Page 168 - GRACE
P. 168

The Dangers of Grace




                               A  dynamic  ministry  in  my  nation  had  introduced  this
                               practice  to  church,  what  her  members  called  “faith-
                               extenders”. Apparently, the young man had been taught in
                               his church that with those handkerchiefs tied around him,
                               he would be protected from evil spirits. This practice has
                               since  escalated  across  Africa,  and  perhaps  beyond.  The
                               church  which  pretends  to  be  a  Pentecostal  church,  had
                               apparently replaced black magic and occult items with these
                               seemingly harmless items prayed over by pastors in those
                               churches. Some carry combs around as a means of getting
                               prayers answered.


                               Some go to the extent of getting padlocks prayed over and
                               securely kept away, sometimes by their pastors. You may see
                               cases  where  handkerchiefs  are  tied  to  the  entrances  of
                               houses, around vehicle steering wheels, and such like. Man
                               generally wants to do something in the natural that he can
                               see as a means of assurance of what he cannot see. This is
                               not Christianity, nor does it sustain the work of grace in the
                               life of a Christian.


                               ii.  Depicting in any way that the finished work of
                                    Christ is insufficient to set captives free:
                               Different people in diverse societies have diverse problems
                               and  challenges.  There  are  people  who  find  themselves
                               captives  of  sin,  and  truly  want  to  be  free  from  their
                               immortality, drunkenness, fraudulent lifestyles and occult
                               associations. In certain crude societies with fetish practices,




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