Pastor Peter Simpson was preaching the gospel in the centre of Slough on February 21st.
Mrs Pilkington, who was helping Pastor Simpson, said to someone walking by the preaching stand, Can I speak to you about Jesus? The man thankfully wished to talk, and he proceeded to refer to the enormity of his personal sin and his deep grief over it. He was truly burdened. The witnessing sister felt that a real convicting work of the Holy Spirit was taking place. As he spoke freely of his sense of wretchedness, Mrs Pilkington explained the gospel and then prayed for him. He also took some gospel literature. May the Lord be pleased to assure him of sins forgiven and peace with His Maker through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A Muslim man came up to Pastor Simpson and said that he agreed with the poster that stated that the LGBT agenda should not be promoted in our schools, because it is contrary to the truth of God’s word. with the poster that stated that the LGBT agenda should not be promoted in our schools, because it is contrary to the truth of God’s word. We are of course pleased with this agreement of true Christians and Muslims on the issue of homosexuality. Nevertheless, Islam and Christianity can never make common cause and do not worship the same God. They are divergent and mutually exclusive faiths. They simply both cannot be true. This is seen in the fact that Islam rejects Christ is the eternal Son of God and as the crucified Saviour of sinners. It is therefore a Christ-rejecting faith, even though it claims to honour Jesus as a prophet. As our Lord taught in John 5:24,
“All men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him” (John 5:23).
So, despite the Muslim’s and Pastor Simpson’s agreement on LGBT issues, the Muslim proceeded to state with great forcefulness how the Christian doctrine of the Trinity was blasphemous because God cannot have partners, and the Christian teaching is equivalent to saying that there are three Gods.
The man appeared to know the Bible well (whilst totally rejecting its authority). His continual rapid speaking made it very difficult for Pastor Simpson to offer any counter-arguments. When there was opportunity to speak, the minister tried to explain how God is one, but manifests Himself in three Persons. An analogy of this wonderful but deep mystery is that the sun is made of of gas, light and heat, which are separate and distinguishable elements, but which always work in unison to comprise the one sun, and not three suns.
Pastor Simpson also tried to stress to the Muslim on personal level that the eternal Son of God had to become a man in order save HIM from his sins. Furthermore, when the Lord Jesus prayed to His Father when on earth, He was doing so in His humanity. In other words, such prayer does nor disprove His deity. The Lord took on the limitations of our humanity precisely in order to accomplish the salvation of sinful men as a representative man. If he had not done so, no one could ever be saved. Indeed, if the Lord Jesus was not both fully God and fully man, there could be no redemption for anyone. Our Lord’s conception by the power of the Holy Spirit meant that he was fully man, yet He did not inherit Adam’s fallen nature. If he had done so, He could not have carried out the role of being the spotless Lamb of God who carried the penalty for the sins of the world.
Another Muslim walking by also expressed his agreement with the displayed poster concerning LGBT matters. How ironic it is that our Muslim friends – who can never be saved from their sins apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – nevertheless have a far better understanding of God’s moral law than do the bishops and General Synod members of the Church of England.
Furthermore, how many Muslims must now be thinking that the truth of Islam in preference to Christianity has been vindicated because they see the ‘Christian’ Church of England’s grave immorality in desiring to bless same-sex marriages. What an appalling witness corrupt Anglicanism is therefore now giving to the world by its willingness to condone what the Bible plainly calls sin.
Thankfully, by God’s grace, there is still a faithful remnant of God’s people in this country who uphold Scripture as the inerrant word of God and who are willing to proclaim these truths in the public places. May the Lord open the hearts of these Muslims and of all others who heard the precious gospel of Christ crucified for sinners in Slough upon this day.