TEXT: Jonah 3:3-10

SUBJECT: Exposition of Jonah #4: God Saves the World

Tonight brings us to the fourth sermon in our study of Jonah. We've spent little time on the man himself, for he's not the star of this drama. Who is? The Lord Jesus, of course. The Scriptures "testify to Him". And to no one else.

What has the Lord done in the Book of Jonah? Four things, so far: (1) He has evaluated the world and found it guilty; (2) He has planned to save the world; (3) He has chosen an unlikely man to bring His Word of salvation; and (4) He has chastened the man into doing just that.

In this third chapter, our Lord is still active. What is He doing? Four things stand out.

Jonah's sermon is easy to follow: "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" A solemn warning, indeed. What can we say about it? The warning was sincere. Happily for Nineveh, the threat was not fulfilled. This does not mean, however, that God was bluffing. Had Nineveh not repented, it would have been destroyed. God had the power to destroy it, as He had Sodom long before. He had the right to destroy it, for its "wickedness had come up before [Him]". He had the intention to destroy it, for "No guile is found in His mouth" as Peter has it.

People sometimes scoff at His warnings. They laugh "Where is the promise of His coming?" But make no mistake about it: "God is not mocked". His threats are to be taken seriously. He means them! Many have learned this from reading the Bible; others will learn the hard way. I pray no one here will be among the latter.

The warning is sincere; it is also merciful. The Ninevites were good reasoners: "Who can tell--they argued--"If God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that we may not be destroyed?" They understood the purpose of warning. Parents don't warn children in order to spank them, but to avoid the spanking! Likewise, God warns us--not to punish us--but to make the punishment unnecessary. He "takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked"; He prefers them to "turn from [their] ways and to live".

The warning was issued to Nineveh--a real place in a real time. It is not, however, limited to that distant city of long ago. No! The warnings of the Bible are meant for everyone in every age! They were "written for our admonition" Paul says.

Let the warning be heeded! By Nineveh. And by us. "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish". But if you repent, there is mercy in the Lord.

"Marvelous grace of our loving Lord

Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt".

There is no lesson harder to learn than this one: The warnings of God apply to you. We all agree they apply to everyone else. If others don't repent, they will perish. Amen! But what's true for others is also true for me. That is harder to accept. Yet accept it we must. Had Nineveh thought "Forty days and God will destroy Babylon" they wouldn't have repented. But when they knew it was themselves in grave danger, they sat in sackcloth and ashes.

If only we could learn that lesson!

The warnings of God demand a response. But how can Nineveh give God what He wants from them? They cannot. Their knowledge is too little; their time is too short. So, what they cannot find in themselves, God gives them. What is that? Three things: faith, contrition, and hope.

What is faith? Libraries have been filled on the subject, but I prefer the simplicity of v.5: "So the people of Nineveh believed God". Note: They equated the words of Jonah with the Word of God and they acted upon it. This is faith! Nothing more is needed; nothing less will do.

Faith in God brings sorrow for sin. The whole city fasted in sackcloth and ashes, knowing their guilt was great and their punishment well deserved. They justified God when He spoke and cleared Him when He judged. No excuses.

Faith also brings hope with it. They "believed God" and hoped He would rescind the awful judgment. Their hope was well-placed. Maybe they knew the Psalm: "With the LORD there is mercy and with Him is plenteous redemption". But whether they did or not--we do! And we're obliged to not wallow in our guilt and shame, but to turn from them believing "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness".

How great our Savior is! He not only demands repentance and faith, He gives them to us as free gifts of grace. He's not obliged to do this, of course. But if He is to save the world (as He plans to do), He must, for "No one seeks after God". Thus, God--in Jesus Christ--seeks after us.

If this is true, we can witness to anyone in faith; we can pray for anyone in faith. For his salvation does not depend on his willingness to be saved, but on God's willingness to save. Not on his ability to repent and believe, but on God's ability to give repentance and faith.

Does the world need a Savior? It does. Does it reach up for Him? It does not. Thus, He reaches down to us. "Who will ascend into heaven (to bring Christ down)? Who will descend into the abyss (to bring Christ up)?" No one! "The Word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we preach)".

Must we repent? We must. Can we repent? We cannot. Thus, God exalts Christ to be "A Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and the remission of sins".

Must we believe? Yes. Can we believe? No. Thus, faith is given; it is "not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast".

Must we hope? Can we hope? Thus, He "begets us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ".

Must we persevere? Can we persevere? Thus, we "Are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation..."

In short, "Salvation is of the LORD"! Not just the product, but the process; not just the end, but the beginning too and every step of the way.

To offer salvation to a cursed world would be a huge favor. But to give us the grace to accept it? That's worthy of our God.

I needn't labor the point. Nineveh--you recall--stands for the whole world in its rejection of God and its worship of idols. If anyone deserved damnation, it was Nineveh, but, "He did not do it". God "relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them".

This gives hope to the world. No people is too dirty to be washed; no nation is too sick to be cured; no person is too lost to be found. For "with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible".

He is warning His people.

Jonah was very upset with God. He wanted Nineveh reduced to ashes! Do you know why? He hated the Assyrians, of course. But there is another reason: the repentance of Nineveh made Israel look very bad by comparison. If they repented under one sermon, why hadn't his people repented under the hundreds he had preached to them? The salvation of Nineveh meant judgment must begin elsewhere. Where? "The house of God".

When we see stubborn sinners turn to Christ, we are challenged to do the same. They rebuke us for our backslidings. If a new convert abhors his sin, how can we be comfortable in ours? If he rejoices in Christ, how can we be lukewarm? If he blazes the word abroad, how can we be embarrassed to speak up for the Savior?

The salvation of Nineveh gives every sinner hope. It gives every believer pause. Especially now, for "Behold, a greater than Jonah is here".