DUE TO THE SATANICALLY-DRIVEN EXCESSES OF THE SO-CALLED PROSPERITY GOSPEL CHURCH, WHICH IS NOW IN NEARLY EVERY DENOMINATION, AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS ARE MOVING TO TAX THE CHURCH

Pictured: Zimbabwe Council of Churches President Bishop Ignatius Makumbe speaks at the Theological Conference in October 2024. Photo courtesy of Twitter. DANIEL WHYTE III, PRESIDENT OF GOSPEL LIGHT SOCIETY … Read More

Religion Jan 26, 2025 0 1 Add to Reading List

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Pictured: Zimbabwe Council of Churches President Bishop Ignatius Makumbe speaks at the Theological Conference in October 2024. Photo courtesy of Twitter.

DANIEL WHYTE III, PRESIDENT OF GOSPEL LIGHT SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL, SAYS IF AMERICAN PASTORS DO NOT STOP DRIVING BENTLEY’S AND LIVING IN BIG FINE HOUSES ON PORK CHOP HILL AND TAKE HIS ADVICE ON CAPPING ALL PASTORS’ SALARIES AT $250,000.00 A YEAR, THIS MAY ONE DAY HAPPEN IN AMERICA, FOR AS PRIMUS TAZANU SAID: “Some Churches are businesses that use Jesus’ name to embellish their brand. Despite the palliative aura that his name draws, Jesus would never approve at all of churches being exempt from paying taxes. Was he not the one who said people should give to Caesar what belonged to Caesar? That was a commanding political statement acknowledging the authority of the Roman Empire over religious institutions at that time. It is thus not sinful to ask churches to pay taxes because Jesus would never have failed to contribute financially to the society in which he lived.” Jesus paid His taxes with money from a fish’s mouth.

In November, Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced that starting this month, churches in the country would be expected to pay taxes. The announcement caused apprehension among religious leaders, prompting the country’s tax agency, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, to clarify that the new tax would apply only to churches’ trading income, not tithes and offerings.

“Income derived from trade activities is subject to income tax,” ZIMRA said in a notice. “Examples of taxable income include, but are not limited to, proceeds from the sale of church literature, books, or music; revenue from the sale of church-branded merchandise (e.g., apparel, anointing oils, artifacts, etc.); and income from the sale of meals, clothing, or similar items.”

Until now, churches in Zimbabwe had largely been exempt from all forms of taxation, but as the cash-strapped government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has struggled to meet its financial obligations, it has decided to widen the tax net to include places of worship.

Zimbabwe Council of Churches President Bishop Ignatius Makumbe argued that instead of focusing on taxes as its main revenue source, the government must come up with alternative revenue streams.

“We advised the government as churches that you will never get enough revenue by focusing solely on taxes,” he said. “We have minerals; why are we not mining as a government? We can sell minerals and relieve people of taxes. I think we are our own enemies because we think taxes are better than our minerals.”

Just as in other parts of the African continent, the arrival of neo-Pentecostalism in Zimbabwe — with its emphasis on money and material possessions — has resulted in the emergence of a new brand of churches that are run along business lines, raising concerns from traditional churches that feel unfairly painted with the same brush.

“You really can’t honestly fault the government for seeing churches as businesses that should be taxed because that is what most of them are now,” a retired Catholic priest, who did not want to be identified, told Religion Unplugged. “Money is at the heart of most of these new churches.”

Continent-wide trend

This trend toward taxing religious institutions across Africa has brought to the fore an emotive debate. Those who insist that the status quo should stand highlight that most mainline churches have traditionally carried a disproportionate burden of what ideally should be the responsibilities of national governments in areas such as education, health, food aid and other relief services in times of crises.

They usually cite studies done elsewhere that have shown that societies actually benefit more from just the presence of religious institutions than they lose in foregone taxes. One such study in Canada showed that the socioeconomic or “Halo Effect” of congregations outweighs the benefits of government taxation by more than 10 times.

Churches are generally exempt from taxation in most African countries, but this appears to be changing as the basis for this exemption is increasingly being questioned.

In Rwanda, after the government of strongman Paul Kagame shut down more than 9,000 places of worship last year, the Rwanda Governance Board announced that it was drafting a bill to tax churches and mosques, following Kagame’s call to regulate “nonsense” in religious organizations.

“These unscrupulous people who use religion and churches to manipulate and fleece people of their money and other things will force us to introduce a tax so churches pay tax on the money they get from people,” he said.

