There were some instances where I found the author’s use/communication/application of certain terminologies difficult to process. One of the terms that he spoke at length about is “revelation”. In textual analysis, two statements can help guide you in the process of deriving the author’s intended meaning from a text. They are “context is king” and “meanings are not in words, meanings are in people”. Both of these statements point to the fact that a word might mean nothing unless properly situated in the intended context by the reader. Which means one word can mean different things in different contexts. This is the case for “revelation”. The term comes from the Greek word apokalupsis, which simply means a disclosure or an unveiling. For our discussion, we will look at 3 different contexts within which the word can have a slightly different meaning:

1. Revelation in the ordinary sense: It is used to signify the uncovering or divulging of information that was previously hidden or unknown. 
2. Revelation in the theological sense: It is used to refer to what God has made known about himself. Dr. Otabil refers to this context as the specific canonical meaning of the word in relation to scripture.
3. Revelation in the prophetic sense: This refers to the uncovering of spiritual and physical information to a man or a woman by God. 

All three are valid and legitimate; the same word but different contexts, hence it is always important to state or clarify the context within which the word is being used. In the book, we see the author use the word revelation both in the theological and prophetic contexts. The theological definition and usage can be found on page 9, and the prophetic usage can be found on page 19 when he said that “prophets received visions, dreams, and revelations…”. Here, he was referring to “revelation” in the prophetic sense. We see Paul also use the word in the prophetic sense in 1 Corinthians 14:26 to signify the uncovering of the mysteries of God, secrets of men, and future occurrences. Hence, when Dr. Otabil stated that the word ‘revelation’ “… is often used more loosely in present-day prophetic discourse”, I didn’t agree with it. Referring to the use of the word in the prophetic context as “loose” downplays its legitimate existence and usage in any other sense apart from the theological one. Every single contextual meaning of a word is valid so long as the context is properly defined and communicated. One context (the theological one) should not be given undue prominence over others. 

Secondly, from the book, I get the sense that Dr. Otabil believes that “Pastor” is a more humble title for any man of God to take on as compared to “Prophet” even if the said man of God is called to be a Prophet. I am not quite sure of this, but there are some statements he makes on page 92 that give me this impression:

1. During the early years of the Pentecostal movement, church leaders were typically addressed in HUMBLE, relational terms such as brother, sister, pastor, or reverend minister.
2. Such restraint guards against potential spiritual abuse, preserves the primacy of Scripture, and upholds the humility and servanthood characterising true Christian leadership. 

He argues his point by referencing historical church practices and what he refers to as classical Pentecostalism. For these reasons, he concludes by saying, “given the biblical witness and the broader experience of the Christian church, it is WISE for ministers of the Gospel to avoid adopting the title ‘prophet’”. 

Of course, if you are a Pastor, you must be called one; there is no need to assume a title that doesn’t holistically define your God-given calling. But my point is, “Pastor” is an office on its own and should be treated as such. It shouldn’t be regarded as a generic title for every man of God. I believe that, so far as there were people identified in the New Testament as Prophets, we should have absolutely no qualms with contemporary Prophets being called “Prophets” in the church today -especially if they are called of God to be Prophets. Acts 13 opens by informing us that there were two distinct groups of ministers in the church in Antioch: Prophets and Teachers. Again, in Acts 11, we are told that some Prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, including Prophet Agabus. He was singled out because he gave a prophecy that came to pass about a famine coming over the whole world. The precision exhibited in the bible, in calling ministers by their actual title, is also a demonstration of doctrinal precision. The bible doesn’t mince words, and we shouldn’t either. The bible calls prophets “prophets” because they are prophets, and for those who just had the prophetic gifts, we are told so. In the case of Philip’s daughters in Acts 21, we are told they prophesied, but it was never said that they were Prophetesses. That is precision. So I expect that if someone is a prophet in the contemporary church, they should be called so, regardless of what practice was predominant throughout the history of the church after the closing of the canon of scripture. Additionally, positing that “Pastor” is a more humble title to assume somehow suggests that “prophet” is a prideful title to accept. I might be reaching, but please bear with me. What I do think is this: if God calls me to be a Prophet, then a Prophet I am. Pride is when I change my title to something else for whatever reason. 

There is one more quote from the book that I respectfully disagree with. On page 107, Dr. Otabil had this to say about contemporary prophets:

Their words do not give direction to the believer, in their day-to-day walk with God. Instead, a prophet’s ministry serves as confirmation of the direction a believer has received, either through God’s written word or the inward witness of the Holy Spirit.

I agree strongly with the first part. I believe that believers must strive to live a life daily led by the truth of God’s word and the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. Some are so dependent on their Pastors and Prophets that they are unable to make decisions and take actions without first consulting their man of God and getting confirmation to proceed. I find this to be wrong and inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible in the New Testament. Prophets are not omnipresent or omniscient, but God is. Therefore, we must all strive to know God in a way that is deeply rooted in his word and fellowship with the Holy Spirit. However, the point of disagreement in this quote for me is when the author says a prophet’s ministry is to serve as confirmation of the direction that the believer has already received. I believe this to be true and important, but it is not always the case. We are aware of prophecies in the New Testament that came as a confirmation of what the believer already knew; case in point, the story of Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem. In his farewell message to the Ephesian Elders, Paul states that the Holy Spirit had testified to him in every city he had been to that imprisonment and afflictions await him (Acts 20:22-23). This message will be subsequently prophesied by people in two other cities he visited:

1. Tyre: Some disciples urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem (Acts 21:4)
2. Caesarea: Prophet Agabus also prophesied the impending arrest of Paul in Jerusalem (Acts 21:11)

In this case, the believer, Paul, knew this because he had already been told by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, you can say the subsequent warnings that came had more details – but from what we are told, at least, Paul knew affliction and imprisonment awaited him. But there are some cases in the book of Acts where a prophetic word comes, and the believers involved seem to have no prior knowledge of it. Here are two examples:

1. When Agabus prophesied global famine, we are never told that the other believers already knew by the Spirit that it was going to happen. But rather, they heeded the Prophet’s warning and determined to send relief to their brethren in Judea (Acts 11:28-29).
2. In Acts 13:1-2, we are told that a group of Teachers and Prophets in Antioch met and spent some time worshipping and fasting, and the Holy Spirit instructed them to separate unto him Paul and Barnabas. This prophetic word didn’t seem to come as a confirmation of what any of them knew. It seems this group of believers received the word as a direction from God that they needed to act on, and so they did. 

I guess what I am trying to say is, in my perspective, a prophetic word can come as a confirmation of what the believer already knows from scripture and the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. But I believe there are times when the word might come as a fresh prediction or directive from God that the believer would have to pray about, then act on. Perhaps Dr. Otabil holds this view too, but it wasn’t clear from my reading of the book, or it wasn’t stated at all.

I really loved reading this book, and writing this review allowed me to re-read my favourite parts. It is an essential document every Christian must have on their bookshelves, especially in these times. It takes a more critical and theological look at the prophetic ministry, and this is exceptional because we are often told not to look at the prophetic like that. We are told not to subject the prophetic ministry and prophets to sound theological scrutiny. That is why I loved reading this so much – the author shares no experiences, just a strict adherence to the counsel of God through scripture on the subject, and I loved it. So I hope you grab a copy, read it, and do share what you learnt. 

I intimated to those close to me that I wish Dr. Otabil would do a series on the topic – you know, a classic Otabil-style 16-part, 16-week teaching on the prophetic ministry. I was looking forward to this because I wanted to understand his perspective properly and the basis for the statements he was making. So imagine my joy when I heard he had written a book on it instead. I got a hold of it the very week it came out, dug into it, and decided to do a review of the book detailing the lessons I took from it, as well as areas I need further clarification on.

The book opens with an introduction explaining why it is necessary for this generation and beyond. The author states categorically that in the past few decades, there has been a significant growth of the church in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. But just like in the other parts of the world that saw the sudden and prominent rise of Christianity, there is a lot of cause for concern regarding matters arising. Specifically in Ghana and Africa at large, we see an emphasis, Dr. Otabil refers to it as an over-emphasis, of the Spiritual Gifts, especially prophecy. This, in itself, is not bad, only that there is a need for doctrinal clarification on how the gifts are wielded and administered in the body. This, coupled with the menace of sexual immorality and other ethical issues identified amongst people in these movements, makes it an even more critical issue that requires immediate attention. The background at the beginning sets the tone for the rest of the book in a way that convinces the reader that it is important that this book exists in our time to address, head-on, the current state of the prophetic. 

