- BATTLE OF THE PROPHETS!
One falsehood spoils a thousand truths. Ask Pastor Sam Adeyemi. The founder and General Overseer (G.O) of Daystar Christian Centre, understands that if he fails to bellow the truth when he knows the truth, he undoubtedly makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers.
Tithing has become a hot-button issue in the last one year between the church leaders and the popular OAP, Daddy Freeze. Since his sole, self-appointed mission to ‘Free The Sheeple’ (read Free The People) from the mosaic law of tithing, controversial and blunt-talking On-Air-Personality, Freeze, has been the butt of insults and invectives from some of Nigeria’s foremost pastors. As far as the pastors are concerned, Daddy Freeze has no scriptural locus standi to advise people not to pay tithes. Particularly, Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo, Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) took on the OAP. At a programme in a popular church in Omole, Ikeja, Lagos, mid-November last year, Pastor Ashimolowo called Daddy Freeze a drunk and wife beater.
But that did not make the headlines. Ruffled, perhaps, that he did not hit target, Pastor Ashimolowo, during a recent sermon said to thunderous applause; “Once and for all, let’s settle this matter on the power of the tithe. Some bunch of yoyo somewhere should not determine what you pay. Some guy who beats his wife, throws her out, throws his children out of the house, broke his son’s knees, should not determine what we believe.
He drinks alcohol, sleeps with women and he’s trying to preach.†However, Pastor Sam has come out to set the record straight. The Pastor goes on to say that believers should seek instruction from God. He adds, “I have been following the tithe debate. I discovered that it has been an age long debate and it will be on for a long time. My first observation is that church people are behaving as if we own the word tithe. “We don’t own the word. It is an English word. I want to say clearly that tithe, as practised under the law of Moses, has expired. The death and resurrection of Jesus have put paid to it.
It has expired. “All the requirements of the law were satisfied under Christ. It is a gamble to say Jesus never paid tithe. The fact that it was not written that Jesus paid tithe does not mean he did not do it. “I can also claim that Jesus did not go to the toilet because it is not written. 18 years of his life were not recorded in the Bible. When he was born his parents satisfied the requirements of the law. John 21v25 says there are many things he did that were not recorded.
Jesus did not say it was wrong to pay tithe in his day.†Pastor Adeyemi further quoted Romans 8, saying the chapter “clearly tells us that we are free. No Christian should feel guilty for not paying titheâ€. Interestingly, other leading Christain leaders are surprisingly quiet in the wake of Adeyemi’s outburst. They probably dread exchanging words with the Daystar founder.