In Kenya, moves by the country’s revenue authority to collect taxes from churches were declared illegal by the courts in 2022. However, a petition is currently before the country’s courts by one Kenyan, Magare Gikenyi — a prominent medical doctor — seeking to have the law that exempts religious institutions from sharing the country’s tax burden declared discriminatory and, therefore, unconstitutional.

“Tithes, offerings, donations, and any other person or entity exempted from taxation should be subjected to the same because Article 201 of the Constitution does not anticipate discrimination,” Gikenyi said.

He argued that the discrimination of not sharing the tax burden with everyone is increasing the burden on taxpayers in the East African country.

In Uganda, there has also been a tussle between the tax man and churches after the government issued a directive that all new or modern churches should be registered separately as nongovernmental organizations for taxation purposes. This prompted some of the churches to seek protection from President Yoweri Museveni.

“The issue of periodic registration of new churches as NGOs — we will resolve it,” Museveni declared. “A church is a church, not an NGO.”

In Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, which is nearly equally divided between Christian and Muslim populations, all previous efforts to change the tax-free status of religious institutions have failed. In Ghana, although churches are not taxed, debate is currently raging on the matter, with calls for the exemption to be lifted.

Pentecostal habits undermine exemption argument

In Africa, the advent of trendy Pentecostal churches has only served to weaken the original arguments in favor of religious tax exemptions.

“Have you seen them? They feed people snakes and grass, and they walk on people, they do all kinds of crazy things in the name of God, hayi khona (it shouldn’t be),” said the late Tito Mboweni, former South African finance minister, as he announced plans to tax churches in the country. “And then you see them displaying wealth; the big cars, the doors that open on both sides, and all kinds of things — and they are not paying tax, these fellows. Some of them have private jets, and so on — all in the name of God.”

He revealed that he had mandated the government’s tax experts to work on tightening up the country’s laws governing the tax affairs of religious public-benefit organizations or churches.

The South African Local Government Association, which represents the 257 local authorities in South Africa — Africa’s biggest economy — feels its membership is losing out on missed revenue that it is not collecting from religious organizations in the country and has called for authorities to open a national debate on the exemption law citing dramatically changed circumstances. This call for a national debate on the exemption has been gaining traction.

“It is true that they (churches) have taken up some of the responsibilities that belong to the state,” journalist Philani Makhanya wrote. “Without churches, society would easily descend into chaos, so the importance of their role in society cannot be overlooked. However, it is also true that churches have become more prosperous in recent years, with some controlling massive budgets. The flashy lifestyles of church leaders, evident in the cars they drive and the multi-million-dollar mansions they live in, is proof enough that the debate about churches paying taxes is not really misplaced.”

These sentiments are widely shared by many frustrated African finance ministers struggling with budgetary constraints when they see the beneficiaries of tax exemption laws flaunting their wealth in a sea of poverty.

‘Give to Caesar’

Primus Tazanu, from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Buea in Cameroon, told Religion Unplugged there is nothing amiss with moves by the government of Zimbabwe and others on the continent to seek to collect taxes from places of worship.

“Churches are businesses that use Jesus’ name to embellish their brand,” he said. “Despite the palliative aura that his name draws, Jesus would never approve at all of churches being exempt from paying taxes. Was he not the one who said people should give to Caesar what belonged to Caesar? That was a commanding political statement acknowledging the authority of the Roman Empire over religious institutions at that time. It is thus not sinful to ask churches to pay taxes because Jesus would never have failed to contribute financially to the society in which he lived.”

Tazanu, who is also a senior guest researcher at the University of Copenhagen’s Center of African Studies, said the church is a religious organization formed by humans to serve the interests of humans here on earth.

source: https://julieroys.com/why-african-governments-are-seeking-to-repeal-tax-exemptions-for-churches/

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DANIEL WHYTE III WAS HONORED BY BEING NAMED ONE OF THE 17 MOST NOTABLE ALUMNI IN THE HISTORY OF THE 134-YEAR-OLD TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, FORT WORTH, TEXAS, AND ONE OF THE 69 MOST NOTABLE ALUMNI IN THE HISTORY OF THE 53-YEAR-OLD LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA.