Dr. Otabil proceeds to define the following terms that were used extensively throughout the book: the word of God, scripture, bible, canon of scripture, revelation, and prophecy. These are all terminologies that could be loosely defined by any serious Christian, but for the sake of communicating a single and effective message to readers, the author offered definitions at the beginning. This helped me to read the book with clarity and understanding; I enjoyed the read because of this. Personally, one of my greatest takeaways from the book is “language”; ie, the author’s use of language and apt terminologies. Many times, we know what the word of God says, but lack the appropriate language to frame our thoughts and communicate them in a way that will be fully understood by our listeners. I have personally benefited from the rich, theologically sound language used in this book. When Dr. Otabil stated in the book that “… the church must strive for clarity and doctrinal precision”, he meant it and demonstrated it in the way that he authored the book with such a high regard for precision of language.

The author defines prophecy as the “divinely inspired communication of God’s will, purpose, or plans to humanity”. Prophecy can be “forth-telling” (inspired speech about the present) and “fore-telling”(predictive) as well. From scripture, we can tell that it is not always predictive, for there are times when people extolled God and it was still referred to as prophetic – case in point, Zachariah’s prophecy in Luke 1:67-79, which is a combination of both. 

There is one prophetic utterance that Dr. Otabil refers to as the turning point between the prophetic patterns of the Old Testament and the New Testament. This is the prophecy of Joel, indicating that in the last days God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28-30). This is in sharp contrast with the norm in the Old Testament, where individuals like Prophets, Priests, and Kings were the only recipients of the Spirit of God. Joel’s prophecy signified that anybody at all, regardless of age, gender, and social status, could receive the Holy Spirit in the last days (a term the author says is synonymous with the “New Testament”). We see the fulfilment of this prophecy at the dawn of the New Testament and the new prophetic era on the day of Pentecost. The bible makes us understand that 120 people were gathered in the upper room where they were waiting for the promise that Jesus made to them. The Holy Spirit fell on them, and they all began to speak in tongues. This manifestation of the gift of tongues was specifically the speaking of foreign human languages as confirmed by the crowd of Jewish men coming from “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). The crowd also confirmed that they could hear them speaking about the “mighty works of God” in their own languages. It is unimaginable to make a direct connection between this event and the prophecy of Joel, essentially because Joel said nothing about tongues. It is when Peter took center stage to address the crowd that he connected the event to the prophecy of Joel in a way that commemorates the commencement of the new prophetic era, which is more congregational than vocational (I will explain subsequently). In the New Testament, the Spirit of God is poured out on all flesh, and regular folks who may not have any titles or positions in the church are filled with the Spirit of God and able to prophesy. Herein lies another proof that prophecy is not always foretelling or predictive. Peter claims the day of Pentecost was the commencement of the fulfilment of the Prophecy of Joel. However, all the 120 people didn’t foretell future events but rather they spoke about the mighty works of God under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is forth-telling and not foretelling. 

I have always classified the prophetic ministry from a biblical perspective into two categories: Old Testament and New Testament prophets. This is because of the clear distinction between the two groups of prophets. In this book, Dr. Otabil categorizes prophets and the prophetic ministry into two sets of two distinct groups, both valid and interesting.

1. Vocational and Congregational Prophets: This classification, in my view, emphasizes access to the prophetic gift and the level of participation. Vocational prophets are those whose prophetic gift defines their divinely ordained calling or office. It is predominant in the Old Testament. Some are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, and Amos. Congregational Prophets are those who did not receive a special calling from God to become prophets before they started prophesying. You will often find them within the covenant community of people who revere God. They may not have any leadership or special positions amongst God’s people, yet they have been given the gift of prophecy to speak forth the word of God. Congregational prophecy is more predominant in the New Testament and can be seen in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, when the 120 people gathered in the upper room all spoke in tongues, prophesying the mighty works of God. The interesting fact about this classification is that, although there is a concentration of each of the groups in either the New or the Old Testament, it does not mean there are no overlaps. Which means, there are congregational prophets in the Old Testament just as there are vocational prophets in the New. 
2. Canonical and Contemporary Prophecy: Canonical prophecy refers to the ministry and prophecies recorded as scripture, while contemporary prophecy refers to what is portrayed in 1 Corinthians 14 as the prophetic ministry that continues after the canon of scripture was closed. The author calls it post-canonical prophecy (again, the language). It is purposely for edification, exhortation, and encouragement. Dr. Otabil states categorically that “unlike canonical prophecy, this contemporary form is not infallible (exactly what Paul taught in 1 Cor 14). It is not preserved as scripture”. This classification is especially important to me because of my interest in the cessationist and continuationist debates. Our cessationist brethren have always refuted the continuation of the gifts of prophecy because the canon of scripture is closed. Meaning, the existence of the bible makes the prophetic gift redundant. To this, Dr. Otabil had a few things to say:
   • Prophecy has not ceased entirely. What has ceased is the kind of prophecy that produced the Word of God. 
   • Therefore, contemporary prophecy is not inherently permanent, but its discontinuation is tied to Christ’s return, not the canon’s closing.
   • Contemporary prophets do not write scripture, reveal new doctrine, or speak with the infallible authority of Moses, Isaiah, or Paul.

The existence of Contemporary Prophets raises a lot of questions that need addressing. One of such is, does their operation in the prophetic and the prophetic office qualify them for a position in the hierarchy of the local church? I was particularly interested in this because over the years, I have heard a few statements Dr. Otabil has made in connection to this very subject and have always sought clarity on it. I’m glad he takes the time to offer an explanation on this matter in this book. On page 66, he says, “while spiritual gifts are distributed throughout the congregation, they do not determine formal leadership roles, which in the early church were pastoral: elders, bishops, and overseers, not prophets or even apostles”. Although this is new to me, I agree. My view has always been that, so far as there were prophets in the early church in Acts, then all prophets should be recognised and called “Prophets” in contemporary churches as well. This is true; however, it doesn’t mean the prophetic ministry is a determinant of formal leadership roles in the church. It also implies that somebody can be a prophet, and because they preside over a congregation or church as an overseer, they would be formally referred to as an overseer, bishop, or even pastor. And it is fine! The conclusion is that such people can operate in the prophetic ministry as an office, but can have a different title depending on their formal leadership role in the church.

Finally, I want to highlight two things that the author referred to from the story of the Prophet Samuel. First, he points out the need for mentors and fathers in the faith to step aside for their proteges to have direct communion with God throughout their ministry. He used the relationship between Eli and Samuel as a reference point. When Samuel was mistaken in the dead of the night, who was calling out his name, Eli didn’t assume the position of the “Caller”. He rather pointed Samuel to God and asked him to request that the LORD speak to him directly humbly. The point here is that nobody is called into ministry by another man. God calls people and uses them. Therefore, mentors in the faith must always step aside and allow their mentees to heed the “divine summons” (as Dr. Otabil calls it, beautifully) as Eli did. 

Secondly, Dr. Otabil pointed out the fact that “the prophet’s character is as vital as his calling”. He said this to point out the need for prophets to exude the fruit of the Spirit and live a life that is God-glorifying because of their calling. This is important to point out, and it is even more useful to cite Samuel as a reference because in 1 Samuel 12:3-5, Samuel challenged the people to come up with instances where he either cheated them or administered his gift for personal gain. They couldn’t, and that speaks of the Prophet’s integrity. Prophets must recognize the exceptional calling on their lives and know that their character is as vital as that calling. 

This is the first part of my review of the book. In the next one, we will delve more deeply into points of disagreement or areas where I require further clarification. I trust that you learnt a thing or two here, and if you haven’t already, do grab a copy of the book and read it. It is good stuff!

In most cases, coagulated lies lead to the prevalence of specific sinful activities amongst people groups like families, tribes, nations, generations, etc. Other times, they may not necessarily lead to sin, but to subtle negative human traits like gullibility, lack of purpose, laziness, skepticism, loss of hope, etc. The bottom line is that if a lie you believe goes unchecked, it grows to become a monster you are not equipped to deal with. 

Let’s take, for example, Postmodernism as an intellectual movement. I am no expert on the topic, but it is a philosophy that I find interesting, especially because of its prominent yet discreet presence in the trendy ideas of today. 

