Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol not sins — Pastor Damina

Renowned preacher and founder of Power City International, has explained why drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes are not sins.

During the 2025 New Year’s Eve service, Pastor Damina told his church members, “You cannot be a sinner by eating and drinking. I’ve told you before, alcohol is not a sin.”

He noted that his main job as a preacher is to teach salvation through faith in Christ, not to focus on moral rules.

“You didn’t come here for me to teach you morality; you came for me to teach you salvation by faith through Christ,” he said.

He stressed the need for a deeper understanding of scripture, urging Christians to avoid attaching spiritual condemnation to personal choices that do not violate biblical principles.

Though, he made it clear that he was not encouraging such behaviors, warning his audience to exercise wisdom.

“Am I saying you should smoke? You should have sense from your father’s house to know that cigar will cut short your life. Am I saying you should drink alcohol? You should know that if you drink alcohol, you will lie down inside a gutter. Your shirt and trousers will disappear. You should have the sense to know that.”

Mr. Damina’s sermon also addressed the theological basis for his views, challenging traditional interpretations of sin and morality.

While referencing the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he questioned the belief that their sin resulted from eating fruit from the forbidden tree.

“Adam and Eve ate nothing,” he said. “Adam and Eve didn’t eat anything. Were you there? You were not there. So how do we know whether they ate something or not? Jesus was there. Was Jesus there in the Garden of Eden? Yes. Can Jesus explain to us what happened? Yes.”

Moreover, quoting Mark 7:18-21, he argued that sin is not caused by what one consumes but by the condition of the heart. “If they (Adam and Eve) ate, it’ll go to their stomach. It’ll digest and go to toilet. They’ll be free,”

“There’s nothing a man eats that enters his heart. It’ll go to the digestive system, and it’ll go out somehow. It is what comes out of a man that defiles a man, not what goes in. What makes you a sinner is what you’re thinking, not what you’re eating”, Damina added.