The Role Of The Church Of Jesus Christ In Nation-building

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LECTURE DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, IMMEDIATE PAST VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE 68TH ANNIVERSARY AND 58TH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE GOSPEL FAITH MISSION INTERNATIONAL (GOFAMINT) ON THE 11TH OF AUGUST, 2024

Protocols

Thank you all very much. Let me begin by thanking our Father-In-The-Lord and the General Overseer of The Gospel Faith International Mission, Pastor, Dr. E. O. Abina and the Executive Council of the Mission for according me the honor of giving this annual nation-building speech at this year’s nation-building day of the International Convention of the church.

May I also wish you a very happy and joyful anniversary and a Happy 68th Annual Convention! The topic given to me is a very wide one; it is the Christian Faith in Political Struggles: A Case Study of Nigeria.

May I advise in the future, please do not give a Professor a topic that requires him to present a case study. It is too risky, you may not leave the lecture until later on this evening. What I have chosen to do is to take a very narrow aspect of the topic that I hope will answer some of the questions, some of the fundamental questions that the larger topic seeks to answer. I will answer in particular, the question of, “What is the role of the church itself, the Church of Jesus Christ in nation-building?” And in particular, our own nation, Nigeria.

What is the role of the church in the politics of this nation and the economics of this nation? I ask the question because the scriptures say clearly that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is fundamental to the destiny of every nation. This means that we who are the purveyors of the Gospel, we who preach and propagate the gospel, that is, the church, must have a fun fundamental role to play in the life of the nation.

Now let’s look at the scriptures just to be sure of what we are talking about. In Matthew 28:18 – 20, the word of God says “all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” 19 says, “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This scripture that I’ve just read is called the “Great Commission,” it is the mandate of Christ to the church and the crucial point that I want to emphasize is in verse 19 where the scripture says “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” It is our role as the church to make disciples of our nation, that is, to set aright in accordance with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, every aspect of our national life. It is our role to set aright, to put in place, in the correct manner, every aspect of our national life; the professions, politics, business, even entertainment and the values of society.

Discipling means guidance, it means showing the way, it means that we must teach certain principles that will enable us achieve that result. In Matthew 5:13 – 14, our Lord Jesus Christ said concerning the church that “ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be used to season it is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled Under Foot by men.” In verse 14,  “it says you are the light of the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hidden,” then in verse 15 it says “nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house.”

Jesus emphasized that it is our role as the church to be the salt of the earth, the salt of our nation; salt flavours and preserves what it touches, we are to bring good flavour and preservation to our country. We are also the light of our nation, we are to show direction, to conquer ignorance and fear. In verse 15 of Matthew 5, the scripture says “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, they put it on a lampstand so that it gives light to all who are in the house.”

Our light is meant to serve everyone in our nation, not just those who share our faith. Our light is meant to is meant to give power to all who are in our nation, not just Christians, to Muslims, to those who even say that there is no God. That is the purpose of our light.

In Romans 8: 19, Paul said (he was talking here about the expectations of the world concerning the church) “for the earnest expectations of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” Everything in creation; the entire society, all the broken values of society, the hatred amongst peoples and races, the poverty, the immorality, are eagerly waiting for the intervention of the sons of God and eagerly waiting for the intervention of the church.

The role of the church, the people of God, is crucial in the destiny of a nation. In 1st Timothy 3: 15, the B part, he said “The house of God, which is the church of the Living God is the pillar and the ground of truth.” This is the role, this is the authority, the authority of being the pillar and the foundation of truth, which the gospel has. The role of the church is that we are the pillar and the foundation of truth in our nation.

But being the pillar and foundation of truth comes with major responsibilities; the first responsibility and perhaps the most important responsibility of the church is that a nation does not change if the church does not change. The church must change, must change its ways before the nation can change. That is the reason why God has given us the responsibility of being the salt, the light for those for whom the earth waits, our intervention is awaited.

We are the pillar and the foundation of truth, but if we don’t live up to that role, then our nation cannot change. Indeed the word of God actually emphasizes that if the people of God, the church turn from their evil ways and enthrone righteousness and truth, God will intervene to heal the nation and to hear all our prayers on behalf of the nation.

In 2nd Chronicles 7:14, the word of God says “if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and I will heal their land.” God did not say that if unbelievers turn from their evil ways, then He will heal our land, no. He did not say if politicians turn from their evil ways, then He will heal our land. He said if we who are called by His name, those of us who believe in God, those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, He said that those who claim to be His children, if we turn from our evil ways, then He will heal our land and answer our prayers.

But I think the real question that we have to ask ourselves is how then does the church influence the nation? I think the popular wisdom especially amongst Church leadership, those of us who are pastors and those of us who are church leaders, including many members of the church, the popular wisdom is that the problem with our governments Nigeria, and governments elsewhere, is that we do not have enough Christians in public office or occupying crucial positions in the country. And that if we had more Christians in high political offices, then the country will experience peace and prosperity. That is not entirely true, it is not true.

