!  Shall I lead you to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?’  In the result, they both ate of the tree and so their nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew together for their covering leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey his Lord and allow himself to be seduced.

Sura Nuh (Sura 71) 26-28   And Nuh said …. O Lord forgive me, my parents, and all who enter my house in faith.

Sura Al Qasas (Sura 28)  Now the man of his own religion appealed to him against his foe and Musa struck him with his fist and made and end of him.  He prayed. “Oh my Lord!  Indeed I have wronged my soul!  Do Thou then forgive me!”

Sura Sad (Sura 38) 24-25  And Dawood gathered (understood) that We (Allah) had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down bowing and returned (to Allah in repentance).

Sura Sad (Sura 38) 30-35  And we did try Sulieman.  He said “Oh my Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom which suits not another after me.

Sura Al Saffat (Sura 37) 139-143  So also was Yunnus among those sent by Us.  When he ran away to a ship fully loaded.  He agreed to cast lots and was condemned.  Then the big fish swallowed him and he had done acts worthy of blame.  Had it not been that he repented and glorified Allah, he would certainly have remained inside the fish until the Day of Resurrection.

Sura Mohammed (Sura 47) 19  Know therefore that there is no god but Allah (the one God) and ask forgiveness for your (Mohammed’s) fault, and for the men and women who believe. 

Sura Al Fath (Sura 48) 2  Verily we have granted you (Mohammed) a manifest (clear) victory.  That Allah may forgive you your faults of the past and those to follow, and fulfil His favor to you and guide you on the straight path.

The prophets were good men and holy men who were set apart for the purposes of Allah, but they were not perfect men.  The Qur’an gives these clear examples of prophets asking forgiveness.  Why does someone ask for forgiveness from Allah?  A person asks forgiveness from Allah because he has disobeyed Allah in some way; because he has sinned. 

So we see that all the Books agree with what the Injiil plainly tells us:

All have sinned and come short of the glory of Allah.[12]

There is a Penalty for Sin

 Allah showed us the penalty for sin from the very beginning.  Adam sinned and was sent out of the presence of Allah.   And in His Word, Allah has told us the penalty for sin:

 Tawrat and Zaboor   The soul that sins shall die.[13]

Surely, the arm of the Lord is not too short to save you, nor his ear to dull to hear, but your iniquities (wrongs) have separated you from your God and our sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear.[14]

Injiil The wages (penalty) of sin is death.[15]

Remember death does not just mean physical death.  It means separation from Allah.  Sin separates us from Allah.  Unless something is done, that sin will keep us out of Allah’s presence in heaven.   So, the penalty of sin is separation from Allah.   

 Through Dawood in the Zaboor, Allah tells us:

 The ungodly (khafir, unbelievers) shall not stand in the judgment, nor will sinners be in the congregation of the righteous.[16]

 Who are sinners?  We are all sinners as the Tawrat, Zaboor, Injiil and Qur’an show us.

 But can’t we just be made right in Allah’s sight by keeping His Law?  The answer to this question is very simple.   We could be righteous in Allah’s sight if we could keep His Law perfectly!   But no one can keep His Law perfectly.  In fact none of us can even come close. 

 Note: For further discussion about being righteous by keeping God’s Law, look at the article titled, ‘Will Religious Works Get Me to Heaven?’

 So only those without sin can go to be in Allah’s presence in heaven.  But everyone who has come from Adam’s bloodline has sinned.  We have all followed Adam and have disobeyed Allah.  So how can anyone go to heaven?

 Is There an Answer? – Now the Good News

 So is there any solution to this problem?  This is the Good News!  There is an answer!  There is a solution to the problem of our sin.   Allah had a plan from the very beginning to remove our sin and allow us to be in heaven with Him.   Allah Himself would take away our sin through Isa the Messiah.

 Through His prophets Allah told the People of the Book that His Messiah (Masih – Anointed or Chosen One) was coming to deliver them and bring them salvation. 

