‘Christians in politics must not follow the multitude to do evil’ – Emmanuel Josiah Udofia

His Eminence, Emmanuel Josiah Udofia, primate, The African Church, in this interview with SEYI JOHN SALAU spoke on the role of the church in nation building as Christians across the world celebrate Easter in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Excerpts:

What does Easter signify for Christians?

Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans at Calvary, c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.
The Creator taking humanity step on planet earth with redemption plan. Until then Easter was hidden in certain Jewish practice, a flawless innocent lamb was sacrificed for the sin of an individual, a family or the nation. The practice went on endlessly, believing that this portrays something real. Human sacrifice was never practised by those who believe in the word of the Bible, the only thing nearest to this was portrayed when God asked Abraham to take his only son and offer him on a mount as a sacrifice to God. The love and respect Abraham had for God was such that he could not withhold his only son but went ahead to do it. God who tested the depth of his obedience restrained him just before his knife pierced the boy’s heart; by so doing, God displayed to mankind what He was going to do in the future. Easter is the price God paid for man’s sin ‘the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord’ (Romans 6:23). If not for Easter, there would not have been a Christian church. We Christians today are bonded together by the resurrection story; there would never have been a Christian church if Jesus death took a different turn. Our Christian journey does not end with our death but we begin a new journey, enjoying eternal life with Jesus (John 11:25).

Easter characterises the sacrificial example of Christ for His church; is the church in Nigeria keeping up to this example?

Yes, during Lenten season which is generally characterised by generous act of giving and remembering of the poor is generally observed by Christians in our country today. Most of our Churches took it upon themselves to visit motherless babies’ home, prisons, hospitals to associate with the poor and the needy. It is not about how many chickens but the number of souls we will bring to the kingdom through our charitable acts.

Most Christians especially orthodox, carry palm leaves/branches a week to Easter, what does it signify?

Palm Sunday signifies the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, the week before his death and for many Christian churches, Palm Sunday, often referred to as ‘Passion Sunday,’ marks the beginning of holy week, which concludes on Easter Sunday.

According to orthodox belief, Christians all over the world would be carrying palms and other branches because it is Palm Sunday, a celebration of the day Jesus entered Jerusalem before he was crucified and then resurrected according to the Christian faith. Christians carry palms on Palm Sunday because according to the gospels, Jesus followers covered his path with palm fronds on the day he entered Jerusalem, after the custom of placing palms in the path of high-ranking persons.

The palm branch also signified victory in Greco-Roman times, so the waving palms would have resembled triumphal end procession. Jesus arrived Jerusalem on a donkey, which was considered highly symbolic. At that time a king riding a donkey symbolised peace, while on a horse symbolised war, while Jesus was not technically a king his followers considered him to be King of Israel.

What is the role of the church in nation building?
Church in this context is seen as a congregation of the saints; we are a shining example, the only letter that is available to study a role model. The role of the church in nation building cannot be overemphasised: The Church synthesises the populace; preaches moral standard and encourages the worshipers to be morally upright. The Church also stands against trending corruption. The Church serves as a means to educate the citizens spiritually, morally, educationally and also serves as agent of social change. Finally, the church must be given due recognition as the body of Christ with God’s word in this present time because it is only God that can rescue our nation.

How best can the church reach people who do not believe in the gospel of Christ?
Lenten season as I have earlier said is characterised with giving. Through this, many souls can be won for Christ, by letting them know the real love of Christ towards them. Preaching the word of Christ will also touch their heart and change them.

We can best reach people who do not believe the gospel by the principle of, ‘preach, reach and teach’. This was scripturally backed in Matthew 28:19-20 ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’ This could be by way of personal evangelism, mass evangelism, prison outreach, hospital and garage outreach.

What is your position on Christians going into politics?
Christians are not in any way forbidden to hold any political office, it is clearly stated in the bible that leaders are appointed by God. God will always appoint us Christian as the head as we are likened to the light and salt of the world. The only thing I will say is that Christians in politics must show good example and a true character of a good Christian; with this, I mean we must not join the multitude to do evil.

Christians are fellow Nigerians and if they do not get involved in politics, how can they provide leadership to Nigerians. Christians as citizens of this country have equal right to provide good leadership and be God-fearing in the discharge of their leadership responsibilities. Matt.5:13-16.

Some schools of thought are of the opinion that Christians dwell more on miracles today; do you share such view?

Yes, you can see people running after miracles not salvation anymore, that is why the theme for our Church Lenten talk this year and our watchword is centered on Salvation through the power if His word, we as Christians must seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and every other thing will be added unto us, but the reverse is the case. We must strive to be saved first because if you are not, then the essence of miracle is meaningless. Miracle does exist and still happens as in Acts 3:10. The greatest miracle is salvation of souls. One was a sinner before, but could not explain how miraculous he was delivered and saved from the yoke of sins and Satan.

Some Christian leaders did ask their followers to defend themselves in the wake of the killings in Southern Kaduna; what is your view on this?
In the first place, I would not want you to misinterpret those telling their followers to defend themselves; it’s more of spiritual than physical. It’s clearly written that the weapon of our warfare is not canal, but they are mighty even to bring down strongholds of the enemy. As Christians, we must be vigilant as stated in 1Peter 5:7-8. This does not mean we should fight physical battle, but our weapon is prayer, we can always defend ourselves by calling on our God to intervene. He has promised to fight for us, so as Christians I believe all believers must be vigilant and use our spiritual weapons to guard and guide ourselves.

In the light of this, how then can we curtail the incessant killings happening across the country?

We are God’s creatures; it is an evil act to take the life of your fellow human being. Government should provide adequate security for the citizens especially Christians in the Northern part of the country. There must be equality in handling religious cases so as to avoid rancour from other parties. Those perpetrating evil should be severely punished under the law, this will go a long way in stopping others who want to do such.