What Links Law and Grace? Pt. 2

“But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22: 34 – 40 (KJV)

The truth of the matter is that the laws of God are for the benefit of man. There is no society living or dead that can exist or survive without laws; a set of instructions that people must obey for good communal and societal living. Including every home, there are certain laws; for example a law in my home is that my daughter must go to bed at 8pm. It’s a law and the little girl sometimes wants to stay up and watch Netflix and this and that. Most of the time when her mother is around she behaves. As soon as her mother is not around she sneaks up to my bed and begins to cajole me and pamper me; before I know it she is up till 12am. Then the mothers and there is war in the house. It’s a law of behaviour so that my daughter can go to bed on time and wake up on time to face school.

This is why we have laws. Every church has its own laws so that people can behave as they should behave. There is nothing wrong with having laws, having laws doesn’t necessarily defeat what is called grace.


Grace can only be effective when everybody knows exactly what to do and the have virtually perfect heart and mind.

Every nation has its constitutions and its laws; they are the laws of right behaviour and guide to interpersonal relationship. There is no quarrel between the law and grace. One perfects the other and the other protects one.


So, in Matthew 22 this is where I am going. The Pharisees asked Jesus Christ (because at that time the Pharisees did everything by the law and the law was so strong that it was even more important than God; so strong that God was secondary to the law); that is why when the lady was caught in adultery they brought her to Jesus Christ and they said “the law says we must stone this woman to death.” But they knew deep in their heart that there was an area and room for grace, a room for mercy but the law was so strong that they were hell-bent on stoning her to death. Jesus Christ said “no problem, I have no controversy with the law, I have no problem with the law, the law remains the law. But for there to be grace and mercy, anyone that has no sin, anyone that is clean of sin let him throw the first stone.”


So God brought grace to perfect the law, to make the law meaningful and sensible and not to bring about destruction. The Pharisees came to Jesus Christ and said; which of these laws is the most important one? Which of the laws is the most important one; which of the ten commandments is the most important one? Which one do you say that we must follow strictly. The Pharisees where trying to trap Jesus Christ because they wanted Him to put a weight and importance to everything unto the law so that they could say this is what Jesus said, He said this law is more important than the others so He must be in falsehood.” Jesus looked at them and said one law is important, the greatest of all; “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This indeed is the first and the great commandment.

What Links Law and Grace Pt. 1

God has always given man His laws. From the first moment that God came in contact with man, He gave him set of laws and a set of instructions. Genesis 1:28, the bible says that God blessed Adam and Eve; and God said to them “be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over every living thing”. 


Then in Genesis 2:15 God said, “I command you of every tree of the garden you may freely eat but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shall not eat thereof lest you surely die.”

God has always given man laws. These days there is a dispute sometimes in church between the law and grace. A lot of people who are preaching grace especially almost dispute, disregard and have no interest in the law. They say it is old testament and now we are in the period of grace; once you give your life to Jesus Christ and you are born again, the law has no effect on you. 


The truth of the matter is that God has always given man laws and the laws are important. In Genesis chapter 9: 1-13, after the flood God gave Noah and his sons another set of laws.

The only time that laws can be irrelevant is when you have a perfect world. A perfect world where everybody knows exactly what to do at the right time. 


God said to Noah and his sons, “be fruitful, multiply”; the same thing He said to Adam and Eve. Then He said to them in verse 8, “I will establish my covenant with you and with your seed after you and with every living creature that is with you. This is a token of the covenant, and He made a rainbow across the sky and says this is a token of my covenant and my laws". 


In Genesis 17: 9 – 14 God gave laws to Abraham and this time around the token of that covenant was the circumcision of the male organ. You shall circumcise the flesh if your foreskin, it shall be a token of covenant between me and you; all that is eight years old shall be circumcised, every young man in your generation. 


In Exodus 20: 1 – 17, God gave what is now famously known as the Ten Commandment. It is the famous ‘Ten Commandments’ that Moses went on the mountain to receive, he spent 40 days and nights there without food or water; fasting. 


The truth of the matter is that God gave Moses on that mountain over a 1,000 precepts and instructions. There were the laws on health, the laws on dressing, the laws on eating, the laws on social relationship, the laws of business, the laws on servant and master relationship, the laws of marriage and every single thing. But the summary of those laws at that time was the ten commandment. He says “I am the Lord your God who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of bondage. 

