By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
While you may wonder whether the Almighty can ever be perturbed by anything, kindly suffer the caption as couched for contextualisation. Before you also probe how I know that devious doctrines aren’t a concern to God, be honest enough to answer this: would you remain anxious after pre-empting a problem with an ample remedy?
My point will become apparent eventually, but let’s begin with an example of how doctrines diverge. Some pastors teach that angels are at the saints’ command. Others counter that angels don’t do man’s bidding but only serve the Lord Almighty. Yet, both sides cite Scripture to support their standpoints.
Besides the tithing debate, perhaps no other issue has inflamed passions in Nigerian Christendom quite like the ongoing hyper-grace versus legalism argument, particularly the doctrine commonly referred to as OSAS, or “Once Saved, Always Saved.”
There was a recent exchange in this regard. Dr David Ogbueli, drawing from John 1:17, taught his members that while Moses brought the law, two things came through Jesus: grace and truth. He went on to argue that part of the problem Christianity now faces is that people place almost all emphasis on the former, grace, while ignoring the latter, truth. That, according to him, is why many believers are no longer functioning in the fear of the Lord.
In a rejoinder, Dr Abel Damina asserted that the original meaning of “and” in John 1:17 does not present grace and truth as two separate divine attributes. He argued that the Greek word “kai” can convey expressions such as “which is,” “that is,” or “even.” According to his interpretation, the passage could therefore be understood as “grace which is truth,” “grace, that is truth,” or “grace, even truth.”
Whether one agrees with either interpretation, the exchange highlights the complexities surrounding Christian doctrine.
A video that went viral recently brought another dimension to the debate. Apostle Gideon Odoma suggested that the birth, ministry, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus are not, by themselves, enough to understand the complete character of God.
In his words:
“There’s this disingenuous thing that Hypergrace people do where, in trying to hold that Jesus is the perfect image/expression of God, they put a full stop where God put a comma. The ascension of Christ is not the complete story of Jesus. Jesus’s mission to the earth is not yet complete. Even Jesus said I come quickly…
“If you are going to say anything Jesus did not do, God doesn’t do. That wouldn’t be accurate. There are things that Jesus has not yet done that He will do. Those will still be in the character of God. But if you take your timeline to be the ascension of Jesus, you may say Jesus is not going to judge anybody because we didn’t see him judge anybody while on earth.”
As plausible as this may sound, there are gaps in the argument. The distinction between the historical personality of Jesus of Nazareth and the complete person and mission of Jesus Christ appears central to Odoma’s position, yet Scripture itself presents Jesus as the revelation of the Father.
How can one argue that what we know about Jesus of Nazareth isn’t sufficiently reflective of God when the Lord Himself declared in John 14:9, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”? Jesus made this declaration before His finished work on the Cross of Calvary, which, according to Odoma’s argument, would still not be enough.
Why expect Jesus to prove Himself further as the express image of God when He declared, “It is finished”?
A message that requires the Second Coming of Christ before the believer can completely understand the person of God raises theological questions. What the argument also appears to overlook is the role of the Holy Spirit. John 16:13 says the Spirit of Truth will guide believers into all truth and show them things to come. Within Trinitarian Christian belief, therefore, Christ’s ascension did not leave believers without divine revelation or guidance.
When Churches Change Their Doctrines
The yeast of the Pharisees isn’t merely a malaise in Nigerian Christendom. Doctrinal disagreement is a global Christian reality, and it does not exist only between denominations but also within them.
The Roman Catholic Church, for instance, recently clarified its position on titles used for the Virgin Mary, stressing Christ’s unique role in humanity’s redemption. Jehovah’s Witnesses have also modified aspects of their policy surrounding the medical use of a member’s own blood.
In mid-2022, prominent American televangelist Creflo Dollar publicly reconsidered his long-held teachings on compulsory tithing, saying they were not supported by the New Testament.
A similar scenario played out in Nigeria when the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E. A. Adeboye, said in October 2024:
“I apologise for saying ‘If you don’t pay tithe, you might not make it to heaven.’ I’m sorry, that’s wrong, and it’s not in the Bible.”
The General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, also made a profound statement during the 2025 Global Family and Marriage Conference while addressing church rules concerning intending couples.
