24/05/2025
“I Won’t Be a Modern-Day Pharisee”Why I Refuse to Preach a Gospel That Oppresses
There’s a kind of Christianity that Jesus never preached. The kind that beats people with the Bible instead of binding up their wounds.The kind that calls itself holy, but keeps the broken at arm’s length. The kind that looks more like the Pharisees than the Christ who came to set the captives free.
As a Black woman, a student of theology, and a follower of Jesus, I’ve seen how religion can be used as both weapon and refuge. I’ve read how my ancestors were told to obey their “masters” while being brutalised whip in one hand, Bible in the other. That is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And yet, that same spirit of oppression shows up in subtler ways today.
I watch people say they love God but then gossip, slander, and tear down His people behind closed doors. I see Christian cliques acting elite, like they’re heaven’s gatekeepers, deciding who’s “anointed enough” to sit at the table. There’s this unspoken “you can’t sit with us” attitude that creeps through our churches, conferences, and ministries.
But as I near the end of my second year of theological study, I feel the Holy Spirit stirring in me with a holy challenge.
God is calling me to speak up, to preach His truth but not with pride, not with superiority, not with cold doctrine. He’s calling me to speak with love, truth, and kindness.
The Word says, “Study to show yourself approved.” And while that has its academic implications, I believe the deeper call is this:Know Him. Not just the rules. Not just the rituals.But really know Him, so we can accurately reflect Him to a world that’s dying for authenticity.
I won’t be the one preaching freedom while living bound by legalism.
I won’t be a modern-day Pharisee.And I certainly won’t carry the whip of shame in one hand and the Bible in the other. I choose to follow Jesus the Jesus who sat with sinners, wept with the broken, and loved people back to life.
Because the gospel is not about domination.It’s about deliverance.
And if we miss that, we’ve missed Him.