DANIEL WHYTE III HOLDS THE FOLLOWING DEGREES FROM THESE UNIVERSITIES:

DOCTOR OF MINISTRY (D.Min. IN PROGRESS) LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY / LYNCHBURG, VA

MASTER OF THEOLOGY (Th.M.) / LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY / LYNCHBURG, VA

MASTER OF DIVINITY (M.Div.) / LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY / LYNCHBURG, VA

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN RELIGION, B.A. / TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY / FORT WORTH, TEXAS

BACHELOR OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES / BETHANY DIVINITY COLLEGE AND SEMINARY / DOTHAN, ALABAMA / HONORS: SUMMA CUM LAUDE

DANIEL WHYTE III WAS ALSO HONORED TO SIT WITH PRESIDENTS AND WORLD LEADERS BY BEING INVITED BY THE BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION TO ATTEND THE HOMEGOING OF DR. BILLY GRAHAM.

HE IS THE ESSENCE NATIONAL BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF “LETTERS TO YOUNG BLACK MEN” AND AMAZON BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF “LETTERS TO YOUNG BLACK WOMEN” (AFRICAN-AMERICAN CATEGORY.) HE HAS AUTHORED OVER 100 BOOKS.

HE IS ALSO THE FOUNDER, PRESIDENT, AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE 20-YEAR-OLD BLACKCHRISTIANNEWS.COM (BCNN1.COM), WHICH HAS IMPACTED EVERY DENOMINATION IN THE EVANGELICAL AND CHRISTIAN WORLD AND HAS IMPACTED PRESIDENTS, THE US GOVERNMENT, AND GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD ALONG WITH IMPACTING THE PUBLIC SQUARE. BLACKCHRISTIANNEWS.COM HAS BEEN NAMED THE #1 BLACK CHRISTIAN WEBSITE AND BLOG IN THE WORLD 4 YEARS RUNNING BY THE INDEPENDENT FEEDSPOT AND IS ON THE TOP 60 CHRISTIAN NEWS SITES LIST IN THE WORLD — RED, YELLOW, BLACK, OR WHITE.

HE HAS PREACHED THE GOSPEL AND THE WORD OF GOD IN PERSON ACROSS AMERICA AND IN OVER 24 COUNTRIES TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. HE HAS PREACHED THE GOSPEL AND THE WORD OF GOD PROBABLY MORE TIMES THAN ANY MAN IN HISTORY TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD WITH THE HELP OF THE INTERNET AS HE PREACHED THE GOSPEL AND THE WORD OF GOD NEARLY EVERY DAY FOR OVER 8 YEARS, LIVE AND ON-DEMAND MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY TO THIS VERY DAY. “CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,” “EXILED ON THE ISLE OF PATMOS,” AND “PREACHING THE GOSPEL BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY” FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND JESUS CHRIST.

DANIEL WHYTE III IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE OVER-40-YEAR-OLD GOSPEL LIGHT EVANGELISTIC SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL AND THE OVER-36-YEAR-OLD GOSPEL LIGHT HOUSE OF PRAYER INTERNATIONAL. HE IS KNOWN WORLDWIDE AS THE PROPHET WHO PREDICTED THE CORONAVIRUS PLAGUE FOR OVER 10 YEARS BEFORE IT HIT IN RECORDED PREACHING AND WRITING. GOD ALSO LED HIM TO GUIDE THOUSANDS THROUGH THE CORONAVIRUS PLAGUE THAT KILLED OVER 20 MILLION PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THE SINS IN THE JUDAS-LAODICEAN CHURCH.

DANIEL WHYTE III’S GREATEST BLESSING IN THIS LIFE IS HIS QUIVER FULL OF 10 CHILDREN — DANIELLA (DANNI), DANIEL IV, DANITA EVANGELINE, DANAE MARY-LOUISE, DANIQUA GRACE, DANYEL EZEKIEL, DANYELLE ELIZABETH BREEDLOVE, DANIELLE TEKEELA, DURAN-DANIEL AND THE FIRST DANIEL IV (DECEASED AND IN HEAVEN WITH THE LORD), ALONG WITH GRAND-CHILDREN AND GREAT GRAND-CHILDREN.