• Postmodernism is a movement that is characterized by skepticism, relativism, and a critique of grand narratives and universal truths. This philosophy indicates that there are no absolutes; everything about human reality is subjective. It has influenced disciplines such as architecture, art, and literature, creating unconventional approaches and non-uniform interpretations. By its name, it is obvious that it is a reaction to the earlier prevalent philosophy of Modernism. 
• Modernism is an intellectual movement that holds to grand narratives such as objectivity, rationality, historical progress, and identity. 

I would like to go on to share two postmodern ideas, and perhaps we can see how they play out in our world today: 

1. According to postmodernism, objectivity is dead. This is a very serious idea that has severe implications. The death of objectivity implies the death of truth. It means everything is subjective; ideas find their basis in the perspectives of individuals and not in this grand, imposing reality that we call the TRUTH. Postmodernism centers the individual’s feelings and view of things as the major driving force of their life. You can imagine the kind of chaos that this will generate in public discourse, education, life, and co-existence with other humans. Before I go down the never-ending rabbit hole of this postmodern idea, let me point out its impact on humanity today. I believe this idea has both catalyzed and radicalized the atheist movement in our world today. Atheism, itself, holds to the idea of subjectivity, especially regarding morality. To the atheist, the idea of an objective moral standard that all humans are supposed to submit to is non-existent. The truth is, objective moral reasoning points back to the existence of God, who is the objective and ultimate Moral Lawgiver. So, it is no news that atheists the world over will subscribe to this. The philosophy of the day also influences the language of the day. Hence, today, you will hear a lot of people using the term “my truth” or “your truth” in their speech. This personalization of truth is often a direct reference to the individual’s perspective or opinion. But truth, by nature, cannot be personalized; it is objective. Therefore, it should be classified as “THE TRUTH”; truth should always be preceded by the definite article “the”, not the indefinite article “a” or by any personal pronoun. Opinions and perspectives can be preceded by personal pronouns, but not the truth. All this is indicative of how pervasive and influential the postmodern philosophy can be. 
2. Postmodernists do not believe in dialogue (according to Jordan Peterson). This implies that they are often unwelcoming of divergent views on a topic. Hence, they tend to only entertain ideas similar to theirs or those that affirm theirs. I believe that this gave rise to the “cancel culture” we see pervasive in our world today. Where individuals are stripped of their credibility and credentials, sometimes because they shared an idea that is not in tune with the trendy philosophy of the day. Some speakers have been banned from speaking at some universities for this reason, and public figures have been ‘cancelled’ for things they said or shared on their social media pages. To be cancelled in this generation is to be boycotted; you, your person, anything that concerns you, and anything you produce will be disregarded by the masses. 

This is what I mean by untruths coagulating into something far more dangerous than the base lie. Postmodernism is only one of such philosophies. You can imagine how deadly this reality of coagulated lies and their impact on humanity is. My focus in this write-up is on the mob mentality of most people who hold to such philosophies. Usually, you will find that they act and serve the community of people who think like them without necessarily interrogating issues. So long as they identify with an idea and the community that is pushing it, that is always ample reason to act in the interest of that group without seeking the truth. 

Moving on, I will illustrate the above-stated argument from the bible. The biblical case study for this write-up is found in Acts 19, which tells the story of Paul’s missionary work in the city of Ephesus. I won’t bore you with the details; I will only highlight the aspects relevant to this article’s theme. 

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul achieved great things in his ministry. Entire cities turned to God, forsaking idolatry; case in point, the city of Ephesus. Not only in Ephesus, but throughout the whole of Asia, according to Acts 19:25. This alarmed Demetrius, a silversmith and astute businessman, who made and sold silver shrines of the goddess Artemis. He gathered the craftsmen and others in the city and stirred them up against Paul’s ministry for the following reasons: 

And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship. Acts 19:27

We can draw a few conclusions based on the bible verse above, but the most outstanding claim here is that the worship of Artemis was widespread in all of Asia and the ancient world. Paul’s message seemed to draw people away from it and rather towards God. In verse 26, Demetrius states that Paul taught throughout his ministry in Asia that “… gods made with hands are not gods”. This is very consistent with Paul’s teachings, seeing that he speaks against idolatry in 1st Corinthians 8, where he said: we know that ‘an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one”. And even in 1 Corinthians 10:20, Paul states that when pagans offer sacrifices to idols, they do so to demons instead.

The point here is: Is it true that gods made with hands are no gods? And is it true that idols are just props with demonic backing? I believe these questions are legitimate. The people of Ephesus, especially the business community, should have been preoccupied by these questions and a quest to find answers, instead, they thought of the decline in the demand for their products and the waning interest in the worship of Artemis. 

Demetrius’s campaign threw the whole city into an uproar. I would like to emphasize two interesting characteristics of the riots that accompanied it. 

1. The people were enraged, and they came together chanting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”. The chants went on for 2 hours (v. 34).
2. Now, some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Acts 19:32.

I would like to stress the second point here because it relates to the mob mentality point I made earlier. When a lie grows to become a philosophy, religion, worldview, or even church doctrine, sometimes it tends to be a strong movement that fuels a lot of disorderliness and chaos. People often subscribe to it without knowing the full implications of their choice. Especially in the story of the revival in Ephesus, many joined in the religious chant of “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” who knew nothing about the origin of the riots. Yet they joined in the riots. The chaos is proof of who is behind the riots: the father of lies. He is behind the idea of men worshipping man-made artefacts and serving them as gods. This is why Paul refers to idols as mere props with demonic backing. Demetrius was a businessman who played on the religiosity of the people. he had selfish reasons for doing so and knew how to incite the masses to his advantage. He was looking out for his business, and presented it to the people in a way that made it seem like he was standing up for the worship of Artemis. The belief in idols had grown to the point where it was a coagulated lie in Ephesus that even influenced the kind of thriving businesses being done there. This is another testament to the pervasiveness of coagulated lies; they permeate every sphere of life and occupy every little space if allowed to. As a Christian, of course, I don’t believe idol worship is a true pursuit of GOD. The way, the truth, and the life is Jesus.

I would like to conclude by answering two salient questions:

How do you dispel coagulated lies? 

1. The GOSPEL: (So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily, Acts 19:20). This was the impact of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus.
   1. “… the gospel functions as a critique of all temples, whether the Parthenon in Athens, the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, or even … the Temple in Jerusalem itself”.  (According to NT Wright)

2. Spiritual warfare: For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion (philosophies) raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

How do you guard against coagulated lies?

By being vigilant, keeping your eyes on Jesus, always keeping watch over your faith, and doing an inventory of your core beliefs to ensure that you are still holding strong to the core tenets of Christianity. I put the responsibility on the believer because the bible says in Colossians 2:8 that “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”.

Currently, SASA, the Christian arts group I belong to, is embarking on this reading and writing project we call the Psalmic Expressions. In this project, we read the Psalms each weekday and create art (write poems and songs, design artworks, etc.). based on inspiration from the Psalms. Currently, we are in the late 20s of the Psalms. We have 120+ more Psalms to read, so I invite you to join this project. The songs and poems that are coming out of it are phenomenal and I am not exaggerating when I say God is moving tremendously in our lives. I was also inspired to work on this Bible Data Story because of the Psalmic Expressions project. 

This write-up takes a cursory glance at the Psalms. It is not a deep analysis of their central themes and messages but a look at the structure, a summary of the authorship, and other minor details. Perhaps, later, we can do a deep dive into it but for now, let’s just flick through the Psalms. 

Authorship:

One of the main points I want to make with this post is that David is not the sole writer of the book of Psalms. The Psalms are a collection of Jewish poetry and songs that were recited and sung by the Jews. David wrote 73 out of the 150 Psalms accounting for about 49% of the book. For some interesting reason, the Psalms are almost always synonymous with David perhaps because of the number of Psalms attributed to him. Another interesting fact is that 50 Psalms are not directly attributed to anyone. 

The other writers are Asaph, the Sons of Korah, Moses, Solomon, Ethan the Ezrahite and Heman the Ezrahite. Asaph was a prominent Psalmist and musician during the reign of King David. He played the cymbal and was appointed by David to lead worship before the Ark of the Covenant in 1st Chronicles 16:4. Throughout the Old Testament, his descendants were known to be worshippers and musicians. It is said of the sons of Asaph that they prophesied with lyres, harps, and cymbals in 1st Chronicles 25:1. One of the Sons of Korah (Heman, not Heman the Ezrahite) was also mentioned in 1st Chronicles 6 as one of the men David put in charge of the service of songs in the house of the LORD. 

