A post she made on a WhatsApp group on Williams Tyndale who translated the Bible from Greek to English and paid with his life, led to this interview.
A post she made on a WhatsApp group on Williams Tyndale who translated the Bible from Greek to English and paid with his life, led to this interview. One wonders if the current generation of Christians know the pains involved in the translation and preservation of the Bible in their hands, the Bible so many of them would not read. Merrilyn John-Ayuk, a pastor in Christ Embassy and a school administrator also fielded questions on the response of the Church to Covid 19. In this interview conducted by Bola Adewara, Merrilyn says…
… our Churches focus more on administration than the spiritual
… more on what God can do for us than what He requires of His people
… today’s Christians will stop going to Church because they felt insulted by ushers
* Merrilyn John-Ayuk
Suddenly, Coronavirus invade us. Understandably, offices, stadium, and every centre closed down, but why did the Church, the strong tower that should remain as the last bastion of power against diseases and the devil? Was the Church caught off guard? What lessons has the Church learnt from this?
Truly the emergence of Coronavirus was sudden. Suddenly our lives changed, fear became larger than life itself, our faith was threatened, and the Church was affected by the lockdown because the leaders of the Church in Nigeria forgot that the God we serve is awesome and that He is a healer. They allowed their fears to override their faith. But thanks be to God for a few of His servants who kept teaching us from God’s word and showing us the attack was a lie from the devil and we have what it takes to destroy its effect and influence.
Yes, I will say the Church was caught off. We are aware of what the Bible says. We know that we are in the last days knowing all the things happening around the world, but I guess the Church didn’t think it was this close.
Corona Virus came as a wake-up call to the Church, I strongly believe the Church has learnt her lesson. She is more aware of the nearness of our master’s return. I believe there is more confidence in our prayers, I believe the Church is more conscious of the power she carries, and the body of Christ in Nigeria is more concerned about their stand with God because they know the return of our Lord is nearer than we had ever thought.
Someone said Corona Virus exposed the current Church as more of showmanship and noise rather than power and Jesus. Do you agree?
Partially so, Corona Virus exposed the unpreparedness of the Church for the return of our Commanding Officer, Jesus Christ. The Church was busy with other things, not necessarily showmanship, but she was more concerned about this world than the one coming. For me, the good that has come out from the invasion of Corona Virus is the awakening of the Church, I believe the body of Christ is more prepared for His coming than we were by January of this year.
I thank God for his grace and mercy, He is calling us all, those that identify with Him and those yet to, to set our lives in order and look forward to His return. He is coming swiftly, there will be no time for negotiations. The Church of Jesus Christ, we have a short time left, the field is ready for harvests, let’s forget about ourselves.
…the Church was affected by the lockdown because the leaders of the Church in Nigeria forgot that the God we serve is awesome and that He is a healer. They allowed their fears to override their faith. But thanks be to God for few of His servants who kept teaching us… and showing us that the attack was a lie from the devil and we have what it takes to destroy its effect and influence.
Is the Church in Nigeria getting it right? What is your assessment of the quality of Pastoring these days?
The Church in Nigeria, unfortunately, has centred a great deal on administration and other activities rather than the spiritual talked more on what God can for us than what God requires of His people. They show the God of abundant grace to their congregation and do not show that the same God has judgment in His hands. The sad reality in my opinion is that majority of the Pastors have selected the part of God or Jesus they want to reveal to their congregation.
A Pastor is like a parent who is to tend (spiritually, mentally, emotionally, etc) to the flock of God committed to their care, have a direct impact on their congregation, but in most cases, the Pastors are distant from their flock. Acts 20: 28 clearly states that the Pastor is to take heed of the flocks over whom the Holy Spirit has made them overseers and who God purchased with His blood, but sadly that’s not the situation we experience in our country today.
The current world is moving fast against the tenents of Christianity, same-sex marriage, nakedness in dressing, questioning the principles of the Bible like tithing, etc? How did we get here?
Referring to Hosea 4:6, the Scripture states that the destruction of God’s people comes from the lack of knowledge; knowledge of the word of God and its application in our daily activities. Such excesses come when people don’t know the word of God, they don’t study to know what God has approved and rejected, what he permits or disallows, so they dance to the tune of their flesh rather than being guided by the spirit of God.
