What happens when a believer lives for himself instead of for Christ?
What does heaven count, the money you have? or the life you live?
Stay with me. This might be the most important thing youโll ever read.
See below ๐๐พ
When Jesus was asked to pay the temple tax, He had the right not to pay it, because He was a Jew and more than that, the Son.
But guess what He did?
He asked Peter to go and fetch a coin and paid it in order to avoid offense.
โBut so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line.
Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.โ
(Matthew 17:27)
It is sad that a minister went on national television, not necessarily to preach the gospel, but to defend an elaborate tattoo on himself.
Jesus understood that the actions of believers are not judged only by whether they are sinful or righteous, but also by whether they are edifying or hindering the mission Christ has committed to us.
Truly, it is not a sin, just as eating meat for believers in Corinth was not sinful.
Nor was it unlawful for Paul to receive money from the church for his upkeep.
But in the first case, Paul said he would never eat meat if it would cause the conscience of believers to stumble.
โTherefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.โ (1 Corinthians 8:13)
Paul also forwent his apostolic right to receive money from the church so that the gospel would not be hindered.
โBut we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.โ (1 Corinthians 9:12)
Sir, great grace to you, Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo, but when it comes to the company of believers, the question pivots.
It moves from sin or no sin to edifying or not edifying.
Since we have been redeemed and buried the body of sin in baptism, the focus is now progressive growth in holiness until we see Jesus.
Therefore, an elder or general overseer must gauge his actions not only through the lens of sin and righteousness, but also through the lens of edification versus hindrance.
If something is not sinful but would hinder the gospel, it is more loving and more Christlike to abstain from it.
This is why Paul said we should bear one anotherโs burdens, just as Christ bore ours.
โWe who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.โ (Romans 15:1)
A tattoo is not sinful in itself, but look at the controversy it has generated in the past two days simply because a pastor chose to exercise his liberty.
Finally, the standards for pastors are different. They must be blameless, even in the eyes of outsiders.
โNow the overseer is to be above reproach.โ (1 Timothy 3:2)
โHe must also have a good reputation with outsiders.โ (1 Timothy 3:7)
This is why the controversy Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo has drawn was not the best outcome.
Scripturally, it has not helped the gospel; it may even have hurt it.
And that is precisely why things like this should have been avoided.
We pray for Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo, that God will grant him the heart and wisdom to navigate situations like this better.
Amen.