I was challenged by a Muslim to drink poison if I´m truly a Christian according to Mark 16:18. This is a verse that multiple Muslims have used to try and provoke Christians to cause God to act miraculously on their behalf in vain, simply to prove a point and boast in pride. Islam uses this in order to shame Christians, to make us look like we don´t believe what our scriptures say, yet to provoke/tempt God in vain is a sin, and they conveniently ignore this truth in Deuteronomy 6:16. A Christian pastor was similarly challenged by a Muslim on this same topic.
Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and he *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will lift You up, So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil *took Him along to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and [c]worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and [d]serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.
I find it ironic how the comment the person wrote me said that asking me to heal the sick is to much, but I could at the very least drink poison if I’m a real Christian. Forget healing, just do a trick; this is the essence of their provocation. This is honestly disgraceful, and it breaks my heart that Muslims would stoop this low, hoping to see us tempt God, and ultimately hoping that we pass away in order to prove somehow that God won´t keep His promise. Our God is able, and even if He chose not to save us, He is able (Daniel 3:17-18), but we are never to provoke Him to exercise His power for the sake of making a show out of the saving power of God. Let us examine the biblical way to respond to this matter together, debunking the falsehood of Islam and their attempts to distort our Holy Scripture, one step at a time.
