One of the topics I am very interested in is the status of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church today: whether the gifts have ceased or whether they continue to exist. The body of Christ is divided on this subject; there are cessationists who believe the gifts have ceased since the death of the apostles in the New Testament and continuationists who believe that believers can still operate in the gifts even today. The gifts here specifically refer to the charismatic gifts: prophecy, speaking and interpreting tongues, healing, working miracles, word of knowledge etc. The term “charismatic” comes from the Greek word “charisma,” which means “gift of grace” or “gift of God’s grace”. I am a firm believer that these gifts continue to exist in the body of Christ today for a number of reasons. I won’t go into much details today. This is a topic that I wish to take my time to address extensively as time goes on, so you can call this my initial thoughts on the topic and not a conclusive one. 

Admittedly, it is very appalling to see how these gifts have been abused and used to exploit people in the church. Charlatans have crept into the church, distorted the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and led many astray because they parade themselves as prophets, healers and deliverance ministers. It is understandable and actually necessary for us to be alarmed about how the gifts of the Holy Spirit are abused in the church today. I have often said that there is not a single good gift, that the Lord gives, that human beings haven’t abused. I believe, as the scripture says, that all good and perfect gifts come from above (James 1:17). In my study of the bible, I see how human beings or the children of God (both in the old and the new testaments) have abused every good gift God gives. Kings and judges have abused the authority and power given to them; prophets have abused the anointing God gave them etc. It is almost as if the abuse of good gifts is inevitable. However, I think our attitude towards the abuse of God’s gifts should align with God’s. So long as the LORD hasn’t ceased giving gifts to men, we dare not cease believing there are genuinely and divinely gifted people out there who have a specific assignment in this generation. In any case, the bone of contention regarding this topic is if the LORD still gives charismatic gifts, isn’t it? I will tackle this question from one angle: the universality and timelessness of the words spoken by Jesus and confirmed by his apostles. 

The opening verses of the book of John tell us that Jesus is the Word of God and this same Jesus is God. This idea presupposes that Jesus in himself is the eternal Word of God and is at the same time the message God wants to communicate to this world and especially to believers. In fact, nothing was created without the Word of God, hence our entire existence and experience on this earth is made possible by the eternal Word of God. For this reason, I am very particular about Jesus’ words dotted all over the New Testament. I believe he came to live a life that is exemplary and compelling for all Christians in whatever stage in human history to emulate. I also believe his message is a universal and timeless one, which means he came to speak to all people and for all time. Did Christ ever deliver a message to a specific group of people that was ONLY relevant to them in that time in human history? Certainly! However, even those statements have existential and eternal value for all people and for all time. Let’s take a close look at what Jesus said in Matthew 11:21 to understand this issue, he said:

Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes

In this story, Jesus was addressing the unrepentant people in the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida who had been witnesses to many mighty miracles he had done. Despite the fact that Jesus wrought mighty works amongst them, they still didn’t believe in him. Therefore, he rebuked them and stated that people living in other cities (Tyre and Sidon) would have repented if they had been witnesses of those mighty works. Here, we can clearly say that Jesus was speaking to a specific people at a specific time in human history. The people of Chorazin and Bethsaida being the primary recipients are also the main subject of this message: their unrepentant hearts  was the reason Jesus said what he said. However, what Jesus said has some serious value and application even in our world today on a collective level and on an individual level as well. Meaning, this portion of scripture can be applied to individuals and groups of people who have witnessed many mighty works of Christ yet refuse to repent. 

On the other hand, there are statements that Jesus made that are for all people and for all time. We will look at one of such statements recorded in Mark 16:17-18:

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.

Coincidentally, prior to this passage, Jesus had rebuked the apostles for their unbelief and the hardness of their heart. Similar to what he told the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida. 

Although the primary recipients of this message are the apostles, Jesus opens this message up for all people and for all time by using the phrase “those who believe”. “Those who believe” are not a specific group of people trapped in a specific time in human history. These are individuals who believe in Jesus Christ as the saviour of the world and have accepted him as their LORD regardless of what point in human history they exist in. These individuals are the target group of God’s rescue mission executed by Jesus on the cross and finalized in his resurrection. The statement of Jesus in the passage under discussion is a portion of what Christians call the Great Commission which is Jesus’ instructions to his disciples, after his resurrection and before his ascension, to propagate the gospel globally. The apostles are dead and gone, however, the Great Commission is still being carried out today. Although the apostles were the primary recipients of the message, Jesus was saying these things to the hearing of all people and for all time. Therefore, we need to take the words of Jesus seriously even in this day and age – as  seriously as the apostles did.

The reason why I have stressed this point is that two of the signs that Jesus mentioned will follow “those who believe…” are spiritual gifts: speaking in tongues and healing the sick. If this is so, then how did our brothers and sisters come to the conclusion that the gifts of the Spirit were for a specific group of people for a specific time in the ancient world? “Those who believe…”  as a universal and timeless statement reminds me of the “whosoever…” in John 3:16. This verse in John is arguably the most popular bible verse. I doubt the right interpretation of the verse is “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believes in him in the ancient world, will not perish but have everlasting life”. It is erroneous to read John 3:16 with this understanding. Jesus spoke to all people and for all time in both John 3:16 and Mark 16:17-18. Jesus stated categorically in the latter passage that two of the signs that shall follow all who believe in him are speaking in tongues and healing. For this reason I do not subscribe to the cessationist doctrine. I believe strongly in what Jesus said and its implications to the world and the body of Christ today. 

On the day of Pentecost, Peter addressed all who had gathered after hearing the 120 in the upper room speaking in tongues. The bulk of Peter’s message was a prophecy recorded in Joel 2. In fact, he didn’t just quote the passage but he explained to his audience that the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is actually a fulfilment of what the Prophet Joel prophesied:

And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 

Acts 2:16-18

God has said he will pour out his Spirit on all flesh. “All flesh” here signifies that the outpouring of the Spirit of God will not be the reserve of any special group of people, for God does not discriminate. The outpouring of the Spirit of God will not be limited to a specific gender, age bracket, race, social class etc. What we do know is that the prophecy was expected to be fulfilled within a specific time in human history called “the last days”. The last days, span from the day of Pentecost until Christ comes. It is a term that is widely used in scripture. Often in the New Testament, a lot of signs and global events are stated that will characterize these last days. This is the conclusion I drew from Peter’s address: if Peter claims the day of Pentecost is a fulfilment or the beginning of the fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy, then since we are still in the last days, we should expect that the same manifestations of the Spirit will be seen in the body of Christ. Since the outpouring of the Spirit is characterised by prophecy, then it isn’t consistent with the timelines of Joel’s prophecy when we say the gift of prophecy ceased at some earlier point in human history. So long as the last days remain, we will still see the outpouring of the Holy Spirit characterised by the signs prophesied by Joel, which includes spiritual gifts. 

The Apostle Paul also made a lot of statements that communicated at least the universality of spiritual gifts to a certain degree. “Universality” here refers to the fact that the gifts are not reserved for a special group of people: which is exactly what Joel prophesied and Peter confirmed on the day of Pentecost. In writing to the church of Corinth, Paul said in 1st Corinthians 14:5 that “now I want you ALL to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy…”. Paul expresses his desire for every single member of a church, regardless of their background, to speak in tongues, better yet, to prophesy as well. “ALL” means all; no one left behind and no one excluded. Paul expected the entire church of Corinth to manifest the gifts of the Spirit, especially speaking in tongues and prophecy. Later in the same chapter, while instructing the church of Corinth on the need for orderly worship, Paul again stated in verse 31 that “For you can ALL prophesy one by one…”. Again, “ALL” means all. Everybody in a single church can prophesy and it shouldn’t be described  as “charismania” but it should be seen as the fulfilment of biblical prophecy and the practising of sound doctrine.  

