JESUS CAN NEVER BE A SACRIFICE FOR SIN (2)

On the Mount of Transfiguration, God the Father counsels that, henceforth, we should only listen to Jesus.  He puts this to dramatic effect by having Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets, appear to speak to Jesus.  A bright cloud overshadows them and when it clears, only Jesus remains.  Then a voice comes from heaven, saying: “This is my beloved Son.  Listen to him.” (Mark 9:7).

Let me take the liberty to paraphrase what God declares in this live parable.  He says: “Jesus is my Son: Moses and Elijah are not.  Listen to my Son.  Don’t bother to listen to Moses and Elijah anymore.”  In short, Jesus the Son is God’s only true and faithful witness. (Revelation 1:5).  Listen only to him.

Jesus himself cautions that, as the Son of God, he is the only one who truly knows the Father. (Matthew 11:27).  He maintains servants are fundamentally ignorant about the master’s affairs. (John 15:15).  Moses, Elijah and others like them are only servants of God.  Nevertheless, Christians have this tendency to listen to everybody but Jesus.

House of prayer

When we listen to Jesus, we discover he would never offer any sacrifice for sins because he insists sacrifices are useless.  Jesus starts and ends his ministry by scattering the sacrificial implements in the Temple.  He overturns the tables of the money-changers and drives out those selling doves for the sacrifices.  Then he declares: “It is written, ‘my house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (Matthew 21:13).

By quoting Jeremiah 7:11, Jesus validates the prophet’s position that the sacrificial system is not of God.  Jeremiah writes: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat.  For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices.’” (Jeremiah 7:21-22).

Like Jeremiah before him, Jesus maintains the Temple is “a house of prayer;” as opposed to “a house of sacrifices.”  Indeed, the Temple was the only place where sacrifices could be offered.  However, even at its dedication, Solomon says nothing about sacrifices.  Instead, he emphasises the need for repentance prayers.  He maintains that in order to receive forgiveness, all that is needed is to repent and pray towards the Temple to God. (1 Kings 8:33-52).

He repeats this principle in Proverbs: “Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for.” (Proverbs 16:6).  “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” (Proverbs 21:3).  This position is repeated time-and-again in the prophets: “Take words with you, and return to the LORD.  Say to him, “Forgive all our sins; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.” (Hosea 14:2).  The psalmist concurs: “The LORD is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18).

Jesus’ ministry

Accordingly, Jesus, “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), maintains sacrifices are not the means to salvation.   He says: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matthew 9:12-13).  In order to be saved, Jesus insists we have to repent of sin.  Therefore, his ministry is devoted to calling sinners to repentance.

David has long declared this in the psalms.  He says to God in repenting for his adultery with Bathsheba: “You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; you do not delight in burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart- these, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:16-17).

However, God despises sacrifices.  He says: “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.  If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.  Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?” (Psalm 50:9-13).

Micah is equally scathing about the sacrificial system: “Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:7-8).

Repent or perish

While some Galileans were offering sacrifices, Herod killed them all.  Many found this confusing.  They wondered why God did not protect them, seeing that they were offering the sacrifices to God.  The presumptive answer was that their sins must have been particularly great.  So they brought the matter to Jesus.  But Jesus insisted their sins were no greater than those of others.  Their mistake was in offering useless sacrifices instead of repenting of their sins.  When we ignore the will of God and insist on our own counsels, we cannot expect protection from God.

Jesus then enunciates a great salvation principle: “Repent or perish.”  He says to them: “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:2-3). If we sacrifice, we will perish.  If we repent, we will not.

Therefore, it is ludicrous to maintain Jesus is a sacrifice for sins.  Jesus will not offer to God the sacrifices he insists will not prevent people from perishing.  This position is affirmed in David’s messianic psalm: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, ‘Here I am, I have come- it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:6-8).

Christian dilemma

The same mistake these Galileans made is that which Christians are making today.  Quoting Isaiah 29:13-14; Jesus says of the Jews: “In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:9).  Similarly, Christians today are still relying on sacrifices in order to obtain salvation, when we should focus on repentance.  But now our fallacy is even more heinous: we are relying on the sacrifice of a human-being.

