Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, has admonished Christians to desist from being hypocrites and rather stand by the truth as we seek the progress of the nation.
“The worst form of hypocrisy is the religious hypocrites who behave as hypocrites while claiming to be followers of Christ,” he stated.
According to Apostle Kumi-Larbi, the scribes were men who read and interpreted the scripture to the people, like Ezra. He said that at the time of Jesus, they were just interested in teaching and not practicing.
On the other hand, he noted that the Pharisees were a religious sect who attempted to strictly observe and keep the law. He further noted that during the days of Jesus, He observed that their type of “righteousness” was hypocrisy; they had an external observance of the law, were clean outside but rotten inside.
“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of God (heaven),” he pointed out while quoting from Matthew 5:17-20.
This, he said today at the Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC) – Tesano, at Tesano, during his ministerial visit to the church.
Speaking on the topic: “Righteousness, (the “if clause” in our relationship with God), A Prerequisite For Nation Building,” he said that the Bible’s stand of human righteousness is God’s own standard. He, therefore, said that our righteousness as Christians is never dependent on our setting or environment.
He iterated that when we become Christians, we are free, yet there is a prerequisite to enjoy the fruits which is by being righteous.
He stated that the Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behaviour, and every word. This, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness.
“Without righteousness in our nation, we can have all the good laws, but can’t apply them. This is because we would lack men and women of character to ensure laws work,” he emphasised.
Reading from Romans 14:17 and Matthew 6:10, he noted that the kingdom of God is not about a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
He admonished Christians to be mindful in their associations and cautiously avoid affecting the weaker ones in the church with their behaviour.
Touching on hypocrisy, he explained that it is the act of deliberately pretending and giving false impressions over a period.
Quoting from W.W. Wiersbe, the General Secretary of the church said that: “…hypocrisy is lying to other people about our fellowship with the Lord”.
He added: “There are many ways we do this: preaching what we don’t practice, praying things we don’t mean, and pretending to do what we don’t do”.
He further encouraged Christians to turn around and live right to ensure prosperity in their lives.
“Wherever there is sin in the land, whenever there is sin in your life, be sure that God will punish,” he reiterated.
He urged that when we stand for the right things in the nation, prosperity will never be away from us and reproach would not be our portion.
Concluding his message, he charged Christians to hold on to the righteous scepter of God which is their authority in Jesus Christ, moreover, when they live right, God’s power comes upon them.
He made scriptural references from Joshua 1:8, Exodus 7:1, Deuteronomy 6:6-7; 8-29; 28:1-14, Joshua 4:14, Leviticus 20:10-21, Hosea 4:7-9, and Matthew 23:1-28 respectively.
Present were Apostle Prof. Peter Ohene Kyei (Retired), Mrs. Rose Kumi-Larbi, wife of the General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, Dr. Mrs. Abigail Kyei, Pastor Benedict Eghan, Personal Assistant to the Chairman and Resident Minister of PIWC-Tesano, and Mrs. Grace Eghan, wife of Resident Minsiter of PIWC-Tesano.
PENTECOST NEWS.