ARE YOU FOR GOD OR THE MAN OF GOD?

By Akin Ojumu

My dear Romanus, ordinarily, I would have ignored your diatribe like others, but I'm making an exception in your case to correct a few false assumptions in your comments for the benefit of those who are reading this so that they too won’t fall into the same error. 

Before I say what I’m about to say, though, I need you to understand that this whole thing isn’t personal for me. I’m not seeking fame and fortune. Affection and admiration of people are not what I’m after. If those were my intentions, putting out these critical commentaries is a rather dumb way to go about it. Calling into question long-held beliefs and calling out men and women held in high regard, and even worshiped, by people is not how to gain a following on social media. Doing that will only make one a pariah.

Now, let me address a couple of things you get wrong in your comments.

THESE MEN MADE MUCH MORE POSITIVE IMPACT THAN YOU

In a way, I’m not surprised that you would say that. Like the vast majority of church folks who have bought into the lie that size is might, you are judging spiritual impact based on human standards. It is a perversed understanding of what constitutes spiritual exploits not founded on Scriptures.

Simply because a man succeeded in building an empire for himself in the name of God is not evidence that he is doing the will of God. 

People fawning over you and calling you Daddy is not a true measure of positive impact. Having millions follow you and consume your false teachings is no proof of doing God’s work. Because a man packs stadiums with hordes of emotionally manipulated crowds isn’t proof of spiritual impact. 

Pastoring parishes all over the face of earth where they mushroom on every street corner isn’t how you determine who is making a difference for God’s kingdom, especially not when the parishes are nothing but shrines where all kinds of metaphysical occultic practices are done in the name of God. Real positive impact is also not determined by the number of people who through your effort now call themselves Christians but who have got no clue about the God they claim to serve.

True Christianity is in the mundane. There’s no greater demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit than the grace to live the ordinary life of a Christian in humility and simplicity giving glory to God. Positively impactful Christianity is when we honor God where we are and in what we do. It is being a good husband or good wife, being a good parent, being a responsible child, being a hardworking student, a diligent employee, a kind employer, a loyal friend, etc etc etc.

This is exactly what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, Ephesians 5:22-33, Ephesians 6:1-9, and Romans 12:9-21. What these passages describe are the Biblical standards for judging spiritual impact and spiritual exploits.

WHO MADE YOU A JUDGE?

If I ask you now whether you fear God, I’m sure your response would be, “Yes, of course, I fear God.”

Guess what? One way to demonstrate we fear God is by reverencing His Word and accurately handling it.

1 Timothy 2:15

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth.” 

Yet, you show a total disregard for the fidelity to the accuracy of Scriptures by the way you flippantly and glibly referenced Bible texts out of context in your comment. 

You said, and I quote:

“Who made you a JUDGE over another’s man’s servants? Is there any scripture that empowers you to judge, condemn and label Men of God?”

This, to me, seems like you don’t have a good grasp of Scripture. The Bible text you are referring to in that statement is in the Book of Romans. 

Romans 14:4

“Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”

Within its proper context, Romans 14:4 is about how mature (i.e., strong) Christians ought to relate with immature (i.e., new) Christians in the matter of participation in ceremonies of the Mosaic Law and the eating of food offered to idols. 

The thrust of Paul’s admonition in this verse is that matured believers in the Christian assembly in Rome should not allow their liberty and better understanding of what God expects of them to become a stumbling block that would derail the faith of new believers who are still immature in the faith.

Romans 14:4 does not forbid us from judging the doctrines and teachings of preachers to determine whether they align with what the Bible teaches.

You ask if there are any Scriptures that empower me to judge, condemn, and label a man of God. My answer to that is, yes. There are plenty of Bible texts that command and instruct us to expose false teachers, false prophets, and false apostles.

Matthew 7:15-20

Acts 20:28-31

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

Galatians 1:6-9

Ephesians 5:11

Colossians 2:8

2 Timothy 4:3-4

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2 Peter 2:1-3

Romans 16:17-18

1 John 4:1

2 John 1:7-11

Jude 1:4

This is just a sample. I’d give you more if you want.

If, as a pastor, you don’t know that these passages exist in the Bible, you really need to reconsider whether you are qualified to be a pastor.

Every single Book in the New Testament Bible, with the exception of the Book of Philemon, warns about the impending deluge of false teachers and their false teachings. From Christ Jesus Himself to the very last one of His Apostles, we were told that obfuscation and deception will be the modus operandi as this present age winds down to a close. 

It is the duty of all true Christians to compare what people are saying in the name of God to the Word of God.

My dear Romanus, it is apparent to me that you do not understand what’s at stake here. You don’t seem to realize that we are in a war for the protection and preservation of the eternal destinies and souls of men. 

Knowing we are in a spiritual warfare, I’ve learned to ignore insults and not to take innuendos thrown at me personally. I really couldn’t care less if people call me names or curse me out, I will not stop exposing false teachers and false apostles, no matter how old they are, how long they've been in “ministry” or how influential they’ve become. 

These people are wolves in sheep’s clothing leading millions of undiscerning people into the fire of hell by their false teachings. What they’ve done is to create a false god and a false christ for people to worship and have turned people away from worshiping the true God and true Christ of the Bible.

If I’m hated for that or I lose all my friends because I stand for the truth, so be it. It’ll not be the first time. I’ll just be another one in a long line of people who have been rejected because they fear and honor God more than men of God.

Luke 6:26

“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.”