According to 1 King 4:31, Ethan and Heman the Ezrahites were wise men during Solomon’s reign as king of Israel. The passage under discussion now (1 Kings 4:29-34) illustrated the magnificence of Solomon’s wisdom; it was stated that Solomon was found to be wiser than a list of supposed wise men including Ethan and Heman. The next verse is also quite related to the topic under discussion. In verse 32, we are told that Solomon spoke 3000 proverbs and his songs were 1005. Yet only 2 of the 150 Psalms are attributed to Solomon. I assumed that based on this information, perhaps the other writers too had 100s of poems and songs that didn’t make it into the book of Psalms. Especially, David, who was largely known as a harpist and Psalmist. Moses too wrote other songs, for example, the song of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy 32 and another one in Revelation 15 (also attributed to him). Yet only one Psalm in the book of Psalms is attributed to him (Psalm 90).

NB: Psalm 88 is attributed to different authors: the sons of Korah and Heman the Ezrahite. But in this data story, I chose to attribute it to Heman alone just to avoid confusion and double counting. 

Structure:

The Psalms are broken into 5 major books or collections of Psalms. For example, in the ESV Bible, it is boldly indicated on top which book you are about to read. Find the breakdown below:

And there are other categorizations of the Psalms as well. Theologians break down the book according to themes such as laments, praise, etc. First, I would like to talk about the Hallel Psalms. These Psalms are regarded as a Jewish prayer: a verbatim recital of Psalms 113-118 on special Jewish festivals and occasions as an act of praise and thanksgiving. All six Psalms of the Hallel are recited as a unit on the following joyous Jewish occasions: Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, Hanukkah, and Rosh Chodesh.

Also, I would like to highlight a specific collection of the Psalms referred to as the songs of ascent and how I came to know them. I often speak about how worship music has helped me go through the toughest times of my life.  Just as I run to read my favorite Psalms when I am in distress, I also binge on worship songs when I am facing a hard time. One such song, for which I wrote an explication, is Highlands by Hillsong. I wrote an entire article based on that song elaborating on the lines and what they meant generally and then to me. One line of that song got me thinking and led me to do a little research. The songwriter, Benjamin Hasting, said “And if ever I walk through the valley of death / I’ll sing through the shadows my song of ascent”. This got me wondering what the songs of ascent were. The songs of ascent are a collection of 15 Psalms from Psalm 120 to 134. “The songs were sung possibly by Hebrew pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem or while ascending Mount Zion or by the Levite singers while ascending the 15 steps of the temple in Jerusalem to minister”. These are Psalms recited or sung while the Jews were ascending either a hill or steps. It is even more intriguing when you look at how some of them start:

• Psalm 121:1 – I will lift up my eyes to the HILLS. From where does my help come?
• Psalm 122:1-2 – I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the LORD! Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!
• Psalm 125:1-2 – Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.

The imagery of the ascent of Hebrew pilgrims can be sensed strongly in these verses. One can also sense a pilgrimage, especially in the passage in Psalm 122 quoted above. The Psalms were meticulously written, carefully collected, and curated into one big book for our edification, consolation, and exhortation. I urge you to read them regularly and follow the instructions at the end of some Psalms: Selah. Which is an instruction for readers or listeners to pause and soberly reflect on them. Ponder over the Psalms, it will do you a lot of good. 

The visualization:

This data visualization is known as a bubble chart. In this instance, there are 150 bubbles representing each Psalm in the Bible hence the numbers you see on the bubbles are the chapter numbers. Some of the bubbles are so small the chapter numbers did not fit on them so they are blank. Each color represents a different author and the bigger the bubble the more verses there are in that Psalm. For example, the biggest bubble represents Psalm 119 because that is the longest Psalm with 176 verses. The shortest Psalm is Psalm 117, it is also represented by the smallest bubble because it has only 2 verses. The bar chart at the bottom right corner of the bubble chart represents each author and how many Psalms they wrote. 

Below is an interactive version of the visualization more easily accessed and interacted with if you are reading this article on your laptop/pc. You can hover over the bubbles and additional information regarding each Psalm will pop up. Since the legend in the top right corner is interactive, once you click on the writer’s name it will highlight all the Psalms they wrote in the bubble chart.

For an optimized experience of the visualization above, follow this link to interact with it on my online Tableau Public account on your laptop/PC.

It is already established from the previous article who the father of lies is. In this one, we will explore, from the biblical perspective, how Satan employs all manner of devices to spread lies. 

At the center of the Christian faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul says in 1st Corinthians 15:16, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” Furthermore, belief in the resurrection differentiates Christianity from other faiths and world views. The historicity of Jesus Christ is not often disputed. In Islam, he is seen as a Prophet and Messenger of God and according to renowned secular (read agnostic-atheist) New Testament historian Bart Ehrman, Jesus did exist. Often, the bone of contention between Christianity and other worldviews or faiths is the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. According to scripture, as early as the very day Jesus was resurrected, the father of lies attempted to employ his greatest weapon to cover up the resurrection. This scheme of Satan, aimed at the very heart of Christianity, would have ended the spread of the gospel in the ancient world. According to the account in Matthew 28:11-15, the resurrection was indeed reported to the Chief Priests of the Jews by the soldiers guarding the tomb. But what was their reaction to this news?:

And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.

The devout religious leaders and elders of the land took counsel to bury the truth of Jesus’ resurrection by silencing eyewitnesses with money and binding themselves with the commitment to defend them before the governor. All of this constitutes the hatching of the plan to spread a lie instead of the truth having its free course. But was it successful? To an extent, yes, it was! According to Matthew in verse 15 of the chapter under consideration, the soldiers did take the money “and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day”.  The phrase “… to this day” implies that the false story was still circulating when Matthew was penning his gospel.  Historians differ in their estimations of the dates the gospels were written. However, it is widely believed that Matthew was written around AD 80. Some scholars estimate a later date. Now, whatever the case may be, it points to the fact that the lie that Jesus’ body was stolen by his disciples was spread for 80+ years. Even though there were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ, the lie still traveled for 80+ years. Even to date, some people still believe this lie; it is called the stolen body hypothesis.

One thing you should always remember about lies is that they spread! Indeed they spread swiftly like wild fire. Lies spread by the agency of people; I call them agents of falsehood. Of course, the father of lies is at the helm of affairs. Remember from the previous article that Jesus referred to the Jews as children of the devil because of their opposition to the truth. In this case, the Jews served as Satan’s agents of untruth and the spread of lies. Agents of falsehood often disseminate a lie or oppose the truth so that lies spread. We must endeavour to know them, expose them, and do everything possible not to imitate them. 

Below I have characterized the agents of falsehood according to their intentions and flaws. 

