Learning to Celebrate God's Grace

Introduction

Self-Righteousness vs the Gospel Here we pick up with Jonah following the events of chapter 3. He was eagerly expecting the destruction and overturning of Nineveh. What is interesting here is that his message did come true, even if not in the way that Jonah was expecting it. The Hebrew word for destruction or overturning simply means an overturning of the present state. When Nineveh repented, the city was essentially overturned from its present state and changed into a new state of being. So, the Word of the Lord which said that Nineveh would be overturned within forty days did come true as Jonah proclaimed, just not as he expected. Why do we see this reaction from Jonah in chapter 4? The most amazing thing has happened, salvation and revival has broken forth because of his preaching. Most preachers would be ecstatic to have this kind of reception to their message. However, Jonah is angry and depressed to the point of dying because of the lack of destruction of the city. As we look into this chapter, we will see that Jonah is still struggling with his sinful heart and his own sense of self-righteousness. Even though Jonah has already received mercy and grace from God as we looked at in chapter 2, he still does not believe that the Ninevites are worthy of the same grace and mercy from God, and this is essentially the definition of self-righteousness. That even though mercy and grace are undeserved, we still have in our minds the idea that we are somehow more deserving than others to receive God’s mercy and grace because of who we are and what we do. If we are to develop a love for God and for others, we must fight against this heart of self-righteousness, this heart of thinking that somehow, we are good enough to deserve God’s mercy and grace while others are undeserving of it. The heart of the gospel is we are all undeserving of God’s mercy and grace, and until we see that we will always struggle with the kind of love God is calling us. This final chapter in the story of Jonah illustrates the stark contrast between the Gospel of Christ and the heart of self-righteousness, and like Jonah, we are being called to turn from the destructive nature of our self-righteousness and to embrace and celebrate the beauty of the grace of the Gospel.

I. Self-righteousness leads to bitterness

a. Jonah was angry about God’s character (v. 1-2)

We finally learn the real reason as to why Jonah ran from Nineveh when God first came to him. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the Ninevites. He was afraid of God’s mercy. It is the character of God that was revealed to Moses in Exodus 34:6 “The Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth,” While Jonah didn’t complain about this trait shown to him and his people, He was afraid of God’s compassion towards the Ninevites. The same grace and compassion of God that saved him through the belly of the fish is the grace and compassion that he did not want shown to the Ninevites.

we begin to wish upon others the judgment that we want to escape ourselves. It’s an attitude that comes straight from the pit of hell itself and that we as God’s people must fight against.

b. Jonah desired to die rather than live with a compassionate God (v. 3)

Because of his anger and hatred towards the Ninevites and his complaint about who God is, Jonah has become so bitter and depressed he wants to die. We are back to the same attitude to where he was at the beginning of the book when he was quick to suggest that the sailors should throw him overboard.

Our self-righteousness will deceive us and get us to think that we have somehow earned God’s grace and that people who we perceive are worse than us do not deserve God’s compassion and mercy.

We see within Jonah the parable of the Prodigal Son that Jesus tells. At the beginning, Jonah identified with the Prodigal son as he runs from God. Now he is identifying with the older brother as he is angry at the mercy and grace God is showing to other sinners. Instead of finding joy in the salvation that has just occurred, Jonah has become bitter because of that salvation because he views it as unfair.

And grace is certainly unfair because it is withholding of the justice that sinners deserve. But one who has received mercy and grace should desire this unfair relationship for others who are caught under condemnation Because we have received that unfair treatment ourselves.

c. God’s Gracious Patience Towards Jonah (v. 4)

Even here, we see God’s grace and compassion being played out towards Jonah. Do not miss the beauty of God’s compassionate mercy towards sinners here, because in His righteousness, He would totally be just and right to give Jonah exactly what he prayed for.

God could have taken Jonah’s life right as he prayed for it. However, God simply and patiently asks Jonah, is it right for you to be angry? Notice Jonah does not answer this right away as if he knows deep down it is not right. However, we see God’s mercy in this question that God is gently guiding him to the proper outlook on this situation.

Through this moment, we see that Jonah is still battling with his sin. Sometimes we think that once we are saved, everything becomes easy and we will never mess up again. However, even Paul writes about the struggle of two different desires with him, the old man and the new man. While we cannot use this as an excuse to continue to live in sin, it does show us the magnitude of the love and grace of God towards us.