Cessationists have coined the term “charismania” to describe individuals, movements and denominations that emphasize the widespread use of the gifts of the Spirit. I have also coined the term “Pharismania” to describe the excessive scepticism of those who constantly deny, disapprove, misjduge, doubt and question the existence and use of spiritual gifts in the body of Christ today. This is because their actions remind me of the Pharisees in John 9 when Jesus healed a man who was born blind.The Pharisees, instead of rejoicing at the news of this miracle, rather commenced an investigation to be sure, not for good reasons, that the man was indeed born blind. They interviewed his friends, family and the man himself in the process. All that mattered that day was that a blind man was healed. But the sceptics concerned themselves more with the non-issue of the day than the miracle. This is the level of scepticism that cessationism brings to the table. It is sad to say that cessationism is adorned with the same level of hyper-scepticism that the Pharisees opposed Jesus’ ministry with. Hyper-scepticism is not a sign of maturity. Hyper-scepticism is not discernment. Hyper-scepticism is a sign that you lack faith in the word of God and the person of Jesus.

In the first post of this series, I spoke against the idea that one doesn’t need to observe any safety protocols amidst the COVID-19 pandemic if they have faith in God. In this post, we will be looking at how a public health crisis was dealt with in ancient times according to the instructions God gave his people. Ultimately, we all believe God is a mighty healer and is more than able to restore health supernaturally. Nevertheless, it is abundantly evident in scripture that there were times when he instructed his people to implement some physical measures to prevent infections, the spread of diseases, and to cure them. This will be the focus of this part of the series.

The coronavirus has shaken up the whole world, affecting not only human lives but industries, big corporations, and nations. According to WHO safety protocols, two major ways to prevent the spread of the virus are:

1. Humans everywhere wearing face masks in public
2. People practicing social distancing in public spaces. 

This invariably means there is a virus on the loose; it could be hanging loosely in the air you breathe.  Adhering to these safety protocols makes sense because the virus is spread through human contact. Other measures such as quarantine, lockdowns and vaccinations have been carried out all over the world to curtail the spread of the virus too. 

Christianity is a religion steeped in the supernatural. The power of God is evident in the pages of scripture. To us, the miraculous is not just a special feature of Christian ministry, it is a command from Jesus. Two times in the book of Luke, Jesus sent out his disciples and he instructed them to preach the gospel of the kingdom and heal the sick (Luke 9:2 & Luke 10:9). In Mathew 10:8 it is recorded as such:

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. 

Therefore, how do we reconcile the idea that Christians can operate in the supernatural healing power of God with the idea that we have to adhere to safety protocols during this pandemic? That is exactly what this post is about, so journey with me as we arrive at the answer. 

In both the Old and New Testaments, it is clear that leprosy was a disease that was regarded as a public health crisis because of its infectious nature. According to WHO, leprosy “also known as Hansen’s disease, is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract and the eyes”. Its infectious nature poses danger to people who come into contact with lepers. Hence, in the Old Testament God gave ample instructions as to how to deal with the disease and diseased people. In Leviticus 13 and 14, God outlines a number of health safety protocols to be implemented by the people in their dealings with lepers. The instructions, or laws as they were called in Leviticus, were so exhaustive that they covered procedures from disease detection through a series of examinations to the prevention of the spread of the disease. Moses received these instructions and gave them to the Priests who were appointed by God to be the “medical officers” working to detect whether or not an individual had the disease. God outlined a number of symptoms they were to look out for before declaring the individual unclean or leprous. These symptoms include:

1.  A swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white and when there is raw flesh in the swelling, it is leprosy. Leviticus 13:10
2. A breakout of the disease on the person from head to toe that has turned white. The Priest shall declare the person clean. Most probably because at that stage, the disease is no longer infectious. Leviticus 13:12-13

It may interest you to know that God also instructed the priests to quarantine people suspected to be leprous for a period of 7 days (Leviticus 13: 21:22). This is the same God who wrought mighty miracles before and during the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. How is it that he is the one outlining disease control measures the people should adhere to to curtail the spread of a disease he could zap away in seconds? Disease Control is defined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as “the reduction of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity or mortality to a locally acceptable level as a result of deliberate efforts…”. There is no doubt, this was exactly what God instructed the Israelites to do and so they did throughout their generations.

Here are a few more Disease Control measures God instructed the Priests to carry out to prevent the spread of the disease: 

1. Objects and surfaces that diseased people have had contact with are regarded as unclean or infectious. Therefore, they should be burnt.

And he shall burn the garment, or the warp or the woof, the wool or the linen, or any article made of skin that is diseased, for it is a persistent leprous disease. It shall be burned in the fire. Leviticus 13:52

2. Leprous people are to announce their presence in public by shouting “unclean, unclean” lest they infect others. They are to be responsible for not infecting others with the disease.

“The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip[a] and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. Leviticus 13:46

Both in the Old and New Testaments, we see lepers ostracized in the Jewish society. At least in two different verses of scripture, we are told they were stationed at the gate of the city. One of such verses is 2 Kings 7:3, where it is said that there were 4 lepers at the entrance of the city gate. Also, in Luke 10:11-12, Jesus was met by 10 lepers as he entered a village. They stood at a distance and called out to him. This means they, too, were stationed outside the village – most probably a distance from the entrance of the village. Jesus healed them by commanding them to go and show themselves to the High Priest, which was the approved procedure one had to go through to be either declared clean or unclean. On their way to see him, they realized they were cleansed. These lepers were already following the disease control protocols God outlined in the Old Testament by socially distancing themselves from everybody to prevent the spread of the disease. Yet one encounter with Christ changed their story instantly. The point I seek to make here is that God is sovereign, wise, omnipotent and many more divine attributes can be used to describe him. Even though He has given us power to heal all diseases including infectious ones such as leprosy, he has also laid down certain principles in scripture that we can follow to prevent our getting infected and spreading diseases. These two realities are not mutually exclusive. The same bible that  teaches us to lay hands on the sick and they will recover, also points out to us that we can use medically approved methods to prevent the spread of diseases and cure diseases. [I have addressed this idea more extensively in my blog on healing where I cite the example of Isaiah prescribing the use of cake of figs to heal the boils on Hezekiah’s skin. Do check it out by clicking here].

To those who insist that Christians ought not follow safety protocols during this pandemic, although I may understand where you are coming from, I beg to differ. Should we apply this same understanding of faith to all other issues of safety and wellness? Wouldn’t that mean Christians ought not lock their doors at night because the bible says “… he who watches over Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers.” (Psalm 121:4)? Again, the bible says if the Lord doesn’t watch over a city, the watchman watches in vain (Psalm 127:1). Therefore, are we saying every Christian who has a security guard at post in his/her home isn’t walking by faith?

Even if it was a matter of “faith”, we should understand that different people have different “sizes” of faith. Faith in God varies from person to person usually because of their level of maturity and intimacy with God. When Jesus descended from the mount of transfiguration in Matthew 17, he referred to the faith of his disciples as ‘little faith’ because they couldn’t cast out a devil from a little boy. Therefore, I vehemently oppose this idea that is being pushed by some men of God and specific denominations based on the assumption that everybody operates at the same level of faith. I believe faith and prudence can co-exist. I can have faith in God to do the impossible and still be safety and health conscious. It isn’t a game of choosing either to have faith and act recklessly or choose to be safety and health conscious. The point is to know what God’s word says and to do accordingly. Once we have established the fact that it is a biblical truth for us as children of God to adhere to safety precautions lest we get infected by diseases, then I believe there shouldn’t be any snide comments or mockery coming from anybody (especially Christians) towards believers who want to keep safe in this pandemic.

Faith is a very important concept in Christianity. In fact, nobody becomes and stays a Christian without faith. We are justified by faith and according to Habakkuk 2:4, “the righteous shall live by faith”. This statement is quoted 3 times in the New Testament and it goes to show that the entirety of a Christian’s experience is based on faith. The writer of Hebrews defines faith as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is also stated in James 2:14  that faith without works is dead, therefore, the formula for faith is “belief in God” plus “acting according to that belief”. 