• Evil-intentioned people – these are individuals who either spread lies by themselves or facilitate the spread of lies to fulfill the will of the father of lies. Sometimes, their greatest contribution to the spread of lies is to oppose the truth. People who fall into this category spread falsehood to promote the agenda of Satan and this is what makes them evil. In the context of this series, a typical example would be the Jews and religious leaders of Jesus’ day. In John 8, Jesus describes them as children of the devil because of their murderous intent towards him and the fact that they don’t stand in the truth. Again, from the resurrection story discussed earlier, the Chief Priests and the elders of the Jews fall under this category as well, especially because of their strong opposition to the truth of the resurrection. They bribed the guards at the tomb and even fed them with a contrary story to spread. From my earlier estimation, this story was passed on for nearly a century. The impact of this lie, probably, is that some people heard it, accepted it, and denied the resurrection based on it. That is evil!
• Ignorant and lazy people – these are people who hold to the poor work ethic of not fact-checking the information they receive. They tend to spread lies without doing the necessary due diligence. They spread lies with no evil intent only that they lack the discipline of fact-checking the information they receive before spreading it. Other times, such people are way too confident about the assumptions and conclusions they draw about others. They tend to observe a person and draw heavy conclusions based on very little evidence. This kind of agents of falsehood can be seen in the story of Demetrius (Acts 19) and how he influenced people in the city of Ephesus to oppose the truth of the gospel. What fascinates me about this story is the fact that Demetrius’ influence caused a riot in Ephesus and the bible says in Acts 19:32 that most of the people involved in the riot, chanting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians”, did not even know why they were there. Simply put, they joined in the chorus to oppose the truth of the gospel and spread the lie of the worship of Artemis but they didn’t bother to find out why the riot was happening and to what end. At some point, the bible says the riots continued for 2 hours (Acts 19:34). These are lazy and ignorant people who will not do due diligence before contributing to opposing the truth or spreading a lie. 
• Greedy People – these are people who stand to gain a lot when lies spread. In most cases, they either start the fire of deception themselves or support its spread. A typical example of this is Demetrius. Paul’s ministry was influencing people in the city of Ephesus to desist from idolatry. This was affecting Demetrius’ business as a silversmith who made silver shrines of the goddess Artemis. He opposed the truth of God’s word for selfish gains. He started the riots by joining forces with the craftsmen of Ephesus to oppose the truth of God’s word because his business was being affected by the spread of the gospel in Ephesus.  
• Fearful people – these are individuals who happen to either know the truth or doubt the lie however, they spread the lie anyway because they are afraid of the repercussions of doing otherwise. Sometimes they do not spread lies intentionally, but fear grips them causing them to disassociate themselves from the truth. This facilitates the spread of lies. A biblical example of this category is the story of Peter and the number of times he denied knowing Jesus. Interestingly, Jesus had already told Peter this would happen. However, Peter still failed to uphold the truth or defend his association with the truth even before a little girl, the servant of the High Priest, according to Mark 14:66. In a situation where it felt like there was a mob running on the energy of the lie that Jesus was blasphemous and deserved to die, anybody who was found associated with him or defending him would have faced a similar punishment. Hence, Peter, and we can include the rest of the Apostles except John, did not associate himself publicly with the truth because of the fear of losing his life. 

I have found that, on a personal level, you will encounter people who fall into any of the groups listed above or a combination of two or more of them. These individuals might be your friends or close family members and relations who will facilitate the spread of lies about you either by their actions or inactions. Again, at the helm of affairs is the father of lies but he needs human agents to facilitate his schemes. And at any given time he can use anybody who avails himself to him. Anytime I hear complete falsehoods being propagated about someone to tarnish their image or for whatever purpose, I almost always attribute it to the father of lies. Yes, the individuals involved must be held responsible for spreading untruths, half-truths and fake news, but behind the scenes is the great liar. In such cases, I have found that prayer is a more potent attempt at saving your reputation than actually trying to employ PR tactics. Sometimes, the extent to which the lies are spread is beyond your reach hence there is very little you can do. You can explain yourself over and over again but it will not suffice. I suggest you spend time praying about it and trusting God to allow the truth to come out so you can be vindicated. It is not easy to seek to nullify the impact of a viral lie about you with the truth. But God is able to do all things.

Looking back at the analogy I made about lies and truth in the opening paragraph, I will say that although lies spread faster, the truth is more majestic, hence its seemingly slow pace in catching up with the lie. But when it eventually does, it disintegrates the lie into nothingness. God has a way of exposing the folly of lies and liars by introducing or confirming the majesty of the truth. There is no hope for the lie when the truth catches up. Liars and agents of falsehood often suffer bigger dents to their credibility and reputation than the subjects of their lies. If you find yourself battling the spread of lies about you, no matter the virality or coverage the lie seems to have received, take it to the LORD in prayer. He will vindicate you and redeem your image because you are his child.

There is a story in John 8 that details an extended interaction Jesus had with the Jews. His audience was a mixed crowd of Pharisees, Scribes, and the Jews who believed in him. Typical of Jesus’ conversations with this group of people, it was quite confrontational and argumentative as they pressed him regarding a few statements he had made earlier in his submission. Specifically, Jesus had referred to himself as “the light of the world…” and this rubbed them off in the wrong way. During this confrontational interaction, Jesus did an extensive characterization of his audience and their “master”, Satan. He referred to the Jews as children of Satan and then to Satan as “… the father of lies”. 

If we are going to learn anything about the devil, we must prioritize what Jesus says about him. This is the crux of this series: to shed light on Satan’s operations and that of the people he influences. 

The text in John 8:44 is the anchor verse for this entire article so I will take time to do a breakdown of how Jesus described Satan, his character, his mission, and his relationship with the Jews:

1. Satan is the father of the Jews – Jesus said this because he could tell that the people had purposed in their hearts to kill him. Their murderous intent directly linked them to the devil because Jesus described him as “… a murderer from the beginning”. It was clear Satan had a strong influence over the people hence their willingness to do his bidding. This is similar to the kind of influence a father has over his children. The Jews opposed the truth claims Jesus made about himself, therefore they were behaving like real offsprings of the devil because there is no truth in him either. In summary, the father-child relationship between the Jews and Satan can be established on 2 main premises: 1. The murderous intent of the Jews towards Jesus and 2. their opposition to the truth. 
2. He was a murderer from the beginning – this refers to the fact that Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin which introduced death, separation from God, and corruption into the world. It could also refer to the actual first murder case ever recorded and the fact that Satan was instrumental in it (the murder of Abel by Cain).
3. Satan does not stand in the truth –  He has no relationship with the truth, no history with the truth, and doesn’t intend to tell the truth anytime soon because there is no iota of truth in him.
4. When he lies he speaks out of his own character – this description is quite interesting because it points to the fact that lies and deception are the essence of Satan’s character. Hence, it would be hypocritical on his part to tell the truth or a denial of his nature to tell the truth. Honestly, I don’t think anybody should have anything to do with somebody whose very nature and character is lies and deception. 
5. He is a liar and the father of lies – this implies he is the inventor, originator, and progenitor of deception. No lie was ever told or recorded before Satan deceived the angels of God to rebel in heaven. 

This is who the devil we are fighting is. He is not described as powerful but a liar and murderer; we must treat him as such.

The nature of Satan’s lies: 

To the Christian, a lie is not just misinformation or disinformation, it is any information that is contrary to the word of God. Contrariness doesn’t mean the information should always be the direct opposite of what God said. Sometimes, the lies of Satan are even deadlier when they are only slightly different from what God said. He twists the truth by introducing a little falsehood which, if adhered to, will eventually lead the believer on a path of destruction.

Here are some ways the devil presents his lies: 

• False information – as seen in the temptation of Eve in Genesis 3. She informed the devil that God instructed them never to eat the fruit of the tree amid the garden lest they die. Satan’s response to this was in direct opposition to what God said. He said, “You will not surely die” and that’s an outright lie. That is false information from Satan because it was in direct contradiction to what God had said.
• Exaggerations – again, as seen in the temptation of Eve in Genesis 3:5 the devil told Eve that the day they eat of the fruit, their eyes will be open and they shall become like God, knowing good and evil. This is an exaggeration of the actual effect of their actions. Satan promised them way more than their sin could deliver.  The eyes of Adam and Eve did open, but it opened to their nakedness, shame, and guilt; they didn’t become like God afterward either. The opposite happened and they lost their place with God in the garden instead. 
• Truth wrongly applied – this refers to the times when Satan wrongly applies the word of God as a way of deceiving people. A typical example is seen in the temptation of Jesus when the devil asked Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple if he truly was the son of God. He said this on the premise that the word of God says in Psalm 91 that “he will give his angels charge over you…”. The quotation is true but it is wrongly applied in the temptation of Jesus when Satan implies that Jesus should recklessly throw himself off a temple to prove he is the Son of God. God’s promises are true and call for responsible conduct in the believer, not a reckless abandonment of sound behavior to actualize them. 

The devil’s approach has not changed since the first temptation recorded in the book of Genesis. He will always seek to distort the word of God either drastically or slightly. This was the approach he took in the temptation of Eve in the Garden. He asked a question that was aimed at engendering doubts in the woman. It is also the first ever question recorded in scripture. Satan asked, “Did God actually say…?”. Today, he is still asking this question to get believers to doubt the word of God.  In some circles, strong philosophical positions and scientific theories have been developed to debunk the truth of God’s word. There can only be one person behind all of this – that old serpent, the devil. When Satan attacks our theology or the true interpretation of God’s word, it is an attack on the nature of God and how we view him. It has implications for our Christian walk and our trust in his word. The effects are more far-reaching than we can ever imagine. 

