The new Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba on Wednesday said that God is the only solution to numerous challenges facing the country.
Ndukuba made this assertion in Abuja at the commemoration of the Archbishop Nicholas Okoh’s decade of Primacy and Primate Ndukuba’s presentation as the 5th Archbishop Metropolitan and Primate Church of Nigeria.
He stressed that whoever called on the name of God shall be saved. He observed that the message of the cross is not easily accepted, and it is often offensive to the world and the powers of darkness.
He, however, added that there is no other alternative to salvation, because God’s solution to sin is Jesus Christ.
The head of the Anglican Church in Nigeria debunked the belief that there are other routes to God, stressing that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, the Father.
According to him, the bane of Christianity in this generation is “cheap grace” without sacrifice.
“If you are not ready to lose your life, you are not ready to follow Jesus; you cannot serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and faithfully follow Him without suffering,” he said.
The cleric pointed out that the problem in the Church is that many struggle for positions, simply to gain power and not to pay the price of the gospel.
He, therefore, challenged the congregation to prepare their hearts and be ready to pay the price of following Jesus Christ.
Ndukuba said the Church would operate an open door policy, but they desired truth, sacrifice, hard work and even suffering, if it is to the glory of God.
The Primate declared that his tenure as leader would be a decade of the reign of God.
He promised to strengthen the teaching of the word of God in the Church, pay attention to Theological schools, children, youths and women to insure the future of the Church, and focus on evangelism and discipleship.
He said they would oppose lifestyles that are against the word of God and purge the Anglican Church of all that are against the authority of the Scriptures.
Earlier in the service, the new Primate appreciated his predecessors for the legacies of faith and structures they had left behind.
He also appreciated fellow Archbishops and Bishops for their confidence in selecting him and his wife to occupy the position; explaining that they could not do it alone without the cooperation of every single member of the Church.
On the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic, Primate Ndukuba assured Nigerians that this too shall soon come and go.
He, however, urged all Nigerians to follow the experts’ instructions and continue to pray and trust God to deliver the nation and the world.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ndukuba, the new Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, was born on the 18th of July 1961 to Mr and Mrs Silas Ndukuba of Ogberuru in Orlu LGA of Imo State.
He was elected as the Bishop of Gombe in September 1999 and nineteen years after, he was elected Archbishop of Jos Ecclesiastical province and presented on January 12, 2018.
He was elected by the Episcopal Synod as the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, on 24th September, 2019 and Presented on the 25th of March, 2020 as the 5th Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion.(NAN)
