Ghanaian gospel musician Celestine Donkor has responded to claims by Rev. Abraham Lamptey that gospel shows should be free because God has no price tag.
The leader of Believers House of Worship International in a recent interview with Graphic Showbiz stated that charging people to attend worship events and gospel concerts is not appropriate because God cannot be assigned a monetary value.
The statement raffled feathers but one of the gospel stars who came forward to respond directly to the Man of God is Celestine Donkor.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Celestine Donkor said while she respects the preacher, she disagrees with his statement.
The ‘Agbebolo’ hitmaker listed five reasons, quoting the Bible and using some strong passages to back her rebuttal.
She wrote (unedited):
“Man of God, I respect you, paa, but this one de3, it’s contrary to what the Bible teaches. Nothing about the gospel and salvation is for free. One way or the other, there must be a sacrifice.
1. Even God himself had to pay a HEAVY PRICE, by sacrificing the life of HIS ONLY SON, for our salvation (blood was the price tag) so a man without sin, was hunged on the cross (that’s the price he paid for our salvation).
2. The most extravagant (EXPENSIVE) worship in the bible is the woman who poured expensive oil from her alabaster jar as at the feet of Jesus. The Bible said the worth of the oil is more than one-year wages (Matthew 26:7-13) and because of this, she is remembered even today. #WhatShalliRender.
3. David said “I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings (WORSHIP) that cost me nothing.” 2 Samuel 24:24 David clearly understood that honouring God must not be cheap.
4. For any human to access salvation, they must 1st believe, Repent and carry the cross , Meaning, they can no longer live their life as they want but rather they must sacrifice the pleasures of life to honour Christ.
5. Even the Bible is not for free! We did #CelestialPraise 5yrs for free before we started ticketing. But If someone decides to host a worship concert for free , this doesn’t mean there wasn’t a cost. That person may have decided to use their own money plus some sponsorship here and there to put the program together. IT’S SURELY COST THEM A FORTUNE!
Gospel artists, we go through a lot to organize concerts, promote music, shoot videos…eeei… It’s very expensive! I know some artists who have to go hussle abroad to pay debts piled up from worship concerts. Please, I think this issue is a thing of the past, because our fans out there are doing very well with buying tickets to support their own.. Let’s embrace this new Era. THE GOSPEL MUST REACH THE ENDS OF THE WORLD. WE CAN’T DO IT ALONE, WE NEED FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO DO THIS! let me pause here.”