Jesus sent his disciples to go and preach everywhere.  When they preached, they said absolutely nothing about the need for sacrifices.  Instead, “They went out and preached that men should repent.” (Mark 6:12).  When Jesus rose from the dead, this did not change.  He gave the same mandate to his disciples: “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47).

 

By Femi Aribisala

 

JESUS CAN NEVER BE A SACRIFICE FOR SIN (1)

If Jesus’ death was a sacrifice, it can only atone for sins committed before his death.  High priests don’t atone for future sins.

I often ask fellow Christians if our sins are forgiven or if they are paid for.  Did Jesus die for our sins or do we need to repent?  Most say it is both, but it cannot be.  If our sins are forgiven, nobody needs to pay for them.  But if our sins are paid for, then we don’t need to be forgiven.  If I owe a man one thousand naira and Jesus pays my debt, then I was not forgiven the debt.  Indeed, if Jesus died for our sins then God never forgave anyone.

Jesus teaches about repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  But Paul talks about blood payment for sins.  Whose report should we believe?  Most Christians disagree with Jesus.  Jesus says God does not desire sacrifices. (Matthew 9:13).  But Paul says Jesus sacrificed himself to God for us. (Ephesians 5:2).  Whose report should we believe?  Most Christians disagree with Jesus.  Nevertheless, we say Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2).

Good Shepherd

Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11).  This statement is often mistaken as indicating that Jesus will die as a sacrifice for sins.  However, since the ways of God are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8); the good shepherd must not be confused with the typical shepherd.  Indeed, the life of the good shepherd is a deliberate anti-type of the Mosaic sin-sacrifice.

In the typical sacrifice, the life of the sheep is sacrificed for the shepherd.  But Jesus contradicts this by saying he is the shepherd who gives his life for the sheep.  Obviously, this cannot be about dying for the sheep for the simple reason that a dead shepherd is of no use to his sheep.  On the contrary, Jesus is talking about living for the sheep.  The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep by devoting his eternal life to taking care of them.  Without a doubt, it is far more difficult to live for the sheep than to die for them.  Indeed, when you give your life for someone, you don’t have to die.

Jesus’ crucifixion was a one-time event, but his priesthood as our shepherd is everlasting.  Jesus did not say “the good shepherd will give his life for the sheep.”  Instead, he talks in the present continuous because he is “the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).  “The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”  This shows Jesus is not talking about Calvary.  Jesus remains our shepherd today and he is still giving his life for us.  The enemy decided to kill the shepherd so that the sheep would scatter. (Zechariah 13:7).  However, God countered this by raising him from the dead, showing that this shepherd cannot be sacrificed or killed.

Surrendered life

Jesus teaches that physical life is inconsequential.  He says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” (Matthew10:28).  Therefore, the life he lays down cannot be the inconsequential life.  It must surely be the spiritual life.  Hear him: “My Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” (John 10:17-18).

This shows the life Jesus laid down is not his physical life, as many Christians presume in the sacrificial atonement fallacy.  The physical life was taken from Jesus against his will.  When he was to be crucified by men, he said to God: “Not my will, but yours be done.”(Luke 22:42).  However, no one took his divine (eternal) life from him.  He voluntarily relinquished this in order to take up a mortal life on earth.

This shows the cross of Jesus was fundamentally his incarnation.  His cross was in laying down his life in heaven in order to come to earth as a man to show us the way of salvation.  After his earthly death and resurrection, he took up again his heavenly life.

Ransom not sacrifice

Before Jesus went to the cross, he says to his disciples: “Love each other as I have loved you.”  He then describes his love for them as laying down his life: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13).  This love was expressed in the past; before his crucifixion.  Therefore, Jesus’ definition of laying down his life has nothing to do with dying on the cross.  It is about loving others and living a life of service for them.

The laying down of life that Jesus talks about cannot be about Calvary because he asks his disciples to lay down their lives also.  Surely, it cannot be said that he was requiring them to die also as sacrifices for sins, especially since misguided Christian doctrine says Jesus laid down his life once for all. (Hebrews 10:10).

Furthermore, Jesus says to his disciples: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28).

This injunction is further proof that the doctrine of Jesus has nothing to do with sacrifices for sins.  Jesus says he gives his life as a ransom.  However, a ransom is fundamentally different from a sacrifice.  A ransom is not paid as atonement for sins but for the release of captives.  It is not given to God but to kidnappers.  Kidnappers are evil, but God is righteous.  Ransoms are paid by the innocent, but sacrifices are given by the guilty.

