Of dogs and vomit – The reformation at 503. Part 1

The reformation is 503 years this October. Again we are reminded of its ideals and what they should mean for the Church today. Sadly the everyday believer knows very little about it and what it means. Most haven’t even heard the name Martin Luther and if they have, they have no idea what it represents. This is a sad state of affairs that must be reversed immediately given the fact that Martin Luther and the reformation is the reason why most of us are not Roman Catholics.

Until 503 years ago, Christianity meant Catholicism. The word “catholic” actually means universal and therefore the Catholic Church stood for all of Christendom. You were either (with a few exceptions of course) a Roman Catholic or you were not a Christian. That was the church Luther broke from; leading to the birth of Protestantism through reformation.

Prior to all of this, Rome with its papacy reigned supreme. After Emperor Constantine’s supposed conversion and adoption of Christianity, Rome expanded Christianity and changed its status from a small movement that started in Judea by a supposedly mysterious miracle-working figure, to the state religion of a mighty power that literally ruled the world. Church and state become one entity as the years rolled by. The Bishop of Rome became its head and eventually gained enough political power to control even politicians. After all, the Pope is the “representative of God” on earth and therefore had the final say on everything. But that is not exactly what upset Luther—at least not yet.

His trouble started when a certain Johannes Tetzel showed up in the parish where Luther was leading an assembly, to sell a piece of paper that would save one or their relatives from the blazing hot fires of hell. It was called indulgences. Luther rebelled against the idea. Rome had sold these indulgencies all over the place. It was one of the ways in which it raised money and the famous St. Paul's Cathedral is known to be one of the projects accomplished with the sale of indulgences. Prior to this indulgence saga, Luther had visited Rome in high hopes only to walk into an unfathomable degree of corruption at the papacy. Clergymen had descended to the lowest of all debauchery as the pope committed simony among other immoral behaviors in the midst of the elitism that had become its very essence. Luther was disillusioned and disturbed at what he saw and begun to detect discrepancies between what he read in the Bible and what he saw in the Church. Salvation is by grace alone and cannot be purchased with money.

 

Luther however, was not the first to be concerned with the state of the affairs.

Before him Jan Hus had been burnt to death for challenging the theological base of Roman Catholic church and its doctrines.  End of part 1

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The Golgotha Trialogue

The above quote was Jesus’ response to a plea from a criminal who was crucified next to him. There were two in fact– one on His left and the other on His right. In Roman times, criminals were crucified for committing the most heinous crimes so it can be understood that the personalities involved criminals.

The conversation between the three at Golgotha is a very interesting one that resulted in a Christ promise to admit one of the two to his bosom in paradise after all was over. But why? The idea itself is consistent with the very reason why Christ died on the cross in the first place. So that anyone who believes in Him and His word, qualifies for the safety of His bosom. This begins with the preaching of the Gospel(the message of salvation) which is why Christ sanctioned the great commission just before His final departure. This in fact what happened on the cross. Just before He was put on the cross He makes a statement to some women who were waiting for Him:

“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ 31For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Effectively delivering a sermon on the end times even in the midst of the worst affliction that can be bestowed on a man. Shortly after they finally nailed him to the cross and probably hurled him up for doing nothing wrong. Instead of being angry over injustice and cursing the assailants;

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Demonstrating the forgiveness and praying for your enemies he had previously taught. The loudest sermons are those lived and the Christ was the kind that lived what He preached. Then comes the dichotomy of jeer and cheer and the rebuke of the believer;

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”40But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him,

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

There in that small scenario lies a snapshot of the whole salvation enterprise in its totality. Two criminals on the cross with Christ were real criminals and therefore in the words of one of them, deserved the crucifixion they were getting.

“All men have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” – Romans 3:23

The foundation of the Christian faith is simply that all have sinned and essentially fallen out of favor with God. We have estranged ourselves from His holy safety We are therefore all condemned to death– no different from the two thieves on the cross;

“ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 6:23

Christ had previously said in his ministry;

