The Church Must Decide. Prophetic Powerhouse Or Irrelevant Social Club? There is almost universal agreement that President Cyril Ramaphosa missed a unique opportunity to decisively tackle South Africa’s most critical issues in his 4 th State of the Nation Address on 13 February 2020. Although his honesty about the dismal state of the economy was refreshing, Mr Ramaphosa skirted several issues on corruption and chose to placate the ANC and its allies with populist policies that have little chance of success. Mr Ramaphosa is aware of the radical changes the country needs to ensure its survival - but he chose the ANC over the nation. Populist policies like the National Health Insurance (NHI), Expropriation without Compensation, a state bank, a sovereign wealth fund and a smart city in Lanseria are not what investors are demanding and will certainly not rescue the economy. What will revive the economy, stabilise SOE’s and attract desperately needed investment into the country is the swift prosecution and imprisonment of those implicated in the massive theft of public funds and the crippling of state institutions, both within the ANC and the private sector. Also needed are courageous moves to privatise failing SOE’s that have bankrupted the country. Tragically, therefore, while the ANC remains in power - none of this is possible. The ruling party has clearly demonstrated its contempt for struggling citizens as it shields the corrupt within its ranks and manipulates state resources for cadre- enrichment. More ominous is governments hostility to the Bible-believing Church. RW Johnson writes, "The ANC feeding frenzy has consumed the state and the Subscribe Past Issues
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The Church Must Decide. PropheticPowerhouse Or Irrelevant Social Club?
There is almost universal agreement that President Cyril Ramaphosa missed aunique opportunity to decisively tackle South Africa’s most critical issues in his
4th State of the Nation Address on 13 February 2020. Although his honesty aboutthe dismal state of the economy was refreshing, Mr Ramaphosa skirted severalissues on corruption and chose to placate the ANC and its allies with populist
policies that have little chance of success.
Mr Ramaphosa is aware of the radical changes the country needs to ensure itssurvival - but he chose the ANC over the nation. Populist policies like the National
Health Insurance (NHI), Expropriation without Compensation, a state bank, asovereign wealth fund and a smart city in Lanseria are not what investors are
demanding and will certainly not rescue the economy.
What will revive the economy, stabilise SOE’s and attract desperately neededinvestment into the country is the swift prosecution and imprisonment of those
implicated in the massive theft of public funds and the crippling of state institutions,both within the ANC and the private sector. Also needed are courageous moves to
privatise failing SOE’s that have bankrupted the country.
Tragically, therefore, while the ANC remains in power - none of this is possible. Theruling party has clearly demonstrated its contempt for struggling citizens as itshields the corrupt within its ranks and manipulates state resources for cadre-
enrichment. More ominous is governments hostility to the Bible-believing Church.
RW Johnson writes, "The ANC feeding frenzy has consumed the state and the
The ANC ruled government increasingly rejects the valid concerns and Biblicalconvictions of Bible-believing Christian citizens – I stress Bible-believing Christians
because there is a sector of the “church” that appears to be captured bygovernment to aid and abet its godless policy roll-out.
Governments appalling treatment of Christian leaders at the CSE meeting in
Pretoria recently and its unwavering commitment to the global abortion and LGBTQagenda means United Nations (UN) policies will almost certainly overrule the will of
South African citizens.
What is of greater concern however is that the Church appears to have abandonedits moral authority and provide government free reign to determine the social moralconscience through public policy. The state usurps Biblical morality by legislatingthe non-sanctity of human life, the redefinition of marriage and the family and the
acceptable limits and extent of human sexuality.
In addition, the continued mismanagement of the country’s financial resourcesincluding its state-owned institutions, the state protection of brazen criminals andgovernments alliance with the global sexual rights movement means South Africa
will not fulfil its real potential until the true Church of Jesus Christ recaptures itsprophetic mandate.
US civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King Jr said, “The church must be remindedthat it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the
state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the churchdoes not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without
moral or spiritual authority.” (A Knock at Midnight, June 11, 1967)
Most Christian citizens are losing hope. Not only because of rampant statecorruption but also the discernable decline of spiritual and moral authority that hasset the nation on a downward spiral of state-sanctioned looting of public funds, the
devaluation of marriage and the family, rampant crime, unaccountable publicservants, economic decline, spiralling unemployment, deepening health and
educational crisis, sexual indoctrination of children, widespread women and childabuse and the steady erosion of free speech and religious freedoms to specifically
undermine Biblical values to elevate sexual rights as morally superior.
Government, the media and a growing number of Christians view the ChristianChurch as an irrelevant social club lacking moral and spiritual authority. A seniorgovernment official recently spoke of “the state’s religious sector.” That is, those
religious leaders aligned to the ANC (Not Jesus Christ and His Word), who’s task is
to sanctify and advance government policies regardless of whether it violatesScripture.
Significantly, however, there is a righteous remnant in South Africa that refuse to
break covenant with the Lord Jesus for a temporary place at the king’s table. SouthAfrica's future depends on the actions of this remnant. But it will require courageous
and visionary leadership to steer the nation toward its God-given destiny.
The Church was a moral and spiritual force during the battle against apartheid. Itcan be so once again. Though we face different challenges today, the battle forrighteousness, truth and justice remains a core responsibility of the ChristianChurch. For without it we become that irrelevant social club lacking moral and
spiritual authority Dr King so eloquently warned about.
Standing
Errol Naidoo
I speak to US Bishop, Garland Hunt about thechallenges facing both the South African and
American Church.
On 24 Feb I speak to ACDP, MP, Steve Swartand DA MP Bridget Masango about PresidentRamaphosa's State of the Nation Address.
