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Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin, the General Overseer of Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministry, has come under fire from the Christian Association of Nigeria for asserting that sins, including those of scammers, can be forgiven by making a “first fruit” offering.

The cleric’s assertion was labeled “heresy” by CAN, which cautioned Nigerians against falling for preachers with “dubious theological background.”

During a speech at his church, Fufeyin made the assertion.

Fufeyin, also known as Papa J by his followers, has been the focus of controversy, especially on social media, where a number of his beliefs and actions have drawn harsh condemnation.

The pastor from Warri has come under fire for marketing and selling his miraculous goods, which include unique soaps, oils, and fragrances that he said could address a range of spiritual, emotional, and medical issues.

As he urged his followers to bring their first fruits to church, the preacher added, “Your first income, please let it pain you, try God with it. Not that there are no blessings in the year, but the first fruit that you carry once you give it unto the Lord, it breaks protocols, even your sins, it cancels them.”

He asserted that believers who offer God their first earnings will likewise experience forgiveness and plenty, just as Jesus Christ was provided as God’s first fruit for the redemption of humanity.

“When God sees that this man (pointing to a man in the congregation) is a fraudster, called 419, but because of the first fruit, God said when He was at the place when the angels were ascending and descending, He said, I the Lord, God of Israel, God of Abraham, I’m surely behind you because of first fruit, that is the product of first fruit,” the cleric said to the cheering of his congregation.

In response to the cleric’s assertion, however, CAN’s National Director of National Issues and Social Welfare, Abimbola Ayuba, stated that God is not dishonest and that He does not “share booty with crooks” or excuse immorality based only on church gifts.

He said, “Heresy and false teaching. CAN does not join issues with people of doubtful theological background. CAN recognises approved speakers and men of God in the five blocs, which constitute CAN. It recognises sound theological teachings and respects the various do tribes of its members.

“CAN does not associate with persons of dubious background who manipulate innocent Nigerians and fleece them of their hard-earned resources.

“God is not fraudulent. He has more treasures than any one man. He has everything under his control. He is not a thief that shares booty with crooks.”

Bishop Stephen Adegbite, the Lagos State Chairman of CAN, also responded by calling the lecture unbiblical.

He warned that such beliefs could encourage individuals to continue in sin with the hope that their annual contribution would exonerate them, and he challenged Fufeyin to support his claims with biblical evidence.

“He (Fufeyin) is preaching out of context, and he does not know what he is talking about, but we should not be disturbed by such preachers because the Bible says at end-time, there will be false teachers that are not called by God, but they will say God has called them.

“He should let us know where God gave such instruction in the scripture that when you do that then your sins are forgiven, so you can go on sinning with the hope that you have something to give at the beginning of the year,” Adegbite said.

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