In a powerful sermon that has ignited a crucial conversation within Nigeria’s Christian community, Senior Pastor Adewale Giwa of The Second Coming of Christ Ministry issued a stark theological critique. He declared that any spiritual leader who instructs congregants to seek protection through physical charms has fundamentally compromised the core tenet of Christian faith: reliance on God alone. This statement, far from being a simple rebuke, serves as a critical lens through which to examine the complex interplay of fear, cultural syncretism, and doctrinal purity in contemporary religious practice.
Pastor Giwa’s remarks were a direct response to a disturbing viral trend—a video depicting a Lagos-based pastor advising his congregation to procure [[PEAI_MEDIA_X]] traditional charms as a defense against the threat of Islamic extremist violence. This scenario is not merely about one pastor’s advice; it reflects a deeper crisis of faith where tangible, immediate threats can tempt believers to seek tangible, immediate—yet spiritually illegitimate—solutions.
Addressing his congregation in Akure, Giwa framed the issue with piercing clarity: “The moment a pastor points you to a charm, he has ceased pointing you to Christ. He questions the very nature of such protection, asking, ‘Has he forgotten that the herbalist who prepares a charm also dies? It is only God who is eternal.’ This rhetorical question exposes the fatal flaw in charm-based spirituality: it places trust in a created, mortal power rather than in the Creator.
Giwa’s central argument is anchored in a profound dichotomy of trust, eloquently summarized by his reference to Psalm 20:7: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” In the ancient context, chariots and horses represented the pinnacle of military technology and human strength. Today, their equivalents are not just physical charms but could extend to an over-reliance on political connections, wealth, or security apparatuses in place of divine providence. The pastor’s message is that when fear dictates our actions, we often retreat from radical dependence on God to reliance on inferior, worldly substitutes.
To ground his critique in scriptural precedent, Giwa turned to the dramatic showdown on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18. He recounted how the prophet Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal, creating a public test of power. “The prophets of Baal cried out from morning till noon, cutting themselves and engaging in a frenzy, but there was no response,” Giwa explained. “Their gods were silent because they were not gods at all. Elijah, in contrast, prepared his sacrifice, drenched it in water to eliminate any possibility of trickery, and offered a simple prayer to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. The fire of the Lord fell, consuming everything.” This narrative serves as the ultimate object lesson: divine power is sovereign, unmistakable, and requires no augmentation from human-made sources.
Expanding on this, the pastor invoked Jeremiah 10:8, which states that those who worship idols are “foolish and senseless,” instructed by worthless wooden idols. Giwa applied this ancient warning to the modern context of spiritual charms, arguing that to seek security in an object or ritual is to engage in a form of idolatry. It transfers the attributes of deity—protection, provision, and power—to an inanimate or spiritually hostile source. This creates a dangerous theological contradiction, as one cannot simultaneously serve God and place functional trust in a charm.
The underlying context for this sermon is critical to understanding its urgency. In regions facing security challenges, the temptation to seek any form of protection is immense. Pastor Giwa’s message, however, calls for a counter-intuitive response: not to fortify physical boundaries with spiritualized objects, but to fortify the heart with unwavering faith. The practical application for the believer is a daily, conscious rejection of fear-based solutions and a deliberate commitment to prayer, community, and the promises found in scripture as the true means of spiritual security. It is a call to remember that the God who delivered Elijah is the same God who calls His people to trust Him in the face of modern-day ‘Baals,’ whether they manifest as terrorism, economic hardship, or societal breakdown.
Ultimately, Pastor Adewale Giwa’s condemnation is more than a critique of a fringe practice; it is a clarion call for doctrinal integrity and authentic faith. It challenges both leaders and laypeople to examine where they truly place their trust when under pressure, reminding them that the foundation of Christian resilience is not found in charms or chariots, but in the character and covenant of the living God.