In fact we probably have at the Federal Level, a substantial number of Christians in high positions, in high office. And in the States, aside from the Federal Level, we also have a very very high number. In fact, in some States in our country, almost all members of the Executive, Members of the Judiciary, and Members of the Legislature are Christians. There are States in this country where almost everybody in government is a Christian, but we have not seen transformative change even in those States.

Why is it that even where we have Christians in positions of authority, not just in government, but in business, not just in business but everywhere, why is it that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this same gospel that has transformed other societies where it was preached; this same gospel that has been the major transformative force in the socio-economic development of Europe and America, the nation from which we received the gospel, why is it that it has not made the same difference here in our own country?

The principles of the Gospel preached from the pulpits and practiced willingly by the Christians in those nations completely transformed those nations. I want to just emphasize this point, that in the nations of the world today that we that we copy, Europe and America, and then of course subsequently, Asia, this same Gospel of Jesus Christ contained in the 66 books of the scriptures is the one that transformed those nations. Why? Because they practiced the principles contained in the scriptures, they practised them willingly.

Indeed beginning in the late 16th century in Europe and exported to the US in the 17th century through the pilgrim fathers, a great majority of those who were called Christians, they were called Puritans at the time, these people who are are called Puritans practised the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the letter.

What were the principles that they preached on their pulpits, what were the principles that they practised? The principles of productivity and hard work, the principles of integrity, education, taking care of the poor and the vulnerable, and high moral values including trustworthiness and respect for credit and obligation.

I’m going to take a few of these principles and just treat them in a bit of detail. Let us take the principle of productivity and hard work which was preached by these Christians in Europe and America. That principle in Europe and later on in America preached that work and productivity are how a nation prospers.

They preached that God Himself set the example of work and productivity at creation. They preached that the way by which you measure economic success is by work and creativity and that God Himself established it in Genesis 2:1-2 where He said “thus the Heaven and the Earth and all the host of them were finished and on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”

God worked and set the example of work as the way to success. Let me explain this phenomenon of hard work and productivity as preached by the Christians of that era.

I borrow here from the great insights on this subject of a Christian Professor of Architecture, Professor Olumide Olusanya. He says that of all the creatures that God created, only man is created in the image of God who is the creator of the heavens and the Earth and all things visible and invisible. And it is only to man, of all the creatures that God created, that the power of versatile creativity or productivity has been given.

What is this power of creativity or productivity? It is the capacity to add value by the transformation of materials, whether the materials are abstract or physical, the capacity to add value. Only man has that capacity given by God because he was created in the image of God. And I’m talking here about what was preached in the pulpits of those countries where the gospel transformed their nations. So, for example, the transformation of discordant musical notes to beautiful melodies is the transformation of material or adding value even though notes are an abstract entity.

The making of steel from iron ore for example, and then the making of cars from steel, and the making of aeroplanes from steel, adds value to the material that is produced. So the making of cars the making of airplanes is adding value to physical objects to the physical entities or the physical material.

By the productivity of creativity of work wealth or success is created. So the wealth of nations does not lie in the abundance of material resources, no, but in the hard work and productive capacity of the people. That was what they were preaching on their pulpits. They preached that productive power is the ability or the capacity to produce wealth through large-scale addition of value to material resources even if the material resources have to be brought from halfway around the world.

The creation of things is what God describes as work. God Himself established that pattern, that it is by work that men and women will succeed. This belief that God’s gift to man is the capacity to work and by such means, create wealth, is fundamental to the Judeo-Christian construct of wealth and success.

So today when we preach on some of our pulpits that wealth comes by miracles, that there is something called the anointing to get wealth, that we can become wealthy just by miraculous means. We are not preaching the gospel that transformed other societies, no, that is our version of The Gospel. That is not the gospel that changed societies in Europe and America, no. The gospel that changed those societies is a gospel that says God has given the capacity to work and the capacity to be productive, to be creative, to add value, and this is by such means that societies prosper. We will return to that point in the conclusion of this speech, but let me give another example of the types of teachings that transform nations and continents.

The church in Germany in that era that I’m referring to had a catechism on the Ten Commandments which was taught regularly, was taught in the churches on Sundays, and on weekdays. For example, in that catechism, they said The Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal was broken down into various practical implications. If for example you an employee, you are a worker in a company and you use your employer’s time for your own benefit, you are stealing because you are being paid and not working for your pay.

And then they give a practical example, if you leave work even to attend church service without the permission of your boss, you are stealing because you are getting paid without working. Taking money that does not belong to you when you do such a thing, you are taking money and the time which is money, is what you’re are stealing.

