On the Forgiveness of Sins

 

The forgiveness of sins is the core of the Christian faith. It is the atom of the Christian structure. Simply put, if the forgiveness of sins is taken away from Christianity, it is no longer Christianity. In fact, there will essentially be no distinction between Christianity and other religions, because we’ll be left with nothing more than a moral compass. And if you are honest with yourself you’d discover that some other religions do a more comprehensive job on morality.

The prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus is very crucial to understanding His ministry.

Matthew 1:21

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

This was the message given to Joseph concerning the ministry of Jesus, which was that He would save men from their sins. Even John attested to it;

John 1:29

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

It is clear that this was the core mission of Christ – to take away the sins of the world. After the resurrection of Christ, He clearly instructed that this message be preached;

Luke 24: 46-47

Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Repentance here means a renewal of heart. This and the remission of sins, which is the gospel, is the core message of the Christian faith. If this is so, it is therefore important that every believer understands that he has been forgiven. Forgiveness here, implies that there is no longer a barrier between himself (the believer) and God. That by the blood of Jesus, the believer has been reconciled to the Father.

Now it is vital for us to know how forgiveness came about. It is very clear in scriptures;

Hebrews 9:22

And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

Hebrews 10 shows us that the law was a shadow of the things to come – things, which have now been revealed in Christ. We then see that just as in the Law, sins can never be forgiven except blood is shed. Sins cannot just be wished away. They must be paid for. To be forgiven does not just happen by merely saying so. Forgiveness can only happen when blood has been shed. We won’t go into why this is so, all we need to know for now is that remission of sins is by the shedding of blood.

With this knowledge in mind, we can now answer a simple question – How is  a person forgiven? Answer: by the shedding of the blood of Christ! The next question will be – When is a person forgiven? This might not have such a straight forward answer. The dilemma flows in this regard – Is a person forgiven when he becomes born again or was he forgiven since Jesus died. Let’s look at Hebrews.

Hebrews 10:12-14

But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

Let’s consider the above text. The first phrase says Jesus offered how many sacrifices? – One. Remember the first submission, which is that the forgiveness of sins can only take place by the shedding of blood. Therefore, Jesus’ death on the cross was the one-time sacrifice for sin. This same text answers the duration of the effectiveness of this sacrifice – forever! So, Jesus offered one sacrifice for all time.

This means that there will be no more sacrifice for sins. In fact, that is clearly stated.

Hebrews 10:18

Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Now, let’s put our thinking caps on. You believe God is smart right? So do I. You believe God is logical right? So do I. So let’s look closely. Historically Jesus died around 33 AD right? That will be somewhere around 2000 years ago right? If Jesus’ sacrifice for sins was a one-time thing, how about the sinners who were born in 1000 AD, hundreds of years after Jesus died? Did Jesus’ death cover their sins also? Of course it did! If it did not, that will mean Jesus would have to die again for their sins.

If we agree that Jesus’ death paid for the sins of those born in the 11th century AD, how about those born in 1900? His death also paid for theirs right? Exactly, since it was a one-time thing. Hold on, that means that at the point when Jesus died, around 33 AD, he paid for the sins of those who were going to be born in 1000 AD, and in 1990 AD right?

That means as at 33 AD, he paid for future sins right? Right! Also if at 33 AD sinners of 1000 AD were paid for, that means he also paid for those born in 1990 AD, 2000 AD, 2015 AD, 2025 AD…in fact He paid for ALL time!

When the Bible says He offered one sacrifice for sins forever, forever means forever! That is, for all time. So yes! Jesus died for future sins! His sacrifice does not expire up till our last sin, no! His sacrifice is eternal! It was/is not bound by time! Isn’t that liberating? To know that God had cleared you before you were born? He did this so there will be nothing standing between you and Him? This is the height of love!

Now some folks are afraid of teaching this because they are afraid that people will keep sinning. You see, fear brings torment (1 John 4:18). The very fear of sin and its consequences keeps people sinning. On the other hand, it is the freedom to be one with God that gives a man victory over sin. This is not just spiritual wisdom but it is logical. Not being afraid of something is actually what gives you confidence over that thing, I mean – durrrrhhh

The fact that I am not afraid of my Father disowning me is exactly why I am confident enough to use my Father’s name. If I was afraid that I could cease to be my Father’s son tomorrow, I’d be less confident of using his name, not so? And the fear of no longer being His son will definitely affect how I relate with Him. I can never be confident around Him.