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16

He had taught and established as Paul will later explain in his epistles that faith and salvation is through faith in Christ alone. It is those who believe in Him that will have eternal life. So that when the two criminals found themselves in His presence, they both were granted an equal opportunity for salvation. This is important because we see that there are two kinds of people who hear the Gospel as in the case of the parable of the sower(Mathew 13). There are those who no matter what happens will never believe. It is a choice because faith in God challenges those who enjoy their sin and prefer to persist in it. In the apologetics ministry, one of the most useful methods used to understand who we are sharing the gospel with is to ask them whether they would believe if they found out that Christianity is true. Surprisingly, most of the answers are NO. It is clear that the many arguments some put up against Christianity are simply excuses to make themselves comfortable in their sin. Romans 1 explains this in startling detail and the reader is encouraged to read the entire chapter along with all the scriptures embedded in this article. Indeed Christ had also taught previously that those who come to Him had been hand-picked by the Father(John 15:16, John 6:37, Ephesians 1:4-5, Ephesians 1:11 John 6:44, Romans 8:29 -30). Whiles t

There is a second lesson encoded in the scenario and it is about last-minute salvation. Many have inquired if one would be saved if they finally decide to accept Christ on their death bed IE the last moments of their lives. The answer is yes and it is based on the salvation of the thief on the cross. Both men had death staring at them in the face. There is no better time for one to make a turn around because there is nothing else to reach out to. Typically; a dying man cares very little about who saves him. This is why many have come to Christ when they were in prison and others when they were at their wits' end. But Christ had previously taught this in his ministry with the parable of the vineyard workers in Mathew 20:1-16;

a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Having agreed to pay a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard to work. At nine in the morning, he hired another group of workers to work in the same vineyard. He hired another group at noon, another set at 3PM, and yet another group of workers at 5PM. When the day ended which is usually at 6PM, he paid all the different groups the same wage. Naturally, those who worked from the early morning were not happy and they grumbled(Compare the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32). The vineyard owner had only one thing to say;

“ I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

Christ enforces the lesson

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” – vs 16

The vineyard owner demonstrated sovereignty (an important attribute of God and an important – Colossians 1:16–17 )over his wealth and property. He could do what he liked with it and he knew it. In his sovereignty, he decided that it did not matter when one comes to the vineyard. As long as they are connected to the vine or are working in the vineyard, they will be rewarded any way he sees fit. If we considered the likes of Judas who was with Christ all through His ministry and finally missed it because in his heart he never really believed, we can see how he became the last even though he was the first and the criminal who deserved eternal death became first even though he came late and barely did any work at all. It is not how much work one does or how long one does it that guarantees eternal life. There on the cross lies the Christian doctrine of salvation by grace alone guarded by the sovereignty of God.

The key lessons in this portrait of Christ’s salvation on the cross have roots all over His ministry. This is in fact the power of the Gospel; its core theme cannot be lost on anyone unless they deliberately choose to distort and misdirect it. The salvation of God is available to all; it takes only belief. It does not matter when one believes but it does matter that one believes now. James 4:14 teaches no one knows if they will live to see another day. Besides, God in his wisdom had ensured that no one knows exactly when Christ will return (Matthew 24:36-44 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3). All will hear the Gospel but much like the parable of the sower(Matthew 13), some will reject and it and in fact mock and the preacher just as they mocked Christ Himself. It is in fact possible to walk with Christ and even eat His miraculous bread and fish and be satisfied. It is possible to follow Him only also for His bread and nothing else. For as we have seen, many love the gifts in place of the giver. It is how they may miss it and as we approach the end of days, believers must ensure that they have truly believed and also ensure that no matter how difficult their lives get, they will get the Gospel to others even though they reject and mock. The Lord who knows the end from the beginning is aware of who His followers are and had predestined them IE handpicked for his own purposes. The two criminals on the cross epitomized the two groups and paint a vivid picture of Christ’s whole salvation enterprise.

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Church in wrong hands: From Sylvester Ofori to Avram Moshe

 

Sylvester Ofori is what happens when church is in the wrong hands. His recent apostasy has become a common thing in the church. The now prominence of the new age and the very large gnostic door it opens while not a new thing, has now reached its crescendo. Those who understand the church know that from its very inception, it has been battling strange ideas and distorted views. A large chunk of the Apostle Paul’s work was around contending for the faith and clarifying its truth and he indeed admonished us in Jude 1:3. There is a two thousand year history behind the church and it has to be understood by its leaders in order for them to help believers navigate the treacherous waters of religion and heresy. This is the reason why inadequate training is extremely dangerous when it comes to leading a church.

I know nothing about Sylvester Ofori and his Church. What appears to be true however is that he murdered his wife in cold blood. It seems also that it was premeditated and followed a recent altercation that came out of a pending divorce. It seems also true that while wearing the title of prophet, he had founded and pastored a church for some 5 years which he has now led into apostasy. While I have no knowledge of his background, level of training, and theological position, his use of the title “prophet” and the nature of the church he pastored gives a good enough indication. He belongs to the Charismatic fraternity where there is a distorted Christology and a very low view of Scripture. The movement is also anthropo-centric in nature if one examines the nature of the message preached, the promises made, and even the prayers.