Faith requires you to act according to God’s word. The caveat here is that sometimes God’s word requires that you don’t act at all. Therefore, in some cases, staying put and not moving is an act of faith when it is in accordance with the word of God. One may even argue that inaction is still an action, hence, faith is still an “action word”. For example, when Jesus told his disciples after he resurrected to wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In this instance, the disciples had every reason to scatter abroad since their association with Jesus put their lives in danger as well. But he told them to go to Jerusalem and wait. They complied; they didn’t travel or do anything else but wait for the promise and they had an experience that would forever change the course of history and affect millions of lives all over the world. Also, the movement of the Israelites in the wilderness depended on the movement of the pillar of cloud. This was how God guided them on their way to the promised land. When it moves, they move. When it stops, they stop. In Numbers 9:18-19, we are told that:

As long as the cloud remained over the tabernacle, they remained encamped. Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the Israelites kept the LORD’s charge and did not set out.…

When an action is done in faith, it means it has its roots in scripture, according to the will of God or it is done at the command of God almighty. Faith is applied according to the will of God for an individual, a people, the body of Christ, or the world at large. For example, Peter was able to walk on water because Jesus gave him permission to do so. Therefore, by acting on that word, he acted in faith. It is very important that we realize how faith has nothing to do with showboating or doing things for the applause of men. 

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, there have been mixed reactions coming from different denominations of the body of Christ. While some denominations have gone on to emphasize and implement the World Health Organization’s (WHO) safety protocols in their churches, others have said that Christians shouldn’t follow the safety protocols outlined by WHO because doing so is proof of a lack of faith. In the past few weeks, we have also seen the outrage expressed by some men of God against churches buying into the idea of the COVID-19 vaccination. 

One of the verses that some Christians have based their arguments on against adhering to WHO’s safety protocols is Mark 16:18. It is a statement Jesus made after his resurrection in what is popularly known as the Great Commission. He said this was one of the signs that would follow all who believe in him, they will pick up serpents with their hands and if they drink any deadly poison it will not hurt them. Paul in Acts 28:3 had an experience that was close to what is stated above. He gathered a bunch of sticks to lay them on a fire that had already been set, then a viper driven out by the heat of the fire came out and fastened itself to the Apostle’s hand. He shook the snake off into the fire to the amazement of the people gathered there. Some commentaries I have read stated that this is a fulfillment of what Jesus said in the Great Commission. If this assertion is true, there are few points we need to note here from this event and what Jesus said:

1. Paul didn’t intentionally expose himself to the viper just to show that he had faith.
2. Jesus didn’t command us in the Great Commission to go looking for ways to put ourselves in harm’s way. He said, “they will pick up serpents and IF they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them”. 

“They will pick up serpents” doesn’t mean they should intentionally go looking for serpents to pick up but it means if they face the danger of being attacked by a serpent it will be rendered harmless to them. This is exactly what happened to Paul. The second part of the verse even puts things into a better perspective for us. It starts with “IF”, which is often used to introduce conditional or possible situations. So if it so happens that a Christian drinks a poisonous substance and only finds out after he/she has drunk it, it will not hurt the person. 

By definition, faith has nothing to do with intentionally putting yourself in harm’s way and expecting God to deliver you. There is a term for that, it is called “testing God”. Knowing that an act is dangerous to your health and safety but going on to indulge in it is not faith, in the bible, it is termed as testing God. Interestingly, Jesus used this term while responding to the devil’s temptations. The devil, while tempting Jesus, suggested to him that if he could jump off the pinnacle of the temple, God would send his angels to save him. In response, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:6 when he said that “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’”. It is the devil’s preoccupation to get us to test God in our daily lives by pushing us to defy sound logic all in the name of proving our faith or supposedly standing on some scriptures as a foundation to test God. It is important to note that the devil, during this particular temptation, quoted verses of scripture as well. 

”These “sign” miracles are given to encourage us to trust God and not to tempt Him with foolish experiments”. (from Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament. Copyright © 1992 by Chariot Victor Publishing, an imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved.)

One of the facts about faith I mentioned at the beginning of this article is that it is seen when a person acts in accordance to God’s word or a personal instruction they received from God. So you can see in scripture on numerous occasions where God commanded people to do things that would appear dangerous to them and their lives and even that of others. Yet, in those instances, to act on the word of God is an act of faith but to do otherwise is an act of fear. 

Here are a few more points on faith I noted while studying on this topic:

• Faith sometimes is necessitated when God is testing us not when we are testing God – Hebrews 11:17. In this verse, we are told that Abraham was tested by God to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.
• What is done in faith that brings salvation to one person could bring calamity to another when they do not do it in faith – Hebrews 11:29. In this verse, we are told that the Israelites crossed the parted red sea by faith but the Egyptians drowned in it. 
• By faith some people allowed themselves to be persecuted, stoned, sawn in two, and eventually killed – Hebrews 11:37. Faith doesn’t always require you to step out and do some “superhero” stuff. Sometimes, faith gives you the strength to endure painful ordeals in the name of the LORD. 

Usually, we can see defiance in faith. Defiance of natural laws, medical laws, logic, and sometimes even earthly authorities (as in the case of Moses’ birth when his parents defied the authority of the Pharaoh and hid him Hebrews 11:23). However, there are times when faith is in the simple obedience of authority and the wisdom of God. After all, we are admonished in Romans 13:1 to obey earthly authority. The President of Ghana has issued a directive that suggests that safety protocols have to be taken to safeguard the lives of citizens of this country. Defying this and calling it an act of faith is in direct contradiction of the word of God. Especially because the directive will not lead to the persecution of Christians or the church. There is a virus on the loose, what do you do? Just adhere to all the safety protocols outlined by the WHO to prevent you from coming into contact with it and also get vaccinated if possible. To defy this is to intentionally put yourself in harm’s way and endanger the lives of others which cannot be seen as an act of faith. You are testing God, not your faith in him.

The statement, “the righteous shall live by faith” is found in the following New Testament verses: Galatians 3:11 , Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38

Jesus sent out his followers expecting them to not only proclaim the gospel, but also heal those who were oppressed by demons through sickness (Luke 9:2). Jesus did so back then, and I believe he is still doing it now. The gift of healing, like all the other gifts, is not reserved for a special group of Christians. The Holy Spirit gives it as he wills and the believer is expected to desire for it earnestly to operate in it (1st Cor 12:11, 14:1). 

I have seen a few posts on social media that seek to ridicule this special gift of God to believers during the COVID-19 global pandemic. These posts seek to question where the men of God who operate in the gift of healing have been hiding in the wake of the pandemic. 

On my social media timelines, most of the people doing the mockery are atheists. Atheists according to the precepts of their worldview, do not believe in anything supernatural hence for them, to question the authenticity of the healing anointing in these times we are in is basically a projection of their worldview. You cannot fault an atheist for thinking and speaking like an atheist. However, I have seen some Christians share these same views in their posts as well. They dare men of God they call ‘Faith Healers’ to come out of hiding, walk into hospitals, demand to have access to those who have been infected by the deadly virus and heal them all. This very much sounds like a challenge. It sounds something like this, ‘if you claim to have the power to heal, prove it to us by healing the COVID19 patients’. 

There are a number of assumptions and misinformation about the healing anointing that probably led to this perception. I will try and address them. First of all, the healing anointing is not authenticated by the number of people, the kinds of people or even the kinds of diseases healed. If there was only a single healing done by Jesus during his entire ministry here on earth, it is enough proof that he can heal the sick. If he healed only blind people in his ministry, it is still enough proof that Jesus can heal. The gifts of the spirit are given for the common good of believers not to satisfy anybody’s curiosity or doubt (1st Corinthians 12:7). 

The second point I would like to establish is the sovereignty of God in the operation of the charismatic gifts, better yet, the sovereignty of God, period! God is sovereign. He takes orders from no one and answers to no one. He has the right to exercise his authority and nobody can question him on that. He gave gifts to men to operate in. He still decides who gets healed and who doesn’t, what to heal and what not to heal, when to heal and when not to heal. There were times when Jesus could minister to a multitude of people and heal all who were sick. Like in Luke 6:19, the bible says as the crowd pressed in to touch him, power emanated from his body to heal them all. You heard right, everybody was healed. But was everybody healed everywhere that the healing power of God was manifested? No! In fact there was a time when Jesus couldn’t heal anybody because of their unbelief. Then there is the story about the healing pool of Bethesda. According to John 5:4, periodically an angel came to stir up the water and right after that the water assumed some healing powers. The first person to plunge into the pool gets healed. So the sick man that Jesus met there, had been lame for 38 years and probably been at the pool for a number of years too, seeking healing. He tells Jesus how there is no one to toss him into the pool when it is stirred. And anytime he makes the move to enter it, another person goes before him and gets healed. The pool of Bethesda was a healing move of God that was in operation at the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem yet not everybody got healed when the pool was stirred. Even in this scenario, we are not told whether Jesus healed any other sick person at the pool apart from the man he spoke with. My point? The fact that not everybody gets healed doesn’t mean what happened wasn’t a move of God. The fact that no supernatural healing happens at all doesn’t mean God isn’t powerful enough to heal. Also, the fact that only a few people are healed doesn’t mean God cannot heal through his servants at all. He chooses to do as he pleases and very much according to his will and purposes for individuals. There are seasons and times for everything – including healing. 

