The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), alongside a popular clergyman, Pastor Abel Damina, recently criticized the founder of Salvation Ministries, Pastor David Ibiyeomie, over his controversial sermon that Jesus Christ hated poverty and didn’t associate with the poor during his time on Earth.
Ibiyeomie, in a viral clip shared on social media, preaching in his church, told his congregation that Jesus didn’t visit any poor person’s home, declaring that’s the sign of his divine disapproval of poverty.
He later added that Jesus’s death and resurrection weren’t only to bring salvation but also to free believers from poverty. He explained that remaining in poverty despite being born again reflects a lack of spiritual understanding.
“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.
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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 be 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 the congregation.
In a video seen by Saturday Punch, Pastor Damina, founder of Power City International Ministry, calls the sermon a distortion of biblical truth.
Pastor Damina, who is also known for making controversial statements, further described Ibiyeomie as a “prosperity monger and money lover.” He called on Ibiyeomie to stop “insulting the sensibilities of the scripture” and misleading his congregation.
He further accused Ibiyeomie of twisting the message of Christ to suit his materialistic agendas. In his words:
“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 so 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 said.
The Lagos State chairman of CAN, Bishop Stephen Adegbite, also dismissed Ibiyeomie’s claim, describing it as an insult to biblical truth. He tagged the pastor’s sermon as a dangerous distortion of Christ’s mission, stating that it is “loose talk” and “a misrepresentation of sound biblical teaching that has no place in true Christian doctrine.
In a telephone interview with the Punch, Bishop Stephen further addressed that Christians shouldn’t be misled by the sermon of people who preach 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,” Adegbite said.
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