Law number one. You shall have no other God before me. 

Law number 2 says “You shall not worship Idols”
Law number 3, “You will not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”. 
Law number 4, “remember the Sabbath day (which is Friday night to Saturday morning) keep it holy; six days you will labour but on the Sabbath day you will rest.” 
Law 5 says “honour your father and mother that you may live long on the earth.” 
Law 6 says “thou shall not kill”. 
Law 7, “you will not commit adultery”. 
Law 8: “You will not steal”. 
Law 9: “you will not bear false witness, that is you will not tell lies.” 
Law 10: You will not covet (you will not be greedy; you will not be jealous) your neighbour’s house.

What makes a people great? Pt. 2

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Deuteronomy 6: 5 & 12 KJV

What makes a people great? How are you going to make sure you are great in your own right and sustain it? How are you going to make sure that your children are great and live a life of greatness?

What makes it possible for a man to boast about 6 million people? What makes USA, United Kingdom, Singapore great? A lot of this nations were not great initially but over time they have achieved greatness.

1.     A united people with a common vision, one voice and a common goal

2.     A people must agree on their understanding and their basis for religious service. An agreement to believe in a common deity. USA – in God we trust; Singapore – no deity; Israel – Jehovah; United Kingdom – Christianity; these nations were built upon one common agreement in religious service.

3.     A nation that is going to be great must be teachable, educated and knowledgeable; its people must be exposed to the knowledge to be great

4.     A great people with a great heart that think beyond themselves; who care for other people, who love their neighbor more than themselves.

5.     A great nation is made up of people with a willingness to work hard to use to the best of our abilities the favours and gifts we have been endowed with by God.

Nigeria was a nation designed to fail. The leaders where given a plan that would not work. But Nigeria can be great! Coming together to one people and the nation is greater than the people living in Nigeria.

A great nation is built upon a common goal. The great countries, china, United Kingdom, United States of America, Singapore are nations that have a common voice; one that is greater as a unit than the people.

There is no feeling of nationality, togetherness and living as one in Nigeria. We still think as individual tribes, language, culture instead of as a nation. Moses said, “Hear o Israel”; In Israel it was the nation first before the tribes.

Unless we can get rid of those things that separate us, we will continue to be ruled by the leaders that will keep separating us.

This is why Moses said, “Hear O Israel”. God spoke to one man – Abraham in Genesis 12 verse 1. God spoke to him and said, I will make of thee a great nation.

Everywhere we have great nations, its people have agreed to have one believe and to be united in their belief. What are you going to leave behind to make sure your children are enlightened? 

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14: 34 (NKJV). If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear. 2 Chronicles 7: 14 (KJV).

Lands cannot be healed and in peace if we do not agree on a common goal. This is why the bible says to not be unequally yoked.

A nation that will be great must be made up of people who have skills that are relevant, people who are informed and intellectually empowered to start their own business or are employable. A nation that will be great will have an enabling environment that provides it citizens a platform to thrive.

What makes a people great? Pt. 1

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Deuteronomy 6: 5 & 12 KJV

Text: Deuteronomy 6: 4 – 12

What makes a nation great? What makes a people great? What makes a nation great again? A lot of us will look at me and say, What is my own concern with the nation? But the truth of the matter is that if you don’t sort out the nation you will find it out to sort out yourself. The second is that you yourself are a nation and are not independent or separate from the people in your nation.

Recently I visited my home town – Oke Igbo here in Nigeria. As I drove through the town to visit the traditional leaders, I was surprised to see how much the town had grown over the years. Yesterday on my visit to my hometown, I began to ruminate on the thoughts “what makes a people/nation great?”

Deuteronomy 6: 4 says Nationalism starts from the heart. This words which I have shown you or said to you; you shall put it in your heart; teach it to your children; talk of them when you walk, sit down and lie down. Every single time in your life you shall talk of them as a nation, you shall think as a nation. You will fear God and serve Him.

What makes a nation great? A lot of disgruntled people in Nigeria especially due to the lack of infrastructure, amenities blame the lack of greatness to a deficiency in the leadership. However, what makes a nation great is the collective effort of the people. Moses spoke to the people of Israel and not a selected few about what will make the nation great. One of the challenges of Nigeria today is that we have not been able to speak to ourselves and agree on what makes Nigeria great.