When Christians question the authenticity of the healing anointing on the lives of some men of God during a global pandemic, they are calling into question the sovereignty of God. I know some may argue that they are rather calling out the ‘fake faith healers’ who boast of their healing powers. That is still not enough reason to make social media posts asking for the whereabouts of faith healers during the COVID 19 pandemic. Whether or not people get healed supernaturally during this pandemic does not prove the authenticity of the call of God on anybody’s life. What we are told in scripture is that we will know the fake men of God by their fruits. Their fruits here stands for their general conduct, character and behavior. Do we call out evangelists because the world is drenched in sin and many more people are dying without coming to the saving knowledge of Christ? Do we not see it as a collective responsibility to spread the gospel even in the little corners of the world that we reside? Jesus said the gift of healing is one of the signs that will follow those who believe in him (Mark 16:17-18). One must believe in Christ to be a Christian, so it is our collective responsibility as Christians to pray for the healing of the sick and even raise the dead. So the more important question to ask here is this, have we prayed to God to heal those infected by this dangerous virus? This is not the time to make mockery of anyone. We are warned in scripture that in the last days there will be pestilence (Luke 21:11). The fulfilment of any of the end times prophecy is not a dent in the ministry of any servant of God. There will be wars and rumors of wars in the end times. Do we actually think when these things happen it is enough reason to mock men of God for not praying enough? Where is the sense of responsibility that we should all have concerning things that happen in our world? When Paul became blind, God didn’t use any of the Apostles to heal Paul. No! He used a disciple named Ananias (Acts 9:17-18). The point here is, God can use anybody to heal the sick. So instead of questioning why God isn’t using faith healers to heal those infected by the virus, ask why you haven’t been used by God to do it. 

For if God’s people who are called by his name, would humble themselves and pray, he would hear their prayers from heaven and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). The spread of this virus should rather drive us to pray for the sick and also for souls to be saved. It should compel us to pray, period! WIll God supernaturally rid this world of the virus? We don’t know. Will he do it through a vaccine? We don’t know. Does God heal through known traditional remedies? Yes, he does, refer to the story of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20. Whatever way that God chooses to bring healing to this world, it is up to him. Our responsibility here on earth is to pray and observe safety precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. 

I have always told people that my position on healing is the attitude I see Jesus exhibited in scripture when he came into contact with sick people. Anytime he did, he prayed for them. This is what I see in the bible. Do I always have the faith to lay hands on the sick and pray for them? No, I don’t. But this is something I am learning to put into practice these days. When Jesus told his followers to heal the sick in the bible, it was a command. This command still stands today. Will you obey him? 

(Thanks for reading each of the articles in the #COVID19series. I hope you learnt a thing or two about healing, God’s sovereignty and what Christians should do when faced with sickness. It is my prayer that God will heal people of their sicknesses who read any of the parts of this series, in Jesus’ name, Amen!)

In the first part of the series, I wrote largely about Jesus’ healing ministry, the healing gift of God and sickness. This was done to set the tone for the subsequent parts of this series. I came to the realization that some believers, when faced with sickness, attribute it to the sovereignty of God alone. Hence, they see it as a thing to be endured and not to be prayed against. There is not a single time we see Jesus in the gospels encounter a sick person and tell him/her ‘this is the will of God for you’. There were times he healed every sick person in the crowds (Luke 6:19). There was a time when he couldn’t heal anybody at all because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58). And there was also a time when the healing process was gradual; Jesus had to pray more than once (Mark 8:22-26). Bottomline is, Jesus was/is against sickness. 

I would like to briefly touch on the topic of the sovereignty of God and how some people like to contrast it with the faith a believer has in God’s healing power. To some, God’s sovereignty means, when evil happens to a believer it is always a result of God exercising his sovereign power. I have heard this idea expressed only when something evil happens in the life of a believer, like sickness. If the sickness of a believer is always as a result of the sovereignty of God, then how do we pray against it? 

First of all, the sovereignty of God is in reference to his supreme power and authority. It means, God answers to nobody and he has the right to exercise this authority he has over all creation and even in eternity without any interference from anybody. Basically, to wield this power is to do whatever pleases you without having to explain yourself to anybody. But you see, God is not only sovereign, he is also good. That means he can do whatever pleases him, but the point here is that what pleases him is goodness. Apart from God, there is nobody who can navigate the intersection between sovereignty and goodness. He alone has the capacity to do that because he is sovereign and absolutely good concurrently and in equal measure.

They say ‘power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ but God cannot be corrupted by his own power. He is not a man. We need to understand that none of the attributes of God exceed any of his other attributes. So, we cannot say God is more omniscient than he is omnipotent. All of his attributes are whole and absolute in him and that is what makes him God. So my point is, God is as sovereign as he is good; he is not more sovereign than good and vice versa. Also, we cannot assume that anytime a believer is having a hard time then it means God is exercising his sovereign power alone. He is also good, and his goodness is expressed all over scripture. That is why the bible speaks of the healing power of God. It is a reference to the point that when we encounter sickness, God’s power is available to bring healing to the person because God is good too. When a believer is going through hard times, it is because God is so good that  he will use those hard times for the good of that person who is called according to his purpose. Whatever God says or does is in the power and authority of who he is and that is all his attributes combined. So there is nothing God does that is purely because of his  sovereignty without it being ultimately good. There is nothing God says that is solely because he is omniscient and not because he is a loving and good God. We see this convergence of God’s seemingly contrasting attributes especially at the cross. His attributes that seem contrasting only appear so from a human perspective, but in God they dwell amicably in perfect harmony. For example, the cross of Jesus meant justice for the sins of the world and it meant mercy and grace for sinners. God is just and he is merciful, nobody can marry justice and mercy in one act like God did. John Njoroge of RZIM puts it this way:

It was at the Cross of Jesus where God’s justice was perfectly administered and his eternal mercy publicly displayed when God took upon Himself the punishment meant for the guilty.

Read the full article here.

Let’s take for example, a person suffering from a disease for 16 years. What should be my words of encouragement to this person? I will remind the person that God is good and he is sovereign. He is so good that he can use sickness to bring glory to his holy name. God does this in 2 ways:

1. When he gives grace to the person to endure the sickness until the day they get healed or leave this earth.
2. When he heals the person.

I will also remind this individual of the sovereignty of God and how God can overturn any situation – including sickness –  without having to answer to anybody. In the face of a global pandemic that is taking thousands of lives, I will say the same thing. God is sovereign and good. Because I believe this, I will pray continually for him to heal our world. If I resign and say that ‘well, this may actually be an act of God’s sovereignty so what’s the point praying against it?’ I am not being a good Christian. 

God’s goodness makes him as mysterious as his sovereignty does. The Psalmist said that God forgives us so that he may be feared (Psalm 130:4). Which means the reverential fear we have for God is as a result of his mercies (his goodness). God is so sovereign he can allow evil to thrive and later use it all for his glory. These two attributes of God make him mysterious. When Jesus was informed about the ill health of Lazarus, these were his exact words ‘this illness does not lead to death’ which means some illnesses lead to death (most, actually). Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha, however, he delayed in responding to their distress call. He actually delayed so that they would see the glory of God. You know how the story goes (John 11:1-16). Christ shows up at the tomb of Lazarus and resurrects him from the dead. God is good and sovereign at the same time. He is so good he used Lazarus’ illness and death to illustrate the fact that the resurrection is not an event but a person. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He is so sovereign that he can even bring the dead back to life. Death isn’t sovereign. Death doesn’t wield ultimate power over us. This is what the resurrection of Lazarus meant, that there is one who doesn’t only bring the dead back to life but he is in himself the Resurrection and the Life. He is life: the direct opposite of death. 