Tim Keller writes, “We can take the deepest comfort in seeing that ‘God knows the totality of the human heart… that this does not exhaust God’s love and patience, that he continues to take this rebellious child by the hand.’” Think about the mercy of God towards us, who knows the deepest parts of our hearts and still loves us with a never failing love!

II. Self-righteousness blinds us to God’s grace (v. 5-9)

a. Jonah forgot about God’s grace in his own rebellion (ch. 1-2)

Jonah, now, because of his anger is going out to sit and wait to see what is going to happen to the city. Although he already knows God has shown compassion to the Ninevites, he is still hoping to see the city destroyed. In the midst of all this, his own sense of self-righteousness is causing him to miss the grace of God, not just in the life of Nineveh, but in his own life as well.

He forgot that not too long ago he was on the brink of death in his rebellion against God and that he called out to God for salvation. He forgot that God graciously sent the fish to rescue him even when he did not deserve it. Self-righteousness blinds us to our own need for God’s grace and His compassion that is shown to us.

The question we all need to ask ourselves is, “What has God saved me from that I have forgotten as I stand in judgment over someone else?” And when I say judgment, I’m not saying we should not call sin “sin.” By judgment, I mean standing in the place of God and saying someone is not worthy of salvation because of their sin.

b. Jonah missed God’s grace in the plant (v. 6-7)

Not only did Jonah forget about the past grace, he missed the grace that was being lavished on him in the present. As he is sitting there waiting for the destruction of Nineveh, God freely chooses to shield him from the heat beating down upon him by making a plant to grow above him. While he is waiting for destruction, God provides relief from mere discomfort for him.

But then after a day, God chooses to take the plant away. Jonah would have been in the place of heat and discomfort this whole time were it not for the plant that God had graciously provided. Yet, look at Jonah’s response in verse 8. He once again gets angry about his situation that he is begging to die. Again, the discomfort that he is currently feeling cannot be compared to the destruction that he longs for Nineveh, and yet his discomfort is too much to bear. He is angry at God for taking away his plant, even though he did nothing to make it grow (v. 10).

How do we fight against missing and forgetting the grace God is constantly pouring out upon us? We need to preach to ourselves and remind ourselves of the Gospel, that God chose to save us even when we were not worthy. We need to constantly remind ourselves of our past and how we have lived in rebellion against God. Some of us here might say, sure I’ve messed up, but I’m not as bad as that guy over there. That’s self-righteousness. Some may say, I’m not self-righteous, I recognize my sin and I’m pretty humble. But taking pride in our humility and lack of self-righteousness is in itself self-righteousness. Ever heard someone complain about all the hypocrites in church? That statement in itself is a self-righteous judgment against others. There’s no doubt that we are all filled with hypocrisy at many points in our lives. But instead of focusing on others’ sins, we need to remind ourselves and preach to ourselves of our own sins and what God has saved us from.

We also need to be intentional about paying attention to how God is choosing to bless us even in the midst of trying circumstances or even in the midst of our own bitterness and rebellion against Him. Again, this is the Gospel, God’s never failing love in Christ being poured out upon us, even when and honestly, because, we do not deserve it.

III. Self-righteousness causes us to misplace value (v. 10)

a. Jonah loved the plant because of what it did for him

Notice what God says about Jonah’s relationship with the plant in v. 10. Jonah cared about the plant. He loved it. Why? We are learning from Jonah that he loves those things which benefit him or his people personally. The Ninevites do not benefit him or his people so he does not care for them. But he cared for this plant because of the selfish reason that it provided him shade. This is not a godly love. It is a consuming love and an idolatrous love. He loves God so long as God does what he wants. But he runs from God when God is doing something that does not benefit him. Self-righteousness makes him believe the lie that he deserves to benefit from the services of others instead of seeking to be a blessing to others whether they deserve it or not.

