By Abubakar Yunusa
Pastor Abel Damina, founder of Power City International Ministry, has denounced the prosperity gospel, labeling it a distortion of Christian teachings.
He made the assertion while appearing on the Mic On podcast, hosted by journalist Seun Okinbaloye.
Pastor Damina referred to scriptural passages to support his position, particularly Galatians 1:6, where Apostle Paul expressed concern about deviations from the gospel of Christ.
“Paul said to the church in Galatia, ‘I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another gospel, which is not another.’ This prosperity gospel is a perversion of the gospel of Christ because the true gospel is the gospel of Christ,” he explained.
He further emphasized that the essence of the gospel is spiritual and not material. Quoting Ephesians 1:3, he said, “God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.”
According to Pastor Damina, these blessings include righteousness, justification, sanctification, and a relationship with God—elements stemming from Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Addressing interpretations that associate divine blessings with material wealth, Pastor Damina pointed to the need for proper biblical context.
“The Old Testament is explained by the New Testament,” he said. He clarified that verses like Proverbs 10:22, which speak of God’s blessings adding no sorrow, refer to the immaterial benefits of salvation through Christ.
“The blessings we have in Christ are not material, they are immaterial,” he noted.