God is sovereign. I couldn’t trust sovereignty in the hands of anybody apart from God. Because ‘there is none good but God’, as Jesus said. If anybody or anything apart from God was the sovereign authority in both eternity and time, since that person or entity isn’t ultimately good, we would have to expect an abuse of that power. But our God is sovereign and good at the same time. He doesn’t answer to the laws of nature. God doesn’t have to explain to us why he resurrected lazarus from the dead. He just did it for his glory and that’s that.

Job’s story typifies all that we have discussed to this point. He was a good man. If we go with the expectations of man then it means he wasn’t deserving of any evil. God himself describes Job as a ‘blameless and upright man’ and that ‘there is none like him on the earth’ (Job 1:8). The devil had no intention of attacking Job but God himself suggested it to him. God asked Satan, ‘have you considered my servant Job?’. Satan then argued that Job was only as devoted as he was to God because God had blessed him exceedingly and had mounted a hedge around him. He proceeded with his argument by stating that if God were to remove the hedge, Job would curse God to his face. Guess what God did? No, he didn’t rebuke Satan, he rather removed the hedge of protection he had put around Job and asked Satan to do whatever he wanted to do with Job but he shouldn’t touch his life. Satan inflicted all manner of evil on Job: Job lost his properties, he lost his children and he was later stricken with “loathsome sores from the soles of his foot to his crown of his head”. The question is, if God is good then why did he allow Satan to inflict so much pain on Job? God isn’t only good, he is also sovereign. This means that he still reserves the right to do what pleases him without owing anyone an explanation, including his children. So while it may not make sense to us why God would do such a thing to somebody who was blameless like Job, we have to understand that God is sovereign. In the end, this is what Job himself says about God:

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

Job 42:2 ESV

There you have it, Job understood that God can do anything and his plans cannot be thwarted by anybody. God does what he does because he is sovereign and we know it will all turn out for the good of his children because he is good. In fact, he is absolutely good. He is so good anything or anybody we can describe as good is utterly evil in comparison to God. At the end of Job’s story, we see God bless Job with more than he had before:

And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters.

Job 42:12‭-‬13 ESV

This is the confident assurance I have in God, that he is sovereign and good at the same time. I may not like what I am going through right now, but so far as I remain submitted to his will, it will all work out beautifully for my good. My God is sovereign and good!

The healing power of Jesus Christ remains one of the most outstanding aspects of his ministry here on earth. Throughout the 4 gospels, we see records of various miraculous healings that Jesus did in those 3 years that he ministered. I finished reading the book of Luke a few months ago and one of my greatest takeaways was the fact that healing was very prominent in Jesus’ ministry. I concluded that since Luke was said to be a physician he intentionally highlighted the miraculous healings in Jesus’ ministry more than anything else – or maybe not. There are certain details about Jesus and his walk here on earth that are found in one gospel or the other and not all 4 of them. When it comes to his healing ministry, the writers of the 4 gospels did well to record many of them in their writings. I would say again, in my estimation that Luke does a very outstanding job at documenting the healing ministry of Jesus – better than the other gospel writers. 

I believe strongly that the season we find ourselves in is the reason God highlighted the healing ministry of Jesus to me a few months ago. If Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, then how do we reconcile this truth with the COVID 19 pandemic that has taken the whole world by storm? I will deal with this topic in more detail in the subsequent post. But now, I want to lay the foundation of the healing power of God and how he works through men. More importantly, how Jesus laid the foundation of the healing ministry of God. 

Anyway, back to the book of Luke. Jesus’ ministry as recorded in the book spanned 19 chapters, from chapter 4 to 22. These chapters are documentation of how Jesus began his ministry, the selection of his disciples, his many miracles, his parables, etc. In 11 out of these 19 chapters, there is a story of either Jesus or his disciples healing sick people. This means 58% of the chapters in the book of Luke on Jesus’ ministry were on stories of Jesus’ healing ministry.

Jesus’ mandate on this earth is clearly spelled out in Luke 4:18. Amongst the numerous things he came here to do, he mentioned that the Spirit of God was upon him to enable him ‘heal the brokenhearted’ and bring ‘recovery of sight to the blind’. He also mentioned that he was sent to earth to set those who are being oppressed free. This is the reason why Jesus treated sickness the way he did in the days of his flesh. Sicknesses either have their roots in the spiritual realm or in the physical. Some of the sick people who were brought to Jesus were actually demon-possessed. Hence, he cast demons out of the sick and their health was restored. Take, for example, the story in Luke 10:14 where Jesus cast out a demon from a dumb person and after the demon had left, the man began to speak  to the astonishment of all who were gathered there. Healing the sick was very important to him to the extent that anytime he sent out his followers to go and preach the gospel in various cities, he added that they should heal the sick as well:

“ and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal”. Luke 9:2

“Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” Luke 10:9

In the first verse, Jesus had sent his 12 disciples to go through the villages “preaching the gospel and healing everywhere” (Luke 9:6). In the second one, Jesus had sent out 72 of his followers to go and preach the gospel and heal the sick. Why was it so important to him that the sick were healed? As I have already stated, some sicknesses and diseases are caused by evil spirits, hence it was only right to deliver the sick from the oppression of demons in their physical beings either before or after they receive the gospel. 

I would like to state two important facts about sickness. Firstly, we are never told sickness is one of the things Christians are to suffer for the sake of the gospel. As such, I do not regard sickness as ‘Christian suffering’. I see it as Jesus saw it, a thing to be dealt with no matter how long the person has lived with it. Once, Jesus and his disciples met a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him whose sin it was that had caused the man to be blind: was it that of his parents? Jesus answered and said, the man was blind so that the glory of God would be revealed then he proceeded to heal him. The glory of God was revealed through healing, end of story. Anytime I encounter sickness, as a follower of Christ, I must do what he did when he found himself in the same situation, that is to pray against it. 

Secondly, not every sickness has its roots in the spiritual. Sickness is a physical condition that sometimes renders some parts of the body or the entire body dysfunctional. It is important for us to understand that the operation of the healing anointing does not imply that medical science is useless. Neither should we allude every sickness to spiritual forces working against us. The bible says that if there be any sick among you, let them call the elders of the church to anoint the person and pray over the person. The prayer of faith will heal the person (James 5:14-15). This again tells us what Christians are expected to do when they are faced with sickness in their own bodies or the ill health of a brethren. Pray against it! 

Also, we see Paul in his letter to Timothy advising his spiritual son to mix water with a little alcohol for the sake of a stomach condition he had. This in no way contradicts what was said earlier. There is nothing wrong with using some prescribed medicine or concoction when you are sick. It is actually proof that not all illnesses have spiritual roots. Furthermore, in one particular case in the Old Testament, we see God speak through the Prophet Isaiah to recommend the use of a physical remedy to help cure King Hezekiah’s disease. In 2 Kings 20 he ordered for a cake of figs to be applied to the boils on Hezekiah’s skin so that he could recover. All this had to be stated because i have come across some Christians who are opposed to any form of medical intervention when they are sick. To them, God heals hence they are not prepared to have their recovery any other way than a supernatural intervention. This idea is not consistent with the teachings of the bible. The bible does command us to lay our hands on the sick and pray for them and they will recover. We are also told that sick people in the church should inform the elders of the church to pray for them. However, in some cases, we see the prescription of some medical remedy to sickness too. There is nothing wrong with that. God gets the glory still.

When I set out to write this article, my goal was to prove how integral healing was (and still is) in the ministry of the gospel. Jesus sent out his followers not to only preach, but to heal the sick as well. When we are hit with a global pandemic, as believers, it is our duty to call on God to heal our land. God heals; I believe so because this statement is consistent with scripture. God is sovereign, yes. And God is good. He doesn’t have to be either sovereign or good. Sovereignty and goodness co-habit in our God.

(Thanks for reading. This is the first of a 3-Part series. The second one will be released on Monday, 15th June,2020)

Many Christians have asked questions about the fate of the soul of a person who committed suicide. Is suicide a one-way ticket to hell? Does God’s mercies make provision for people who commit suicide? Etc. I would like us to first look at a few suicide stories in the bible and see why those individuals committed the act in the first place. There are a number of such stories in the bible – especially in the Old Testament. I’m no expert in this however I will attempt to put these stories into categories. First we will look at the bible characters who almost committed suicide or expressed their desire for death, those who did it with the help of others and then those who actually did it on their own. 

