The Story of Iwa

The first time I heard the story of Iwa (Character) from my grandfather, I could barely sleep all night. You see my grandfather is the greatest storyteller I know.
He would awaken the clouds, the stars and the rainbows with his silver tongue whenever we were with him during the holidays.  He told us stories at 9pm.

We did not observe the traditional night prayers under his roof. Prayer was reserved for 6:30AM every day. But every night, he would sit in the midst of his grandchildren and tell different stories every night. He was the best of the best at this.

My grandmother, on the other hand, was a choleric. She came from a very pagan background and was only a believer by marriage. When she prayed, she would have said "Ogun o gbe yin o" (The god of Iron will favour you) five times before saying Jesu a wa pelu yin (Jesus will be with you).

Their marriage was a very troubled one. My grandfather was a Christian whose mother was the first Women Missionary Union(WMU) president of First Baptist church, Awe. My grandmother was from a pagan family called Ile-Alagbede (Iron smith compound. It was an arranged marriage and neither of them had a say in being together.

Somebody had a baby. My grandmother took the person & her baby to a herbalist to check the future of the child and to find out the child's name. My grandfather heard it and went mad. He had warned my grandmother several times never to bring her fetish practices to his compound. Being an elder in the church my grandfather couldn't raise his voice or cause a scene.

He rebuked the husband of the lady that had the baby for allowing his wife to take the baby to such a place and prayed for the baby and the baby's mother. Knowing his wife would make a scene if confronted directly, my grandfather told us the story of Iwa (Character) that night.

Because it was in the village and electricity was rare, most teenagers & children (even parents) came to our compound to hear my grandfather's story. My grandmother also listened for the entertainment value.

My grandfather said a woman once lived who had everything but character. Then the woman died. She called on her money to follow her to heaven so she can give an account of her works on earth but her money declined. She called on her houses also but the houses declined. Everything she ever had turned her down.

Eventually, she called on her good character but her good character had grown so frail and thin because she had malnourished it over the years. Her evil character was a dashing and vibrant young man. The two followed her to God. When she got to God, she fell on her knees but she was not allowed to speak, only her character spoke.

The young and dashing evil character talked boldly of all the atrocities the woman committed while she was alive. The old and frail good character was about to start speaking when it died of hunger and thirst.  The woman was doomed.
Her evil works had thrived while her good works faded. She was thrown into hell.
The story was exceptionally captivating and it came with a song. I am singing the song as I write this.
Most of us cried that night, even my grandmother got the message loud & clear.

This is the Christianity many of us have come to embrace. A Christianity that presents God as the Judge & man as the accused whose good deeds will send to heaven or whose evil deeds will send to hell.
But something is conspicuously missing here. Something so big, it can fill the whole world... 

There was no saviour in the story. There was no space for one. The woman was condemned based on her works.
This version of Christianity is not different from the conclusion of most of the other religions in the world. Goodness leads to heaven. Wickedness leads to hell...
Is this what Christianity is?
If it is, then the Jews and Judaism were right and we all need to keep the LAW of Moses to please God and gain His approval. Without a Saviour, there is no SALVATION.
Out of all the religions of the world, only Christianity offers the world a Saviour.

The role of a saviour is to save. In this case, for you and I to be saved the saviour had to be flogged, ridiculed and crucified.

Jesus did all that. He paid the price all alone. Then you became the prolongment of his days. In Christianity, it is ALL about THE SAVIOUR.

You died when you gave your life to Him and took on the glorious life that was cut short according to Isaiah 53:10. This means the life you now live is not your own, "For you to live is Christ."
That is what Christ in YOU means. If the one who is sinless lives in you and you are living His life, why are you so sin conscious? You are supposed to be Christ conscious. You are supposed to reflect what is inside of you.
Why is this difficult for many believers to grasp? First, they say, "I am in Christ" and then they say "If I (sin), I am no longer in Christ."

Do you know the problem here? 

They have looked back like Lot's wife and forgotten their reality. If indeed you are in Christ, you will do what he has commanded you to do which is, "Go into the world and make disciples of all nations."

Those who are doing this are not mindful of sin, they are pleasing the Lord with their obedience.

Nowhere in the gospels did Jesus say the duty of a believer is to be avoiding sin. Jesus announced boldly that He has conquered sin and death. Why would he ask you to avoid what He has killed?

His commandment was that we love one another as He has loved us and that we should preach the good news. If you are doing this every day, you will not be carrying slate and chalk counting sin up and down. You will not be living a carnal life. You will be living the supernatural life.

There is a difference between grace preached out of carnality and the grace that Jesus Christ has extended towards all men.

In Acts 15, The council in Jerusalem had a meeting on the topic I am discussing today
Please read this chapter of the Bible in as many versions of the Bible as you can. You will be shocked to see that your gospel might need serious adjustment.

Anyone who understands salvation and really accepts Christ will not be so keen on doing wrong and indulging the flesh. The Spirit of Jesus is not Carnal.

Believers who are not baptized in the Holy Ghost need to get Baptized. Those who are baptized and yet continue to live the carnal life need to come to an understanding of who they are. The question of sin and the struggle thereof has been dealt with by the Lord Jesus.

Believers who are ignorant of this will continue to struggle and those who know this will continue to rule and reign in this life. The arguments to and fro are theoretical.

Apostle Paul met the Lord only once and he was transformed from one reality to the other immediately. The Holy Spirit makes this happen when we deliberately engage him in our life and Jesus did. Remember He was led by the Holy Spirit all the days of His life. He was not led by his senses or carnal nature.

Salvation is all about the SAVIOUR and no one else. If you insert yourself into it, you are saying the work Jesus did is not perfect.

Read JOHN 14, 15, 16 and walk with the Holy Spirit deliberately.

-GSW-