If Jesus’ death was a sacrifice, it can only atone for sins committed before his death.  High priests don’t atone for future sins.  However, if Jesus’ life is seen correctly as a ransom, its lessons remain relevant even to those of us born after his death.

Fear of death

Satan holds men captive through our love of life.  We sin as we try to save our lives.  Therefore, Jesus warns: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew16:25).  Jesus ransomed captives with his life by allowing himself to be killed; only to rise from the dead.  Thereby, he exposed the counterfeit of death by demonstrating that our fear of death is baseless.

Hebrews says: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-  that is, the devil- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

The Good Shepherd lays down his life and takes it up again.  Therefore, we can now confidently lay down our lives, without fear of losing our lives.  Thanks to Jesus: “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.” (Psalms 124:7).

 

By Femi Aribisala

GOD DOES NOT DESIRE ANY SACRIFICE FOR SIN

Since God does not desire any sacrifice, Jesus cannot be a sacrifice for sins.

Quoting Hosea, Jesus says: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’” (Matthew 9:13). One of the tragedies of contemporary Christianity is that Christians have refused to follow this injunction of Jesus. If we did, we would understand that God desires our love and not our sacrifice and we would not insist that Jesus was sacrificed for our sins.

Formulaic sacrifices

When the Israelites sinned, they made sacrifices to atone for their sins. As long as they made these sacrifices, they believed they were pleasing God and that their sins were forgiven. This became a routine formula. It led to a situation where instead of endeavouring not to sin, they simply made sure they sacrificed to cover their sins. Instead of obeying God’s commandments, they simply offered ritual sacrifices. This showed they really did not love God.

Jesus says: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15). If we truly love God we would not even get to the situation of having to offer any sacrifices whatsoever because we would not disobey God. He who truly loves never has to make a sacrifice. He who sacrifices does not really love. He who truly loves God, does not sin. John says: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9). The psalmist echoes this: “You who love the LORD, hate evil!” (Psalm 97:10). If we hate evil, we would not sin.

As a result, God sent his prophets to tell the Israelites he was not interested in their ritual sacrifices. He was far more interested in them obeying his commandments and not committing sin. Thus Samuel said to Saul: “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22).

Routine repentance

The same applies to us today. God is far more interested in our not sinning than in our repenting of sin. Some people foolishly put their trust in the alleged human sacrifice of Jesus Christ, when all God asks is that we obey him. In all cases, prevention is better than cure. It is better not to sin than to repent of sin.

Therefore, God maintained that the whole sacrificial system was not his idea: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 7:21-22).

Since God does not desire any sacrifice, Jesus cannot be a sacrifice for sins. Speaking through David, Jesus said to God: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; my ears you have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering you did not require. Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:6-8). God really needs to open our ears the same way he opened that of David. Since God does not desire any sacrifice, Jesus will not offer to God what he neither desires nor requires.

Every time a wife caught her husband in the act of adultery with his mistress, the husband went home with sacrificial flowers for his wife. Does his wife desire the flowers? Does she require them? The answer is NO. She neither desires nor requires flowers. She desires a faithful husband. She is likely to throw his flowers in the dustbin. What she needs and wants is a husband who will be faithful to her. Sacrifices are brought after a man has sinned. God has no use for them. God wants children who don’t sin.

New Covenant love

Instead of looking for people who rely on sacrifices, Jesus says God is looking for people who love God and delight in doing his will. These people will be distinguished by having the law of God inscribed in their heart. In this manner, they would fulfil God’s promise of the New Covenant (Testament):

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.”

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Holy Spirit bible

This promise is fulfilled today through the process whereby the Holy Spirit in-dwells believers. Instead of the earlier reliance on laws written on tablets of stone or even today’s reliance on laws written in the bible; the Holy Spirit writes the laws of God in the hearts and minds of children of God on a daily systematic basis. We no longer need a high priest offering vain sacrifices. Neither should we continue to fool themselves that we are made righteous by the sacrifices of Jesus Christ. We are only made righteous by obeying the voice of the Lord.

Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27). The voice of the Lord we hear is the voice of the Holy Spirit which comes from within. In this way, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: “(The Lord) will be with you to teach you- with your own eyes you will see your Teacher. And if you leave God’s paths and go astray, you will hear a Voice behind you say, ‘No, this is the way; walk here.’ And you will destroy all your silver idols and gold images and cast them out like filthy things you hate to touch. ‘Ugh!’ you’ll say to them. ‘Be gone!’” (Isaiah 30:20-22).

Therefore, we no longer need human pastors like those still populating the churches; distorting the word of God. Jesus says: “There shall be one flock and one pastor.” (John 10:16). That one pastor is the Spirit of the Lord. (John 14:26). This is what David declares in his most famous psalm: “The LORD is my pastor; I have everything I need.” (Psalm 23:1). 

 

By Femi Aribisala

 

GOD IS NOT A MUSLIM! HE'S NOT A CHRISTIAN EITHER!

I have observed with strong feelings of embarrassment, the degree to which people can be so enslaved by religion that they would go to great lengths to defend their religious views.
People have been known to mutilate their bodies and engage in other forms of unseemly behaviour in the name of religion. Some members of a religious sect even go as far as committing such heinous crimes as arson, murder and rape all in the name of religion! How debased can the human mind be to commit such dastardly acts in the name of God!  Such is the power of religion to condition people’s minds. As I pondered events surrounding Pope Benedict’s resignation and misleading rumors of his subsequent conversion to Islam, I was awestruck at the magnitude of influence wielded by religious personages and religion itself.
A classic illustration of what religion can do to people’s minds is a story which recently made the rounds in Nigeria about a baby who was born clutching a copy of the al-Qur’an from the womb! I first got wind of this news on an online forum for university students where I expected the story to be greeted with some skepticism, but to my dismay, the supposed intellectuals fell for it hook line and sinker. With such comments as “Allah is mighty!” my friends went all the way against every principle of nature to prove that the “supernatural incident” was, among other things, an evidence of the greatness of Allah and a warning of impending judgement to the infidels.
I had earlier read a similar story about a commuter bus being caught in an inferno with everything destroyed and all the passengers roasted to death while a copy of the Holy Bible remained untouched by the fire. It's amazing how quickly we employ such misguided stories as groundless evidence to support our faith. Religion is indeed the opium of the people! Now, I'm not disputing the fact that such incidents could have happened by chance or careful manipulation, but it defies all sense of justice and truth to attribute them to an act of God. Perhaps it would have been a more plausible story if the Bible had saved the vehicle from burning and the lives of the passengers from being wasted. Truth be told; the Bible and the Quran in and of themselves are just like any other book. You may not really get the raison d'être of any book simply by reading the letters. To grasp the message, you must understand the spirit of the author.
It is high time we stopped fooling ourselves and subjecting ourselves to needless mental torture by means of propagandist ideas and religious hype. With the heightened awareness of the supernatural world that has characterized the past decade globally, one will have to be either sincerely ignorant or deliberately dishonest to deny the existence of God. But God and religion are not the same! Religion does not make us relevant before God. True religion is a vital relationship with God which causes His life to be reflected in us and through us as we personify His attributes, the core of which is love. We need not discard logic to substantiate our religion or faith. Faith and logic can actually agree. Our life of faith must be a response to God’s power at work in us, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by anyone, regardless of who they are.
Philip Amiola is a teacher, writer and a campaigner of empowerment. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

by Philip Amiola

THE GOOD NEWS AND THE DECEITFUL NEWS

Those who followed Jesus did so because of his life. But because of Paul’s ignorance about his life, many who follow Jesus now do so because of bogus claims about his death.

The good news proclaimed in the churches today is false. It is different from the one Jesus preached. Today’s good news is the one declared by Paul: “the good news of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24). This says: “Rejoice: Jesus died for our sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Accordingly, Christians insist Jesus carried away all our sins at Calvary. In exchange, he is alleged to have imparted to us the righteousness of God.

If this were true, it would be wonderful news indeed. It would mean once we answer the altar-call and declare that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour; we are automatically “born again.” We become heaven-bound because we believe and trust in “the completed works of Christ.” Whatever happens; Jesus has done it for us. We are saved by the magnanimity of God’s grace and not because of any works of righteousness on our part. (Ephesians 2:8).