I would like to start with the stories of those who almost committed suicide or expressed a strong desire for death. From my observation of some of these stories, I have come to the realization that ‘death before dishonour’ was a guiding principle for most people in ancient Israel. This points to the fact that in some of these stories the individuals were prepared to kill themselves lest they endure the pain or shame that accompanies dying at the hands of their foes or being put to death by their superiors because of some error on their part. This fact cuts across all the categories of suicides in the bible listed above. For example, in the famous jail-escape story of Paul and Silas (Acts 16:25-28) we see this happen. The two of them spent time singing praises to God and praying at midnight, soon there was an earthquake and the jail gates were opened. When the jailer realized the gates were opened he supposed the prisoners had escaped so he drew his sword and was ready to kill himself. Paul cried out and told him to stop. Now let us analyse this event critically. The jailer in this story was prepared to die rather than face the punishment that would be meted out to him if the prisoners who had been put in his care had escaped. Whatever the punishment was, it couldn’t have been worse than death. Hence, it appears in his bid to commit suicide, he was aiming at preventing something more severe, shameful and dishonourable than death. He preferred death to dishonour. This jailer is in this category because he didn’t follow through with his intentions. He was stopped by Paul and later, he gave his life to Christ. 

Elijah also fits into this category. He did not necessarily make an attempt to end his life but he expressed his desire for death because of some challenges he was facing. He prayed and asked God to kill him. He said ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers” (1Kings 19:4). He said this because Jezebel was after his life. This may not quite fit perfectly into the principle of ‘death before dishonour’ but in some sense it does. Here we see Elijah expressing his desire to die at the hands of God rather than Jezebel’s. Maybe because it wasn’t death he was really afraid of but the dishonor of dying at the hands of Jezebel. 

The second category of suicide victims in the bible are those who asked someone else for help. The first of such stories is that of Abimelech. Abimelech, had just won a war against Gaal and his brothers. Later he heard that some of the men (he had just fought with) were hiding in the stronghold of the temple of the god of Berith. He and his men went after them and set the stronghold on fire and killed as many as 1000 men and women. Afterwards, he went to Thebez and he encamped there. The people there had also fled into their strong tower, shut it and went up the tower. Abimelech came near the tower and drew near the door to burn it, but a certain woman at the top of the strong tower dropped a millstone on Abimelech’s head. Abimelech preferred death to dishonour or a seemingly braver death than a dishonourable one. So he called his armour bearer and said to him, “draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me ‘a woman killed him’” Judges 9:54. The armour bearer killed Abimelech at his command. It is a kind of suicide. It was also inspired by the ‘death before dishonour’ principle. Just like the others, he didn’t fear death per se. What he feared was the ‘dishonourable’ death at the hands of a woman. 

 The second person in this category is Samson. He also committed suicide with the aide of someone. When the Philistines had finally captured him, they gouged out his eyes and brought him out into their temple to make fun of him while they made merry. He asked the young boy who held him by the hand to take him to pillars that supported the temple so he could lean on them. He later prayed to God to give him strength. Samson positioned himself in the middle of the pillars and said (to God) ‘let me die with the Philistines’. He pushed the pillars and the temple came tumbling down. It was said that the death toll of this act far exceeded the number of Philistines Samson killed before his capture. Samson did this not because he wanted to prevent a dishonourable death, but he wanted vengeance against the Philistines for gouging out his eyes. And so vengeance is one of the reasons people commit suicide.  

The last group of suicide victims are those who actually did the act on their own, unaided. 

One of the most prominent suicide stories throughout all of scripture is that of Saul, the first king of Israel. He had spent a long time pursuing David in an attempt to kill him. While warring against the Philistines one time, they struck down the sons of Saul. The Philistine archers also wounded Saul badly. In that state, Saul told his armour bearer ‘draw your sword, and thrust me through with it,lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me’. Again, we see the principle of ‘death before dishonour’ at play here, even with much more detail. Saul, preferred to die at the hands of his armour bearer than to be killed by the Philistines ( referred to as uncircumcised) who would have mistreated him. His armour bearer couldn’t obey Saul’s command because of fear so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 

Ahithophel also committed suicide when his counsel was not followed. In those days the counsel of Ahithophel was as if one had consulted God on a matter. But when he joined Absalom’s camp, David prayed to the LORD to turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. It did happen and Ahithophel couldn’t bear the shame of having his counsel ignored by Absalom. The bible says, he went home and put his house in order and hanged himself. 

I dare say the most prominent suicide story in the bible is that of Judas Iscarriot. His, was prophesied by David in the Old Testament and quoted by Peter in Acts 1:20. Judas’ suicide is the most popular because of the reason he did it. He had betrayed Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world for 30 pieces of silver. He later committed suicide because of shame and guilt. When he learnt that Jesus had been crucified he attempted to return the money he got for the betrayal. Then he hanged himself and died. He couldn’t bear the guilt of being the one disciple who collaborated with the enemies of Christ to kill him. 

I just wanted to make the point that people desire to die or commit suicide for so many reasons. It could be that they do it to prevent something dishonourable from happening to them, some also do it because of vengeance and others because of shame and guilt. At least these are the reasons why these characters in the bible attempted or committed suicide. 

Death is the most certain event in every human life yet its suddenness still leaves most of us in shock and fear. Death causes grief however, death by suicide causes a special kind of grief. This is because both the dead and the living close relations of the dead are all victims. Those who die by suicide are called victims of suicide. In some parts of the world, attempted suicide is a crime, implying that the worth of every human life is protected under the laws of the land against (even) him/herself. ‘You cannot get up one day and take your life’, that is what the law seems to say. Life is sacred. Life gets its worth from the giver of life himself who is God. 

On the question of where the souls of victims of suicide go, I can neither say ‘to hell’ nor ‘to heaven’ because it is a matter of judgment. Moses called the LORD ‘the judge of all the earth’. I trust that in such matters the judge of all the earth will judge righteously. Dr. Ravi Zacharias, who himself attempted suicide at the age of 17, was asked this same question. His answer was very profound. He too mentioned that only God can judge where any of us would spend eternity. What he added to that statement is what I find outstanding. He said ‘I wouldn’t want to meet Jesus after I have committed suicide’. What would you tell Jesus when you meet him after committing suicide? That you lost hope? That you preferred killing yourself to experiencing something dishonourable? So long as there is life, there is hope. I pray that anybody who reads this piece and is suicidal would reach out to God and the support system around them for help. Some of us actually need to get professional help from a counselor or a therapist. Your life is precious. Your life is precious. God wants you to be on this side of eternity until he calls you home. Hold on tight!

We will all stand before the LORD after we die to face judgment. I don’t know about any of you but I sure wouldn’t been looking forward to seeing after committing suicide. 

The opening chapters of the book deal with the sense of inferiority to white people some black people have. Black people globally are discriminated against purely because of the color of their skin. Not because they are not good enough, not economically sound, not mentally capable … but because of the hue of their skin. Hearing the same thing over and over again and seeing it portrayed in the media almost makes it entrenched in your sub-conscious mind as the truth. It was until recently that I realized how much racist ideologies were even propagated through some movies I watched while growing up and even some cartoons. Growing up, in the sort of cartoons I used to watch, you would often find that whenever a white character was lost in a thick forest, cannibals whose faces were painted black would abduct the said character. You would find them boiling water (or soup) on fire in a big black pot, cutting carrots and other vegies into it and rolling their victim on a stake over the hot steaming water. While all this went on, the other tribesmen would be dancing around the fire in wait for their meal to cook. It was until recently that I realized that those cannibals being portrayed in the cartoons were a misrepresentation of black people as primitive, dangerous, almost animal-like etc. This is why I was particularly excited to see Otabil state that ‘the spirit of racism thrives on misinformation and stereotyping. Instead of portraying people in the likeness of God, it seeks to devalue the worth of people…’. The whole world needs to understand that different doesn’t mean inferior, neither does different always mean better. The unfortunate truth is that the very people bent on portraying black people as less than what God made us to be are the ones controlling the media globally. Hence, it presents a serious challenge for us in our bid to redeem our image.