Sometimes, this attack affects us by casting doubts in our hearts regarding who the word of God says we are. A typical example is the condemnation most Christians feel after they sin. Indeed, the bible doesn’t mince words in painting a grim picture of sin and its impact. However, a more impactful picture is painted of how Jesus redeemed all who have faith in him by taking their place and receiving in his body the punishment for their sins. Therefore, none of them should stand condemned in any way because of their sins. This is why the bible employs us to come boldly before God. This truth of God’s word is often attacked by Satan because he presents to us a lie. He often elevates our sins way above the mercy of God to condemn us. He is the accuser of the brethren and will accuse us all day. 

Another example of the devil’s deceptive attack on the believer is the kind of lie that makes you feel isolated. Satan has a way of exaggerating your predicament while highlighting everyone else’s seemingly perfect life. This creates a sense of isolation and abandonment. It makes you feel like you are the only one in the whole wide world going through a hard time when in actual fact everyone else is battling something. This approach is evil because it stirs up discouragement, anxiety, and even depression in the believer. It is also in direct contradiction with God’s word. Peter said:

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:8-9

You are not alone. Your case may be unique but it is not the first of its kind or you are not the only one going through something like this. Everybody else is dealing with one thing or the other. I say this to encourage somebody because a trial would feel twice as devastating if coupled with the idea that you are the only one going through anything close to it. Peter said the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by other believers all over the world.  This is not a case of “misery loves company” but the truth of God’s word. He didn’t say the exact same suffering, but the “same kinds” which implies that the issues may not be identical in detail but they are similar in magnitude. Hence, we need to understand we are not the only ones burdened with trials and tribulations because nobody around us seems to be going through “our kind” of problems.

How then can we counter the devil’s lies?

• Immerse yourself in the truth of God’s word: know what God says about himself and what he says about you.
• Resist him: use the word of God to resist the devil just as the passage from 1 Peter posted above suggests. 

We must pay Satan no heed or even entertain him in any way. I repeat, if we are going to learn anything about Satan, we need to prioritize what Jesus says about him. Jesus said he is the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning, you don’t need to be convinced to stay away from such an entity. Resist him when he comes at you mentally, psychologically, spiritually, and physically. He shall flee!

As you may already know, the Bible begins with the description of a formless, empty, and dark earth. Then, we are systematically taken through the creation of the earth and everything that dwells in it. We will not go into details regarding creation but rather God’s sustainability plan for the planet. This is seen in two concepts that we are introduced to in the opening passages of the Bible. 

These are:

• The concept of Goodness: “Good” literally means anything that is desired or approved. It also means anything that possesses required qualities or meets a particular moral standard. The concept of goodness therefore encapsulates all these definitions and illustrations of “good”. This concept is first seen in Genesis when God was so pleased with his own creation that he called it good! This is the first time anything is described as good according to scripture and it was based on God’s assessment. This simply makes him the originator and definer of goodness. Hence, it is important that we consistently check back with him to ensure our definition of goodness aligns with his. This proves the point that God remains the objective point of reference for morality as well. He is the supreme assessor and the originator of the concept of goodness. Nothing was said to be good until he said so; nothing will ever be good outside of his assessment and stamp or approval.

• The concept of Stewardship: Stewardship refers to the careful and responsible management of something. Hence, the concept of stewardship in this context refers to the charge God gave man to keep the earth and to be good stewards of his creation. The Bible states categorically that every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord (James 1:17). God handed the earth to man (as a good and perfect gift) to keep, to have dominion over it and subdue it. This presupposes two things:
  • The earth doesn’t belong to man; the earth is the LORD’s
  • God has given the earth to man to keep it. 

God didn’t command man to let the earth be as it is. He said in Genesis 1:28 that man should subdue the earth. To subdue anything implies to bring it under control. It also implies, in this context, that the earth or nature has the propensity to go rogue, hence there is the need for special attention and the development of specific capacities that can help humans work to keep the earth in its pure state. This is the idea that has necessitated such professions and fields of study as environmental science, environmental conservation, natural resource management, etc. To subdue the earth doesn’t imply that man has the right to treat nature in whatever way pleases him. Especially, since God declared creation “good” then it means that our sole duty as stewards of the good gift that creation is to us is to preserve and conserve it so that the Master will still find it to be good. It is a lot of work to keep nature in its purest state. No wonder some professionals have dedicated their lives to keeping the earth. Every human being, so long as they live on this earth, must contribute to the sustainability and preservation of nature. Why? Because “the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). This is God’s charge to the human race concerning the earth: to work it and keep it. 

Therefore any human activity that degrades nature and our environment is diabolic and against the will of God. This is why I spent considerable time and space explaining the two concepts above, they go hand in hand and if adhered to, the purity of nature will be preserved and conserved, first to the glory of God then for the benefit of mankind and nature itself. The concept of stewardship refers to the command to subdue the earth. Adhering to this alone without understanding that God has declared creation good and requires it to remain good could spell doom for us all. Without an understanding of the concept of goodness, it seems man is given the sole responsibility of keeping the earth without an objective point of reference as to how to keep it and what the benchmark for a well-kept earth is. But once we combine the two concepts (goodness and stewardship), we have both the charge to keep the earth and the standard we have to maintain in doing so. In this case, the standard is “goodness according to the LORD” and the charge is to work and keep the earth.

God assessed and declared creation “good” 6 times in the creation story alone, when he appears here on earth today will he still find it “good”?

From the Christian perspective, God is deeply concerned about what happens on and to the earth. Some people believe that God set things in motion and left the earth to its fate; they are called Deists. Deism is a philosophical belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe. Jehovah, the God of the Bible, cannot be equated to the Deist god because throughout scripture he shows us that he cares about how humans live and what they do on and to the earth. Here is proof; a few environmental laws the LORD gave in the Old Testament: 

1. Sabbath for the Land (Leviticus 25:1-7): Every seventh year, the land was to be given rest from cultivation. This practice allowed the soil to recover and prevented over-exploitation.
2. Preservation of Fruit Trees (Deuteronomy 20:19-20): When besieging a city, the Israelites were forbidden from destroying fruit trees. This law promoted the preservation of valuable resources.
3. Waste Management (Deuteronomy 23:12-14): Specific instructions were given about designating areas outside the camp of Israel for human waste and covering it, maintaining cleanliness, and preventing disease. In verse 14, we are told that the reason for this particular instruction is that “the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp…”. This presupposes that the Israelites previously disposed of human waste within their camp and it wasn’t pleasing to the LORD. 

God used to walk in the midst of the camp of Israel, I believe he is still doing that today: walking in the midst of his people. My concern is, if he walks throughout the country of Ghana, will he be pleased with how we have kept the land, water bodies, plant and animal life, etc? The idea of establishing a natural ecosystem where different living things rely on each other for survival is God’s original plan. From the creation story, we are told there was a river that flowed through the garden of Eden to water it (Genesis 2:10). This depicts the dependency of plant life on water bodies. The flourishing of plants is highly dependent on proximity to sources of water. This reality is even used as a metaphor to illustrate the state of a godly man who delights himself in the LORD in Psalm 1:3. The Bible describes such a man as “a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither”. 

It is also interesting to note that there was a river in Eden called Pishon which flowed around the land of Havilah, where there was a lot of gold. The gold in Havilah is described as good. It is as if the creation story in Genesis is trying to emphasize the fact that a land that has a lot of gold in it can (or should) coexist with rivers in their purest state. The point is that rivers don’t have to be polluted because there is gold in the land. Unfortunately, we cannot say this about Ghana. Illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as Galamsey, has destroyed the vegetation of most mining communities in the country and polluted the rivers in those same communities. 

One thing about water is that it flows; it flows with the pollutants and the impurities in it. Hence, the pollution is fast spreading into other water bodies all over the country. I saw this for the first time while on a flight to Cote d’Ivoire in 2019. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the extent of degradation and the fact that it was visible even on a flight got me concerned more. Guess what, on my flight to Ghana from Senegal a few days ago, I took the pictures below. I heard the pilot mumble a few words but I wasn’t paying attention till I heard the phrase “… we have entered the Ghana air space…”. Just to be sure, I looked out of the window and there it was; proof that we had entered the Ghana air space.

Ironically, I was returning from a Climate Change workshop. According to the Ghana National Climate Change Policy 2013, illegal mining and even other forms of mining are key challenges this country faces in the “Management and Resilience of Terrestrial, Aquatic and Marine Ecosystems”. This is to say that mining activities, whether legal or illegal, could have negative implications on nature – be it life underwater or on land. 

