AFRICAN PLUME

“When a Church Shields the Wolves, It Imperils the Sheep” By Akin Ojumu This commentary series is an exegetical exploration of Romans 16:17. It plumbs the depth of the text, to extract from it, the riches of wisdom and gems of understanding contained within.  Romans 16:17 “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” To glean from its timeless wisdom, guidance, and truths, we are going to examine the text in its proper context and interpret it following sound interpretive techniques by applying the principles of hermeneutics and exegesis. Before signing off last time, we were examining those who caused division and created obstacles contrary to sound doctrine in the early Church. When Paul wrote the letter to the Romans, the troublemakers and obstacles to sound doctrine at the time were, specifically, the Judaizers and the Gnostics.  As we said last time, the Judaizer...

“The Upsides of Being a Castoff” By Akin Ojumu If I had a quarter for every time I have been accused, to my face and behind my back, that I’m nothing but a hyper-critical, rabble-rousing, saber-rattling, bomb thrower who loves to cause divisions and thrives on creating obstacles, I’ll be a multi-millionaire by now. Under the guise of showing concern for my soul and physical well-being, family members often counsel me to tamp down on my criticism of pastors. They tell me that I should not let my concern for the explosive spread of destructive heresies and doctrines of demons that have overtaken the Church be too consuming for me.  Perhaps failing to see the self-centeredness of their admonition, they sometime throw in a Yoruba proverb which says, “Fálànà gbọ́ tìrẹ, tara ẹni là ńgbọ́,” which means “why don’t you mind your own freaking business.” Unlike my family members who, at least, seek to get me to focus my attention on my own affairs and ignore the damage wolves in sheep’s cloth...

“Goliath and His Four Giant Kinsmen” By Akin Ojumu Considering the attempts that have been made throughout history to eradicate the Bible, it is a sheer miracle that the Bible remains the best-selling book of all time, with an estimated 5 to 7 billion copies sold and distributed over the last 1,500 years. The fact it remains the most sought-after piece of literary work in the world even today is evidence of the resilience of the Holy Scripture and the Omnipotence of the One to whom it belongs.  Take for instance the following three examples, borrowed from the Way of Life Bible College website, of pledges and predictions that influential people in history have made concerning the demise of the Bible and extinction of Christianity. In A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an edict to stop Christians from worshipping Jesus Christ and to destroy their Scriptures. Every official in the empire was ordered to raze the churches to the ground and burn every Bible found in their dist...

“ 1 Samuel 17 Account of David Killing Goliath” By Akin Ojumu Hell is bent on destroying the credibility of the Bible. There is no book that has been the subject of greater scrutiny than the Holy Scriptures. From powerful emperors to lowly peasants and everyone in between, unrelenting attempts have been made to malign God and marginalize His Word. Throughout history, the Bible has been burned, banned and banished. Many have met violent ends for simply being caught reading the Bible. Unabated in their efforts to rid the world of the Word of God, wicked men twist its content, distort its meaning, and doubt its accuracy. Reprobate minds, wise in their own eyes, dismiss the Bible in skepticism. Punny men, with punny brains, suppress the truth of Scripture in their cynicism. Evil people who have sworn allegiance to Satan have made it their life’s mission to expose what they claim are inconsistencies in the Bible. One of those seeming contradictions the enemies of God claim they have discove...

“The Things the Lord Hates” By Akin Ojumu King Solomon tells us about the six things that the LORD hates. In his Book of Proverbs, the wisest man that ever lived shows us the seven things that are particularly abhorrent to the LORD God Almighty. These are abominable practices that often cause the pure and Holy God to retch and throw up in disgust. Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies,  and one who sows discord among brothers.” Beyond the seven detestable things described in the above passage, however, there are many other practices mentioned in the Bible that are abominations to the LORD. Among these are the following. (1) Sexual Immorality e.g., Adultery, Homosexuality, Bestiality, Incest Leviticus 18:22-23 “You shall not lie with a male as with a ...