Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Introduction:
When we think about the mercy of God, our thoughts are driven to the cross of Calvary!
It is there we find the tender mercy of God toward us, who believe in Christ.
But what of those every day people of the world who have not entered into the covenant relationship with God through His Son?
Does God extend mercy toward them?
The answer is yes and no.
Yes, that His mercy is realized by them in this world!
No, that His mercy is not extended to them in the final judgment!
You see, the point Jesus was making is, we all deserve such judgment, but God is still merciful to spare some.
When natural disasters come, many are affected by them, even believers.
God is not judging them because they are more wicked.
If it were not for the mercy of God, none of us would be spared.
In our text from Jonah, we find a cruel people that are deserving of being wiped out, but somehow find grace in God’s sight.
This is a reaffirmation that God is capable and willing to save anyone, not just the Jew.
And so even those who are not believers can experience the mercy of God, because God is slow to anger and not willing that any perish!
I. God’s mercy is available to all who repent.
A. No one’s beyond His reach.
How bad does one need to be in order to be beyond the reach of God’s mercy?
One of our sinful misgivings, is that we are really good at measuring ourselves against others, and when we engage in this type of categorization, we determine where the line is.
We then deem certain behaviors beyond God’s help!
But, is this truth?
Well, the truth is...
B. No sin is unforgivable.
Some Christians teach that believers must beware of committing the unpardonable sin!
The blasphemy here spoken of is when one denies the power of the Holy Spirit, as was demonstrated by Jesus’ miracles.
Thus, as long as they refuse to believe in that power, they prevent themselves from accessing that power, which results in unforgiveness.
It is not that they denied it at one time and have sealed their fate forever!
II.
But, repentance must be genuine.
A. Words alone are meaningless.
Repentance literally means to change (META) the mind (NOUS).
But, is that the extent of it?
μετανοέω; μετάνοια, ας f: to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness
Why the added action?
Because a proper changing of the mind brings about change of action.
B. Actions speak volumes.
The Ninevites repented of their wickedness, and it was evident in their wearing sack cloth (a sign of humility before God), and their fasting from food and water.
How long they stopped their wickedness is irrelevant.
And that’s good for us as well, because if the omniscient God of the universe were to judge our repentance now on our future actions, we would have no hope!
Conclusion:
We can learn much from this passage in Jonah.
For one thing, we need to realize that God will judge us for our wickedness, whether Christian or not.
If we continue living a sinful life, we can expect His strong hand of chastening.
Unbelievers can expect hell fire.
And conversely, we can expect His mercy when we repent of our sinful actions.
For Christians, He will take us up in His arms and comfort us.
For unbelievers, He will save you from hell and destruction and make you a child of God and a member of His family.
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