On the lower end of The charismatic spectrum rests the prophetic churches whose regard for Scripture is nothing short of disheartening from the biblical Christianity perspective. The core teaching primarily revolves around the subjective experiences of the god-like prophet who often sits on a huge throne, dresses outrageously glamorous, and is consulted for everything by the sheep he literally owns. It seems that Prophet Sylvester Ofori operated within that space. This observation is based on videos from the church’s YouTube channel where services have been broadcasted live and archived as well as social media comments by people who claim to know him and his church.

In a video that showed him in fisticuffs with his brother-in-law over his separation and the impending divorce, his brothers-in-law was heard calling him an occult pastor.  In another video, a fellow who claimed he was good friends with him and had in fact preached several messages at his church suggested that Sylvester had veered off the path of Christ and have started reading strange books that were bound to shake the foundation of his faith as a Christian. The friend also mentioned that Pastor Sylvester had been seen in an event with the chief progenitor of the all-inclusive gospel movement, bishop Carlton Pearson—a man who has over the years come to epitomize the very word apostasy within the evangelical community of the USA. It was clear from the videos and comments that Osofo Sylvester Ofori had departed from the true teachings of the bible and was following a new spiritual path. He was in fact heard proclaiming that there are errors in the Bible.

The final video that triggered this article and confirmed everything that had been said came from a fellow who claimed to be the champion of what he called “expanded consciousness”. He had apparently been brought by Sylvester Ofori to articulate the transitioning of the church into an expanded consciousness Church (so to speak). His comments suggested that he had become some sort of a spiritual mentor to Sylvester Ofori except the prophet had not told him all the truth about what had been going on in his life. While this article does not capture everything said in the videos, the points above paint a good enough picture of the scenario within which the crime was committed. Friends of Barbara (Sylvester's wife) have also said that her reason for wanting a divorce had everything to do with the new spiritual path that Sylvester had taken.

Sylvester Ofori is the perfect example of the young pastor that seems to dominate the church today especially in the Charismatic community. Having been involved in church for a few years or perhaps all his life, he sees through the charade and buys into the pyramid scheme. He makes outrageous claims about revelations from God just as his senior pastors have done. He has no fear of God because his Christology is unclear and his view of scripture is abysmally low. He does not understand what he really believes and has not the slightest clue what fundamental Christian doctrine is. He sees the Bible as a book one can cherry-pick from to validate some nice ideas. Consequently, he is always on the hunt for interesting ideas with which he hopes to dazzle his vulnerable congregation. Every time he hears or reads something interesting, he goes to the bible, finds some text to validate , and preach it. He succeeds in gathering miracle seeking and prophecy devouring pseudo-Christians who care very little about what the Bible actually says as long as they can be fed with drama and gimmicks. The two are a perfect match and have come to represent to most what church or Christianity really is.

Such pastors even if they mean well are easy prey for the enemy. Any encounter with other spiritual ideas that appear advance leaves them breathless and confused.  Very quickly they buy into new ideas especially if it explains Christ differently and promises more drama and experience. The most common is the new age movement that has now succeeded in creating its own version of Christianity. The likes of Sylvester Ofori are guaranteed to swallow its ideas hook-line-and-sinker. He does not know better as he has not understood true biblical Christianity, its simplicity and power, and its historic relationship with unbiblical Christianity. He has no idea of the danger that follows these supposed new ideas and their sources. He has no understanding of the history of the church and its relationship with other religions from the early days. In fact, he does not see any difference between the two and now perceives that Christianity is just another of the many spiritual paths out there. This latter point is the new thinking being peddled all over the world and is consequently rapidly shrinking the size of biblical Christianity. It is not new and its old name is gnosism.

Sylvester Ofori’s story is a natural outworking of this situation. And while it is among the worst cases, there are many more going on even as you read this. Miracle staging, the abuse of congregants, and the many scandals we see on our TV screens and hear about on our radios are slowly becoming a part of the church. Such pastors epitomize the idea of church in the wrong hands. But perhaps that statement itself is an understatement. 

