Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the highly respected General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has come forward to openly acknowledge a mistake he made regarding tithing in a previous sermon.
During one of his teachings, Pastor Adeboye had made the claim that any Christian believer who fails to pay tithes would not make it to heaven. However, he has now admitted that this statement was not biblically accurate, and apologized to his congregation and the wider Christian community for any confusion it might have caused.
He addressed the issue while delivering a sermon at the ongoing RCCG national youth convention, held at the Redemption Camp, making it clear that the earlier remark was incorrect and not supported by any scripture in the Bible.
Speaking to the attendees, Pastor Adeboye humbly admitted his mistake, stating, “I am going to be addressing this as soon as God permits me. I must apologize for the earlier statement where I said that not paying tithes would prevent someone from entering heaven. That was a mistake.
“The truth is that such a statement is not found anywhere in the Bible. What the Bible actually teaches is that we should follow peace with all men and live in holiness, because without these, no man shall see God. What I should have said is that one must follow peace and holiness in order to make it to heaven.”
Pastor Adeboye went on to offer an example to explain how one can be both right and wrong at the same time, saying, “For many years, we were taught that light travels in a straight line, but later discoveries revealed that light actually travels in waves. This shows that it is possible to hold a belief that seems right at the time but may need correction later as more understanding is gained.”
Despite his retraction, Pastor Adeboye reaffirmed the importance of giving and tithing, emphasizing that it is a crucial part of Christian practice and a source of blessings from God.
He shared a compelling story about a businessman who had made a covenant with God, promising to give more than 10% if God blessed him. The man initially started his business with only 500 dollars but within five years, his business was making a turnover of 50 million dollars. According to Pastor Adeboye, the man’s commitment to giving was the key to his success, and it also inspired Pastor Adeboye himself to give generously to the work of God.
In his sermon, Pastor Adeboye explained, “If you want to dominate, you must know how to praise God violently. Look at David, for instance. He wasn’t the firstborn in his family, and he wasn’t even highly regarded, but his intense and passionate praise to God made him stand out. Even as a king, David danced with all his might to the point that his wife mocked him, but his praise pleased God.
“Unfortunately, many of us have become too polite in our praise as we grow older in faith. When we were younger in the Lord, we praised God freely and with great passion, but as we mature, our praise becomes more civilised and reserved. This should not be so.”
He also cited the example of King Solomon, who offered thousands of burnt offerings to God. As a result of his generosity, God granted Solomon peace throughout his reign, sparing him from the wars that other kings had to fight to secure their domains. Solomon’s generous giving pleased God and ensured his dominance and peace during his rule.
Pastor Adeboye urged the congregation to embrace giving as an act of worship, not gently but violently, just as Solomon and David did, so that they too can experience the same level of divine blessings and favor.