 Note: For further discussion about Allah’s plan see these articles on this website: “The Great Mystery of the Ages” and “A Certain Sign of Allah’s Word”.

 Then Isa Masih (Messiah) came.  He did not come into this world the way all others did.  We all had a father and a mother.   Isa had no earthly father.   The very Spirit of Allah came and conceived Isa in Maryam’s womb.  Isa was not begotten as all men are begotten.  Isa was the very Word and Spirit of Allah revealed in human form.

The Injiil - In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with Allah and the Word was Allah.  And the Word was made flesh (human – in a body) and lived among us and we beheld His glory.[17]

Al Qur’an – Sruah Al Imran (3) 45 – Behold! The angels said, “O Maryam, Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name shall be Masih Isa.[18]

The Injiil - The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Maryam for you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and He will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord Allah will give Him the throne (kingdom) of His father David and of His kingdom there will be no end.

Then Maryam said to the angel, “How can this be since I do not know a man?”

Then the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is born will be called the Son of Allah.[19]

Al Qur’an – Sura Anbiya (21) 91 – And We breathed into her (Maryam) of Our Spirit, and her and her son became a sign for all people.

Why did Allah come into the world He made?

 
But why did Allah do this?  Why did He come into this world that He had made? 

 He came to set us free from the penalty of our sin.  We all have sinned, so we all owe the penalty of sin, which is death.  Death means separation from Allah.  So, unless something is done to take away this penalty of our sin, none of us will be able to go to heaven to be with Allah. 

 In the Zaboor, Allah tells us:

 No man can redeem the life of another or give Allah a ransom (payment) for him.  The ransom for a life is costly and no payment is ever enough that he should live on forever and not see decay.

The Qur’an agrees with this:

Sura Fatir (Sura 35) ayya 18  Nor can the bearer of burdens bear another’s burdens if one heavy laden should call another to bear his load, even though he is nearly related.

No one from Adam’s line is without sin.  We have all received Adam’s nature:

 Sura Qaf (Sura 50) 16  It was We who created man and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him for We are nearer than his jugular vein.

The Tawrat and Zaboor  The heart of a man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.   Who can know it?  I the LORD search the heart and test the mind to give to every man according to his ways.

The Injiil  I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do.  I have a desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do.  So I find this principle at work (within me).  When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  O wretched man that I am, who will free me from this body of death?[20]

 And also, have all followed Adam in disobeying Allah.   We all owe the penalty of sin which is separation from Allah, so none of us can pay the penalty for another.  No man could pay for the sin of another because we have all sinned!  We each owe the penalty of death and separation from Allah because of our own sin.  Only someone who was without sin could pay for the sin of another. 

 Only Isa, was without sin, so only Isa could pay for the sin of another.  He did not come into this world by Adam’s bloodline.  He came from Allah; He was the Word and Spirit of Allah.  He had Allah’s nature, not Adam’s nature.  He was able to live without any sin.  As the Injiil tells us:

Everyone who sins breaks the Law (of Allah), in fact, sin is lawlessness.  But you know that He (Isa) appeared to take away sin and in Him is no sin.  He (Isa) was tempted in every way like we are, yet without sin.[21]

 Why did Isa come?

 Isa was born of a virgin.  He did many miracles and signs to show the power of Allah.  Isa plainly told us why He came into the world.

 (Isa speaking) I came into this world, not to be served, but to serve and to give My life as a ransom (payment for sin) for many.[22]

The Injiil very clearly explains that this is why Isa came into this world – to take away our sins.

Allah was in Christ (Masih) reconciling (restoring the relationship that sin had broken) the world to Himself not counting men’s sins against them.   Allah made Him (Isa) who knew no sin to become sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of Allah.[23]

When we were powerless (could not save ourselves) in the fullness of time, Christ (Masih) died for us.  Allah showed His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Masih (Isa) died for us.[24]

Masih (Christ) has suffered once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to Allah.[25]

 Isa allowed himself to be killed in order that He might pay the penalty of our sin.  Isa died and was buried.  On the third day, Allah raised Isa from the dead.  The resurrection from the dead was proof that what Isa said was true – He was the Son of Allah who died to take away our sin.