But why would church be in the wrong hands? To answer that I must remind you about a certain young man who calls himself Avram Moshe. He is Ghana’s loudest anti-church evangelist who calls himself a thinker. He claims to have served for years in the SDA church and planted many churches. He believes he was as Christian as could be before seeing some kind of light. He now preaches what he calls errors of the bible and challenges pastors and church leaders in debates he supposedly wins. In one of his many escapades, his attempt at articulating what the Christian faith is really about exposed him quite badly. By the end of his presentation, he has articulated a works view of Christianity. Not surprising given he was a member of the SDA church. Per Christian standards, Avram was not a saved individual and had no clear relationship with God. Yet he planted and led churches. One only has to look at the zeal with which he has amassed a following he calls common-sense movement, the energy, and confidence with which he speaks falsity and the low quality of his arguments. The latter is at its lowest for a man who claims to be a thinker. He appears to have a warped unclear worldview and really should not be speaking in public on such matters. This is why planting churches around a faith he does not understand well is easy to understand. So when a man like that decides that the Bible is full of errors and therefore does not believe anymore, there really is no surprise. He didn’t know what he was doing in the first place. He still doesn’t.

The Sylvester Ofori case has many parallels with that of the self-proclaimed don of common sense.   Both men were running false churches; preached false gospels, misled people, and did not by any stretch of the imagination promote salvation Christianity. The chasm between that and false religion is a narrow one straddled by a rather wide bridge tilted enough to force an exaggerated slippery slope. Prophet Ofori had been on that slope even before he ran into the pope of inclusivism. It was the natural progression towards the occult. No wonder then that, when he threatened during the altercation with his brother-in-law that he was going to kill his wife, he carried it through even after a 24-hour space that afforded him an opportunity for repentance. Saved men are not necessarily perfect people but anyone indwelled by the holy spirit, fears God enough, understands the work of Christ on the cross and the fact that he had been formed to serve as a vessel through which God is to do His will, would not make such a pronouncement. Even if they do, they would have repented by morning and gone to the Lord for forgiveness. Only certain people have the will to carry it through. Only a special breed would go as far as shooting another bearer of God’s image they claimed they loved at their place of work; throwing all caution to the wind. Was it really a throw-caution-to-the-wind or is there something else at play? Have the two of them been sacrificed in broad daylight? Time will tell.

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Failure of the northern fathers

For believers the statement; God works in mysterious ways is used sometimes rather flippantly. Yet anyone who walks with Him long enough in truth and in spirit soon discovers how true this really is. While God’s providence is a regular feature of the true believers life, the amazement that accompanies it never seems to wear out. I have had one of those moments recently.

In my quest to ascertain the means by which man can obtain a maximization of his existence, I have come to the conclusion after over 10 years of research, that the Christian worldview is the only way. My experiment with new age ideas, philosophy and psychology has failed quite woefully. But the Christian worldview had some challenges I was struggling to resolve. Chief among them: its “European face”.

My sojourn through theology and its history brought me face to face with the master theologians of the African continent. The likes of Alexandria’s titan; Origen, Hippo’s maestro; Augustine, Tertullian, Athanasius and their acolytes have made such startlingly profound contributions to the faith; it is shocking some would refer to Christianity as a European religion. Lurking behind the complex veil of African ingenuity, I detected a failure that grieved my heart deeply. As an African, I felt that these theologians had failed us by not undertaking south-bound missions that would have brought the much needed light to the rest of the continent. The Christianity that flourished in the north would have reached the west and south at least a thousand years before the first European ever set foot on the shores of the Atlantic. It is a real tragedy when one considers that, it is about the only commandment Christ handed down before His departure.

 

“And he said unto them, Go ye into the entire world, and preach the gospel to every creature.¹⁶ 

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”.

- Mark 16:15-16 

It is that command that brought the faith to North Africa and Syria and Persia and later India and China. Men did their duty, why not our African fathers who by their writing alone have showed such dexterity with the word. Have we not failed the Lord? Is the arrival of the Whiteman not a punishment then?

Only yesterday I had resorted to writing an article expressing my thought on this seeming failure. There are too many people claiming that the Christian faith is the white man’s religion and it’s God, the Whiteman’s God. My planned article was going to show them how the faith reached us first before Europe. But then I would have to explain why it did not spread to the rest of the continent. These thoughts had populated my mind when I chanced upon a video on Facebook. It was an Afrocentric complaining about African American Christian Apologists calling them liars. He mentioned names and I went goog-ling. The surprise that waited would solve a problem I have been living with for years. That surprised will change the direction of this article. 

Read part two here >>

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