By Pastor David Ibiyeomie, has stirred controversy after claiming that Jesus Christ deliberately avoided poor people during his time on earth, stating that poverty is contrary to divine intention.
Speaking during a Sunday sermon that later went viral on X (formerly Twitter), the Port Harcourt-based preacher argued that biblical accounts show Jesus never entered the home of any poor person, suggesting that Christ “hated poverty.”
“Jesus never visited any poor person in his house. Check your Bible,” Ibiyeomie told his congregation. “That means he hates poverty. When he visited Lazarus, they were not poor; they were giving him food. He visited a sinner called Zacchaeus, who was rich.”
According to the cleric, salvation is not just about spiritual redemption but also includes financial upliftment.
“He died for you not to be poor,” he asserted. “You can come poor but you’re not permitted to remain poor. It is wrong for you to remain poor after coming to Christ.”
Ibiyeomie said continued poverty among Christians reflects ignorance of spiritual insight and God’s promises.
His comments have since sparked mixed reactions on social media, with some defending his perspective as motivational and others criticizing it as a misinterpretation of biblical teachings.