A lot of us do not go back to the beginning to see what has resulted in bringing about the tension that exists in Nigeria. Before the year 1914 there was nothing like Nigeria, what you have was a collection of different states and establishment and they were all great people in their rights.

Even till today when you go to an Israeli house you will find inscription on their door post. When you see them you see them doing those things Moses commanded them over thousands of years ago.

We keep fighting and arguing and bothering ourselves that Nigeria is not doing well. We keep talking and talking and many at times we blame our leaders. But a man cannot give what he does not have.

February Edition of ASKPI series

1 Corinthians 13:4-5: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." 

1 Corinthians 13:2: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."

The month of love is finally here! And we know a lot of us have some burning love centred questions to ask!

That's why we are introducing to you the Ask P.I Series: TALKING LOVE. Start preparing all your questions for both @pastorituahighodalo and @ibidunni_ighodalo. They'll be answering them LIVE on Facebook at 4pm on the 9th of February 2020.

Everyone is welcome!

What makes a nation great? Part 2. Pastor Ituah Ighodalo

And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,…. Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 

 Deuteronomy 6: 10, 12 & 13 KJV

If everybody in Nigeria went through life with the fear of God; acting and living every day with the knowledge that there is a God that sees all we do and will judge us accordingly, then we will fear God. Before we take any action, we should first make an enquiry on what God’s position will be with the action we are about to take.


A committed people who have a desire to be great are also responsible for the greatness that we seek for the nation. Before the leaders can be good, the people themselves must be good.

In Nigeria we need a

• Reorientation of our mind
• People that think beyond themselves
• An educated people
• People with a mind for greatness

People are destroyed not because of poverty or wealth but because of a lack of knowledge. The lack or limited education is a ploy that keeps people in darkness.

When God said to the children of Israel that He would bring them out of bondage to a land flowing with milk and honey; He was speaking of two things

• Milk of wisdom at an early age. God was saying to the children of Israel at the early age of their nation He would give them the heavenly knowledge and information that would strengthen them for greatness
• Honey is something that the bee creates that provides sweetness, healing and productivity. The Lord was saying that He will give them therapeutic ability to create things. They will be able to turn raw materials into goods.

China has been able to harvest the honey of their nation and Nigeria can do this at a greater level.

The problem with Nigeria is instead of fighting a common enemy, we are fighting each other. Our enemy is not our fellow Nigerian; it is not the man from another tribe. Our enemies are the people restricting us from living as one, the people that have enslaved us mentally.


Nigeria needs people/citizens with a unity of mind and purpose. A coming together of people with a common vision.


Total obedience to the will of God, a righteous people. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7: 14 KJV.


Righteousness must begin with you. You must not bribe people nor insist on being bribed. You must teach your children to live right. You must not go being wicked to other people. You must not go raising dust all over the place.


We need to empower people. We need to have a true Christian church that fears god. We need to have a people that has the right mind. You need to be the change that you require.

What makes a nation great? Part 1. Pastor Ituah Ighodalo

And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,…. Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 

 Deuteronomy 6: 10, 12 & 13 KJV

When God was going to create the country Israel, He spoke to one man. When God wanted to create the human race, He created one man. He then gave him a command to go and replenish the earth.

God spoke to Abraham, “Get thee out of your father’s house and I will make of thee a great nation. I will bless you, make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless them that bless you and curse them that curse you and in you every nation will be blessed”.


Greatness is made. It goes through a process of manufacture and not automation. The church doesn’t know this. The church has become a place where people are being told they do not need to do anything but can expect wealth. God is not a magician; he will not do the things man is supposed to do.


If we do what we are supposed to do, then He will do what He alone can do. Greatness is made and not created. One of the challenges in the world today is that you see a lot of people grumbling and complaining about the world, the country or their home. Things will not change unless we make the move. It is God that makes a nation great but man must do the things he need to do for the nation to become great.


God made the nation of Israel and as a young nation He spoke to them in Deuteronomy 6: 7 – 15.


What makes a nation great?

• The love of God; the fear of God and a respect to human kind 
• A committed people ready to build the nation
• United people with a common vision

One of the challenges in Nigeria today is that there is no respect for who God is. The primary point of division in our nation today is the issue of religion. We do not know who is the one true God. If we love God and fear HIM, we will respect man. Even in church people don’t fear God; you find people in church doing all sort of things against the law and commands of God.