EVANGELISM WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part 1)

REV. PROF. BEN ONYEUKWU

NCE(Eng.), ND/HD (Journalism),Dip,BA, (Theology),MA,PhD

EVANGELISM WITHOUT

 THE HOLY SPIRIT(Part 1)

                        PROBLEM OF FALSEHOOD

…“Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But, even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned”, (Galatians 1:7-8).

INTRODUCTION

The reaction of Chief Ifeanyi Olumba, addressed as a renowned public commentator from Orlu, Imo State to the high rate of the bastardization of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is worthy of all praise, except that the writer does not agree with him on the caption with which the article was published. Chief Olumba, in an interview published on the page 11 of the Nigeria Newspoint of March 9-11, 2009 posited that Evangelism without Education is poisonous. No debate, the education of the gospel minister in the new millennium should not be compromised, if he / she is to perform optimally in this era of high intellectual harvest. However, it is important to point out that the problem ravaging the gospel today is not the lack of education, but the lack of the Holy Spirit in the lives of certain preachers. In fact, a critical look at the issues raised by Chief Olumba in the said write-up would prove the point that it is not Evangelism without education that is poisonous, but evangelism without the Holy Spirit. Having highlighted the above, it becomes proper to beam the gospel light on the first three issues raised by Chief Olumba in the interview.

(1)        MADNESS IN EVANGELISM

The first issue raised by Chief Olumba in this section of his piece is that of tearing families apart by the pastors he referred to as “wolves in sheep clothing”. Here he is quoted as saying, “as an Igbo son, an African and a Nigerian, I am really disturbed and I am sure that so many other people, right thinking Igbo people are equally disturbed at the turn of event whereby “wolves in sheep clothing” who parade themselves as men of God go about dislocating happy families and communities, branding old men witches and wizards, setting the youths against them…”

What a feeling of love and concern for the society! But, a meticulous look at Chief Olumba’s comments would reveal that elements of falsehood and wickedness, as occasioned by the absence of the Holy Spirit may have been at work and not the lack of education. Therefore, in defence of the legitimate gospel, let it be stated that no spirit-filled pastor with the principles of God’s word would ever embark on such nefarious activities. To call a spade a spade, such pastors who invade families by means of deceit are indeed “wolves in sheep clothing” as Chief Olumba rightly pointed out. Nevertheless, inasmuch as the writer is strongly opposed to any form of incitement against family members in the name of preaching the gospel, he also advises that one should not totally rule out the fact that some family members are witches and wizards, and definitely bewitch others in society. For sure, such things do exist. Be it as it may, the writer still insists that:

(i)            The gospel that tears families apart is no gospel at all, (Gal. 1:6);

(ii)           Such a gospel comes from confusionists who pervert the gospel of Christ, (verse 7);

(iii)          Those who preach such a (another) gospel heap eternal condemnation on themselves (verse 8), etc.

(2)        EVANGELISM AS ESCAPE TO UNEMPLOYMENT

At this point, Chief Olumba accuses unemployment and lack of proper education as inducing the menace of gospel perversion. In his words “the big question then arises, who ordained these types of pastors, where are they coming from, what are their antecedents? If a trader blows his money on one “Akwan abalia Ife nile ga emesi junction” or point, then the next thing wise for him is to declare himself a pastor, and if he lays his hands on any money, he goes to rent a warehouse, before you know it, a church is began. Evangelism that does not go with education is poisonous to the society. It is spiritual poisoning, and it is dangerous…”

Once again, a closer attention to the expression of Chief Olumba in this part of his work would still point to falsehood and not lack of education. One who tries to escape the problem of unemployment in pretence of working for God is in deception, and should be seen as such. Furthermore, the insinuation by Chief Olumba that the illiterate traders who failed in their businesses now take advantage of the gospel work to make ends meet is baseless, since statistics shows that vast majority of those holding churches in warehouses are highly educated individuals and not just the uneducated or the academically half-baked. So, the problem remains evangelism without the Holy Spirit and not evangelism without education, and the agent of pollution remains falsehood. Therefore, as much as education is important in the preaching of the gospel, it should not be allowed to take the place of the Holy Spirit in the life of the preacher. Let it be pointed out here that if education is the bedrock of evangelism, then:

(i)         God would have been going for only the educated (or the noble) for the work of the gospel, (1 Cor. 1: 26-29);

(ii)        Men like the Apostle Peter who were not educated in the formal sense of the word wouldn’t have been called into the gospel work. (verses 26-27);

(iii)       Most uneducated disciples would have been instruments of family breaking and not that of salvation, which is the case in today’s world, (Acts 10), etc.

(3)        SUSTAIN CULTURE / HERITAGE

Culture is people’s traditional way of life. Here Chief Olumba tries to return parents to their traditional role of educating children at home. “We have formal and informal education”, the public commentator observes… The family is the first unit of school… Parents should educate their children, teach them morals and salvation, whatever the Church missed, a father or mother should have to complete it, he opines…

To be candid, Chief Olumba’s call on parents to spend time in the house to educate their children is a step in the right direction. But, the indispensable omission is that the parents in question are not told that one who is not morally upright cannot really make moral impart.  It is not possible for a lying parent, a parent who rigs elections before the children, a parent who aids examination malpractice, a parent who lacks chastity, etc. to make moral impart on children, for one cannot give what one does not possess. The second issue raised by Chief Olumba in this section of his treatise is that of salvation. Let it be pointed out also that parents who have no experience of salvation cannot impart salvation. Salvation is a sacred thing, and can only be imparted by God through holy vessels, parents or anybody. Biblically speaking, salvation is only achieved by the washing of rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:5). In fact, it is the gift of God obtained by faith (Eph 2:8). Based on the foregoing therefore, the writer affirms that:

(i)            Parents can only make moral impart on children when they exemplify what they teach them (Act 1:1).

(ii)           Salvation is the gift of God obtained by faith, (Eph. 2:8);

(iii)          Parents should ensure that they themselves have experienced salvation through rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, and in turn preach same to their children, (Titus 3:5), etc.

In conclusion, it is obvious that Chief Olumba in his message descended heavily on such pastors he branded “fraudulent”, “wolves in sheep clothing”, “witch doctor”, etc. as well as accusing them of embarking on what he calls “retrogressive evangelism”, yet the truth remains that a pastor is not fraudulent simply because he operates the gift of revelation which reveals spiritual wickedness like, witchcraftcy, wizardry and the likes. This is because through such a gift many have repented and confessed getting involves in such spiritual wickedness. A pastor also should not be branded fraudulent for cutting down trees that form the strongholds of demons, for even the early Christian missionaries embarked on such a work, and that most of our cathedrals and churches today are built on places where such evil trees were cut down. Furthermore, a pastor should not be told to restrict his preaching to social vices like, armed robbery, kidnapping, assassination, etc, as there are also spiritual vices like, witchcraftcy, spell casting, white magic, etc which are more devastating crimes than social vices.

Yes, a pastor is fraudulent when he is manipulative and deceitful in his ministerial operations, but that through the gift of the Holy Spirit he genuinely reveals spiritual wickedness that most people associate with or that he/she destroys evil trees / shrines in an effort to enthrone Christ in an environment does not make him/her fraudulent. What such a pastor needs is wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit to enable him use the gift to the glory of God and for the good and harmony of the society. SUCH PASTORS NEED YOUR PRAYERS.