Babalola, Dokunmu admonish Christians to shun religiosity, embrace holiness

• As Church Ends Crusade

The Archdeacon (Anglican Church), Inalende, Ibadan, Oyo State, Venerable Collins Babalola has urged Christians to shun religiosity and embrace spirituality.

Speaking at a three-day crusade tagged: “Lazarus Come Forth,” organised by St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Ishaga-Tedo, Isolo, Lagos, Babalola said the personal relationship with God counts most in the Christian journey, adding that religion without power and holiness would only lead to frustration and does not guarantee good future.

Babalola, who was the guest speaker, stressed that prayers alone are not enough for God’s glory to manifest in a believer’s life, adding that Christians should shun sin to get their desired miracles from God.

He said: “Before Jesus Christ could bring out Lazarus from his tomb, he first rolled out the stone that was blocking the entrance of the cave. For some of us, our stone is unbelief, which is a sin.”

The guest preacher who lamented that many preachers are today preaching miracles without holiness admonished Christians to examine their lives and make sure that they are living aright with the Lord, saying prayers alone does not solve problems.
 
“For some, the stone is complaining, disobedience and stubbornness until these vices are removed life will not be any better. And if you pray from now till Jesus comes and you do not stop being lazy, your ‘Lazarus’ will not come forth.”

The Vicar of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Ishaga-Tedo, Venerable Oluwaseun Dokunmu, in his remarks, urged Christians to preach the gospel of peace and hope to douse tension in the country.

On the theme of the programme, Dokunmu said there was a need for Christians to speak words of life to certain situations in their lives, saying this will bring to life, any dying or dead situation to life.
  
Speaking to The Guardian, Dokunmu said that Jesus Christ is the hope of all nations, noting that people are suffering and calling on the government to provide jobs, security and other basic things of life, instead of calling on God to touch those in government to change the situation for good.

The Vicar urged Nigerians to seek God’s face for a compassionate leader to take over the nation’s leadership in 2023. He also called on Nigerians of the voting age to register and come out to vote for candidates of their choice in the 2023 general elections.

“Our government should sit up because people are really suffering. Many are jobless, while some families have no hope of what to eat. The government must wake up to its responsibilities and stop bandits and kidnappers from troubling the people. They must allow the laws of the nation to work and care for the people they are leading. The idea of ‘me, myself and I’ should be a thing of the past. We must consider other people because the resources in Nigeria are enough to take care of everyone if it is properly managed,” he said.