Now do you think God wants us to have that lack of confidence before Him? Of course not! That’s why Christ paid for our sins, so nothing will stand between us and our confidence towards God. Just look at Hebrews;

Hebrews 4:16

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Did you see that? We can come boldly, to obtain grace and mercy! Perfect men don’t need mercy right? I mean if you are up and doing, what do you need mercy for? Mercy is for the imperfect, the mistaken, the guilty. Yet all such can come to God in full assurance because all sins have been cleared before Him. Beautiful!

And if we meet with Him in the Light, so that we walk in the light, where will sin and darkness find expression in the light? If you are truly bothered about people living sinfully, what you need to give them, is that life in God, and they cannot receive it except they know they have been forgiven, and they live in confidence towards God. Because if they fear sin, it will be their master, but if they are fused with the love and life of God, darkness will have no expression!

So to answer the question “When was a man forgiven?”; He was forgiven when Jesus died for the sins of men on the cross. This is why we can approach any man and declare to them “your sins have been forgiven!”. Christ paid for the sins of every man who has, is and will ever live. I love the way it is put in 2 Corinthians 5

2 Corinthians 5: 19

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Take note of the phrase “not imputing their sins unto them”. We all have been forgiven of our sins. This explains why sinners can be healed and receive the good things of God, it’s because God is not holding their sins against them.

But here’s the real problem because one might ask, “so if God has forgiven all men, that means no man will go to hell right?”, this is the demonic thought that has led to what is called ‘universalism‘ today. Universalism is the belief that in the end all men will be saved. Evidently we know this is not true.

We know that all men are forgiven, we also know that all men have not received this forgiveness, and right there is the big difference. The forgiveness of sins has to be preached so that it will be received and reconciliation will take place. Unless forgiveness is received, a man is not saved! This is why we preach the gospel, that men may know that they have been forgiven and by accepting this to be true, they receive salvation. Never forget John 3:16

John 3:16-18

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Bless you.

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The Fear of Grace: Are We Ashamed of the Gospel?

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In our part of the world, the message of the Grace of Christ is beginning to gain more traction. Looking closely, we seem to have two contrasting reactions. 

For some, they are falling all over in love with God. The scriptures have come more alive to them than ever before. For the first time in their lives, the scriptures finally make sense.

On the other hand, some are more careful. They are wary of ‘licentiousness’. They crave more ‘balance’ so that people don’t live immoral lives.

Both sides of the coin appear honest enough and reasonable. However, we should be more sensitive to the scriptures on the subject of the Gospel of Christ. I’ll come to the gospel later. But let’s look carefully on this issue of ‘balance’.

In all honesty and truth, when many folks say ‘balance’ scriptures they really mean “say something sobering so people don’t get too happy or excited”. To do this ‘balance’, they often resort to twisting scriptures or misinterpreting scriptures, taking scriptures out of context to bring some “sobering”. 

But let’s ask ourselves something..”can you balance truth?” Even if you think you can, does balancing truth make truth any less true? If it does, then it is no longer balance, it is in fact watering down truth. That is, making truth less effective. 

For instance, “God loves sinners” sounds controversial, however it is true. No amount of “balance” can negate the simple truth that God loves sinners! Another, all sins are forgiven, irrespective of timing I.e. sins committed before and after the cross were forgiven in Christ. This is truth. How do you balance that?

In a bid to balance that, some will say, well all sins are forgiven, but sin can still take you to hell. Now that is illogical. It’s just common reasoning. If all sins are forgiven, how come the very same sins take you to hell? A primary six student can spot the logical error. 

Some will say, if it is logical, then it appears dangerous…don’t teach it too much. Folks, this only means one thing; that one is ashamed of the gospel. 

Often times, when people preach the truth of the gospel, a gang of folks say they are preaching licentiousness (license to live at will, immorally). Interestingly, most times (not all the time), when folks claim a person teaches licentiousness, they have absolutely no thread of evidence to prove it, none whatsoever. I know this because I’ve experienced it. But even more so, because Paul was accused of the same…

And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.

