Show some spiritual spine

 By John Luluaki Professor of Law

 It must be of concern to churches and believers that some members of the clergy claiming to represent God as pastors, prophets, priests, and teachers are already dining at high state and five-star venues with representatives of an entity that is unwilling to take action opposing the degradation of values in this country and with whom representatives of a world agenda, especially through the United Nations, is courting to ultimately change God’s eternal principles and truths. 

Many are scrambling to take up secular positions under the partnership programme in exchange for their lowly paid ‘calling’ in God’s church. 

In God’s Kingdom, only material chasers think that they can ‘apply’ for a ‘calling’. 

Churches run the serious risk of being complicit with man in disobeying God if they do not disconnect from this partnership and realign with God so that He comes first. 

Papua New Guinea’s Christian community’s commitment to God is to partner with Him in the extension of His Kingdom and to be His representatives and voice on earth. 

The race for mammon (one of the seven deadliest sins) among beloveds has, alas, truly begun.

Corrupt and criminal minds never sleep. 

Churches must recognise the serious danger they are in of being hoodwinked into partnering with corrupt and evil minds who want to use churches to steal from the public purse. 

The partnership presents the very real and serious danger of elements within the church conspiring with evil people in government and other places having access to public funds to, in the guise of setting up universities, colleges, and other health and educational institutions and facilities, steal moneys from the people of Papua New Guinea. 

Alas, it is already happening. Indeed, and as we all already know, this applies just as equally to the private public partnership programme.  

In the final analysis, the partnership, I believe, represents an unforgivable admission by the partnering churches that their partnership with God (the partnership that defines them as churches) has failed for them. 

More seriously, however, this partnership represents an indictment of the churches’ spiritual standing with God and their obedience to Him. 

It is conduct amounting to charging God for failing to keep His promise to make provision for churches to preach the Good News of salvation to the lost in this country. 

Blaming God for what churches want but do not have is sin. 

Of course, many individuals claiming to be God’s people will have very clever and logical arguments to explain away the dangers and implications the partnership poses to the churches as representatives of God but these are irrelevant when the task here is to remind churches that His supreme command is obedience to Him.

Satan trembles when brethren partner with God to win souls for Christ, but rejoices when they partner with man to compete for funds, favours, and other things of the world. 

Everyone who competes aims to win – always. 

Competition always comes with some degree of temptation to disobey God in the same way people adopt procedures to ensure a particular outcome in their favour. 

Just as athletes may be tempted to ingest unauthorised substances to improve their chances of winning, churches competing for funds may be tempted to consider adopting and may even employ means contrary to God’s law to secure funding available under this partnership. 

As with athletes, what kind of ‘substance(s)’ will individuals and groups claiming to be members of the body of Christ use in their attempts to secure successful outcomes of their applications for funds or favours from government? 

Lucifer is waiting impatiently with answers. 

This cannot be good for God’s people and for the accomplishment of the Great Commission.

Submission to God’s law is authority; obedience to man’s law is relative. 

God’s people must not buy into this partnership lie or deception. 

Churches must not allow themselves to be ‘silenced’ by this partnership. 

In partnerships such as this, the Government, as the partner providing the funds, always has control because of the threat that it can withhold financial support if the recipient partner church refuses to take directions from it. 

For example, what should a partner church do if government, in its pursuit to implement the human rights agenda in the country, directs it to use the ‘partnership’ facility to distribute condoms, employ openly gay or lesbian persons or ‘couples’ (as lay workers, teachers or nurses), conduct gay marriages, or perform abortions or operate abortion clinics? 

They have no choice; they either choose the Clause or the Verse. 

The former will guarantee continued funding, while the latter God’s grace, peace, protection, and overflowing providence.

Churches generally, and Christians especially, must show the spiritual spine they claim to have by speaking out now against this devil-in-disguise project; for not to speak is to speak. 

As one pastor once said, ‘‘Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. Not to speak is to speak and not to act is to act.’’ 

Churches and believers must speak out and warn the nation that it is slipping into a moral sewer and materialism quicksand. 

If they don’t, cannot, or won’t, He will use ‘donkeys’ to do so.

If God is not answering prayers regarding the ministries and projects in the churches, they are not of God, or at His timing, or the result of a failure to accept the Matthew 6.33 invitation. 

If churches cannot have faith in God and depend on Him for their supplies and thank Him for what they do have or not have, how much less can they depend on humans? 

When churches seek to replace God with this partnership, their ministries and programmes will fail, churches will follow suit and die and further weaken the people’s struggle with a declining state of values and against immorality and corruption.

 It is of course not wrong, and may be even wise, to hear what man is saying, but futile and foolish not to listen to God!