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Once again, it is Christmas time and the New year will be here soon. A time to celebrate, to merry and to indulge ourselves. It is also a time to pause and reflect on the purpose for which God created man and to share his words with each other. In the past I have attempted to do this culminating in the two articles titled “Jesus vs. Christianity; the missing link†and “come with me to Jesus†which were published by Nigerian Village Square. I thank God for giving me the wisdom, guidance and courage to write these articles. And one unforgettable experience I had in the course of writing these articles was my contact with two electrifying passages in the bible. They are: Mathew 6:33 and 1 Timothy 6. I am a practicing Muslim, and Islam believes in both Jesus (pbuh) and the gospel that God gave to him. The question may be asked; why would a Muslim want to discuss the Bible or Christianity and not Quran/Islam. Firstly, the bible is a book with universal application. And so it can be discussed by anyone either as an intellectual, a historian or a spiritualist. The aim is not to ridicule any religion but to present the facts as contained in the scriptures and to compare them with the predominant practices of today. Secondly, there is no gainsaying the fact that in the last ten years in my country Nigeria, evangelism, especially on radio and television has grown so much. The growth in this sector is perhaps the highest when compared to the other sectors of our lives. Religion has become another government with enormous resources, follower ship and power. This phenomenal growth has also brought both positive and negative effects on our society, nation and economy. I must add however that the Christians are the major players and the most visible in the media. This is not a weakness but the very fact of this massive exposure forces one to pay more attention to them and their activities. Thirdly, it is only appropriate for conscious minds to review the activities of bodies like this from time to time with a view to ascertaining their relevance, their adherence to the core teachings of the faith they profess, contributions to and the damage to society. At least this constant review will enable us to avoid another Brother Jones episode, otherwise known as the Guyana tragedy. In this connection, I want to express my support for others who have at one time or the other examined this issue especially in the Village Square. Fourthly, I have come to a personal conclusion that the effect of religion on our society today is so pervasive that some of our national problems – underdevelopment, corruption, poverty and moral decay - can be traced to the deluge of information issuing forth from our “houses of Godâ€. This is of particular interest because over 60% of our active workforce come in contact with information on a daily basis which have serious effects on their behaviour , work ethics and productivity. The Promise The promise of God to men is a very simple one, one that is based on trust and faith in Him . This promise of God and the resultant outcome are captured in MATTHEW 6:33 Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. To fully appreciate and understand this passage, one needs to put it in the proper perspective. And in doing that, a look at the previous verses is important 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
So the promise of God is that man should seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. This should be the bedrock of all true evangelical work that is premised on the teachings of Jesus.
Kingdom is mentioned 163 times in 154 verses in the New Testament
Righteousness is mentioned 291 times in the New Testament
Kingdom of God and the requirements to enter therein have been dealt with in detail in the articles referred to earlier. Righteousness was defined in Deuteronomy 6:25: 25And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us Therefore, for anyone to profess faith in God and the gospel of Jesus he/she must hold unto this promise. It is important and non-negotiable. Indeed the entire relationship with God is a well defined process of: FAITH (Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?) + OBEDIENCE (But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness) = SALVATION (and all these things shall be added unto you) What are those things that shall be added unto you? Promotion, fruit of the womb, marriage, protection from evil forces, protection from ancestral curses, breakthroughs, anointing, protection against enemies, miracles, prosperity etc. In fact, the believer will enjoy peace both in this world and in the hereafter. But the present day realities and 80% of the information in our media today are a complete reversal of this process. The messages in the media are about anointing for quick marriage, fruit of the womb, breakthroughs, miracles, prosperity etc. My people want to enjoy all the things of life using the medium of Jesus yet are not prepared to go through the process laid down by God. They think they can circumvent this process by just getting someone to prophesy into their lives, lay hands on them or give them some water or handkerchief. This is self-deceit. God can never be deceived! One Yoruba adage says Oo se igi logbe o ta oguro lofa o de idi ope owa gbe enu soke se ofe lo nro ni. Simple put , you cannot make omelete without breaking eggs. It is the internalization of this false doctrine and the empty promises of prosperity through mere laying of hands that have contributed to the underdevelopment of my people and the increase in corrupt practices in most organizations. These are some of the social costs of religion, especially one that is based on false doctrines. I have heard “men of God†responding to this situation say such things as “ all these promises about miracles, breakthrough etc are meant to entice people so that they can come to the house of God†. One wonders if they are aware of
1 Corinthians 15:50 - Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption It is a clear matter - deceit has no place in holiness and the true house of God; they just don’t mix! But God blesses even unbelievers who do not come within the ambit of or submit themselves to the process discussed above. Yes it is true. Their enjoyment is of this world alone and they will not partake in the bounties of the Kingdom. They have assured abode in hell and those things that they were blessed with in this world will be trials for them. (Matthew5:44*45 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.) But for those who want to enter the kingdom of God, submission to this process is unavoidable. My advice therefore to those who genuinely want to seek the face of God, who hunger for His words and who desire salvation is to heed this commandment. There is an urgent need to engage in serious bible study so that such people will not be swayed unto the wrong path by those who entice others with falsehood. Indeed the road to salvation is narrow - it is not a mass movement. Therefore, looking for or emphasizing numerical strength as an indication of success, as is done in some of our churches today is antithetical to the teachings and promise of Jesus. A Clearer Perspective One interesting aspect of all God’s scriptures is that they interprete themselves. Yes we have teachers who give guidance and interpretation, but a closer look at the scriptures will reveal to us that the scriptures do indeed give meaning to statements which may appear, at first to be unclear or confusing. Teachers in this context are not those who merely play around with english and hebrew words; those who twist words to suit their fancies and in the process further confuse their followers. One of such scriptures is 1 Timothy 6 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses
1 Timothy 6 It is very clear from this passage what we should seek after and what we should avoid. Are those things that we should seek the bedrock or core of the messages we hear in the media today? Conclusion The year 2006 will be here soon. It will afford us the opportunity to review and renew our understanding of the faith we profess, which we can die for but which we have little knowledge about. According to Charles Caleb Colton “men will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; die for it ; anything but – live for it†. Not being able to live for it , is perhaps borne out of our refusal to discover the true knowledge and understanding of the messages that religion brought to us. The time has come to remove the shroud and go directly to the scriptures in order to partake of the good things that we are promised if we have faith and obey God. Once again this is not a Muslim/Christian controversy. It is about obedience to what is written in 1 Timothy “12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses “ Lastly, there is no conflict between the contents of the Quran and all the passages quoted above. For instance Ar-Rahman simply translates to “; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.†(Mathew 5:45) The basis of our division muslim/Christian/Judaism are man-made doctrines and not the divine messages of God - the one true God whom Jesus referred to as “Our Father, who hath in heaven†Thank you for reading this article.
Taslim Anibaba(FCA)
30th December, 2005
Comments are welcome and can be forwarded to tanibaba@yahoo.com or tanibaba@nigeriavillagesquare.com
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Posted by Robot| 04.01.2006 14:45