So of course, if as in our own case here in our own part of the world, you’re attending a naming ceremony or a birthday ceremony during working hours without the permission of your employer, you are stealing his money because you are getting paid for work that you did not do.

You can imagine this was what was taught in the catechisms in Germany in those days. So you can imagine the quality of the German worker who was taught like that; the quality of the German Christian who was taught that stealing is related to even stealing your employer’s time, if you are stealing your employer’s time, you are no different from a robber or a burgler and that if you’re a CEO stealing the company’s time, you’re are just a thief.

No wonder then that the average German worker developed a strong work ethic and strong values of integrity. This is why the good work ethic; working well, working faithfully, working conscientiously was named after Christians of that era. It was called the Puritanic Work Ethic.

So good work habits such as hard work, and integrity were described as Christian virtues. It was called the Puritanic Work Ethic; the work ethic of the Christian, that’s how it was described. It has become ingrained in the cultures of those countries even some of them who are now saying that they don’t believe in Jesus Christ, but it has become cultural for them all over Europe, and later America.

The Christian principles that were taught and how the Christians in the marketplace were influenced in the professions and the entertainment, all these principles were able to influence their societies and establish righteousness wherever Christians were found. No wonder then that in those nations, stealing of public funds, bribery and corruption, were the exception and never the rule.

How about another principle which was very well taught in those days, that principle was taking care of the poor. The early Christians considered the welfare of the poor as a cornerstone of the Christian faith. It’s not an aside, it’s not a Corporate Social Responsibility matter, it’s not a matter for a department, no. They considered it as the cornerstone of the Christian faith.

Talking about the fresh mandate, when the Apostle Paul was talking about the fresh mandate that he received for his ministry from the Elders of the Church in Jerusalem he said in Galatians 2:9-10,  “when James and Cephas and John who seemed to be pillars perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.”

Paul said that a major mandate given to him by the elders in Jerusalem aside from everything else, they said do not forget the poor and Paul himself said that is a matter that was close to his own heart. In Acts 4: 32-35, Scripture says and here’s the whole point is that they are describing how Christians of that era took responsibility for the poor, Scripture says “now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. Neither did they or anyone say that any of the things he possessed belong to him or was his own, but they had all things in common.” In verse 33, it says “and with great power, the apostles give witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all.” Then in verse 34 it says, “that nor was there anyone among them who lacked.” Please take note of those words, “nor was there anyone among them who lacked.”

Nobody in the Church of Jesus Christ lacked for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles’ feet. They distributed to each as anyone had need. The reason why none lacked was not just because they gave, but because the giving was then distributed amongst those who lacked. That’s very important.

The two parables that Jesus told about who would go to hell and who would go to heaven revolved around giving to the poor. The Story of Lazarus and the rich man, I’m sure we’re all familiar with that story in Luke 16:19-30. The story of Lazarus was the beggar sitting at the gate of the rich man. Scripture says that dogs came and licked his wounds. he was carried to the gate of the rich man because he was so sick, that he had to be carried physically there. Scripture says the rich man in his home enjoyed life, lived well, ate sumptuously then he died went to hell and Lazarus died and went to heaven.

Jesus concluded that obviously from that story, the conclusion was that the reason why the rich man ended up in hell was because he did not help the poor man who was outside his gate. That was the moral of the story. Then in Matthew 25:4 of course, you know where Jesus talked about those who will go to hell, and those who will go to heaven, where He said those who attend to the poor are the ones that will go on His right hand and they’ll go to heaven and those who do not attend to the poor will be on His left hand.

In Matthew 25:4, He said, “Assuredly as I say to you in as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me.” Whatever you do for the poorest, you do it for God. So as far as the Scriptures are concerned, when you say you give to God, Jesus said you are giving to the poor. The meaning of giving to God as far as Jesus was concerned, at least going by the Scriptures, is that you are giving to the poor. The consequence of ignoring the poor and needy is according to Jesus, hellfire.

Those are the two main scriptures that Jesus preached concerning hell and heaven; they are both concerning giving to the poor. The early church and the churches in the countries where the gospel transformed nations preached the gospel in this way. It was this gospel that transformed Europe and America.  When we look at all these principles, you know, we know exactly what we need to do.

The French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville said and I quote him, “he said I looked for for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbours and her ample rivers, it was not there. I looked for the greatness and genius of America in her fertile fields and boundless forests, it was not there. I sought for the greatness of America and her genius in her rich minds and her vast world of commerce, it was not there. I sought the greatness and genius of America in her public school system and institutions of Higher Learning and it was not there. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her Democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution and it was not there. Then he said, “Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand why America was so great.”

That is a philosopher who was trying to find out why America was so great writing in the 18th century. He said he searched everywhere and it was until he got to the churches and heard the preachings of righteousness that he understood why America was so great.

