Our Attitude and the Gospel
Jonah the Evangelist • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 14 viewsThe story of Jonah reveals the danger of bias and the transformative power of aligning our hearts with God’s. Jonah, who experienced God’s grace firsthand, resisted sharing that same mercy with the Ninevites, prioritizing his own comfort and judgment over their salvation. Yet God, in His proclamation of His name, shows Himself to be gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love—qualities we are called to reflect in how we live and interact with others. Bias and anger have no place in the ministry of the gospel, as they distort the message of God’s love. Like Jonah, we must examine our hearts and ask if we value people’s eternal salvation over our own comfort or possessions. As illustrated in Schindler’s List, the worth of a single soul outweighs any earthly treasure. God calls us to sacrifice our comfort and proclaim His name faithfully, showing the world His boundless grace and compassion.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
One powerful true example of Christian forgiveness is the story of Renee Napier, whose daughter, Meagan, was tragically killed by a drunk driver named Eric Smallridge in 2002. Despite the profound grief and anger Renee felt, she chose to forgive Eric for his actions.
If this happened to you, What would be your wish for Eric Smallridge? Would you hope and desire for him to experience the Love, joy, and forgiveness that comes with salvation?
One of the biggest drawbacks to relational evangelism is our relationships with people. We will never express God's love to people we don’t love.
We looked at Jesus the evangelist: the author and finisher of our faith.
We looked at Moses the evangelist: the come back story that saved a nation.
And now we finish with Jonah the evangelist: One that God used in spite of his bad attitude toward people.
I picked Jonah as our last example of relational evangelism so that we might learn the same lesson that God taught Jonah.
What do you do when the person who has mistreated you experiences the grace and mercy of God?
What do you do when your mean spouse finds God and begins to change?
Exposition
Jonah’s Grace Problem: Hoarding God’s Goodness
Jonah’s Grace Problem: Hoarding God’s Goodness
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
Jonah loved the grace he received but resisted extending it to others.
Jonah loved the grace he received but resisted extending it to others.
The only way that Jonah knew the name of the Lord was because he had tasted of the Lord’s goodness.
Jonah was convinced that the Ninevites were unworthy of God’s love and compassion.
Bias takes root when our hearts drift out of alignment with God’s.
Bias takes root when our hearts drift out of alignment with God’s.
Bias is “a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, or things are better than others, often resulting in unfair treatment” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). It can be conscious or unconscious, shaping how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Bias influences decision-making, often reinforcing stereotypes and limiting objectivity. Recognizing and addressing bias is essential to fostering fairness and equity in personal and societal interactions.
“God shows no partiality.” Romans 2:11
“God shows no partiality.” Romans 2:11
A Lesson Learned by Peter
A Lesson Learned by Peter
34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),
42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Key Question: Are we gatekeepers of grace, or do we freely share the mercy we’ve received?
God’s Heart on Full Display
God’s Heart on Full Display
2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
When God proclaimed His name, He revealed His true nature.
When God proclaimed His name, He revealed His true nature.
5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Gracious and Merciful
Gracious and Merciful
Slow to Anger
Slow to Anger
Abounding in Steadfast Love
Abounding in Steadfast Love
Relenting from disaster
Relenting from disaster
Key Thought: The character of God demands that we reflect His nature, not distort it with bias.
The Proclamation of the Saints
The Proclamation of the Saints
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
Our Reflection of God’s Name
Our Reflection of God’s Name
How do you proclaim the name of the Lord in your daily life?
How do you proclaim the name of the Lord in your daily life?
How do people perceive God through your words and actions?
How do people perceive God through your words and actions?
Key Truth: Bias and anger have no place in the ministry of the gospel.
Jonah’s Heart Check: The Enemy of God’s Name
Jonah’s Heart Check: The Enemy of God’s Name
Jonah Wanted Retribution; God Wanted Repentance
Jonah Wanted Retribution; God Wanted Repentance
5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.
Jonah valued his comfort over the salvation of a city.
Jonah valued his comfort over the salvation of a city.
God valued the salvation of people more than Jonah’s temporary comfort.
God valued the salvation of people more than Jonah’s temporary comfort.
Jonah 4:6–8 (ESV)
6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
Key Question: Do we value people's eternal salvation more than our comfort or convenience?
In Schindler’s List, there’s a powerful scene near the end that illustrates the value of people over possessions. Oskar Schindler, a businessman who spent his wealth to save more than a thousand Jewish lives during the Holocaust, stands surrounded by the people he saved. As he prepares to flee, he looks at his possessions with a haunting realization. He clutches a gold pin on his jacket and says, “This pin… it could have saved one more person.” Then he looks at his car, saying, “Ten more people. Ten more people.” In that moment, he breaks down, gripped by the weight of every life he could have saved if he had only sold more of his belongings.
Schindler’s heartbreak reveals a timeless truth: possessions pale in comparison to the worth of a single life. Jesus reminds us in Mark 8:36, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Schindler saw the truth of this firsthand—that the wealth he once prized was meaningless compared to the impact he had on people’s lives. As followers of Christ, we’re called to the same mindset, to value people over possessions, and to invest our resources in eternal things. Like Schindler, may we come to see that no possession can match the worth of a soul.
Takeaway Challenge: Live with God’s Heart
Are we proclaiming God’s name as gracious, merciful, and loving?
Are we allowing our comfort or bias to limit our obedience to the Great Commission?
Let’s examine our hearts and commit to valuing people as God does—above all else.
Over time, Renee began advocating for Eric’s sentence to be reduced. She visited him in prison, showing compassion and extending grace instead of harboring bitterness. Together, they now speak to groups about the consequences of drunk driving and the power of forgiveness.
Call to Prayer
Prayer for Today: Reveal any bias in my heart keeping me from sharing your grace and mercy with others.
Prayer for this week: Mold my life to reflect your name filled with grace, mercy, patience, love, and forgiveness.
RGroup Questions
How does Jonah's attitude toward the Ninevites reflect our tendencies to show mercy?
How did Jonah prioritize his comfort over the salvation of Nineveh?
What example does Schindler's List provide about valuing people over possessions?