However, the problem with this good news is that it is one big deception. It is actually contrary to the true good news that Jesus delivered. Paul was not one of Jesus’ disciples during his ministry. He never heard Jesus preach and he displays unpardonable ignorance about Jesus’ doctrine in his epistles. Bereft of the discipleship of Jesus, Paul fabricated his own Christology. His epistles ignore Jesus’ life while focusing exclusively on his crucifixion. Thus, Paul says disingenuously: “I decided to concentrate only on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Kingdom of God

However, the good news Jesus proclaimed has nothing whatsoever to do with his “death” on the cross or with any sacrifice for sins. This is because Jesus and his disciples preached their good news before his crucifixion. So doing, not once did they say he would die for our sins. On the contrary, their good news requires everyone to carry his own cross and do away with his own sins.

Jesus says: “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). This shows Jesus’ good news is about the coming of the kingdom of God. If it was about him taking away our sins, there would have been no point in asking us to repent for the same sins. What would be the point of repenting if Jesus has taken or will take away our sins?

Indeed, if Jesus has really taken away our sins, how come Christians are still so sinful? How come “sinless” priests are still raping young boys? How come “sinless” pastors continue to swindle the gullible poor of their meager savings? If, according to Paul, Christians are now new creatures in whom “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17); why are we still stealing, cheating, telling lies, fornicating and committing adultery?

Enticing words

Don’t be deceived by enticing words. The true good news is not about the unmerited grace of God. If it were, there would be no need to repent for repentance is by works and not by grace. The true good news is about the coming of the kingdom of God. Moreover, compulsive and unrepentant sinners are not welcome in God’s kingdom. Entry into the kingdom is also by works and not by grace. Jesus says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who DOES the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21).

For this reason, John the Baptist was sent as a forerunner of Jesus. He came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:4). Accordingly, Jesus’ good news requires a penitent response. If we believe the good news that God’s kingdom has come down to men, then we should repent of sin so that we can enter and secure our inclusion in the kingdom.

I repeat: the true good news is that Jesus brought the heavenly kingdom of God down to earth. The evidence for this is right there in his superlative ministry. Jesus raised the dead; signalling the triumph of life over death. He healed the sick; announcing the end of human suffering. He multiplied loaves of bread; pointing to the satisfaction of all physical need.

He stilled the storm; heralding the emergence of peace on earth. He forgave sins; proclaiming the dawning of righteousness. He cast out demons; demonstrating the overthrow of the kingdom of Satan. Therefore, he said to his Jewish opponents: “If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.” (Luke 11:20).

Children of God

The true good news is also that what used to be the exclusive preserve of God, has now become available to men through Jesus Christ. It is now possible not only to be like God, but actually to become children of God. That is why John exclaimed: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” Therefore, he counsels: “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3).

Those who have this hope in them do not fool themselves that Jesus has taken away their sins by sacrificing himself. Those who have this hope in them purify themselves. They are purified by hiding the words of Jesus in their hearts, and by repenting of sin and abstaining from sin. In short, the good news offers a narrow gate that leads to life; while the deceitful news offers a wide gate that leads to destruction. (Matthew 7:13-14).

Those who are disciples of Jesus receive the power to become children of God. (John 1:12). We are indwelt by the Spirit of God and can do the wonderful works of God. Jesus says: “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8). This is most certainly good news.

Life or death

Jesus’ birth brought the good news and not his “death.” (Luke 2:10-11). Jesus came that we may have abundant life. (John 10:10). Therefore, we are required to emulate his exemplary life. Indeed, those who followed Jesus did so because of his life. But because of Paul’s ignorance about his life, many who follow Jesus now do so because of bogus claims about his death.

Paul says: “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty.” (1 Corinthians 15:14). However, Jesus’ resurrection is not part of the good news. On the contrary, the resurrection is “a sign of Jonah;” reserved for those who do not believe. Jesus says: “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” (Matthew 16:4).

Without Calvary, Zacchaeus received the good news of the kingdom and Jesus declared that salvation had come to his house. (Luke 19:8-10). As a matter of fact, in one of Jesus’ stories, Abraham de-emphasises the resurrection by saying: “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31).

 

By Femi Aribisala

GOD TOLD ME...

