₦airaland Forum

A Tale of Two Conversions

By: Deji Yesufu

A few days ago I was visited by Dr. Adunni Adelakun and we spent close to two hours discussing various themes on Pentecostal/Charismatic religion. Dr. Adelakun is researching an aspect of Nigerian Pentecostalism and her visit to me was to get my perspective on this. She particularly wanted to know why I was a lot critical of this Christian denomination. My discussion with her, being an academic, helped me to think through my disagreements properly and in answering one of her questions, I was able to pin point a fundamental problem with modern popular Charismatic churches in Nigeria. I would be talking about this in this article but rather than turn it into a theological discuss again, I wish to tell a story of two conversions that I have witnessed and then draw certain conclusions.

Jeremiah Saint is a man I know very well. He had grown up at a time of severe economic challenges in Nigeria and understood how many Nigerian used religions as a means for economic survival. Jeremiah was however different. He grew up in a middle class Nigerian home and was relatively unaffected by the economic downturn that the Nigerian nation witnessed under the government of Ibrahim Babangida 1990/91. In 1998, at his third year in the University, Jeremiah encountered the Christian gospel and began to attend a new generational church opposite his university campus. Not less than three months after joining this church, it became clear to Jeremiah that the messages he was hearing in this church were not doing his soul any good. The pastor, a graduate of Benson Idahosa seminary, centered his preaching on healing and prosperity. These were not Jeremiah’s needs.

Jeremiah needed solution to a major problem he had. He realized that though he had “given his life to Christ”, he was still challenged by many sins. He knew his heart and the messages he was hearing in church were not teaching him how to deal with his besetting sins. By God’s providence, Jeremiah would begin to read books and one of the books that left a great impression on his heart was Dr. R. T. Kendall’s “Worshipping God”. After writing extensively on what the Christian ought to do to live a life of worship, Kendall concluded his book by teaching a concept he called “The Joy of Doing Nothing”. Kendall said that the highest worship we could offer God was simply being in awe and wonder at what God has done; such awe that could make even saying “thank you” very inadequate. Kendall went on to write about the great doctrine of justification by faith. How the grace of God saves sinners and God requires nothing from us in return. Kendall had mentioned that these theme was threshed out in the writings of Apostle Paul. Thus Jeremiah spent most of his final days at the University studying these great themes of justification and the historical Christianity that taught them. Jeremiah believes today that his coming to Christ was not when “he gave his life to Christ” as such; rather, it was when he understood the gospel of the grace of God to sinners.

The second conversion story that I wish to talk about here revolves around the testimony of a well-known Nigerian minister. This Pastor actually talks about his conversion experience too. Only that it was also one of those “giving your life to Christ” situation that is prevalent in Nigerian Charismatic churches. This pastor’s genuine encounter with God would however revolve around healing. For the sake of anonymity, we would call him Pastor X. Pastor X believes that he inherited migraine headaches from his mother. From his testimony, he said he had become addicted to pain killers. However, when he became a Christian he felt that he needed to get God to heal him of these headaches. So he stopped using those drugs and believed God for healing. In the process of waiting for his healing, he had the worst headaches of his life. In fact he testifies of how he once blew his nose while taking his bath and out came a flow of blood with mucus. He simply laughed at the devil and claimed his healing. Pastor X says he is not sure when he eventually got healed. All he knows was that the headaches just stopped. He no longer uses drugs of any kind and the headaches are totally gone.

Today, Pastor X and Jeremiah Saint are in the ministry. Two of them claim to preach Jesus Christ but they proffer different solutions to two different problems in the Christian life. Pastor X believes that when a Christian has given his life to Christ, he can now trust God to bring healing and prosperity to him – all by faith. Jeremiah disagrees vehemently with Pastor X. Jeremiah believes that the central problem that God has with humanity is sin and that gospel preaching must be tailored to help sinners understand the grace of God that has come to all sinful humanity. He believes that genuine Christianity begins when a sinner comprehends his need for God’s justification and when he spend the rest of his life pursuing sanctification, with his hope fixed on the glory of Christ to come – his glorification. Pastor X believes these things too. He only thinks that the emphasis of the Bible, following conversion, is that Christians should live the good life. A sick Christian should claim healing for his illness and a poor Christian should give to God long enough to enter prosperity. Jeremiah believes that Pastor X preaches a false gospel. Pastor X thinks Jeremiah belongs to a cult.