 He has appointed a day when He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man (Isa) whom He has appointed.  He has given all men assurance of this by raising Him from the dead.[26]

The Gospel (Injiil, Good News) was promised before in the Holy Scriptures concerning His Son Isa Masih, our Lord, who was born of the line of David, according to the flesh, (physical body) and declared to be the Son of Allah with power by the resurrection from the dead.[27]

Brethren, I tell you the Good News (Injiil, Gospel) …. Masih died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures.[28]

The Day of Judgment is coming!

 Are you ready for that Day of Judgment?  One thing is for certain, we will all stand before Allah to have our lives examined and judged.  The Injiil tells us:

 It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment.[29]

 If you are trusting in your good works to get you to heaven, there will only be bad news for you on that day.  The Injiil makes this very plain:

 By the works of the Law (God’s Law given through Musa) no one will be made righteous in His sight, for by the Law is the knowledge (consciousness) of sin.[30]

Allah’s Law cannot make us perfect.  It can only show us that we are not perfect; that we are not completely obeying Him; that we have broken his Law.  Allah’s Law is perfect but we are not.  His Law shows us the perfect way, but also shows us that we cannot keep His Law – we are sinners.

 The Injiil tells us what it will be like on that final Day of Judgment:

 Then I saw a great white throne and Him Who was seated on it.  Earth and sky fled from His presence and there was no place for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the Books were opened.  Another book was opened which is the Book of Life.  The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the Books.  The sea gave up the dead that were in it and death and Hell gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.  Then death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire.  If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.[31]

 The Injiil does not leave any doubt about what will happen at the Judgment.  The Books that record what we have done in this life will be opened.  Every Muslim believes and knows this – his deeds have been recorded.  But there is another Book that will be opened!  This book is called the ‘Book of Life’.  Those whose names are not written in this Book of Life will be judged by what they have done and all of them will be thrown into the lake of fire.  Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will go into Heaven to be with Allah forever and ever.

 Remember what Allah taught us.  Death means separation from Allah.   Life means to not be separated from Allah.  So the book of Life contains the names of those who are not separated from Allah.  And do you remember what separates us from Allah; what causes us to be dead to Allah.

 Your iniquities (wrongs) have separated you from your Allah and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear.[32]

So how is someone who is separated from Allah brought back into a right relationship with Allah?   How is someone who is dead because of his sin made alive?  How is someone who is unrighteous made to be righteous again?  The Injiil tells us how:

In Him (Isa Masih) you were buried with Him through baptism and raised with Him through faith in the power of Allah who raised Isa from the dead.  When you were dead in your trespasses and sins, Allah made you alive with Christ (Masih Isa).  He forgave us all our sins.[33]

 Each of us can look into our own heart and see what our greatest need is.  We need the forgiveness of our sin.  We hear this heart cry in the pages of the Qur’an:

 Sura Al Baqarah (Sura 2) 286  Our Lord!  Lay not on us a burden greater than we can bear.  Blot out our sins and grant us forgiveness.  Have mercy on us.

 The Good News
 

 So, here is the good news, the very good news - Allah has provided for our greatest need through Isa Masih.  Allah offers you the forgiveness of your sins.  Because Allah is perfectly and completely righteous, He could not just ignore our sin.  If our sin was to be removed, the penalty for our sin had to be paid.  When Isa died on the cross, He paid the redemption price for our sin.  (To be ‘redeemed’ means to be released or set free from the penalty.)   The Injiil, the Good News, is that through Isa you can have all of your sins forgiven and, therefore, have eternal life in heaven with Allah.