(In Memoriam: Kofi Awoonor, 1935-2013)

On 21 September, the Ghanaian poet, writer, scholar and diplomat, Kofi Awoonor, was murdered along with many others in a terrorist attack launched by religious fanatics of the Somalia-based Al Shabaab Islamic fundamentalist sect purportedly acting on God’s behalf. For over a month now, I have intended some form of reflection in this column. The more I have thought about the catastrophe, the more it has appeared to me that perhaps the single most important danger to world peace, to peaceful co-existence, is the idea of chosenness at the heart of every revealed religion.
Chosenness invites, indeed demands, the unquestioning belief in, reverence, even deification of, the individual—always a man—to whom God elected, for no justifiable reason, to reveal himself, and to give the eternal laws and moral code by which all of humanity is to live from birth to death, forever and ever. By a revealed religion’s unchangeable code, time and tide, in other words, history, stand still from the moment of creation. Somehow, God always speaks to these men privately, in conditions of utter secrecy: atop a mountain, in a far remove from everyone else in the desert, in their bedrooms or tents, alone under a tree, in dreams and visions.  Their sole authority rests then on our credulity, our readiness to accept the claim that God “spake” directly to them.
The iron code of a moral order founded on such dubious grounds ruled the world until the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment. The wars of forced conversion to a kind and fatherly almighty God—though such a God could have “created” everybody to worship him instinctively, as naturally as we breathe—produced the horrors of the crusades and jihads whose legacies bedevil the earth today. The march of civilisation led inevitably to the separation of state and religion, of public affairs from personal belief. The resultant doctrine of secularism, often seen as a Western concept, has its roots in the humane older code that governs the ecumenical practices of indigenous cultures but which was destroyed by the violent and imperialistic revealed religions; particularly, the Abrahamic faiths.
Although the 1999 constitution, as every of its predecessors, proclaims the secularity of Nigeria, our leaders trample on its spirit and letter by putting religion front, back and centre of every thought and action, by a Pharisee-like public display of piety (PDP). From state sponsorship of pilgrimages to incessant calls for prayers to save the nation, Nigeria in the eyes of its holy leaders is a theocracy in fact and a secular state in name only. Thus, despite many corrections, President Jonathan just cannot keep his righteousness to himself. Fresh from a state-sponsored pilgrimage to Jerusalem in which he gave damning evidence of his brazen violation of the constitution, he took to the pulpit to declare that "but for the prayers of the church,” Nigeria “would probably have gone into oblivion."
What Jonathan cannot understand is that in making such a superstitious claim, he appeals to the same authority as the religious fanatic. God, and not the citizens, according to Jonathan, is the guarantor of the continued stability of Nigeria; he holds the country together only as a favour to the prayerful followers of two foreign religions. God, according to Boko Haram’s Ibrahim Shekau, has decreed an Islamic kingdom in Nigeria, one that would not even require prayers for peace since it would be ruled directly by him through his personally anointed prophet—most likely Shekau himself. Consequently, God commanded Shekau, “to fight against people so long as they do not declare that there is no god but Allah.” And in the process, to “enjoy killing anyone that God commands me to kill the way I enjoy killing chickens and rams.” Jonathan cannot disavow Shekau’s claims without giving up the basis of his own claims, including the view that God, and not voting citizens, made him president.
My more recent reflections on the holy superstition called chosenness reminded me of Jean Jacque Rousseau’s Second Discourse on Inequality where he writes thus:  “The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, to whom it occurred to say this is mine, and found people sufficiently simple to believe him, was the true founder of civil society. How many crimes, wars, murders, how many miseries and horrors Mankind would have been spared by him who, pulling up the stakes or filling in the ditch, had cried out to his kind: Beware of listening to this impostor; You are lost if you forget that the fruits are everyone’s and the Earth no one’s.” To all who accept without question every claim of divine revelation or directive, I commend the derision of chosenness by the great mystic poet, Omar Khayyam, in the Rubáiyát: “And do you think that unto such as you, / A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew, / God gave the Secret, and denied it me? -- / Well, well, what matters it! believe that too.” Today’s chosen men of God are, of course, very well fed and often finely accoutred, but fanatics they remain!
“God told me . . .” How much better the world would be if we called impostors by their true name and sought God in the quiet recesses of our minds.

By Ogaga Ifowodo

omoliho@gmail.com

TODAY’S CHURCH: WINNING SOULS OR MONEY?