This story forms the basis of my contention with modern Charismatic churches. So when Dr. Adelakun asked me what was the fundamental problem I have with these churches. I explained that it was in their not correctly identifying the overarching need of man. I told her that when Jesus was born, his mandate was simply to save men from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Sin is the fundamental need of fallen humanity; not sickness or poverty. Christ did not come to make men healthy and wealthy! Jesus Christ’s healing ministry was a pointer to his apostolic calling as one bringing God’s message to humanity and every time God sent an apostle, he gave him signs and wonders to authenticate his message. This was the case with Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha and the Apostles. Besides these ones, no one in the Bible had such miraculous ministries. Besides, as much as Christ healed people, he never promised anyone a life of wealth and ease. Rather, he told his disciples “…in the world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33).

I have been writing against the prevailing prosperity themes in Pentecostal churches for a very long time but I would confess that I have never received as much backlash from readers as I received when I published “These Men Did Not Begin Well” last Sunday. In that article I made the claim that Biodun Fatoyinbo, Chris Oyakhilome, David Oyedepo, Enoch Adeboye and a host of other pastors in Nigerian Pentecostal churches, in preaching a gospel of health and wealth, are not preaching the Christian message. They are not Christians because their testimony, like those of Pastor X, do not reflect persons who have encountered the gospel of Christ. They may have experienced healing and are today flowing in prosperity, but they have not encountered a gospel that can save them from their sins and thus they do not preach such a gospel. They simply cannot preach what they do not have. They have no genuine foundation in Christ and quite naturally the fruit of their lives and ministry would reflect the scandalous message they believe.

The Bible warns against faulty foundations. It all starts at how we all began. Chris Arnzen, of “Iron Sharpens Iron” radio, spends a great deal of his time trying to extract the conversion experience of his guests. He does this because whatever else we would all do as converted Christians would be premised on the Christ we encountered at the point of our conversion. Paul teaches that there is another Jesus that people preach (2 Corinthians 11:4). When you teach that Jesus died to make people healthy and wealthy, you are effectively preaching another Jesus. You may claim to be a Christian but you are not a Bible Christian.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo and Half a Millennium. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

Source: http://mouthpiece.com.ng/a-tale-of-two-conversions/

"For it is the time for the judgment to have begun from the house of God;
and if from us first, what will be the outcome of those disobeying the gospel of God?"
- 1 Peter 4:17

VBCampaign, knows he can rely on me to type an objective tell it as it is, comment, to his write-ups.

I find it grating when those who should know better, start asking questions wanting to know the reason for you being critical of this and that Christian denomination. Some even go to the length of claiming one insults and castigates every preacher, that insults are hauled on pastors who are at helms of prominent fellowships, and disregarding them being seniors, but when they point their bony little wagging finger to say something in those lines, I think to myself, what planet are they living in or what rock/stone are they under living? Arent they aware of 1 Peter 4:17 above ni? Dont they know that Jesus is not coming back to the Church that isn't without spot or wrinkle ni? Most, the likes of Biodun Fatoyinbo, Chris Oyakhilome, David Oyedepo, Enoch Adeboye and a host of other pastors in Nigerian Pentecostal churches, if not already Pharisees, are increasingly becoming and behaving like a Pharisee, trying to entrap and trip up people, craving for and/or coveting the widows' mites. They are the the 21st century equivalent of the biblical Pharisees. Aside needing deliverance of this 21st century Pharisaical spirit inside, they each and all need the occasional kick up the jacksie, where the sun dont shine, for getting all the priorities wrong.