Our cultural standard of love has become a transactional relationship. We love others so long as they provide for my needs. But as soon as they no longer provide for my needs I’m free to move on because we see them as toxic because they’re no longer serving us. But true love is not looking for someone to serve me but rather to serve others whether they return that love or not. This is the love God has poured out on us and it is this love alone that can provide us with real and lasting joy. This is why the value of marriage has decreased in our society. It’s quit being a covenantal relationship and instead has become transactional in nature and we have become miserable because we place value in what they do for us instead of seeing value in simply who they are.

b. Jonah failed to realize the value of human life, even of his enemies, is infinitely greater than that of a plant

Because of this self-righteous view of love, Jonah now places more value in this plant that lives for a day then he does in human individuals that God has created in His image. God is helping Jonah see the insanity of this way of thinking. You care about this plant, but you want to see 120,000 people destroyed? Really, that’s where your heart is at?

We still do this today. We as people are drawn to things that promote our cause or give benefit to our way of life. We love people who agree with us or affiliate with our political party or provide some kind of service to us. But we detest those who oppose us and disagree with us, maybe even look differently than us because they serve no benefit to me as an individual or to the group I belong to.

c. God graciously loves people, even when there is no benefit to Him.

In stark contrast to Jonah, we see the grace of God poured out because God loves people who provide no benefit to Him. Jonah cared about the plant because it served a purpose to provide relief from the heat for him. Nineveh provides no benefit to God, and yet God still loved and cared for them in their sin. He pitied them because of their utter lostness. He is just, which is why He has to punish sin. But He cared about their spiritual state and worked to bring salvation to them even when they have nothing to give to Him.

We have to understand that the love God had for the Ninevites is the same kind of love He has for you and me. He loves us even when we cannot give anything back to Him. And even what we do have to give, already belongs to Him so we are not adding anything to what He didn’t have before.

The love for a child is exactly like this. You don’t love a newborn baby because of what they can give back to you. They have nothing. Everything they have belongs to you. They can’t even smile back or say thank you when you feed them or change them. Yet, most parents will love their child simply because they choose to, not because of any added benefit to them, but simply because of the value they place in the life of their child.

God loves you not because of what you can do for Him but simply because He chooses to love you! This is the joy of the Gospel. This is the beauty of grace! And this is what Jonah is learning to celebrate. God’s love for him is not dependent upon what he can do for God, but simply because God chooses to love him. The next time you begin to wonder if God can love someone like you because you have nothing good to give, remind yourself that this is how He loves all of us.

d. God demonstrates His love for people at great cost to Himself.

The question God poses to Jonah is certainly a rhetorical question, “So may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?” We do not know Jonah’s answer, and we are not meant to know his answer. We can speculate of course. My thoughts and hope is that Jonah finally came to his senses and saw the grace of God in his life and for the Ninevites and learned to celebrate that grace and value the lives of all people regardless of who they are or where they come from. The fact that we have this account of his life, gives me hope that he did repent of his self-righteousness and anger. But how are we going to answer this question?

Of course the answer is “yes He can” and “yes He does.” Not only does He care for sinners who give Him no added benefit, we also know that He cares for sinners at great cost to Himself. This is the point of the cross. God so cared for Nineveh and He cares for you and me that He sent Christ to come and die on the cross for us, even while we were still sinners. He doesn’t just kind of care for us, He loves us with a faithful and never ending kind of love that was displayed for all to see. Until we realize and truly grasp the kind of love Christ has demonstrated for us we will always struggle with self righteousness because we think somehow we are deserving of His love. But when we think of what Christ has done we begin to realize the he died for us simply because we are unworthy of His love and He is freely drawing us into this relationship with God as a gift. We cannot and will not ever do anything to earn this love from God, but we simply receive it by faith. And we long to call others unto this same relationship to Christ by faith.

As believers, we are called to remember this love that was poured out for us and to share that love with others. We are called to “bring them in to Jesus” as the last song we sang calls us to do.

Conclusion – The Crucial Question for Us

What about us here today? Are we willing to let go of our self-righteousness, of the pride that says I deserve God to do things my way and to simply marvel at His grace for us? And then will we see God’s compassion for the lost here in Socorro and New Mexico and our nation and throughout the world and ask Him to use us to bring the Gospel to other undeserving sinners wherever He may take us? To first change our hearts, we have to daily look to Christ who gave Himself for us so we can see the grace He has for others.

Perhaps you are here and you have never experienced this grace that is found in Christ alone. Scripture tells us that we can receive this gift by trusting in the finished work of Christ alone. We are told in Acts 16:31, “They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”” You can experience this mercy and grace today!