We are facing a major challenge with this menace. It is the commercialization of environmental degradation and since the effects on the general populace are not readily visible, the advocacy against it will always appear irrelevant to perpetrators. There is a lot of advocacy going on online and through protests in Accra, some other parts of the country, and even in the UK. One thing is for sure, people are concerned and worried sick of this menace. We rather find a certain level of reluctance or unwillingness on the part of the authorities in charge to nip this issue in the bud. I will not make assumptions here, but if it is the case that we found out that there is illegal mining being done 200 meters away from a Police Station in Anyinam and the police are yet to make an arrest, what kind of conclusions do you expect us to draw from this?

All of this is embarrassing and those in charge should bow their heads in shame. In a proper jurisdiction where the laws work and policies are implemented, all involved parties would be facing some jail time or some other punishment due to their actions and inactions. 

If you walk away from this post remembering nothing at all, I need you to remember that the earth is the LORD’s and he assessed it and found it to be good. Have we done a good job at working and keeping the earth? Will God be pleased with the state of our environment? I have no biblical basis to assume that we have been good stewards of the good gift that the earth is to us. Again, the earth is the LORD’s and he has given it to the children of man (Psalm 115:16). We haven’t been good stewards of the LORD’s good gift. 

(Feature image taken at Twifo Praso by Mawuli Adjabeng in 2019)

Basically, we should be content with our salvation regardless of what accompanied it and what we had to go through to get saved. Just like Paul said, in our struggle against sin we have not resisted to the point of shedding blood (Hebrews 12:4). This simply means that, no matter what we go through either before getting saved or while working out our salvation, we have not suffered like Jesus did. No salvation story, no matter how gory or messy it is,  can outweigh what Jesus did on the cross. He shed his blood for all mankind, although he was holy, he was treated like the worst of us. We stand to benefit from this and not necessarily repeat this sacrifice exactly. However, we are expected to carry the essence of this sacrifice in our body on a daily basis so that the life of Jesus will be manifested in us (2 Corinthians 4:10). That is, we are expected to live a God-glorifying, self-denying and sacrificial life that is able to further God’s agenda here on earth. 

Let’s take the story of Paul’s conversion as a case study. Paul persecuted the early church and even gave approval of and oversaw the stoning of Stephen. He was renowned for his zeal against the church, the bible describes him in Acts 9:1 as “… breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…”. However, his encounter on the road to Damascus was one that changed, not only the trajectory of that particular journey, but his entire life and mission. He was on his way to persecute more churches yet he met the Lord Jesus Christ and heard him speak to him so audibly that the people travelling with him also heard the voice. Jesus asked him, “why are you persecuting me?”. (As a little side note, Christians have to understand that persecution of the church or the children of God is actually persecution of Jesus). Anyway, Paul became blind for 3 days; he didn’t eat or drink during this period. One may ask, was it necessary that he became blind for 3 days? I cannot particularly tell. But the point I want to make with this post is that, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is the fact that he was saved although the road to his salvation was not pretty. Paul probably would have preferred a different kind of experience leading to salvation. But nobody is given the right to customize their journey to salvation or their salvation story. You cannot choose how you should be saved. 

After one is saved, there is a lot of work to be done too. People expect a rosy Christian life with zero level of effort from their end. But this is not what the bible teaches. We are expected to work out our salvation with fear and trembling and do everything possible to ensure that we stay in the will of God. Of course, all of this is powered by the grace of God and the leading of the Spirit who is the seal and assurance of our salvation. Therefore, the road to heaven (which I call the culmination of our salvation story) is also not always pretty. During the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:29-30, Jesus made these 2 statements regarding the level of effort Christians need to put into maintaining their salvation until we enter heaven. He said:

• If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. 
• If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. 

He ended both statements by saying that it is better to lose your members than for the whole body to be thrown into hell. What does this mean? In the literal sense, it means God would prefer it if you entered heaven with one eye and one arm instead of your entire body thrown into hell. And if this is the case, we too should prefer this level of sacrifice, pain and suffering if it means through these we can enter into heaven. Of course, the bible isn’t insisting that we literally gouge out our eyes or cut off our arms anytime we are tempted or led to sin by them. But this comes as an example of the kind of extreme measures we are expected to take just to stay away from sin and to make it into heaven. Even if it takes losing something or someone that is as important to us as an eye ball or a right arm, we are admonished to do so. The road to eternal salvation is not always pretty. 

Lastly, in Paul’s first epistle to the church in Corinth, he addressed the issue of sexual immorality in the church. He highlighted a single story and pronounced judgement on the perpetrator. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul refers to a man who was in the church and known to be sleeping with his step mother. The apostle made two recommendations regarding how this individual should be treated. He stated categorically in verse 2 that “Let him who has done this be removed from among you”. This man was to be excommunicated or restricted from fellowshipping with the larger group of believers according to Paul. This seems like a pretty harsh judgment for the sins of a Christian brother but it aligns with what Jesus said during the sermon on the mount, captured in the previous paragraph. For the church of Corinth, this brother was probably that eye ball or right arm they were expected to remove from their midst to ensure that there was sanctity, the fear of God and a literal hatred for sin amongst them. The Apostle spends the remaining parts of this passage, instructing the church on the necessity of excommunicating some of its members who fall into a certain category of sins. He ends it all by saying in verse 13 “purge the evil person from among you”. Sin is a cancer that spreads rapidly; either multiplying itself or engendering other sins. Hence, sometimes to prevent the spread of sin, the perpetrator must be removed from the group. This is the essence of the Apostle’s instruction and it very much aligns with the theme of this post.

My main focus however, is in his second recommendation. Paul gave the instruction that this man should be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Regarding the man being delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, I have written about it in an article you can find in this link, do check it out. My main focus, in this instance, is the fact that Paul believes the perpetrator being delivered to Satan and having his flesh destroyed will lead to his salvation in the day of the Lord. It is as if Paul is implying that, if this measure is not taken, this individual would continue in sin and will miss heaven on the day of judgement. But the discomfort and pain that will come with the destruction of his flesh, will actually ensure that he will be saved in the day of the Lord. 

Again, the road to salvation is not always pretty. Sometimes, you will be forced to inflict pain and misery on yourself just to ensure that you are saved on the last day. Other times, the pain and misery will be inflicted on you to ensure that you don’t miss heaven. And if that time comes, I pray you choose:

1. Salvation over comfort
2. Communion with the Holy God over union with family, friends and relations
3. The reproach of Christ over the pleasures/treasures of Egypt/the world (Hebrews 11:26). 

Because salvation, in and of itself, is valuable regardless of any accompanying conditions.

If there is anything I expect you to walk away with from this short series, it is the fact that no salvation story should be underrated or undermined. Salvation is God’s rescue mission. A rescue mission is still a rescue mission regardless of how long it took, how many boulders were lifted to get to the victim(s) or even what sacrifice had to take place for the victim(s) to be saved. This takes me all the way back to cross. 

I have heard world renowned atheists like Richard Dawkins belittle what happened at calvary and suggesting that the all-knowing God who created the heavens and the earth could have thought of a better way to save the world than to die on the cross. This will appear logical until we deeply interrogate what sin really is and its remedy. One would have expected the all-powerful God to just snap his finger and immediately zap away all that is wrong with the world and start a new one devoid of sin. Well God is not Thanos. This is the real world; we are not stuck in a Marvel comic either. 

First of all, sin is consequential both in the spiritual realm and the physical. I dare say it is more consequential spiritually than otherwise. The bible states categorically that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). This death is not a physical one, but a spiritual death which is characterised by a separation from God. In the New Testament, Jesus illustrates this same concept of spiritual death with an agricultural metaphor when he says in John 15:5 that, “I am the vine, ye are the branches … for without me you can do nothing”. When  a branch of a tree is broken off, it is dead because it is has been separated from its source of nourishment. This is what it means to be spiritually dead. 

Adam and Eve were instructed to refrain from eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil because the consequences of doing so was death (Genesis 2:17). From the story, we can tell that they didn’t die a physical death when they disobeyed God, but a spiritual one which was characterised by separation from God and a spread of decay through generations of the human race. Hence, to deal with sin and its consequences with a physical approach and not deal with its spiritual roots is an exercise in futility. Take for example Jesus’ description of the Pharisees and their attitude towards righteousness. We see this clearly in his chastisement of the Pharisees in Matthew 23, popularly known as the “7 woes to the Scribes and Pharisees”. From verse 25 to 28, Jesus referred to the Pharisees as hypocrites because of their approach to righteousness. His chastisements are summarised as follows:

• Jesus accused them of cleaning the outside of cups and plates while there is greed and self-indulgence inside. 
• Jesus described them as whitewashed tombs that are clean on the outside but are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness
• Jesus accused them of outwardly appearing righteous to others but being filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. 