We hear about social welfare schemes by governments in Europe and America, it was inspired by the gospel, it was inspired by Matthew 25. The welfare schemes; taking care of the poor, taking care of the needy, taking care of the hungry.

So the question then is what is being taught in our pulpits? What are we teaching in our pulpits? Is it the true and transformative Gospel of Jesus Christ or a variant of that gospel that is lacking in power and even corruptive in its influence?  I fear that many many times, we’re not actually preaching the true gospel.

Today what you hear from many of our pulpits is a gospel that is to the effect that the purpose of our faith is the attainment of wealth or at least, physical or material well-being here on earth. What we hear daily is that we can become wealthy, healthy and successful through miracles and by anointing, more so, if we are generous in the giving of offerings and tithes faithfully.

We no longer hear from our pulpits, that God is more concerned about giving to even the poor and vulnerable than giving for any other causes. It is rare to hear as we exalt church members to give, to hear us say that when Scripture says “God loves a cheerful giver,” the context is really a cheerful giver to the poor, but that when God said to Cornelius in Acts 10:4, He said “your prayers and your alms have come up as a memorial before God.” God was saying this because alms means gifts to the poor; giving to the poor and your prayers have come up for a memorial before God.

Sometimes when we even preach the gospel, it is made to seem that alms are something else, whereas alms are given to the poor. The average person today who gives his life to Jesus Christ does so because he has been promised an escape from the misery and difficulties of his present life. The emphasis on miracles often conflicts with the truth that productivity and hard work, diligence, building businesses or professional excellence, day by day, building block by building block, is the God-ordained pathway to success and prosperity.

This is why it is rare in our churches to find any excitement when a member comes to give a testimony about his business. If a person comes forward and says “Praise the Lord, I have a testimony, I started my business with N500,000 and God has helped me, two years later, I have managed to buy a keke napep,” everybody will look around and say “where is the testimony?”

But if a brother comes forward and says I started my business last year with N500,000 and this year, I now have a new Prado Jeep, there will be great excitement. Nobody is going to ask where the miraculous wealth came from, nobody’s going to ask “Is there something you are not telling us in this story?” Nobody will ask. What we must know is that miraculous wealth is an exception, it’s not the rule. It is rare and there is usually an explanation somewhere for miraculous wealth that the testifier is not even telling us.

It is rare to hear as the Puritans preached in those days, that productivity is the key to personal and national wealth. This principle is ingrained in all the cultures of all economically successful nations. The wealth of nations does not depend on the availability of natural resources but on the God-given capacity to add value.

The poorest nations in the world today, many of the poorest nations have the largest natural resources, and many of the wealthiest nations have no natural resources. Singapore, Japan, and South Korea have no natural resources, but they are wealthier than many of the countries in Africa that have all the natural resources. Why? The missing element is the God-element, there is no capacity to transform material into value, and there’s no capacity to add value. And if we do not, which is what the scripture says, we cannot make the right progress.

Scripture says righteous exalts a nation, that’s what the Scriptures says, righteousness exalts a nation, but how often do we hear our pulpits condemning bribery and corruption? How often do we hear our pulpits condemning stealing? How often do those who receive money from politicians even ask the source of the money? How often do people who receive money from politicians, from office holders, say “Ah chief, is this money part of the budget or is it your money that you are giving?’ Nobody asks those questions.

The issue, of course, is that the emphasis on giving to get, the so-called “prosperity gospel”, never worries about the source of the money that is being given, whether it is stolen money or the proceeds of bribes or corruption, it doesn’t really matter. So the question is not how many Christians are in government, that’s not a relevant question. The question is not how many Christians are in business or professions not a relevant question. The question is what are those Christians equipped with? What are the relevant applicable principles of the Gospel that they know and apply in their daily lives? Are the principles of the Gospel that we’re preaching and teaching capable of transforming our societies? Are they equipped with the transformative Gospel of Jesus Christ or some “bread and butter” edition of the Gospel; some edition of the Gospel that says you can attain everything by miracles?

The church is the pillar and the foundation of truth. We have much to give as the church towards the building of our nation. The propagation of biblical principles of growth and development is fundamental. If we do not propagate the principles contained in Scripture for the growth of nations, prayer and fasting does not help.

When you are not teaching the right principles, the right principles must first be taught, otherwise we are not praying towards any particular objective. We must teach the right principles; it is those right principles that build the nations that we admire, Europe and America, those are the principles that built those nations.

I’ll conclude by congratulating again, the General Overseer of this great Mission and the Executive Council of the Gospel Faith International Mission on your 68th anniversary and if the Lord tarries, this great Mission will see many more decades of growth, propagating the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray concerning the church that as your days, so shall your strength, so shall your growth and so shall your favour with God in Jesus’ mighty name.

Happy anniversary and God bless you all.