In Him (Isa Masih) we have redemption (payment for the penalty of our sin) through His blood, the forgiveness of sin, by the riches of His grace.[34]

Does the Injiil tell us how to receive this forgiveness of sins and eternal life?  Yes it does.  It is received by faith; by simply taking Allah at His word and believing on Isa as Lord and Savior.  Listen to what the Injiil says to us:

 By grace are you saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift, not of works, so no man can boast.[35]

 If we confess our sin, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.[36]

If you confess with you mouth the Lord Jesus (Isa) and believe in your heart that Allah has raised Him from the dead you shall be saved.[37]

Believe on the Lord Isa Masih and you shall be saved.[38]

But someone may say, “This sounds too easy!”  But none of us are able to earn our way to heaven, so the only way is for Allah to give us the gift of forgiveness and eternal life in Isa.   

Another may say, “This sounds too simple!”  But Allah loves us and wants us to be in heaven with Him.  This is why He created us.  So He has made the way to heaven very simple so anyone can understand it.

Another may say, “But why is this plan of forgiveness and salvation not mentioned in the Qur’an?”  It is! 

Sura Al Imran (Sura 3) 54-56  And they plotted (the unbelievers – against Isa) and Allah planned and Allah is the best of planners.  Behold! Allah said, “O Isa I will cause you to die (Arabic: ‘muttawaffika’  meaning ‘cause to die’) and raise you (from the dead) to Myself and clear you of those who blaspheme;  I will make those who follow you superior to those who reject faith to the Day of Resurrection.  Those who reject faith, I will punish with terrible agony in this world and in the hereafter.

Compare this with what Isa told His disciples in the Injiil, after He was raised from the dead:

Go into all the world and tell this Good News (that Isa died for our sins and was raised from the dead) to everyone.  Those who believe and are baptized (sign of following Isa) will be saved.  Those who do not believe will be condemned.

 Several years ago, I met a Muslim man.  He was away from his home city and was taking a holiday with his family.   We began to talk and got into a conversation about Isa.  I talked with him about the forgiveness of sin that Allah offered to us through Isa Masih.  I will never forget his response.  He said, “This idea of having all of my sins forgiven sounds so beautiful to me.”  I told him he could receive this forgiveness through Isa at any time.  He said that he needed to think about it.  I offered him a copy of the Injiil, but he told me he already had an Injiil back at his home.  He assured me that he would go home and read the Injiil for himself.

 A year or so later a friend of mine was traveling to the city where this man lived.  The friend found him and talked to him briefly.  My friend asked the Muslim man if he had gotten time to read the Injiil.  He said that he had been to busy and maybe he would do it later.

 About a year later I went to stay in the city where this man lived.  I was hopeful that I could find him.  The morning after I got there, I picked up the local newspaper.  On the front page was the story of a man who had been robbed at gunpoint and then shot and killed.  To my shock it was this man that I had talked to.

 Did he ever believe in Isa?  Did he ever open his heart in faith and ask for the forgiveness of his sins in the name of Isa Masih?  I hope so, but only Allah knows.  Allah offers the gift of eternal life to us through Isa Masih, but He will not force anyone to receive His gift of eternal life. 

 One thing is sure.  You and I will also one day pass from this earth.  It may be sooner than we expect!   Will you be ready?  Will your sins be forgiven?  Will your name be written in that Book of Life?

 How Can I know that my name is written in the Book of Life?

 Isa said:

 I am the Way the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by Me.  Truly, truly, he that believes in Me has eternal life.[39] 

The Injiil says:

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Isa and believe in your heart that Allah has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.  For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.[40]

Right now you can receive the gift of eternal life through faith in Isa Masih.  Do you believe what the Injiil says?  Do you believe that Isa is the Son of Allah who came to pay the penalty of your sin.  Do you believe that Isa died to take away your sins?  Do you believe that Isa was raised from the dead?

Simply call upon him in faith; pray to the Lord.  Confess your sin and ask Him to forgive you in the Name of Isa the Messiah.  He will hear the prayer of faith from a sincere heart.

Allah, I believe in Isa Masih.  I believe that He is your Son who died for my sins and was raised to life again.  I confess that I have sinned against you and broken your Laws.  Please forgive me in the name of Isa Masih and give eternal life in Him.