Apostle VDM? Why Believers Must Sheathe Their Swords

The things of God are spiritually discerned. No carnal man can understand the things of the Spirit. This is an understanding every true Christian should have, and it should shape how we react and respond to unbelievers who misunderstand the things of the Spirit.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14

Because they cannot see what we see, many people end up fighting the work of God while sincerely believing they are doing the work of God. Jesus warned His disciples that this would happen:

Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

John 16:2

That is the lens through which I want us to look at the ongoing storm around VeryDarkMan (VDM) and his attacks on Apostle Arome Osayi, and, more importantly, at how many Christians have responded to him.

Saul: Sincere, Zealous, and Sincerely Wrong

Before he became the great Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus was the most zealous enemy the early church had. He did not see himself as a villain. He saw himself as a defender of God's honour.

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church.

Philippians 3:6

I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

Acts 26:9–10

As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

Acts 8:3

Saul imprisoned believers and gave his vote for their execution. He was convinced they were guilty of blasphemy, heresy, or both. What he did not know was that he himself was the one in error, that he was fighting against God, and that the people he was persecuting were on God's side.

He could not know. Not until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Acts 9:5

And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

Acts 9:18

The scales on his physical eyes were a picture of the scales on his spiritual eyes. Paul himself later described his former life in plain terms:

Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

1 Timothy 1:13

Notice the words: ignorantly, in unbelief. That is the key to everything that follows.

"Ye Know Not What Manner of Spirit Ye Are Of"

Our Lord Jesus understood this truth perfectly. When a Samaritan village refused to receive Him, two of His disciples wanted to settle the matter with fire.

And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.

Luke 9:54–56

Jesus was teaching them that people who oppose the work of God often do so out of ignorance. Had the disciples understood this, they would have responded with compassion, not with a request for fire. The same Spirit who rebuked James and John is speaking to us today.

Put up thy sword into the sheath.

John 18:11

The Sword, the Ear, and the Cross

On the night Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter did what many of us would have done. He drew his sword to defend his Master.

Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath.

John 18:10–11

And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

Luke 22:51

Think about that. The very man who came to arrest Jesus was the man Jesus healed. And Jesus made it clear that He did not need Peter's sword:

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

Matthew 26:53

Then, hanging on the cross, beaten, mocked and bleeding, He did not curse His tormentors. He prayed for them:

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

Luke 23:34

Did you hear that? They know not what they do. Jesus saw past the violence to the ignorance behind it.

Stephen's Prayer and a Young Man Named Saul

Stephen, the first Christian martyr, carried the same spirit. As the mob stoned him, a young man stood by watching and approving. His name was Saul.

And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 7:58–60

And Saul was consenting unto his death.

Acts 8:1

Stephen prayed for his killers, and one of the men he prayed for became the greatest apostle of the New Testament. The early church father Augustine is often quoted as saying that if Stephen had not prayed, the church would not have had Paul. Whether or not we can trace every word of that saying, the truth in it is plain: the prayers of the persecuted helped birth the apostle to the Gentiles.

Christians, VDM, and the Apostle Arome Matter

The reaction of some Christians towards VDM over the Apostle Arome Osayi matter is understandable. They are like Peter in Gethsemane. They love their spiritual father, they love the work of God, and they want to defend it. So they attack the attacker: insults in the comment sections, abuse on X, TikTok and Instagram, curses, and calls for him to be dealt with.

I understand the feeling. But it is not the way of the Spirit.

Peter drew his sword before Pentecost, before the Holy Spirit came upon him and opened his understanding. We are not living before Pentecost. We have the Holy Spirit, and we have the example of Christ. We have no excuse.

God can defend His own. God can protect His own. He did not need Peter's sword, and He does not need our insults. The Scripture is clear about where our battle really lies:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ephesians 6:12

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.

2 Corinthians 10:4

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord... Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:19, 21

Even Gamaliel, a Pharisee who was not yet a follower of Christ, gave the Jewish council wiser counsel than many Christians are giving today:

Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Acts 5:38–39

If the work Apostle Arome is doing is of God, no critic can overthrow it. And if it is of God, then it does not need us to defend it with the weapons of the flesh.

Respond with facts. Respond with grace.

1 Peter 3:15–16

Love Is Not Silence

Let me be clear: loving VDM does not mean we cannot answer questions or correct falsehood. The Bible tells us to be ready to give an answer, but it also tells us how:

Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

1 Peter 3:15–16

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.

2 Timothy 2:24–25

Respond with facts, not insults. Respond with grace, not hate. And where a critic raises a genuine question, the church loses nothing by answering it honestly and humbly. Our best defence is a life and a ministry that speak for themselves.

Attacking VDM, insulting him, or stirring up hatred against him is not the Christian way. The Christian way is to pray for him, love him, and bless him.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

Matthew 5:44

Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

Romans 12:14

Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing.

1 Peter 3:9

Imagine Apostle VDM

When God sent Ananias to pray for the newly blinded Saul, Ananias argued with God. He knew Saul's reputation.

Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem... But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.

Acts 9:13, 15

Even after his conversion, the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of Saul. It took Barnabas, a man of encouragement, to stand by him and bring him in (Acts 9:26-27). In the end, the churches said:

He which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.

Galatians 1:23–24

God can save anyone. He "will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). I am convinced that God can touch the heart of VDM. He can change him. He may well become the Apostle Paul of our generation.

Imagine a VDM touched by God and filled with the Holy Ghost. Imagine that same boldness, that same passion, that same zeal and that same massive audience, all turned towards the gospel of Jesus Christ. He would be a great asset to the Kingdom of God.

So the question for us is simple: when that day comes, will we be the ones who prayed for him like Stephen, received him like Ananias, and stood by him like Barnabas? Or will we be the ones who only ever cursed him?

The Church Marches On

Let the believers sheathe their swords. Let us keep loving VDM. Let us keep praying for him. Let us bless him and not curse him. This is the way of Christ. It is the Christian way.

And let us rest in the promise of our Lord, who never needed a sword to protect His church:

Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18

The church of God is marching on, and no gate of hell can prevail against it.

All scripture quotations are from the King James Version.