By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
As Christendom continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the death and his triumphant entry to Jerusalem, Bishop Godwin Icon has admonished Christians to avoid Idolatory practices which the death of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary does not represent.
Bishop Icon who is the Prelate of World Missionary Church, African Communion, Uyo, Akwa Ibom state stated this in his message to the congregation on Sunday on the topic “The Resurrection of Jesus”.
He said that the resurrection of Jesus from the grave was about the renewal of souls of mankind from sins unto eternal life and not about prosperity less anyone may think.
“It is a call to Christians to follow God and becomes His sons and daughters; and a call for them to draw closer to Him by always showing love and compassion to each other in order to ensure peace and unity in the world, he added.
According to Bishop Icon, no portion of the Bible mentioned Easter neither did Jesus Himself tell us as Christians to mark the day as Easter.
“Resurrection of Jesus is a time to celebrate His victory over death. God does not exist through the cross but through spirit for God is spirit; therefore it is wrong for anybody or religious group to attempt to duplicate the death of Jesus by carrying cross or acting the exercise. God is spirit whoever worships Him must worship Him in spirit and truth”, he stressed.
Reading from the Bible in Matthew 27:52-54, he cited the centurion and what they saw when Jesus resurrected from grave and stressed why God must be worshipped in truth and spirit and not through graven images and other substances like cross, palm front, water and olive oil.
In another development, Governor Udom Emmanuel in his special broadcast on the celebration, urged people of the state to see the celebration of Easter as the foundation of their faith in Christ.
“The death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, which Easter commemorates, marks the essence and substance of our Christian faith. Easter is therefore, the foundation of our faith as well as a celebration of love, sacrifice, hope and spiritual renewal.
“As we use this celebration to benchmark our faith in an Almighty and ever-loving God, let us be reminded that the victory of Jesus Christ was obtained at great cost” he said.
According Governor Emmanuel, the Saviour Jesus Christ knew anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, with his death impending, He prayed until droplets of blood came out of his body as sweat and He said to his disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”