The bible indeed says that ‘you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free’. However, it is evident that Christians who are expected to know the truth by heart are also victims of lies told about the black race. This is a theme that is extensively treated throughout this book (and I will touch on it later on). One other fact I found intriguing about this book is that Dr. Otabil took time to address the issue of injustice vis-a-vis biblical justice. The topic of Biblical Justice is my newly found love hence it makes me excited to discover it being addressed in the book. Otabil said ‘whenever God comes to town he visits the oppressed to set them free’. He stated this in relation to what God did for the Israelites after they had been in captivity for over 400 years. He goes on to mention that it is an observable fact that kingdoms and nations are being shaken for whatever purpose God deems fit. Prophetically, Otabil declared that God is going to visit the black race to bring the people out of the state they are in (just like he did for the Israelites).

I often get questioned on Christianity’s involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the crusades and other heinous deeds of some Christians in past centuries who were convinced they were following the commands of God. I often feel ashamed when these topics come up. Dr. Otabil made it worse by stating that ‘it is just a shame to know that the pillars of apartheid were built on the teachings of the Dutch Reformed Church’. If you know a little about apartheid and the extent to which it destroyed lives in South Africa, then you would be as ashamed as I am that Christianity had a role to play in it. Otabil proposes a solution, he calls it the ‘anti-oppression serum’. He explains that it takes the preparation of an anti-snake-poison serum from a snake to fight snake poison. The same way Moses had to raise a bronze serpent in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it would be healed from the snake bite. So the author believes that if Christianity has been (ab)used in the past to oppress people and nations, we need to regard that as an abuse of the tenets of Christianity and come to the understanding that at the core of Christianity is the greatest freedom fighter of all time. Only he can deliver and truly set a man free.

The father of many nations

The greater part of the book deals with Abraham and his lineage. Otabil traces some African nations back to Abraham and this is very significant in understanding whether or not Africans are cursed. There are a lot of people who believe that – even including preachers. This assertion is drawn from the story of Noah and his 3 sons. It is a popular story. Noah got drank and he stripped himself naked, his son Ham chanced on him in that state and proceeded to tell his two brothers about it. Shem and Japheth, the brothers of Ham, decided to cover their father’s nakedness without looking at him, so they held a cloth at both ends and walked backwards to cover him up. It is often said that when Noah became sober afterwards he cursed Ham. Ham is believed to be the forefather of some African nations therefore many people think it means the black race is cursed.

First of all we need to understand that in Gen 9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons and told them to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. Which means all three sons including Noah were all blessed. After the incidence involving Ham and his father’s nakedness, Noah was angered and he decided to punish Ham. According to scripture, Noah didn’t curse Ham, he rather cursed Canaan, Ham’s son. Why? Because there was no way Noah’s curse could undo the blessings God had pronounced over Ham. Throughout the bible, we know who the Canaanites were. They weren’t from Africa (although some Africans ended up in Canaan with the Israelites). The blessings the Lord spoke over Ham and his two brothers still stands.

Back to Abraham. God promised him he would make him the father of many nations. He had two sons with Sarah and Hagai. Otabil said:

Between Isaac and Ishmael, Abraham fathered two nations which does not really impress me as many. If Abraham was the father of many nations, then there were other nations he fathered.

Abraham remarried after Sarah died. He married Keturah and had 6 children with her (Gen 25:2). It isn’t stated explicitly in scripture what race Keturah belonged to. But when we study her lineage, the truth can be uncovered. It turns out that she had a son called Jokshan and he had two sons Sheba and Dedan. In Gen 10:7, these two young men were referred to as the sons of Cush. Which means they were blacks, automatically meaning that their grandmother, Keturah, was black. This is significant information. The nations that God promised Abraham would father included some African nations. Which means, they were also blessed after the order of Abraham.

After Moses ran away from Egypt he was taken in by Jethro in the land of Midian, meaning Jethro was a Midianite. Midian was one of the sons Abraham had with Keturah, therefore, Jethro too was of Cushite descent or black. It is interesting how the bible describes him as a priest – presumably a priest of Jehovah. How can a Midianite become a priest unto Jehovah? The answer is in Gen 18:19 when God said ‘For I know him (Abraham), that he will command his children and his household after him and they will keep the way of the Lord…’. Abraham instilled the fear of the Lord in his descendants and this was probably why Jethro was a priest. And if you are familiar with the story of Moses in the wilderness, you would realize that it was Jethro who taught Moses the ways of God and gave him wise counsel (Exodus 18). Jethro was a black man. We are sure of this because Moses married Jethro’s daughter Zipporah and we are told explicitly that she was Ethiopian (Numbers 12:1). Black people were very much involved in the journey to the promise land and black people ended up in the promise land as well (Judges 1:16). It is important for us to understand the prominent feats achieved by some black people in the bible. Even in the New Testament as well, the deeds of some black people were mentioned and we see the general highlighting of the black race. Here are a few examples:

1. It was Simon of Cyrene(which is in modern day Lybia), who was charged to help Jesus carry his cross on the way to Calvary (Matthew 27:32)
2. Before the gospel could reach other Gentile nations, God used Philip to preach to the Ethiopian Eunuch.
3. In the church in Antioch, there were some prophets and teachers. They were the ones who laid hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them out on their first mission trip. Amongst these prophets and teachers were two Africans: Simeon that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene.

Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia is an inspiring work of art that would enlighten black Christians and the entire body of Christ in general. It is very enlightening in the manner in which it reminds us of the prominent role some black people played centuries ago that had a global impact. This is how Dr. Otabil put it:

Whenever the world has been in a crisis, the black man has always appeared on the scene. After the flood, when the world needed a leader, He called Nimrod the son of Cush. When Moses was taken out of Pharaoh’s camp, it took a black man Jethro to teach him the ways of God. When the people of Israel were going to the Promised Land, it took a black man Hobab to direct them to the Promised Land.

 The stories above are but a fraction of the great and mighty things our forefathers did in times past. If they did it, we can too. I would like to urge everyone who reads this piece to try and get the book to read; it is for sale on Amazon and also at Altar Bookshop, Christ Temple, ICGC – Abossey Okai. It will do you a lot of good. In the end, we have to accept the fact that God made man in his image, male and female made him them. We are all valuable and precious to God. History is proof of this. Hence we need to treat each other with respect and honor in reverence to God.

Justice is defined in the dictionary simply as fairness,equality, equity etc. It is a term we are all familiar with especially in this generation. In our world today, there are many people working tirelessly to ensure that others get justice, by way of being treated fairly by other human beings and equally before the law. It is so interesting to see how many people (both young and old) who identify themselves as socially conscious people and use their little power and influence to advocate for justice and social justice for others.  The modern day term for that is ‘woke’. Being woke is almost becoming trendy nowadays. In rap and popular music,the term that is more widely used for artists that address social issues is‘conscious’. For obvious reasons, conscious rappers are more respected than the commercial ones. This is because they are seen as artists who give up a certain level of commercial success just so they can do advocacy through their art. Commercial rappers have always been seen as those that would make songs for the radio;songs that would make people dance and not necessarily carry a socially beneficial message. In recent times, conscious rappers are selling as many albums as the commercial ones, which didn’t used to be the case in the not so distant past. ‘Consciousness’ is commercial nowadays. Why? Because this generation is fast becoming a ‘woke’ one.

 Christians have been involved in many socially beneficial projects over the centuries. At the same time some Christians have done injustice to individuals, nations and generations that have caused many to doubt the core tenets of the Christian faith. Nevertheless the theme of Justice is prominent throughout scripture. As early as the 4^th chapter of Genesis, we see God revealing himself to us as the God of Justice. The story in this chapter of Genesis is about the murder of Abel by his own brother Cain.One of the things I find so remarkable about this story is that, even before Cain acted upon his evil desires, God came warning him. God said to Cain, ‘sin is crouching at the door, its desire is for you, you must rule over it’. One thing we must know about God is that, he hates injustice. In this instance we see him speaking to Cain before he commits the act. But as we all know, Cain didn’t heed to the warning God gave him. He went on and slew his own brother. For his punishment, God cursed the ground that he worked on as a farmer and made him a fugitive and a wanderer. Then the Lord put a mark on Cain lest anyone should kill him for the evil deed he had done. This part of the story amazes me too.In meting out punishment, God is still merciful. God’s justice is fair and his punishments are deserving. Cain himself admitted his punishment was too heavy,therefore we can say the judgment of the Lord was fair. However, certain people out of disgust at what Cain did MIGHT HAVE TAKEN IT UPON THEMSELVES to mete out a seemingly stiffer punishment to Cain by killing him. To prevent this, God put a mark on Cain. This is the first time we are introduced to the theme of ‘mob justice vs God’s justice’ (although in a subtle way).

