The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and founder of Power City International Ministry, Abel Damina, have criticised Pastor David Ibiyeomie of Salvation Ministries over his controversial sermon claiming that Jesus Christ hates poverty and never associated with the poor during his time on earth.
In a viral video, Ibiyeomie told his congregation that Jesus never visited the house of any poor person, interpreting this as divine disapproval of poverty.
According to him, Jesus’ death and resurrection were not just for salvation but also to free believers from poverty.
“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 said.
Reacting in a video shared online, Damina slammed the interpretation as a distortion of biblical teachings.
He called Ibiyeomie a “prosperity monger and money lover,” accusing him of misleading his congregation for material gain.
“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,” he said.
Damina further argued that Jesus identified with the poor even from birth.
“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,” he added.
In a separate reaction, the Lagos State chairman of CAN, Bishop Stephen Adegbite, dismissed Ibiyeomie’s remarks as “loose talk” and “a misrepresentation of sound biblical teaching.”
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Adegbite warned Christians not to fall for sermons that prioritise wealth over truth.
“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 the whole essence of Christ coming,” he said.