They listen to people who do not know the Bible but they hold them in high esteem and take their words for the law. If one is not available for God, he then is available for the devil who inspires all these vices and resistance to the tenents of the Bible.
Why do you think reading the Bible could be difficult for an ordinary Christian? Have you been there before?
Considering the level of activities we all get involved in these days, even activities around our service to God, it’s a challenge for a large number of Christians to read or study their Bible.
Reading or studying of the Bible has to be a conscious effort. You have to plan your Bible study time and be disciplined enough to keep it, or else it will never happen. A million and one activities are competing for our 24hours each day.
A deep hunger or desire to know God’s word for oneself is a propelling force for Bible study, so if one does not desire to know more of God personally but is content to just listen to what his/her Pastor has to say, that person will not study the Bible. Oh yes!, I have had interludes where Bible study was a challenge, and those times were because I was too busy doing other things and is tired at the time of Bible study, but I learnt fast and adjusted.
As Christians, we must understand that the devil has been with God before, he has been around longer than any one of us alive and he is a liar by nature. He can use people to move you away from the right path, so we need to know the word of God for ourselves!
How do you encourage new Christians or non-Bible reading Christians to read the Bible? Do you have any method or words of encouragement?
Like I mentioned earlier, there is a place for hunger for the word and discipline to adhere to when it comes to Bible study. For a new or old Christian, I would say develop the desire to know the Lord more because that desire will propel you into Bible study, because that Bible is the primary material where you can be informed about God, about your rights and privileges in Christ.
I will encourage anyone that wants to get serious with Bible study to follow these steps:
- Get your Bible, maybe two translations; King James and the other, a more modern English. Having also a reference Bible will make your study time richer.
- Get a notepad or diary to put down things the Holy Spirit will teach you, prompt you to do or your action points.
- Get into a comfortable position. Bible study is different from Bible reading. In study time, you could be there for hours and in some cases days.
- Your location should be one with the barest form of distraction. You want a quiet place so you don’t miss out on the points/signals the Holy Spirit is sending to your spirit man.
- If you are just learning to study, you can start with any of the very short books, with less than ten chapters, either in the Old or New Testament.
- Finally, I would counsel that you pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you what you need to know during your study time.
Does it surprise you that the devil himself quotes the Bible? What does that say to an average Christian?
No way! I am not surprised, the Bible shows instances, where the devil quoted the Scriptures. One that readily comes to mind was the temptation of Jesus Christ by the devil as recorded in Matthew 4:3-11. Verse 6 records the devil giving a direct quote from Psalm 91:11-12.
Jesus, of course, countered him with the Scriptures that are also written. This also buttresses the importance of personal Bible study. When we study the Bible for ourselves, we can easily discern if Scripture is being used out of context, if someone or the devil is trying to pervert the truth using the Scripture.
As Christians, we must understand that the devil has been with God before, he has been around longer than any one of us alive and he is a liar by nature. He can use people to move you away from the right path, so we need to know the word of God for ourselves!
William Tyndale, an English biblical translator. He paid for his work with his life. He went into hiding but was eventually arrested in Antwerp in 1535. At that time, he had produced a revised edition of the New Testament, published in 1534, a translation of the Pentateuch, published in 1530, and had begun his translation of the Old Testament.
We read the story of Williams Tyndale, who translated the Bible and made it available to generations in the English language and the price he paid for the efforts. Do you think this present generation of Christians could go that far in sacrificing their lives for the sake of the gospel? What is your rating of the current Christian? Are you happy with them?
Williams Tyndale who risked all and eventually was martyred for his conviction to translate and print the Bible from the Greek language to English so that more people will have access to the gospel is an all-time hero. I have always been intrigued by stories of martyrs, all they had to go through so the message could get to us.
The sad thing about the present generation of Christians is the lack of conviction – the kind of conviction Tyndale had could not be stopped, but sadly today, we find Christians who will not even go to Church because they felt insulted by an usher, or the Pastor rebuked them for wrongdoing.
Amongst today’s Christians who can’t suffer the slightest discomfort for the sake of the gospel, the only part they want to know is the receiving of testimonies, then they know God is good! A Christian that has not “Killed self” cannot give his/her life for the gospel.
For me, it’s not a case of rating current Christians, but rather rating the attitude of the current Christians. Sadly, today’s Christians in comparison to the likes of Williams Tyndale and past generals is lack conviction, laid back attitude and are more concerned about earthly things over spiritual.
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