One of the most outstanding facts I discovered throughout our studies over the past weeks is that God loves to identify himself as the God of Justice. Our reaction to this should be a recognition of the fact that he is indeed the God of justice and since we are his people we must also become‘people of Justice’. The 10 commandments are recorded in Exodus 20. Before the Lord dictated the laws to Moses, he said in verse 2 ‘I am the LORD your God,who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery’. The Jews were in slavery for over 400 years in the land of Egypt. God through his servant saved them and went on to punish the Egyptians. By saying what he said in the verse quoted above, he was basically saying ‘I am the God who heard your cry while you were in slavery and gave you justice’. When Moses saved the Israelites, Justice was served. God loves justice and associates himself with it.

 In 2^nd Samuel 12, there is a very interesting story that is very essential to the topic under discussion. The story is about how God uses a prophet, his mouthpiece, to speak truth to power and to correct injustice. This is how God often used the prophets in the Old Testament. In this case, Nathan received a message from God concerning the killing of Uriah which was orchestrated by David the king. God sent Nathan his prophet to speak to David and also tell him the punishment that was due him for sleeping with Bathsheba (when he had numerous wives) and killing Uriah to cover up his evil deed. This is God’s punishment to David, ‘I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun’. God hates injustice and when it comes to meting out punishment he is impartial.Justice was served and God used a prophet in the process just as he did with Moses (a prophet) in bringing justice to the Israelites.

 The justice thread remains prominent in all sections of the tapestry of the Old Testament. Be it the law, the prophets, the wisdom books etc. the theme of justice can be found there. Here are a few verses that prove this point:

Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widow’s
cause.

2 Samuel 8:15
so David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people.

 Amos 5:24
but let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Proverbs 31:8-9

Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

The New Testament is no exception to the dominance of the theme of justice in scripture. At a later time I will look at the theme of justice exclusively in the New Testament. However, there is one passage that stands out for me and it is also very significant to the topic under discussion. Jesus told a parable about the unrighteous judge and the persistent widow in Luke 18. This woman kept going to this judge saying ‘give me justice against my adversaries’. The bible describes the judge as someone who ‘NEITHER FEARED GOD NOR RESPECTED MAN’. Please keep this description in mind as you read on. The woman’s persistence led the judge to then say this:

Though I neither FEAR GOD NOR RESPECT MAN, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming

It is for this reason that the bible describes this man as an unrighteous judge. One of the reasons Jesus told this parable was to point out the fact that not everybody fighting for justice is doing it for the right reason. Not everybody who claims to be ‘woke’ is ‘woke’ for the right reasons. Some people are doing it for personal gain and sometimes just for their own comfort. Just like this judge, he didn’t grant the woman justice because he thought she deserved it, but he did so because he wanted her to stop bothering him.

 In this very same parable, Jesus gives us the formula for pursuing biblical justice: FEAR GOD AND RESPECT MAN.These are the very two qualities that the judge himself admitted he didn’t have. He neither feared God nor respected man. Never get it mixed up. Your ‘wokeness’ should stem from a reverential fear of God first, then a respect for human beings. Your ‘wokeness’ can drive you away from God if you don’t follow this formula. There are so many social justice movements in the world today that go against the word of God. As a Christian, you have no business taking part in these all in the name of ‘wokeness’. Does it glorify God? Does it benefit humanity? Ask yourself these questions before you identify yourself with any social justice and justice movement out there.

At least once every month I see a street magician set up his ‘apparatus’ at some vantage point on the streets of Accra to display his magical powers in the full glare of a captivated crowd encircling him and his side kick. I have been told that it is actually a ploy to create the opportunity for pickpockets to steal from people. I don’t know how true that is but what I do know is that the goal of a street magician is to ‘WOW’ his audience but the end goal of the miraculous is to solve a problem and glorify God.

In 2015 I was in a service and Dr. Lawrence Tetteh prayed for a little girl whose legs were unequal in length. All of us in the congregation literally saw the little girl’s leg grow out slowly. It was amazing. I had never seen anything like that before. I was wowed! It was spectacular. However, the point is God didn’t set out to impress us by that miracle that day. He has already done that enough in the splendor and majesty of the universe and creation at large. That day God simply set out to solve a problem in a little girl’s life. It was a health problem. This reality dawned on me when the lady sitting next to me told me the little girl’s story. Apparently, she knew her and long story short, the little girl was supposed to have a surgery some time ago but her parents couldn’t afford it. It was then that it really dawned on me that what just happened was a major solution to a problem in the little girl’s life only that the solution came dressed in the supernatural. The miraculous is meant to make social impact so let’s not get lost in the grandeur and forget the true purpose of miracles. In my opinion this is the reason why Jesus didn’t sin when the devil tempted him. He knew that the true purpose of the miraculous was to help people and bring glory to God. Miracles are not done to merely show off God’s power. Some of us wouldn’t have even known that the devil was tempting us if we were in Jesus’ shoes. We would have seen it as an opportunity to show off God’s power. But it wasn’t. Where is the problem solved? Where is the glory to God? If Jesus had done the devil’s bidding he would have cheapened the miraculous and dishonored God who gives us power to do miracles.

When Jesus healed the blind, the lame, the leprous etc. he was solving health problems. In the book of Acts Peter’s shadow and aprons rubbed off on Paul’s body healed sick people – a solution to health problems too. When Joseph, used his gift of prophecy (word of wisdom) to save Egypt and other nations from famine, he was solving a hunger and economic problem. When Jesus fed the 5000 men and the 4000 men, he too was solving a hunger problem. When Moses used the power of his rod to save the children of Israel from Egypt, he was solving a slavery and servitude problem. The bad water of Jericho was killing people, when Elisha prophesied over the water and turned it into good water, he was solving an environmental problem. In the garden of Gethsemane when the soldiers came for Jesus, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of the soldiers. Jesus healed the soldier (by putting the ear back in its place, I suppose) right there and then he rebuked Peter. When Jesus did that, he was dealing with the problem of religious extremism. When Jesus instructed Peter to go catch a fish, open its mouth and remove some money from it and use it to pay the temple tax, what he was doing was employing the miraculous to solve a financial problem in the temple. I can go on and on and space and time won’t allow me to finish giving examples.

In our day and age though there is a dramatic advancement in science and technology yet the miraculous has not lost its essence. Healing evangelists are moving from town to town, city to city and country to country, healing the sick, raising the dead and above all restoring the lost to the fold of God. These are examples of social problems being solved by the hand of God. Advancement in knowledge doesn’t mean the miraculous is outmoded neither does the miraculous imply that there is no need for pursuing knowledge. We need Christians to function in both capacities to the glory of God. I believe the advancement humanity has made in knowledge helps us (those who haven’t experienced certain health problems before) appreciate the cost of a miracle sometimes. Until you know how expensive an eye surgery is, you will never understand the joy of a poor blind man healed at one of the Healing Jesus Crusades organized by Bishop Dag Heward Mills. We may never know what it feels like to be blind, but the fact that we can put a price tag on what it takes to make a blind man see, when his sight is restored unto him by an act of God, we too can understand to some extent what it means.

The miraculous must always be employed to solve problems in the lives of people and ultimately bring glory and joy to God. Jesus said in Matthew 10:8 “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give”. This sounds like a command to believers. We are commanded to do these things. Are you carrying out this command? Am I? The last sentence also sounds like a caveat. We are warned by Jesus to do all these things without taking a fee because the ability to do miracles is given to believers freely. Remember, when a socially impactful activity is made for sale it is no longer a noble act but a business. So may we not make profit from that which we have been commanded to give freely.