Kumuyi reportedly said:
“We just felt couples should have time to know one another. We said one month was too short, two months too short, so why not six months? But it is not from the Bible… As a Christian, you need to be mature enough to know what comes from God and what comes from church principles.”
That distinction is critical.
The fact that longstanding teachings and practices can eventually be reconsidered is one reason doctrinal distortions need not have the final word. They have a lifespan when confronted by truth.
These examples are not highlighted to suggest that doctrine is irrelevant. Rather, they demonstrate that doctrine is not the Gospel itself. They are also commendable examples of churches or Christian leaders having the humility to reconsider positions they no longer believe are adequately supported by Scripture.
It is nevertheless troubling to hear Christian denominations disseminate divergent doctrines and dogmas as though they do not belong to the same faith. The doctrinal boundaries between Orthodox and Pentecostal churches have existed for generations, but disagreements among Nigerian evangelicals themselves are becoming increasingly contentious.
A recent headline read: “Insults Directed at Bishop Mike Okonkwo Over Hypergrace Are Painful – Pastor Harrison Ayintete.”
It beats hollow how pastors would employ vitriol while propagating the message of the Prince of Peace.
This doctrinal babel may explain why Pastor Poju Oyemade recently wrote on social media:
“Any wrong doctrine, no matter how loud the propagators sound, will never settle in the hearts of the majority of God’s people. The reason is that as they read their Bibles, they will come across scriptures that contradict the position. Even those who seem to embrace it will continuously have an internal struggle as they see scriptures that clearly speak otherwise.”
Indeed, many teachings and practices adopted by churches are administrative rather than scriptural. Pastor Kumuyi acknowledged as much when he said:
“There is no marriage committee in the New Testament. We created it to help, not because there is a chapter or verse that commands it. It is simply church administration.”
That admission draws an important line between Scripture and institutional practice.
The Antidote to False Doctrine
Searching the Bible like the Berean believers did in Acts 17:11 certainly helps, but that’s not all.
If merely reading Scripture were enough, the religious leaders and rabbis of Jesus’s day would have recognised in the Torah they studied daily that Christ was presented as the Messiah. During His encounters with them, Jesus repeatedly challenged their understanding with the questions, “Have you not read?” and “Have you never read?”
This does not diminish the place of Scripture in checking false doctrine. Jesus’s words in John 10:4-5 and Paul’s admonition in Colossians 3:16 reinforce the centrality of the Word.
However, Christian theology also identifies another bulwark against false doctrine: the person of the Holy Spirit.
This Spirit of the Lord has been made available to believers by the Father, who knew from the beginning that divine guidance would be sorely needed. Since Pentecost in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit has remained with believers, “teaching us all things, and bringing all things to our remembrance, whatsoever Jesus has said unto us,” as John 14:26 puts it.
John 16:8 speaks of the Spirit convicting the world concerning sin, while John 15:26 describes Him as the Spirit of Truth. Within Christian belief, therefore, discernment is not supposed to depend solely on the eloquence, reputation or authority of whoever occupies the pulpit.
And this brings us back to the provocative question in the headline.
Why should God be bothered about the effects of false teachers when Scripture has already warned believers that such teachers will arise and has provided what Christianity regards as the antidote: the Word and the Holy Spirit?
The responsibility consequently falls on believers not to surrender their discernment to personalities, denominations or fashionable doctrines. Study the Word. Test what you hear. Refuse to be manipulated merely because someone speaks from a pulpit or carries an impressive ecclesiastical title.
Doctrines may diverge. Interpretations may clash. Churches may even defend positions for decades before reconsidering them. But truth does not become false simply because error temporarily becomes popular.
In the end, as apostles and apologists engage in exegesis and hermeneutics, they must remain conscious of the warning in Revelation 22:18-19 against adding to or taking away from God’s Word.
Perhaps that is precisely why doctrinal distortions don’t disturb God: they may make noise for a season, but they do not have the final word.
Editor’s Note
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Mirror African Diaspora. Articles published in our Opinion and Faith & Culture sections are intended to encourage informed discussion, critical reflection and the exchange of ideas. They are published following editorial review for clarity, style and journalistic standards while preserving the author’s voice and perspective.
About the Author
Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi is a sage, storyteller and branding specialist. He welcomes feedback at nmiringwu@gmail.com.
