The Christian Association of Nigeria and respected cleric Pastor Abel Damina have openly criticized the founder of Salvation Ministries, Pastor David Ibiyeomie, following a controversial sermon in which he claimed that Jesus Christ detested poverty and deliberately distanced Himself from the poor during His earthly ministry.
In a now-viral sermon, Ibiyeomie asserted that Christ’s death and resurrection were not solely for salvation but also to liberate believers from poverty.
He argued that continued poverty after accepting Christ reveals a lack of spiritual insight.
“Jesus never visited any poor person in his house, that means He hates poverty. Check your Bible, He visited Lazarus, they were not poor, they were giving him food. He visited a sinner called Zacchaeus who was rich, tell me one poor man that Jesus entered his house, He hates poverty, that is the meaning.
“He (Jesus) hates people who are poor. He died for you not to be poor, so how can you now come into church having that kind of mentality. You can become poor, but you are not permitted to remain poor. Nothing is wrong with you coming to Christ as a poor man, but it is wrong for you to remain poor,” Ibiyeomie told his congregation.
Responding to the message, Pastor Abel Damina of Power City International Ministry strongly refuted Ibiyeomie’s interpretation, accusing him of twisting scripture to promote a materialistic ideology.
Damina maintained that Jesus aligned Himself with the poor throughout His life, even from birth.
“How can Jesus hate poor people? We know the grace of our Lord Jesus, He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. He identified with poor people. He became poor that you, through his poverty, may be rich and the rich is not material richness. It is riches of grace, mercy, and his righteousness.
“Jesus identified with the poor even in his birth. He was born in a manger, in a family of poor parents, Joseph, the carpenter and Mary. If He hates poor people, he should have come through the house of Bill Gates or through the house of Elon Musk, but He came through an old poor carpenter family,” Damina stated.
Echoing this sentiment, the Lagos State chairman of CAN, Bishop Stephen Adegbite, condemned Ibiyeomie’s sermon, branding it a “dangerous distortion” of the message of Christ.
Adegbite described the remarks as careless and warned believers against being swayed by preachers who emphasize wealth over salvation.
“He (Ibiyeomie) should not be misleading people and he should tell people the truth and nothing but the truth. For us, Jesus is a lover of the poor and he identified with them and that is one of the reasons why He came into the world.
“By their fruits we shall know them. They (pastors) can make anything, they can make billions, that is not Christianity, that is not the faith that we know. The message Jesus wants us to preach is about salvation because that is whole essence of Christ coming,” Adegbite said.
Earlier reports had also highlighted widespread backlash over the sermon, with a Catholic priest among those rebuking Pastor Ibiyeomie for suggesting that Christ avoided the poor out of disdain for their condition.
