GOSPEL WITHOUT TRANSFORMATION (PART 2)

PROF. BEN ONYEUKWU (REV.)

NCE(Eng.) ND/HD (Journalism); BA (Hons) MA, PhD.

Call: +2348037346939  E-mail: professorbenonyeukwu@yahoo.com

GOSPEL WITHOUT TRANSFORMATION (PART 2)

The Preacher and Deception

MAIN TEXT:

“For some godless people have slipped in unnoticed among us, persons who distort the message about the grace of God to excuse their immoral ways”… (Jude 4).  

WRITER’S QUOTE:

If everyone would allow uprightness to reign in their personal world, falsehood, with its damaging effects, would be forced out of our collective world.

INTRODUCTION:

The Epistle to the Hebrews really portrays the transformative power in God’s Word, as it says, “for the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”, (Hebrews 4:12). This, no doubt, indicates that something is wrong whenever the word of God is preached without a life-changing result, with concrete evidence of doing things the right way(s). Here, the writer keeps alive his reflection on the idea of the “Owerri Gets Transformed with Bumper Harvest Crusade”, which Dr. Casmir Ihegworo is the convener, as well as re-echoes his commendation for such a noble initiative. Also the writer agrees with the organizers of the crusade that, “Jesus makes the difference” which they picture as the theme of the said gospel campaign. But, notes that beautiful crusade themes could masterly be put in place without corresponding evidences or proofs, and this happens when the lifestyle of the organizers of a given gospel rally falls short of the principles of God’s word.

For, by way of explanation, Jesus makes the difference” simply means that He changes lives; from old nature to His new nature, that is, from evil to good, from arrogance to humility, from hatred to love, from ungodliness to godliness, from unforgiveness to forgiveness, from selfishness to open-heartedness, from tribalism to Christian brotherhood, and this time, the writer is persuaded to remark the most of the people who claim they have ministry of transformation lack the newness of life which Christ gives, (II Corinthians 5:17), as the reader can attest to the fact that many people preach the Bible, but live and operate by the principles of the ungodly. For instance, it is very obvious that the offices and homes of most preachers cannot easily be accessed by those in need, just as it is difficult to gain entrance into those of some godless politicians, and, as it is almost impossible to receive help from certain stingy persons in society, so it is hard to drink a cup of cold water from some preachers. Therefore, if the foregoing is anything to go by, where, then, is love, which is an evidence of transformation? And, where is the imprint of change that shows that Jesus has done something new in the lives of the aforementioned, who often present themselves as God’s instruments for the transformation of the ordinary people in society? With this in mind, let it be further stressed that;

GOSPEL MESSAGES CANNOT TRANSFORM LIVES WHERE THE WORD OF GOD IS DISTORTED  

Put, differently, “Jesus makes the difference” is that He renews live for good conduct in church and society, and this, He does by means of His word, when it is presented in spirit and truth, “for we are sanctified by the truth, and the word of God is truth, (John 17:17). But, when the word is distorted to excuse the unholy lifestyle of the preacher or some other persons, its efficacy becomes defeated, as deception, which God cannot associate with, begins to reign.

So, be wary of those who come up with words without virtue, messages without life, liturgy without the presence of God, as well as education without the life of Christ, who the scripture says, “have slipped in unnoticed among the believers, persons who distort the message about the grace of God to excuse their immoral ways, and deny Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord”, (Jude 4).

But, how do you feel, noticing the multitude of preaching expeditions going on in the world of today, as evil continues unabated? Or, is it true that God really sent these ever-increasing money minded preachers who nowadays center their messages on material gains, while the people perish for lack of salvation messages? And, how does one convince the ordinary person on the street that the present day gospel does not deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ to excuse the selfish ambition of certain preachers? Or, don’t you think deception is at work where the truth is not preached in order not to offend people of questionable character, as a way of getting their money and materials? In the reader’s attempt to fashion out suitable answers to the above questions, the writer wishes to draw the attention of the organizers of the “Owerri Gets Transformed with Bumper Harvest Crusade” and other preachers that “it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to shower righteousness on the people, else, the said well organized city wide crusade and others would turn out to be another line up of fruitless exhibition of “religious showmanship”, if the words of Dr. Casmir Ihegworo of the West African Advanced School of Theology (WAAST), Owerri, would be borrowed.  

GOSPEL PREACHERS CAN ONLY TRANSFORM LIVES WHEN THEY LIVE BY WHAT THEY PREACH

Well remarked, “the best of all the preachers in the world are those who live their creeds”. Naturally, no one regards a preacher who does not practise what he preaches as worthy ambassador of Christ, since such an individual harbours deception which makes its victims unreliable. But, according to the scripture, Jesus, who is our perfect example, began to do His words (or messages) before preaching them, (Acts 1:1). Thus, His ministry became powerful and result-oriented.

In fact, no deceitful preacher has the power to transform anybody, but carries the antics of corruption. In other words, deception corrupts, while uprightness reforms, and the former moves the society backwards, whereas, the latter move it forward. By this, therefore, the writer, hopefully, thinks he has opened the eyes of the reader to see one of the reasons why certain gospel messages cannot transform, since God does not work through any instrument of deceit.

Now, let it be remarked that a preacher who uses the gospel platform to advance a hidden political motive is in deception, and so, cannot transform lives through his preaching. Also, any man of God, so called, whose motivation in giving is political, pedals falsehood, which makes transformation impossible. Furthermore, when the motive of a gospel minister is centered on what he gets from preaching, rather than what God desires to accomplish in the lives of the people, the efficacy of the word he preaches dies, instead of transforming lives, and the piece of advice here is that the organizers of the “Owerri Gets Transformed with Bumper Harvest Crusade” and every other preacher should learn to check the acceptability or otherwise of the motive behind the work they do in the vineyard of the Lord.

GOSPEL TRANSFORMATION IS NEEDED IN TODAY’S WORLD OF SINS AND TRESPASSES  

There is no gainsaying the fact that the world of today is in dare need of godly people whose lives would challenge, as well as be instruments in the hands of God for the transformation of others. This is the basic essence of the gospel, against the backdrop of the present day evangelization which seeks to bring people to the church without conversion, (Acts 3:19). According to the Bible, righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 3:14), which implies that people progress when they refrain from sins and trespasses, but retrogress when they engage in them.

In line with the above, the message of Isaiah, “who shall I send? And who will go for us? Comes to focus, (Isaiah 6:8). But, note that Isaiah first acknowledged his sins, as well as opted for cleansing before his response, “Here am I. send me! (verses 4-8). In the same vein, people who desire to be used by God to transform others from sin to righteousness, must, as a matter of commitment yield to Him for cleansing. For, “if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness, (1John 1:8-9).

Therefore, the modern preacher should understand that if he does not secure personal cleaning from the Lord, he would not secure power for the transformation of anyone. On this note, the writer re-echoes that the society is in dare need of those whom God would use to change their lives from sins and trespasses to righteousness and good conduct, and not those who would just chant the slogan of transformation. This is a personal challenge to the writer, and it extends to the organizers of the “Owerri Gets Transformed with Bumper Harvest Crusade” and others.

In conclusion, God is looking for someone who would stand in the gap between Him and the perishing world, (Ezekiel 22:30). LET US RESPOND AND RESPOND WELL.