DANIEL WHYTE III HAS BEEN UNBLISSFULLY BUT SEXUALLY SATISFYINGLY MARRIED TO HIS FIRST AND ONLY WIFE, MERIQUA WHYTE OF CHRISTIANA, JAMAICA, FOR OVER 36 YEARS. JESUS CHRIST SAID: “AND A MAN’S FOES SHALL BE THEY OF HIS OWN HOUSEHOLD.” EVEN THOUGH MANY EVANGELICALS, CHARISMATICS, AND PROTESTANTS TRY TO ACT LIKE THESE WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST ARE NOT A REALITY IN OUR MODERN CHRISTIANITY, PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE SATANIC-DRIVEN PROSPERITY GOSPEL, OVER-POSITIVE PHILOSOPHY, WHICH IS A LIE, AND IS NOT BASED IN REALITY OR BIBLICAL TRUTH. HOWEVER, THE WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST ARE TRUE FOR EVERY PERSON WHO PREACHES THE GOSPEL AND THE OUTCOMES OF THE GOSPEL, WHICH IS A CHANGED LIFE AND OPPOSITION, THEREFORE TO FAMILY, LUKEWARM CHRISTIANS, LAODICEAN-JUDAS PASTORS AND CHURCHES, THE WORLD, AND THE DEVIL. THIS IS A REALITY, YES, IN OUR PRESENT EVIL WORLD.

WHILE DANIEL WHYTE III THOROUGHLY ENJOYS HIS MARRIED LIFE BECAUSE HE DID NOT ALLOW HIS WIFE TO HAVE HER WAY AT ANY POINT AND WAS AND IS SOLIDLY AND BIBLICALLY, THE HEAD OF HIS HOUSEHOLD THROUGHOUT THE MARRIAGE, WHO HAS OFTEN TIMES QUOTED JOSHUA “AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE’RE GOING TO SERVE THE LORD” “UP IN HERE!” AND BECAUSE HIS WIFE NEVER FAILED IN THE VERY IMPORTANT AREA OF SEX, WHICH HE GOT MARRIED FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE TO AVOID SINNING AGAINST GOD. HE HAS ESPECIALLY ENJOYED THE PRIVILEGE AND JOY OF RAISING HIS CHILDREN IN THE LORD VIRTUALLY BY HIMSELF AND SERVING THE LORD WITH THEM EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES, FROM THE TIME THEY WERE BORN UNTIL THEY GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE, BECAME ADULTS, AND MOVED ON AS GROWN PEOPLE.

HOWEVER, HIS WIFE MERIQUA WHYTE MOTIVATED BY SATAN, PHAROAH-STYLE PRIDE MIXED WITH THE WELL-KNOWN FEMALE JAMAICAN-STYLE PRIDE, STUBBORNNESS, REBELLIOUSNESS AND WITCHCRAFT HAS BEEN HIS GREATEST JUDAS ENEMY IN THE WORLD AND HAS BEEN WHAT PAUL SPOKE OF — A “MESSENGER OF SATAN” AND A “THORN IN THE FLESH.” AMAZINGLY AND BY THE GRACE OF GOD, GOD HAS USED THAT SATANIC EVIL OPPOSITION TO SPUR DANIEL WHYTE III ON TO PREACH THE GOSPEL PROBABLY MORE TIMES THAN ANY MAN ON RECORD, AND GOD HAS HONORED HIM BECAUSE HE DID NOT “HEARKEN TO THE VOICE OF HIS WIFE.” WHYTE TELLS OTHER CHRISTIAN MEN TO ONLY HEARKEN TO THE VOICE OF GOD AND JESUS CHRIST — NOT TO THEIR WIVES, AS SO MANY THOUSANDS OF CHURCH MEN AND OTHER MEN HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BY PASTORS AND OTHER OLDER MEN DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. REMEMBER WE ARE IN THIS WORLDWIDE MULTI-GENERATIONAL MESS BECAUSE ADAM HEARKENED TO THE VOICE OF HIS WIFE AND NOT TO THE VOICE OF GOD.

DANIEL WHYTE III TOLD HIS WIFE MERIQUA WHYTE BEFORE THEY GOT MARRIED THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO DO FAMILY LIFE AS HER PARENTS DID IT FOR THEIR MARRIED LIFE WAS HELLACIOUS AND ENDED IN DIVORCE, AS DID SOME OF HER OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, INCLUDING THE AUNT SHE WAS LIVING WITH. HE ALSO TOLD HIS WIFE WE ARE NOT GOING TO DO FAMILY LIFE AS HIS PARENTS DID IT BECAUSE IT WAS ALSO HELLACIOUS AND OUT OF ORDER BECAUSE HIS MOTHER WAS THE HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD, NOT HIS FATHER, BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, THEY NEVER GOT A DIVORCE. WHYTE TOLD HIS WIFE BEFORE THEY GOT MARRIED THAT WE ARE GOING TO DO IT GOD’S WAY ACCORDING TO EPHESIANS CHAPTERS 5 AND 6 OR NO WAY AT ALL. AND THEN HE ASKED HIS WIFE ARE YOU WILLING TO DO MARRIAGE GOD’S WAY ACCORDING TO EPHESIANS CHAPTERS 5 AND 6, AND SHE SAID YES. AND WHYTE TOLD HER BEFORE THEY GOT MARRIED THAT IF SHE DOES NOT LIVE UP TO HER END OF THE DEAL, ALL BETS ARE OFF!