Romans 3:8 NLT

Paul suffered the same accusations, why? Because he emphasised righteousness by faith which is the core of the gospel, the core of Grace. To put it simply, there were folks who accused Paul of preaching licentiousness just like folks accuse “grace preachers” (whatever that means), today.

Some people say emphasis on “grace” is “another gospel”, a term coined by Paul himself. But it appears many folks don’t read that phrase in its context..

Galatians 1:6 KJVS

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

That verse alone clearly shows that the “grace of Christ” is the gospel and anything other than the grace of Christ is another gospel! In other words, if you don’t preach Gods Grace you are preaching another gospel! Grace is the gospel!

Now here’s the thing, let’s read the Bible and believe it in full faith. The Bible says that this gospel of the grace of Jesus, is the power to save man from sin. Romans 6:14 cannot be clearer, sin has no dominion over believers who are under grace! Why do we ignore these salient truths and are still jittery about the gospel of the grace of Christ? Do we doubt the Bible? Are we implying that grace cannot save man from his sins? Or that grace gives license to sin? Is that what the Bible says? Doesn’t it clearly say the contrary? If we can agree that it says the contrary, why should we de-emphasize the Grace of Christ? Are we ashamed of it? Can’t we just believe the Bible? Isn’t the Bible clear enough? Where there is sin, Grace outdoes it. Doesn’t that mean that more Grace means victory over sin?

Some would say “I’m not saying don’t preach grace, but preach obedience too!” And then they quote Titus 2:11. There’s no problem with that,but let’s look at it..

Titus 2:11-12 KJVS

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, [12] Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Look at what grace teaches! So how does grace lead you to sin? Now some read the message in that verse as “teach Grace, then teach denial and righteous living”, which seems noble. But interestingly, that’s not quite the message in that verse. Titus 2:11-12 says the grace of Christ (his death and resurrection, and it’s significance) on its own, teaches us to live soberly and righteously! That is, grace it self, the message of grace it self teaches us to live soberly and righteously! Paul met grace, did he keep sinning? What about Peter? The woman with the alabaster box? Zaccheus? The list goes on ..Some want us to water down the message, why water down a message that bears the fruits of the character of Christ?

I contend that we must teach the Gospel of the grace of Christ firmly, irrevocably and with full boldness! It is the power to save! Nothing else will save but the message of the cross! Nothing.

We cannot decide to teach less of God’s love. Why should we? It is the seed that births life in men. John said we love because God first loved us. If we can’t love God unless we see and believe God’s love for us, does that not demand that we preach more of God’s love?!

We must also recognise one truth. The gospel is a definite message! It is about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and what it means to a believer. This is the gospel! The book of Revelation is not the gospel, nor Genesis or Leviticus or Lamentations…they are scripture and they concentrate on other things apart from the gospel. These other subjects are equally vital, because they essentially point us to Christ.

The gospel is a focus on the person of Christ. Who He is, what He has done and who we are in Him. It is very unhealthy not to focus on these subjects, very unhealthy. We cannot put the gospel as “one of the topics of Christianity” and proceed to teach “prosperity”, “tithing”, “marriage”, “making it in life”, “healing”, “faith” etc. Nope! The gospel is not only for when you newly believed, it is for the entirety of your life on Earth. You cannot outgrow the gospel. The gospel is the core, the cornerstone, the foundation of Christian faith. It is not one of the books on the shelf, it is the shelf itself, everything stands on it, and as such, naturally, it has more emphasis than any Christian subject!

Now, conduct and correction are important. In fact, they are vital. Paul (the Apostle of Grace) taught in 2 Timothy 3:16 that scriptures are given for correction and for instruction in righteousness (well doing). We see Paul send corrective epistles to the Corinthians and to the Galatians. Yet in his corrections, we see a strong emphasis on the identity of a believer in Christ (a core significance of the Gospel). It is from this point of view that Paul corrects perhaps the most sinful gentile church.

If we correct, without emphasis on identity, we will only produce hypocrites and men pleasers. Folks with an outward manifestation of good but rotten on the inside. Pretenders whose pretence will only last for so long. Teaching a man who he is in Christ (a subject squarely based on the gospel), whilst correcting him, renews his mind and thus, the renewal transforms him from within, thereby producing genuine fruits of repentance and not hypocrisy. He doesn’t come to fellowship because he doesn’t want to disappoint the president, but rather because he is a believer. He doesn’t pray to fulfil all righteousness but rather because prayer is in his character as a believer and he cannot do without it. He doesn’t read his bible so he can raise his hand in Church when the Pastor asks about it, but rather because that’s his spiritual food, he cannot do without it.

Should we be ‘careful’ about grace because of ‘licentiousness’? No! We must not water it down, we must not hold it back, we must not twist the truth. We don’t have the license to do so, since the Gospel is not our message but God’s.  Paul did not change his emphasis because he was accused of ‘licentiousness’, no! Rather, he corrected those who accused him, and showed them how grace is the antidote to licentiousness. We must not allow people to insult the grace of God by allowing the lies of licentiousness to spread. We mustn’t. This is what it means to contend for the faith. To stand for the truth, to stand for what grace births in a believer. To stamp out the fear and false propagation that the love of God breeds licentiousness, we must fight for this truth. 

If a man claims to know God, yet boldly lives in sin, and does not show the character of love, he is a liar! Grace did not make him a sinner, rather he makes a mockery of the faith. Don’t fault the message, fault the person. Grace will never, I repeat never produce a sinful life, never! Do we fault God’s grace and wisdom for the corruption of the Devil? Or do we blame the devil himself for birthing corruption? Neither should we blame the gospel for fostering sinfulness because of a man who uses it as a reason for licentiousness. Such a man is reprobate.

We must show what grace does, without by any means watering down the truth of the gospel. We must remain unashamed and steadfast in the truth. Unwavering in declaring it.

Jesus wasn’t deterred in showing grace to sinners. He wasn’t moved by naysayers, scoffers, men who called him devil. They accused Jesus of licentiousness, they called him a winebiber, a friend of sinners. To them, His show of love to sinners implied that He encouraged and pardoned sin. But we know better than that. He met an adulterer, He loved. A thief, He loved. A publican, He loved. A murderer (Paul), He loved. 

Jesus didn’t think, ‘let me not show God’s love too much so they don’t take Father for granted’. No! In fact, he was more defiant in showing God’s love. In the midst of Pharisees, He forgave a man on his sick bed, to their face. He knew they won’t like it. He wasn’t bothered. He healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath in the midst of the Pharisees…He knew they won’t like it! If Jesus wasn’t moved by religious Pharisees, neither should we!

This is not to say we should be arrogant. No, we must be patient, gentle and meek in declaring the gospel. But we mustn’t cower at the slightest suggestion of slander! It is the gospel, the power to save. We preach it everywhere to everyone, for men to be saved and come to the Knowledge of God.

Does the gospel sound too good to be true? It probably does, but thank God it’s true. No wonder Hillsong wrote “The Scandal of Grace”..for someone to die in your place. It is humbling. It strips you of all boasting and shows you your nothingness in yourself but your fullness in Christ. Truly it is scandalous, it comes with many naysayers, scoffers, slanderers, persecutors and accusers. Hence Paul said “I am not ashamed!”. Come what may, we are not ashamed of the gospel of the grace of Christ, for it alone, is the power to save man from his sins. We must preach it till the whole word hears… Christ died for sinners!

Declare the gospel, and see men live the life of Christ.

Glory to God!

The Most Exciting Thing About the Power of the Gospel

The truth is, I really just got to know the real gospel in 2013. I was in my third year in the University and very active in my university fellowship. A class mate of mine decided to be so nice and poured out dozens of Pastor Joseph Prince’s messages into my flash drive. I knew Pastor Prince as a familiar face from TBN, but nothing more. As far as I thought, he was just a nice looking youth pastor who had a thing for rock music (I later found out to my surprise, that he is over 50). I thought that way, because of his penchant for leather jackets and pants. His messages languished in my message library for a few months, till one day, out of boredom, I decided to check them out. I started with “Boast of God’s love for you” then, “Jesus’ gift of righteousness “. Before long I found myself engrossed in this man’s ‘message’. What really cut through me was the message, “See the Fathers Love for you” – I wept. Now this is weird but I really did shed tears. It was a message on the well versed story of the prodigal son. Only this time, I saw that the story spoke of a prodigal father – a father with lavish love.

I remember it so clearly, I was lying belly down on my bed, ears plugged, hand on chin, engrossed in the message about how a rich father so loved and forgave his decadent son. Right there, it was like an epiphany. For the first time in my life, I saw how much God loved me. I got teary-eyed and didn’t know when the tears dropped. I thought to myself, “why am I just hearing this?”. That day, everything changed. You know how we struggle to really love God? Whoosh! Gone! I was madly in love! I got addicted to listening to those grace filled messages, you might say [haha]. It felt like I was re-learning everything about God. It felt like I was “re-born again”. All I wanted to listen to was God’s love in sending His son to die for us. All I wanted to hear was Jesus died and Jesus rose again. I learnt afresh, the meaning of the forgiveness of sins. My life was changing. Habits were dying. I was experiencing a radical change inside-out. My thinking and perception was changing. I desired to study the Bible more than at any time in my life. I’d read the epistles again and again. I longed to pray, my prayer style changed – there was less of trying to say the best words or use the best vocabulary. I was as plain and as honest as a person would speak to a father who loved him. When I preached at meetings, it was different. Forgiving folks was no longer a burden, or a huge achievement, rather, it had become second nature. Who was I not to forgive, after Jesus had forgiven me?

I thought I was the only one who had this experience after receiving the gospel. I was wrong. It was like there was a wave. Some people called it “The Grace Revolution”. Even Pastor Prince gave it that name. It appeared there was a “Grace movement “. Well, I have always been wary of ‘movements ‘. However, what was clear, was that the truth of the Gospel was being rediscovered and consequently, re-emphasized. The books of Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, Galatians, 1 John and the rest were being expounded again. Jesus was taking center stage again! Indeed, it appeared something new was happening. Well it might seem new, but it isn’t. This gospel is as old as 2000 years. We’ve just had a from of Christian religion lately that had decided to put the message of the Grace of Christ in the back seat at the expense of materialism, motivation and condemnation.

Since 2013, I witnessed and met with folks who were totally transformed by the revelation of this truth. For me, this is the most exciting thing about the gospel – it’s ability to totally transform a person from the inside out. This is the result of honestly believing the true Gospel. 

No one says it’s gonna be an immediate transformation, rather, it takes time. The life of a believer is characterized in this verse:

2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV

[18] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

If you can keep believing. If you can keep focusing on the person of Jesus, you will be transformed to the observable nature of Jesus, from one step of glory to another. It does take time believe me, but the speed and effectiveness of this transformation is dependent on your ability to submit to God’s grace and your dedication to believing the word of God. These two key ingredients will launch you into a Christ centred life.

Remember Romans 1:16;

Romans 1:16 KJV

[16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The gospel is the power of God for salvation. Think of anything worth being saved from, the gospel is the power for that salvation. This is why it transforms, it renews, it makes alive and it refreshes. Stick with the gospel folks, and watch the formation of Christ in you!

What True Worship Really Means

The word “worship” literally means to bow down, or to pay homage to another. In the Greek, it is expressed as ‘proskuneō’, interpreted as to crouch, or prostrate oneself in homage [Strong’s Definition]. In Hebrew it is expressed as ‘shâchâh’, which also literally means ‘to prostrate’. Several times in the old and new testaments, the word ‘worship’ is used in a broad sense, to imply one prostrating or bowing down to another.

In this post, we seek to investigate what true worship, means for a Christian – the man in Christ. In the Old Testament, a proper worship of God, always involved a befitting sacrifice. The first time the word ‘worship’ is used in the Bible, was by Abraham, here:

Genesis 22:5-6 KJV
[5] And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. [6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

Abraham’s worship, involved an offering. This shows that worship, can specifically involve an offering, as it goes beyond just bowing down. Words are said and sacrifices are offered during worship. Something is always given by the worshipper to the object of worship. We see the same again, in the first use of the word ‘worship’ in the New Testament. This is in the account of the visit of the wise men;

Matthew 2:2 KJV
[2] Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

The wise men came to worship;

Matthew 2:11 KJV
[11] And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

They offered gifts as part of their worship. So we can see that proper worship literally implies, paying homage to another by bowing down and offering words or gifts/sacrifices. To understand what true worship implies for the man in Christ, let’s hear from Jesus and do a short study:

John 4:21 KJV
[21] Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

The Samaritans did their worship to God, on a mountain. The Jews worshipped in a temple. Jesus asserted that both forms of worship were to cease in due time. Worship to God will no longer be at a mountain or in Jerusalem. Next verse.