The Church rose to its peak in the medieval period with its domination of world affairs and later waned in the face of rising secularism that grew out of the industrial revolution and free market enterprise. Another product of the industrial revolution which is monumental to the church is the Protestant Reformation championed by Martin Luther. There were a number of changes that the church underwent. For example, we had the emergence of the Puritans in the 16th and 17th century who wanted to purify and free the Church of England from government control.
This movement gave rise to pietism, the practice of deep devotion and reverence for God. What came out of this was the evangelical reawakening which was first ignited by the Moravian Movement and spread wide to the whole England through the work of the early Methodists like George Whitefield, John Wesley, Charles Wesley and a number of English laymen in the 18th century and beyond. The Moravian Movement and the Methodist Movement championed a re-enactment of Christian mission to the heathen world, a kind of what was obtainable in the primitive church during the era of the Lord’s Apostles. This missionary activity started purely based on the Biblical commission to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28: 19), but was later hijacked by imperialist rulers who claimed to be Christian kings helping to ‘champion the course the gospel.’ Again, the church became a victim of government by subjecting her mission to state control.
Hence, the church is accused of collaborating with the expansionist and oppressive policy of colonial administration all over the world. These antecedents continue to hunt the church till today and it accounts for the general apathy against her in Europe and most of the Asian countries. In the late 19th and early 20th century, a new brand of Christianity emerged from the Wesleyan Holiness movements in America first promoted by the Rev Charles H. Parham, a former Methodist minister. By 1906, William J. Seymour, a black American one-eyed preacher who was under the tutelage of C. H. Parham was caught up with an extra-ordinary manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit in a Methodist Mission House he was using on Asuza Street, Los Angeles, USA.
The place became a centre of spiritual activity and turned out to be a pilgrim cite with people pouring in from all over the world and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the second blessing, a replica of the Pentecost experience of the early Disciples of Christ. Eventually, modern Pentecostalism took its name from this. This helped the church to recover its commission once again and led to renewed missionary activity. Again and again, the church would derail. Again and again, God calls His people back to His purpose. Right now Pentecostal and Charismatic form of Christianity seem to have reached their plateau, a position of complacency. A critical look at all Christian groups now, especially in Nigeria, shows that most of them are no longer concerned about making disciples for Christ. In my own judgment, every church is now either Pentecostal or charismatic. Churches are now into empire expansion, acquiring this and that here and there.
Yes, it is right for the church to have a sound financial base but that should not be the primary focus of the Church of God. Some church leaders continue to amass wealth for themselves only and neglect the highly priced sacrificial leadership. What we use to know as follow-up no longer holds. Most altar calls after message now are for promotion, prosperity, healing and deliverance and not for repentance and conversion. The church has become user-friendly. Many ministers of God especially in Nigeria have become prayer contractors, praying and prophesying good things for the highest bidder. Even when we are not actually praying, we tell them we are praying earnestly for their progress.
If Peter and John were modern preachers they would have prayed for one kind of spirit to fall on Simon the Sorcerer since he had good money to pay for the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8: 14-24). The church is supposed to be the conscience of the nation but some of us have become collaborators in wrecking the nation like the High Priest Amaziah, ‘the palace chaplain’ during the reign of King Jeroboam, who was enjoying the booties of the land and turned a blind eye to the evils of his day. God sent Amos, an obscure figure, to minister in Bethel and Amaziah ordered him out, ‘Get out of here, you seer! Go on back to the land of Judah and do your preaching there! Don’t bother us here in Bethel with your prophecies, especially not here where the royal sanctuary is!’ (Amos 7:12-13 NLT).
Some churches that were known for humility and quiet contribution to nation building and development have become sycophants. In all our church programmes now, even revival services and crusades, what do we target? What vision do we ministers receive when praying for programmes? The amount of money that will be raised or the of souls that will be won to the Lord? Those who are our great financiers and donors, do we bother if they have repented of their sins or have problems that needed attention? Because we fail to win souls of people to God, we have no control and moral authority over them.
Because we aim at their money and not their soul they will continue to control us. If we win people to the Lord, we win all that they have and own, but if we win only their money we loose our integrity before them and before God. And when people loose their integrity before God, they are finished. O God! Bring us back into your purpose for us on earth. In Christ’s name. Amen.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters