Kerby Anderson

After the government announced the death of the ISIS leader, many wondered what might be the next step. ISIS has been defeated on the battlefield and their leader is gone. But there is still more to do. In his book, The State of Our Nation, Jim Denison described four steps that were necessary to defeat ISIS. These were: (1) take away its caliphate, (2) apprehend or kill its leader, (3) defeat its ideology, and (4) advance spiritual awakening. The first step has been accomplished on the battlefield. Our troops have defeated ISIS forces that were defending their caliphate. They no longer hold any significant territory. The second step has also been achieved. Every day that al-Baghdadi was alive he was able to rally ISIS troops to fight Western forces. He could claim protection from Allah. His death (and the death of other ISIS leaders) has been a significant blow to ISIS. The third step is to defeat their ideology. In order to be effective we need to fight this intellectual battle. We need to do this individually as well as a nation. And that leads to the fourth and final step. We must commit ourselves to a spiritual awakening through prayer and biblical research. More Muslims are coming to Christ than at any time in history. Some believe more Muslims have become Christians in the last few decades than in the previous fourteen centuries. Muslims are seeing the horrors of ISIS and wonder if that is what Islam really is. That is why they seem so willing to accept Christ as an alternative to their religion. We need to be prepared to challenge the theology of Islam and present the life-giving message of the Bible. We have a greater opportunity to lead Muslims to the Lord than in any other time. We should be diligent about presenting the Gospel to them in this country and around the world.