DAVID ABIOYE: A FIRE HOSE OF DAMNABLE HERESIES

By Akin Ojumu

Scripture clearly enunciates the essential qualifications a man must possess to be appointed as a pastor over God’s children. Among all of these specific and vitally important qualifications, none is more important than a mastery of Scriptures. Doctrinal astuteness, proficiency to teach sound doctrine, and competency to refute false teachers are all mandatory prerequisites to becoming a shepherd of God’s flock.

Titus 1:7-9

“For an Overseer, as God’s steward…MUST hold firm to the trustworthy Word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” 

1 Timothy 3:2

“Therefore an overseer MUST be…able to teach…”

2 Timothy 2:2

“And the things that you have heard me say among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.”

A lack of even one of these requirements listed in the above passages disqualifies anyone from assuming the role of a pastor in God’s Church. A man must check both the moral and doctrinal boxes in order to be qualified to be a pastor. This is serious stuff and not something to trifle with.

Yet, the vast majority of the men and women who call themselves pastors today, and who are shepherding the flock of God, are themselves stark Biblical illiterates whose knowledge of Scriptures is no better than the people they are supposed to be leading. These are blind guides of blind people, both of whom are destined to fall into a pit.

Great havoc is wreaked on the Body of Christ because unqualified individuals are appointed as shepherds over God’s flock. Immeasurable devastation is inflicted on the Church by charlatans who have no business pastoring God’s people. These impostors, who have little or no understanding of Scripture, lay siege to the House of God, inflicting incalculable destruction to the souls of men. 

Because of the deep admiration and profound affection that pastors enjoy from their flock, criticisms against them are very often dismissed as attacks from agents of Satan. Church folks are quick to label critics of their pastors’ erroneous teachings and unseemly conducts as heresy hunters looking to pull down “a great man of God.” Lost on these poor folks is the clear and present danger that false teachings pose to the health and well-being of their souls.

That the perils of false teachings cannot be overstated is evident in the fact that of the 27 books in the New Testament Bible, only one, the Book of Philemon, does not include warnings about false teachers and false teachings. Every single one of the Apostles sounded alarms in their writings that false teachers will emerge in the Church to spread destructive teachings.

One of those Biblical illiterates parading themselves around as pastors today is Mr. David Abioye. An Automobile Engineering graduate from the University of Ilorin, Mr. Abioye, 64, served as a pastor in the Living Faith Church for four decades until October 2024 when he was pushed out on the account of him reaching retirement age. Before his forced retirement, Mr. Abioye rose to the enviable position of second in command to the Generalissimo of the House of Horror. By all accounts, he was assumed by many to be the shoo-in heir apparent of the sprawling religious industrial complex.

As a man who prides himself a teacher of Scriptures, Mr. David Abioye is a firehose of heretical teachings. The man leaves a long trail of error-ridden sermons which reveals a shallow understanding of the Word of God. Some of the things he says are so off the mark that I feel embarrassed for the man and I pity those who consume the high-sounding nonsense that he teaches.

In this commentary, we are going to probe an instance of Mr. David Abioye doing violence to the Word of God, specifically 1 Timothy 6:20. There are many reasons why Mr. Abioye’s abuse and misuse of this Bible text must be critically examined, least of which is the fact that the man is a highly respected preacher in Nigeria. The untold number of people who consider him a gifted teacher of God’s Word hang on to his words.

In the midst of a sermon where he was attempting to make a point about the supremacy of faith over science, Mr. David Abioye cited 1 Timothy 6:20 as a prooftext for the idea he was trying to push. Demonstrating a profound Biblical naïveté, Mr. David Abioye mistook the word “science” in 1 Timothy 6:20 for the modern understanding of the term.

1 Timothy 6:20 (KJV)

“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of SCIENCE falsely so called.”

1 Timothy 6:20 (ESV)

“O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “KNOWLEDGE.”

In interpreting this passage, Mr. Abioye said the following, with all boldness and confidence:

“In first Timothy chapter 6 verse 20, it tells us to be careful, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so-called. In the face of faith, science is false….in the face of faith. When faith is at work, it makes a mess of science.”

What Mr. David Abioye failed to realize is that the Greek word translated “science” in 1 Timothy 6:20 is not modern science which is defined as the systematic study of the natural and physical world through observation, experimentation, and evidence-based reasoning to build reliable knowledge about how the universe works. Rather, the “science” in 1 Timothy 6:20 is actually the Greek word, “GNOSIS,” which means “KNOWLEDGE.”

As at the time Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy, Gnosis was understood by the Church as a synonym for Gnosticism, which was one of the first major heresies to threaten the Church and against which the early Church Fathers wrote extensively.

Within its proper context, the issue Paul was tackling in 1 Timothy 6:20-21 was Gnosticism, a burgeoning heretical belief that was spreading its poison through the veins and arteries of the early Christian communities all over the known world. Paul wanted Timothy, who was at this time serving as the Pastor of the Church at Ephesus, to be on his guard for this beguiling spiritual disease. His letter was to instruct Timothy to mark and avoid the false teachings of Gnosticism because all those who embrace such heresies eventually strayed from the true faith.

Fundamental to Gnosticism is the hierarchy in spiritual illumination and knowledge. Gnostics teach that certain select Christians have risen, or emanated, to the highest spiritual level of operations where spectacular phenomena and fantastic spiritual experiences occur on a daily basis. Such spiritually elite individuals are superior to other Christians in all matters of the faith. These super-Christians operate in higher spiritual dimensions than the rest of the hoi polloi. 

Now, that should sound familiar to most of you reading this. A modern-day version of the 1st Century gnosticism is what you hear people like Joshua Selman, Arome Osayi, Michael Orokpo, and the other modern-day false apostles teach. These apostles of realms and portals are neo-Gnostics disseminating the poison of neo-Gnosticism. They are enemies of God going about the business of their master, Satan.

The knowledge of the Gnostics is false knowledge. It’s the sort of knowledge that caused some members of the Colossian Church to err from the faith, i.e. derail or miss the mark. Gnosticism’s knowledge was subtle and yet contradictory. Not only does Gnosticism contradict the truth, but even within the various Gnostic beliefs there are also many contradictions.

Paul’s letters to Ephesians, Galatians, Corinthians, Colossians, and Timothy were, to a large extent, written to denounce gnostic teachings. And there’s another word used as a synonym for Gnosticism in the Bible. It’s the word “philosophy,” which Paul used in his letter to the Colossians.

 

Colossians 2:8

“See to it that no one takes you captive by PHILOSOPHY and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Here in this passage, Paul was warning the Colossian Christians not to let anyone entomb them in the fortress of empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that emanate from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world. It was an admonition to the Colossians to resist getting lured into the prison of Gnosticism which was a demonic ploy to cheat, rob, defraud, and devour the Colossians. 

The so-called “philosophy” (literally. “love of wisdom”), i.e., the higher knowledge the Gnostics claimed to have attained, was nothing but “empty deceit,” i.e., worthless deception.

All of these facts are completely lost on Mr. David Abioye. Here’s a man who portrays himself as a gifted teacher of the Word, yet, he’s so clueless about the context of 1 Timothy 6:20, that he mistook the word “science” for scientific discovery. 

My heart breaks for the hundreds of thousands of undiscerning people who continue to look up to men like Mr. David Abioye for training and spiritual guidance. I weep for the gullible and Biblical illiterates who follow Abioye and his ilk on the broad road that leads straight to hell.