| Churches are means
to an end
By ONUOHA OLIVER
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Tony Uponi believes that the church is not the end but a
means to an end. He advises people to be mindful of the type of church they attend.
Speaking with Daily Sun recently, Uponi, who is a deacon
at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, says that payment of tithes and offerings
is a way of blocking potential leakages in one’s life.
Concept
of God
My concept of God is that there is somebody who made the entire
universe. He is the Almighty and all sufficient God, the ever-present God. I believe
strongly that there’s somebody in control of the universe and I believe
that that same person has given us guidelines, rules as to what we should do and
what we should not do. He has given us promises as to what he would do for us
if we play our part. He has given us the bargain that if you do this, he will
do something. I believe that there’s a God, who is watching over us.
Heaven/hell
Certainly,
I believe there’s heaven and there’s hell. I believe in the Bible
and the Bible tells us that righteousness guarantees heaven. I believe that if
you are righteous, you’ll be rewarded with heaven, I believe that if you
do not comply with God’s commandment, you’ll end up in hell; it’s
as simple as that.
Born again
As I said earlier, I
am proud to say that I believe in the Bible. In the Bible, Jesus said that except
a man is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. I believe that you need
to be born again before you can enter the kingdom of God. The concept of being
born again is the new spiritual life, a life where you yield yourself totally
to God and the will of God, where you dedicate yourself to conforming and living
up to God’s expectations. That, to me, is what born again means.
Tithes/
offerings
The Bible says you need to pay your tithe. It’s contained
in the book of Malachi. I believe that people ought to pay their tithe. Where
I have a little issue is, ascertaining what you should pay your tithe on. That
is something that is generating controversies here and there, but I believe it
is right to pay your tithe. It is right to also pay offerings in churches. If
you pay your tithe regularly, I believe that you are doing that because you want
God to help you by blocking potential leakages. When we talk about devourers,
to me, we are talking about leakages.
Miracles
I believe
in miracles and I believe in the ability of God, I believe that, indeed, with
God, all things are possible. The Bible tells me so. Jesus exemplified that in
the course of his life here on earth. He caused a lot of miracles to happen so;
I believe that miracles do happen. That is not to say that I believe in everything
I see on television where someone will claim that he was blind but he can see
now. I do know that with God, all things are possible and because all things are
possible, miracles are possible.
Proliferation of churches
If
you ask whether it is right for us to have churches all over the corners, I find
that question difficult to answer because I believe in a free society, which we
profess to be; there is freedom of association. Nobody is forcing anyone to attend
any particular church. It is one thing for a man to go to Ojuelegba and establish
Church of the Living God. It’s another thing for people to go there. My
advice to people is to recognise that, indeed, we have fake prophets.
Indeed,
we have many churches that are founded on ulterior motives. Many people open churches
because they believe it is the easiest way to make money. People set up churches
for different reasons, but that does not derogate the fact that the law allows
you to form a church as long as you are not forcing people to come. If you follow
due process, you’ll go and register it as a church. Those who are attending
the churches, need to be sure they’re attending genuine churches. The church
is an avenue to help you in serving God. You are not serving the church. The church
is not the end but it’s just a means to an end. The ultimate is for you
to live peaceably with God and live righteously. |