John 4:22 KJV
[22] Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

Salvation was of the Jews! So technically, the Samaritans couldn’t worship God. They didn’t know who He was, they weren’t under the Old Covenant salvation. This points to the fact that only the saved can truly worship God. Next verse.

John 4:23 KJV
[23] But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Things were about to change. Worship would no more be geographically confined. There would be truth in worship. The worship that had been, was only a shadow, the real thing was about to arrive. It would no longer be about physical appearances, it will be of the spirit and it will be true worship! This is really what God delights in. Folks, this ‘hour’ Jesus spoke of is now. True worship arrived when Jesus died and the temple veil was split in two. Worshipping God never remained the same ever since.

John 4:24 KJV
[24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Worship can only take place in spirit! Think about it, worship means paying homage to another, accompanied with words and tangible offerings. If the receiver of our worship, God, is spirit, both the worship and the offerings, have to be spiritual! Hear Paul:

Acts 17:24-25 KJV
[24] God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; [25] Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

Temple worship was a shadow! It has been done away with. The physical offerings, lambs, bulls, flour, gold, silver were all shadows. God is not worshipped with men’s hands! He doesn’t ‘need’ our material things – he owns them! Worship, for the new man in Christ is quite different from the old. It’s not about gay dressing, ten thousand naira offerings, firstfruits and million naira tithes. We can’t worship God with these – not my words, the Bible says so. So what does it mean for a Christian to worship God. Let’s go to Romans.

Romans 12:1 KJV
[1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Does this verse refer to worship? Just hold on. We present our bodies as living sacrifices. Seems like a paradox huh? ‘living sacrifice’. Isn’t a sacrifice already dead? – hold that thought. So, presenting ourselves as living sacrifices is our ‘reasonable service’. Follow me now, the word ‘service’, in Greek, is translated as ‘Latreia’. Strong’s definition for this word is – ‘ministration of God, that is worship’. Thayer agrees with this too. So the term ‘reasonable service’ can also be rendered as ‘reasonable worship’.

So you see, that being a living sacrifice is the true definition of worship for the new man in Christ! This is what Jesus referred to in John as worshipping in spirit and in truth! Now what does it mean to be a Living Sacrifice? Paul put it clearer.

Galatians 2:20 KJV
[20] I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Is Christ our sacrifice? Yes! And his death was imputed in us. So when He died, we died! So, we[believers] all, are dead. We are dead to sin, our lusts, our ambitions, the cravings of this world, our desires etc. We are only alive to Christ. We live in Him, He lives in us. He is our life, we breathe Him. The world looks at us and sees Him. They don’t see us. Why? Because we are dead!

“But you are still alive na”

“Yes, but Christ lives through me”.

That natural ‘you’ has been sacrificed for Christ to take his place. Dead, yet living – Living Sacrifice!

You may not feel like a “living sacrifice”, probably, because you still seek after desires at the expense of God’s. You may be wondering, “how do I even know God’s desires?”. “How can I get rid of mine?”. “What if they are the same?”. “How can I tell which is whose?”. Just relax! God didn’t create bipolar Christians, we shouldn’t have opposing mindsets within us, no! God puts His ways in our mind by the Holy Spirit, so that we desire what He desires. We see what He sees. We do what He does. We say what He says. You may not feel like it, well, it’s not about feelings, really. But there’s a systematic process to seeing the will of God be in perfect tune with yours. Back to Romans;

Romans 12:2 KJV
[2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

There must be a renewal of mind! This is what it means to put off the nature of the old man, and wear the new one. This renewal of mind takes place in only one way. Ephesians reveals.

Ephesians 5:26-27 KJV
[26] That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, [27] That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

The word of God, renews our minds! More of the revelation of Christ, renews our minds! We are transformed in to ‘Christians’ by looking and be holding Christ Himself. We become living sacrifices.

