National Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and General Overseer of Charismatic Renewal Ministries Worldwide, Dr. Cosmas Ilechukwu, in this interview with SEYI SOKOYA, speaks about the church and state of the nation.
Reactions have continued to trail the approval of same-sex marriage by the pope. Do you feel this will not have a great effect on Nigerian Christians?
The pope is not Christ and not the head of Christianity in the world; he is only the head of a denomination which is the Catholic Church. I strongly doubt if the pope would say that. If it is true he said that, he is only speaking for himself and his denomination. He is not speaking for the body of Christ globally. The Bible is clear on that: marriage is between a man and a woman, and it is sacrosanct. The Bible is not open to editing; you do not edit the Bible to suit you whether you are a bishop. And the word of God is eternally settled in heaven, not an iota of that word will go unfulfilled. I do not respect the position of the pope and I strongly believe he was misquoted.
What impact will it have on the church despite the efforts of other denominations against same-sex marriage?
It cannot affect any person or church that is Bible-based. If he was not misquoted, it will only massage the ego of those out to destroy the faith, but they will fail because God commands us to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. Same-sex marriage is not part of the faith. I do not even think the Catholic bishops will accept what the pope reportedly said because being born again is not by position. No true Christian will tolerate that, as he or she has placed absolute trust in Christ, baptised and led by the Holy Spirit. If the pope is led by the Holy Spirit, he won’t say what he said.
Some have expressed worry over the lowering of Christian values and the fate of Christianity, especially in places where church buildings have been taken over by malls or clubs. What is your reaction to this?
Humans are susceptible to temptations or evil desires. The Bible says the heart of man is evil and desperately wicked. The devil can tempt some people and they will fall. When they fall to the temptation, they water down Christian doctrines, but the truth is that nobody can destroy Christian values. Yes, people can buy abandoned church buildings and convert to whatever they like that does not mean Christianity is going under. It simply means that cultural Christianity is coming under question, but authentic spiritual Christianity is blossoming all over the place.
It is reported that churches outnumber factories in Nigeria and that churches sit on some lands that should have been factories, which seems worrisome due to the economic situation in the country. What is your view?
We do not have enough churches yet so I am praying God will raise men and women who will plant more churches and harvest more souls for God. Some people are called to plant churches and some people are called to build factories. With the government creating a good economic environment, people will build factories. It is not the mandate of churches to build factories; it is the mandate of the government to create an enabling environment to enable business people to build factories and create employment.
Some argue that countries that do not have the number of churches present in Nigeria are far better economically. How will you react to this?
Is it the church that determines whether people will do well economically or not? That is completely out of the spectrum of the church ministry. It is the responsibility of the government. Go to those countries. The governments have good economic policies that encourage investment and economic development. In Nigeria, do we have such policies? How many companies have come to Nigeria to establish and through our non-sensical tax laws we drive them away? It is cheaper to go from Heathrow in the United Kingdom to New York than to come from Heathrow to Nigeria. Why? It is because of the corruption in the system in Nigeria.
They introduced all kinds of laws and taxes to frustrate people. Money that will end up in the pockets of greedy individuals. It is the government that will create the rule of law, not the church. Any country that does not have a rule of law should not expect its citizens to do well. In a country where the highest leaders break laws and bribe their way into position. put that blame at the feet of the government I do not take that blame at all. Some churches build schools and hospitals, which form part of employment and economic empowerment. The church should not in any way be blamed for the economic situation of the country.
There have been prophesies from all corners from church leaders. What has God told you about 2024?
2024 is going to be a year of mighty blessings. What God is saying is that it is a year we will experience beyond limits, we are going to go beyond limitations. Every human being who wants to work hard will experience beyond limitation blessings, whereby nothing will be impossible. A year of unprecedented possibilities and breakthroughs. We should look towards the year with optimism and boundless joy because we will have every reason to rejoice.
Nigerians should keep hope alive. We are passing through the valley of death, but we are not going to remain there. That we are passing through it means that we are in transition. One day we will get out of the tunnel and enter our new glory.
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