Yesterday was an unusual day as I had to attend the burial of a Christian sister who died at a little over thirty years of age. I had thought to allow my wife go alone since the deceased was her friend but remembering the good old scripture that says "it is better to go to the house of mourning than to a house of feasting...", I felt it was only right to be there and maybe allow a little sobberness restore me from the hustle and bustle of work life.
It would be the first time I would be entering Sango (Ibadan) cemetry and I was not too dissapointed at the the disorderliness that characterized the place the dead lay, as virtually everything in this country has become dis-oragnized. I tried to play the cheerful one, and get some brothers and sisters to atleast smile; but no one seem to notice. Most were simply overtaken by the grief of loosing a vibrant sister, who had succumbed to ill health a day before, and who had been so full of life some days before now.
We trudged on towards the burial site and when I noticed most people did not want to go close to the grave, I did - playing the man. Next to me was another sister who was so grief stricken that she did not know when she handed over her programme sheet to me. I found there were three Hymns written there: "It is well with my soul...","Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me" and a third one. These hymns came to my rescue because I was about to succumb to the mourning and wailing increasing in tempo around me; and so I concentrated on the hymns. I read them as our associate Pastor preached (and to his credit, that message was sound). I then remembered the story I had read on Augustus Toplady, the author of that timeless hymn "Rock of Ages... Cleft For Me".
Augustus Montague Toplady (17740-1778) lived in the 18th century. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley. He is best remembered as the author of the hymn "Rock of Ages". Three of his other hymns — "A Debtor to Mercy Alone", "Deathless Principle, Arise" and "Object of My First Desire" — are still occasionally sung today, though all three are far less popular than "Rock of Ages". Toplady was a leading theologian of his day and influenced a lot of minds towards calvinistic theology. He is most remembered, outside the popular hymns he wrote, for his controversy with John Wesley and their debate on the Sovereingnity of God in saving sinners, seen today as the Arminian vs Calvinist controversy. Having studied the controversy , I have come to see myself as Calvinist in christian theology, although with a touch of pentecostalism and so admire the likes of Toplady, Whitefield and Luther, a lot. Unfortunately, like our sister, Toplady was to die of Tuberculosis at the young age of 38. I am however certain that the Rock of Ages he spoke so graciously about in his hymn, and that has come to be a Rock for many more after him, has become the Rock that our sister stands on today in eternity.
It must be noted that modern pentecostalism grew out of the holliness movement that followed the teachings of John Wesley and whatever deficiencies were found in his theology would natural be inherited by pentecostal theology. It is because of this that I understood my Pastor very well when he warned those of us who came for the burial not to see our sister's death as from God, "this is from the devil", he said. What such a statement however betrays is the utter hopelessness in pentecostal theology. I have witnessed the way modern pentecostals face death and cannnot but quiver at their response to such situations. What is the use of a theology if it cannot give hope beyond this life? How does the family of the bereaved take comfort in the fact that the devil has killed there sibling? How does the church take comfort in the fact that the devil has taken one of them? Who is next?
When Jesus said in John 11 that he is the ressurection and the life, whoever believes in him will not see death, he meant what he was saying. The new testament gives the impression that Christians don't die, they sleep in the Lord. Paul showed us that he would like to die and go and be with the Lord, than remain here; but if remaining will benefit the church, however, he will remain for their sake. He said "death is even better". Romans 8: we are more than conquerors through him who has loved and saved us, and even death cannot seperate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Christians are eternal beings; with an eternal home. Christians are God's children and he has solid plans for them. The day God's plan for us is done, we are done here: Home, here we come! Death becomes our horse, and it is never our boss. When we see death in this light, we realize that death can be a blessing from God and not from Satan. Yes, death is a Spirit, that will someday be cast into the Lake of Fire with Satan. But even in the scheme of God's workings, Satan and Death are only His messengers to fulfill his great will.
That is the way I see our sister's death and that is why I did not have to sorrow like those who didn't have hope. And that is how I hope others will see the death of our great sister.
The utter weakness of pentecostal theology, steeped in miracles, faith and prosperity, all ingredients to face today's challenges alone, is brought forth when this same theology faces realities of life like death, wars, hunger, illness, disease and all other "works of the devil". Modern man may have interpreted these situations better when he called them the "Acts of God". The supremacy of the gospel of Jesus is that the believer is more than a conqueror in the face of all these ills.
An example of what I am saying came forth in a very practical manner during the burial service: none of the praise and worship songs we pentecostals sings could be sung in a coherrent form yesterday because most people where simply distraught. We had to resort to good old hymns to rescue us from our predicament. I am of the school of thought that we must all re-consider orthodox theologies taught in the past by our fathers because the same way praise songs where so inappropriate yesterday except orthodox hymns, so also will we need stronger and more orthodox theologies to face the events of the days to come in our lives. We shall all be in need of the Rock of All Ages that is unmovable in every circumstance.
- Deji Yesufu