This is how God sees the Pharisees who followed the very laws he had given to the Israelites. It goes to show that it takes a lot more than dressing the outside of a vessel for God to consider it clean. It takes a rebirth of your spirit, a transformation of the heart, for you to be truly saved. If you expect God to snap his finger for all of this to happen then you are expecting him to go against the laws he has made himself. 

This brings me to my second point: without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22). The debt we owed God while we dwelt in sin is not cancelled unless blood is shed. Hence, all the sacrifices in the Old Testament only serve as a foreshadow to the great sacrifice on calvary. To save us, God intended to do a thorough job. He didn’t set out to do a lazyman’s work of merely washing the outside of the vessels we possess. He intended to create in us a new spirit that is united with his Spirit. This is no joke. It had to take the shedding of precious divine blood. In Hebrews 10:10, we are told that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. Which means, the sacrifice of Jesus doesn’t need to be repeated (contrary to what happened in the Old Testament when animals were sacrificed). Jesus’ sacrifice is good enough to deal with all our sins and for all time. This is the essence of God’s approach to saving humanity. He intended for Jesus to be sacrificed to fulfil the law regarding remission of sins and also to offer us salvation that is good enough to save all of humanity and at any point in human history after the cross. 

God’s rescue mission was not all pretty and flowery, but it was effective and that’s just what we should focus on. Christians the world over sing songs about the cross and speak flamboyantly about its essence to the body of Christ, however, the cross is basically a symbol of death. In our world today, it could be synonymous to an electric chair. When we sing songs of adoration for the cross, we are not praising it for the instrument of death that it is, but for the life that came out of that one cross on calvary. At the center of our salvation story is an instrument of death. From the perspective of our Saviour, I can boldly state that salvation can be messy but completely worth it. The agony of Christ on the road to calvary and the pain he felt while hanging on the cross should tell us that our salvation caused him a lot of pain and cost him his life. 

In Hebrews 12:2, we are told that Christ endured the pain of the cross and despised the shame because of the joy that was awaiting him. This affirms the fact that God’s rescue mission of the whole of mankind didn’t come on a sliver platter. However, the Saviour was not perturbed or discouraged by the enormity of the task at hand, neither did he abandon the mission because of the excruciating pain. Rather, he endured the pain and disregarded the shame that came with being executed like a sinner all because of the joy that was set before him. Perhaps, we should also concern ourselves more with the joy of salvation rather than the manner in which salvation comes to us. I know there is exceeding joy in being saved, but today I came to remind you that the road to salvation is not always pretty and maybe we need to appreciate salvation a little more because of this.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1

The Apostle Paul makes a solemn appeal to the brethren in the church at Rome to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. In doing so, he beseeches them by the mercies of God to signify the gravity of what he is about to communicate and the fact he expects the brethren to take his words seriously. 

I will attempt to unpack these 3 terminologies the apostle used in this verse:

1. Living sacrifice – A sacrifice is a sacrifice because it is dead. In the Old Testament, animals that were sacrificed to God were first killed and then burnt. Burning a live animal on the altar could result in all kinds of unpleasant and chaotic experiences. The animal, even if tied, could scatter the altar once set ablaze. Therefore, it is best practice to slaughter the animal first before burning it on the altar. Again, sacrifices are sacrifices because they are dead. Case in point, the instructions God gave to Moses regarding how burnt sacrifices should be offered in Leviticus 1:3-9. God instructed him to slaughter the animal, shed its blood, skin it and chop it up into pieces. This is what it means to offer a sacrifice to God. Hence, when Paul beseeches the brethren to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, he presents us with a grand antithetic idea. It seems he expects the brethren to live as though dead. The apostle expects life and death to dwell together in the same being at the same time. In 2 Corinthians 4:10, Paul presents this same idea in a different way. He said, “we always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body”. This basically means that believers are expected to live their lives observing and  practising the essence of the sacrifice of Jesus. The essence of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is captured in a statement he made in Gethsemane. While praying in Gethsemane, he battled with God to fulfil his purpose on this earth. But eventually, Christ said, “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt”. Here we see Jesus, though alive, yet dying to his own will. This is what it means to be a living sacrifice: to be alive yet dead to your own desires, will and expectations. It is wrong is to allow our will and desires to prevail over the divine and ultimate will of God for us and humankind. To live as a living sacrifice is to be dead to yourself and alive to God. It means to deny yourself because you have to say yes to him. For us to fully actualize the life of Jesus in our body, we must carry in our bodies the reality of the death of Jesus. Which is the fact that he could have refused to die on the cross and he could have saved himself from the cross. But he didn’t! He was not pursuing his will while on earth, he was fulfilling the will of the father. Jesus in the flesh, was the ultimate living sacrifice. No wonder he calls us to live like he did. In carrying in our bodies the essence of the death of Christ, his very life will be revealed in us. He was treated like a sheep being led to the slaughter, not resisting arrest nor fighting back. In fact, he rebuked Peter for attacking one of the Roman soldiers who came to arrest him in Gethsemane. This is the height of a life that was lived as a sacrifice.

2. Holy – This means that the lives we present to God must be uncommon among men. We cannot flow with the tide of the day and expect to live holy lives. There is a saying that goes like this, “only a dead fish goes with the tide”. We have been called to be living sacrifices alright, however we are expected to live to God and die to the desires of our own hearts and the pervading philosophies and ideas of our world. Therefore, a life worth presenting to God should be a life that is set apart for him. That is a life that is lived according to the leading of the Spirit. A holy life. One that has no pleasure in sin and finds no reason to over-indulge in the mundane and wallow in the profane. 

3. Acceptable to God – Because you present something to God doesn’t mean he will accept it. Some sacrifices in the bible were rejected by God. Case in point, Cain’s sacrifice was rejected by God in Genesis 4:1-7. For anything to be regarded by God, it has to be honourable, of good quality and carefully selected or presented. We must be intentional about the way we present ourselves to God. The content of our lives are of immense interest to God. What we indulge in repeatedly forms the content of our lives. Therefore, if you are to present yourself to God at a time in your life when the mundane and the profane preoccupy your entire life, chances are that this sacrifice may not be acceptable to God. I need to reiterate the point that God indeed rejects sacrifices. The notion that anything at all presented to God should be acceptable to him is a warped one. He is the King of Kings and clearly requires the best of things as well. God deserves to receive the best from our lives, including what we do with it. Some people are of the view that they will use their youthful years to pursue sinful pleasures and turn to the LORD in their old age. While God is merciful to accept people who turn to him, yet we are emphatically admonished in Ecclesiastes 12:1 to remember our Creator in the days of our youth. God deserves the best years of our lives too. God shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought neither should we present to him the years of our lives in which our strength is weak and our reasoning is dim. We must present an acceptable sacrifice to him like Abel did. Practically, we can do this by valuing the life he gave us, adding value to it and presenting it back to him. 

Paul goes on to explain that, presenting our bodies in this manner is our “…reasonable act of worship”. The ESV bible puts it this way “… your spiritual worship”. I find it interesting to know that how we present our bodies to God has spiritual implications. This presupposes that the way to worship God spiritually, is to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to him. What I do with my body has implications on how spiritual my worship is. Paul curiously quizzes the Corinthian church in 1st Corinthians 6:19: 

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own

Our bodies are the holy dwelling place of the Holy Spirit who came to reside in us at the new birth. Therefore, we must treat it as such. We must be very careful not to desecrate the holy habitation of the King of the universe. We must not sling mud and filth where the Holy Spirit dwells. He is called the Holy Spirit for a reason. After Paul asked this question quoted in the verse above, he goes on to say in the next verse, “ … for you were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body”. What we do with our bodies must continually and consistently bring glory to God. Sexual sin is known to be the only sin that negatively impacts the human body. It is an audacious desecration of the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and it doesn’t bring glory to God. Let us pursue a holy and sinless lifestyle, flee from sexual sin so we can continue to present our bodies to God as holy and acceptable to the King of all kings.