BECAUSE DANIEL WHYTE III’S WIFE MERIQUA WHYTE WAS SO PROUD, UNSUBMISSIVE, STUBBORN, AND REBELLIOUS AFTER THEY GOT MARRIED, GOD LED HIM TO READ EPHESIANS CHAPTERS 5 AND 6 EVERY DAY IN THEIR FAMILY DEVOTIONS THROUGHOUT THEIR MARRIAGE. IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE MARRIAGE DANIEL WHYTE III ALSO GAVE HIS WIFE A LIST OF VERSES FOR WOMEN FROM THE WORD OF GOD FOR HER TO READ, WHICH SHE STILL READS TO THIS DAY. HE ALSO BOUGHT HER MANY BOOKS TO READ TO HELP HER BE THE WIFE GOD WANTED HER TO BE.

WHYTE REALIZED EARLY IN THE MARRIAGE THAT HIS WIFE WAS NOT A BORN-AGAIN-SAVED PERSON EVEN THOUGH SHE LIED AND SAID SHE WAS BEFORE THEY GOT MARRIED. AFTER OVER 36 YEARS OF MARRIAGE, SHE IS STILL NOT SAVED NEVER BEARING ANY FRUIT OF A SAVED PERSON TO THE POINT OF NOT EVEN WANTING TO TELL HER CHILDREN “I LOVE YOU” AND NOT WANTING TO HUG THEM WHEN THEY WERE LITTLE CHILDREN EVEN AFTER HER HUSBAND TOLD HER TO DO SO. SHE ALSO HATED THE DAILY FAMILY DEVOTIONS THAT HER HUSBAND LED AND TRIED TO HINDER THEM. SHE ALSO DEMONICALLY HATED AND TRIED TO HINDER EVERY GOSPEL PREACHING SERVICE TO THIS VERY DAY.

HOWEVER, ONLY BY THE GRACE OF GOD, THEY ARE STILL MARRIED AND DESPITE THE DEVIL CONSTANTLY WORKING THROUGH HIS WIFE TO TRY TO HINDER HIM FROM PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD, HE IS STILL PREACHING THE GOSPEL AND THE WORD OF GOD LIVE AND ON-DEMAND THAT REACHES OVER 148,800 PEOPLE PER MONTH WITH OVER 21,000 UNIQUE VIEWS PER MONTH REACHING 149 COUNTRIES PREACHING THE GOSPEL AND THE WORD OF GOD IN 2 TO 3 SERVICES A DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK. GLORY BE TO GOD!

BELOW IS THE PASSAGE IN THE BIBLE THAT DANIEL WHYTE III READ IN THEIR FAMILY DEVOTIONS EVERY DAY FOR DECADES — EPHESIANS 5:22 – 6:20 THAT COVERS THE BIBLICAL DUTIES OF THE HUSBAND, THE WIFE, AND THE CHILDREN, AND IT INCLUDES HOW TO FIGHT AGAINST THE DEVIL WHO IS SEEKING TO DESTROY THE FAMILY:

²²Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

²³For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

²⁴Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

²⁶That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

²⁷That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

²⁸So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

²⁹For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

³⁰For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

³¹For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

³²This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

³³Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

²Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

³That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

⁴And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

⁵Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

⁶Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

⁷With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

⁸Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

⁹And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

¹⁰Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

¹¹Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹²For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

¹³Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

¹⁵And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

¹⁸Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

¹⁹And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

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IF YOU WERE TO DIE TODAY, WHERE WOULD YOU GO: HEAVEN OR HELL? IF YOU’RE NOT SURE, “BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED” FOR JESUS CHRIST SAID THE MOST IMPORTANT WORDS EVER SPOKEN IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD WHEN HE SAID, “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.” READ FURTHER RIGHT HERE:

THE BIG QUESTION
GOSPEL LIGHT MINUTE X #447 WITH DANIEL WHYTE III

This is the “Chief of sinners,” Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International, with the Gospel Light Minute X Podcast #447 titled, “The Big Question” I’m here to remind you of what the Bible says, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” like you and me.