2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV
[18] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Folks, keep beholding Christ. He was offered for us. Christ is our offering, He is our worship! Only the offering of Christ is acceptable before God! Not bulls, not goats, not gold or silver – but Christ.

What of ‘Praise and Worship’ sessions in church meetings? Praise is not the ‘fast’ song as compared to ‘worship’ – the slow songs. To praise means to speak highly of something or someone. To worship means to pay homage, with words and offerings. Now we know that these worship offerings aren’t gold and silver, but Jesus. He is the lamb, slain. He had been the offering from the foundation of the world. So in praising God, we speak Highly of God and His son, – our offering! This is an act of worship! Our songs should be Christ centred, God directed, God praising. The praises in Revelations are clear indicators of what praise singing should look like. They shouldn’t even be centred on us, it’s not about us, it’s about Jesus. We are not the offering – Jesus is.

So instead of singing “Every body looku looku….. He give me success, he give me breakthrough, he give me double double….”, sing about The Offering- “I see the lamb slain, I see the lamb slain…”. That’s how to truly praise God, it’s part of worship! The words we offer in praise of God must reflect the offering -Jesus. Hence, the words of our songs must be scripturally accurate and Jesus centred.

A short note:

With this in mind, some unscriptural songs won’t suffice as worship.
For instance, a believer singing “…and renew a right spirit within me….cast me not away…restore the joy of my salvation”, no matter how serious he is in singing this song, it doesn’t suffice as worship. The reason is simply because it does not reflect the offering of Jesus on the cross. Through the death of Jesus on the cross, a right spirit is within us, God is eternally with the believer – in fact, the believer is His temple and He has promised never to leave. Also, the joy of salvation is an eternal reality of the kingdom of God, which the believer operates in. As much as this song was a prayer of David, Jesus’ offering is the answer to this prayer.

That’s all folks

Bless you.

What Are We Listening To?

It’s laughable these days, when we go to ‘church’ to hear pastors feed us with Business success skills, political persuasions, economic lectures and spousal engagement techniques. What happened to the Gospel? Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with Business skills, politics and the likes, but the truth is I’d probably learn better attending Harvard Business School than listening to pastors teaching on it.

“But Nkem, my pastor may have the anointing for business”. Anointing for business? Alright fine, he should open a business school or establish a business and thrive at it. Don’t teach that at a Sunday Church service! There’s no scriptural basis for that – not a jot!

The Bible is very clear on this, there’s no mistake, please let’s follow;

Ephesians 4:11 KJV

[11] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

He gave men, pastors etc. why? Next verse;

Ephesians 4:12 KJV

[12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Pastors were given, to mature saints and prepare them for the work of the ministry so that the body of Christ will be built up. Did you see that? The purpose of the office of a pastor is to ensure that believers are trained to maturity, so they too can carry out the work of the ministry, for the church to be built up. It’s quite clear enough. We have a ministry committed into our hands – the ministry of reconciliation. God, working in us to reconcile sinners to himself – that is the ministry. This is the ultimate purpose of the church. It is therefore the responsibility of your pastor to prepare you for this ministry. Anything short of this is an abuse of the Church. Jesus was very clear on this matter.
Matthew 28:19-20 KJV

[19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jesus taught to lead believers into an identification with the love of the Father, the redemptive work of Christ, and the relationship with the Holy Spirit. These are the three major themes of Christian teachings. Paul summarized this in one of his parting prayers:

2 Corinthians 13:14 KJV

[14] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Jesus’ point after his resurrection as recorded by Luke is also worth noting:

Luke 24:46-47 KJV

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: [47] And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

The difference between Christian doctrine and other themes is Christ! Once Christ is taken away from the core of the message, it has become secular and at best, such a massage is just good advice. 
We’ve got to be careful what we listen to and what we consider as ‘christian’, especially what proceeds from the pulpit. We are advised to weigh all teachings. Here’s a rule of thumb for weighing doctrines. Always ask yourself these:
Is this message Christ centred? Is the redemptive work of Christ relevant in this message? Does it reveal more of Christ to me? Does this message have a sound biblical foundation?
With these questions in mind, answered in the affirmative, you can be sure that what you are listening to is indeed Christian.
Bless you.