Kanye West has won 21 Grammy awards, 29 BET awards, 10 Billboard awards, 16 MTV awards and 140 other awards for his work in the music industry. He has sold over 21 million albums. Seven of his nine studio albums have gone platinum. Kanye is a hugely successful hip-hop artist. Recently he underwent a dramatic conversion to Christianity. The new message of Kanye is far different from the message that filled his music a few years ago. His latest album is entitled “Jesus is King.” He now sings of Jesus to thousands of people as he tours America hosting his Sunday Services.

Whenever a well known figure has a dramatic and public conversion many people, Christian and non-Christian, struggle to understand and respond. Some have accused Kanye of engaging in a huge publicity stunt. Others have said Kanye is using his Sunday Services to fuel album sales. Some Christians are concerned that Kanye’s conversion is not real and others wonder if church leaders should be promoting him so soon after his conversion.

Conversion happens in a moment. A person who calls upon Jesus for salvation is immediately taken out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of Jesus. Salvation is immediate, but the evidence of salvation is not. Some new believers find their life is dramatically transformed. They turn aside from all the things of their former life and make a clean break with the sins of their past. Most believers find the transformation of life is slow and gradual. We should not necessarily expect Kanye to show immediate victory over sins that have been a major part of his life for many years. What we should expect to see is a diligent effort to put away sin in his life.

The best evidence of salvation is long term continuance in the faith. In the parable of the soils, Jesus points out that some false professors spring up quickly and give early signs of growth before shriveling under the assaults from sin. Those who remain and bear fruit show they were truly saved. Only time and eternity will tell if Kanye’s profession is genuine. However, Kanye is not beyond redemption. No one should doubt Kanye’s salvation because of any terrible thing he has done in the past. The grace of God is far greater than any of Kanye’s sin. The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin, even sins we may find particuarly offensive. If Kanye believes Jesus is God who died and rose again for his salvation, and if Kanye called out to Jesus for forgiveness of sin, then Kanye is saved.

The question that must asked and answered by Christians is if Kanye should be given the pulpit and platform of Christian churches so soon after his conversion. Kanye has his own platfrom from which he has long proclaimed his message, but should the church give him their’s. Kanye has clearly taken a leadership role in American Christianity. James 3:1 says that any one who is given the authority to teach the church is held to a greater accountability. Is it wise for any church to put a newborn Christian in a position where he will be accountable for what he teaches to thousands of Christians? Instead of giving him the pulpit, the church should be giving Kanye time and training to grow in doctrine, in faith and in Christlikeness.

The monthly pastor’s roundtable will be discussing further the question of Kanye on November 24. Tune in to 92.7 FM at 9:30 AM to hear the answers they give to this timely question.