“HAVE YOU BEEN BORN AGAIN?”
The question is not “Have you joined a church?” or “Are you trying to do your best?” or “Do you have religion?” but “Are you twice-born?” Jesus Christ said in John 3:3, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.
We enter the physical world by birth. Spiritual life likewise is entered with a birth. We become members of a human family by birth; we become members of the family of God by birth, by being “born again.” There is no other way to get into the human family except by birth, and there is no other way to get into God’s family except by the new birth. Neither education, nor cultivation, nor reformation, nor “turning over a new leaf,” will accomplish this. What is needed is not a new “leaf” but a new “life”! “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).

A New Nature Needed
By physical birth we become partakers of human nature; by being born again we become “partakers of the divine nature”. A Christian is the product of a divine “begetting”. The second birth is not an improvement of the old nature; it is the imparting of an entirely new nature. The old nature is hopelessly corrupt and incapable of ever being made fit for His presence. The new birth requires a creative act of the Holy Spirit. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature”.

Not “Trying” But “Trusting”

“Trying to follow Christ” is not Christianity. Christianity is not imitation of Christ, it is the indwelling of Christ. Christianity is not trying to do anything. It is trusting Christ Who has done it all! He has “finished the work” and there is nothing left to do but simply to receive and trust Him. He shed His precious blood on the cross and the work is all done once and forever! Cease trying and begin trusting! Believers will progressively become more and more like Christ, but by His power, not their own.

What Must I Do To Be Saved?
Simply “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”. The Bible says in 1 John 5:1, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God”. The Bible states in John 1:12,13, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”.
You are born again, you become a Christian by trusting a Person—receiving a Person. The very moment you do this, the Lord Jesus Christ comes in and life begins!

What Is Meant By “Believe”?
To “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” means more than simply believing the historic facts concerning Him. Intellectual belief about Christ is not sufficient. The belief that brings salvation must be “with the heart,” that is, with the whole being. This belief also includes repentance: “Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ”. The Bible states in Acts 17:30, “God … now commandeth all men every where to repent”.

The faith which saves, then, includes the necessity to repent, and to receive Christ as Saviour and Lord, to rest upon Him alone for salvation. It means to trust Him so utterly and completely that, if He should fail, there would be no hope at all!

May I Know That I Am Born Again?
This is an important question. We know that we are born again by the testimony of God’s Word. God says in John 5:24, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”. Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as explained by God’s Word? If so, then you are saved, you are “born again,” you have “passed from death unto life.” God says so! Take God at His Word, and go on your way rejoicing!

One Final Word
You may “belong to a church,” you may be “trying to do the best you can,” you may be “striving to live right.” Your outward life may be the model of moral correctness, and you may be looked up to, honored, revered, and respected. Yet, if you have not been “born again” you are just as lost as if you had never heard of Christ. Yes, you may teach in the Sunday school, read the Bible, sing, shout, “feel happy,” and all the rest—but if you have never been “born again” you are still in your sins and a stranger to the Lord Jesus Christ!.

If you want to be saved from the wrath to come and from an eternity in Hell, and if you believe that Jesus Christ suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead and you are willing to trust Jesus Christ with all of your heart so you can go to Heaven, please pray with me what is called the sinner’s prayer: Holy Father God, I acknowledge that I am a sinner and I admit that I have sinned against You and that I have broken Your Ten Commandments. I have lied before. I have stolen things before. I have lusted after people and things before. I have dishonored and disobeyed my parents. I have taken Your holy Name in vain. For Jesus Christ’s sake, please have mercy and grace upon my soul and forgive me of all of my sins, my failures, and my faults. As I now believe in Your Holy Son the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that He suffered, bled, and died on the cross for my sins, was buried and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to repent of my sins past. Help me to turn from my old, evil life and follow You in the new life. For it is in Your Name I pray. Amen.

SUPPORT THIS GREAT MINISTRY BY PURCHASING THE BOOK LETTERS TO YOUNG BLACK MEN BY DANIEL WHYTE III. ORDER IT FOR AS MANY YOUNG BLACK MEN IN YOUR LIFE AS POSSIBLE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.

https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Young-Black-Men-Encouragement/dp/0976348799

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