In all my entire time, of reading the Bible, over and over again, I have never once come across reading Jesus ever condemning any individual, but with the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes etcetera, it is a different kettle of fish. There is no love lost between them and Him. Jesus didnt have their time, He at every opportuned time was at loggerhead with them, even until the day of His death on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus never minced words with any of them. He insulted them, sent them message home to their father. He at one time and in a sitting cursed them 7 times in one go

I think, its Albert Einstein, who said: "We cannot solve our problems, with the same thinking, we used when we created them" Most of the problems, in the church are self inflicted brought on ourselves from bad teaching, deceitful doctrines, doctrines of demons etcetera and walking/playing into the hands of deceiving spirits. The trappings of power, wealth and the greed for filthy lucre plus merchandising the gospel solely for immediate personal benefit and comfort are other regular source of the problems plaguing the church

Everybody likes to talk about a good weather but nobody wants anything said about it, when bad. No one, whether senior or not senior, should expect to be painted golden, when in fact they are black, ugly and dark inside. When you provoke a reaction, it might be because a thought struck someone and caused them panic enough, to start to be asking questions, wanting to know the reason for you being critical of this and that Christian denomination. They seem to forget, that no matter whose ox is gored, things need to be said. No one is a sacred cow. No one is an institution, held to be above criticism nor be unreasonably immune from criticism.

MuttleyLaff all the same

MuttleyLaff:
"For it is the time for the judgment to have begun from the house of God;
and if from us first, what will be the outcome of those disobeying the gospel of God?"
- 1 Peter 4:17

VBCampaign, knows he can rely on me to type an objective tell it as it is, comment, to his write-ups.

I find it grating when those who should know better, start asking questions wanting to know the reason for you being critical of this and that Christian denomination. Some even go to the length of claiming one insults and castigates every preacher, that insults are hauled on pastors who are at helms of prominent fellowships, and disregarding them being seniors, but when they point their bony little wagging finger to say something in those lines, I think to myself, what planet are they living in or what rock/stone are they under living? Arent they aware of 1 Peter 4:17 above ni? Dont they know that Jesus is not coming back to the Church that isn't without spot or wrinkle ni? Most, the likes of Biodun Fatoyinbo, Chris Oyakhilome, David Oyedepo, Enoch Adeboye and a host of other pastors in Nigerian Pentecostal churches, if not already Pharisees, are increasingly becoming and behaving like a Pharisee, trying to entrap and trip up people, craving for and/or coveting the widows' mites. They are the the 21st century equivalent of the biblical Pharisees. Aside needing deliverance of this 21st century Pharisaical spirit inside, they each and all need the occasional kick up the jacksie, where the sun dont shine, for getting all the priorities wrong.

In all my entire time, of reading the Bible, over and over again, I have never once come across reading Jesus ever condemning any individual, but with the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes etcetera, it is a different kettle of fish. There is no love lost between them and Him. Jesus didnt have their time, He at every opportuned time was at loggerhead with them, even until the day of His death on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus never minced words with any of them. He insulted them, sent them message home to their father. He at one time and in a sitting cursed them 7 times in one go

I think, its Albert Einstein, who said: "We cannot solve our problems, with the same thinking, we used when we created them" Most of the problems, in the church are self inflicted brought on ourselves from bad teaching, deceitful doctrines, doctrines of demons etcetera and walking/playing into the hands of deceiving spirits. The trappings of power, wealth and the greed for filthy lucre plus merchandising the gospel solely for immediate personal benefit and comfort are other regular source of the problems plaguing the church

Everybody likes to talk about a good weather but nobody wants anything said about it, when bad. No one, whether senior or not senior, should expect to be painted golden, when in fact they are black, ugly and dark inside. When you provoke a reaction, it might be because a thought struck someone and caused them panic enough, to start to be asking questions, wanting to know the reason for you being critical of this and that Christian denomination. They seem to forget, that no matter whose ox is gored, things need to be said. No one is a sacred cow. No one is an institution, held to be above criticism nor be unreasonably immune from criticism.

Very well said

Who are we to listen to deji yusuf or those been castigated

Redoil:
Who are we to listen to deji yusuf or those been castigated

Those who have ears to hear listen...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkWNS2kedu8