Jonah 3:1-4
Big Idea: God’s means of salvation has always been the Word Proclaimed and the Word Believed. In our text for this morning we see that the message which is to be received and proclaimed is a message of coming judgement and God’s salvation from that judgement.
The Word of God _________________________
A Message ______________________
Jonah 3:1–5 (ESV) 1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”
The clause “I give you” is literally “which I am speaking (or about to speak) to you.”
2 Peter 1:16–21 (ESV) 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Scriptures 1-2 Inspiration is a special act of the Holy Spirit3 by which He guided the writers of the Scriptures so that their words would convey the thoughts He wished conveyed, would bear a proper relationship to the thoughts of the other inspired books, and would be kept free from error of fact, doctrine, and judgment.
“A voice! …this is not a God who is seen but a God who is heard. The contrast with the idols is very clear—idols are seen, but they don’t speak. The one true and living God is not seen, but He is heard. The contrast is intentional, graphic, and clear—we speak because we have heard. And the voice of God is not something that Israel deserved, nor do we. It is sheer mercy.” –Al Mohler
God’s Word is not to be altered, critiqued, or scrutinized, it is to be received and then proclaimed.
A Message ______________________
Jonah 3:2 (ESV) — 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”
Romans 10:14–15 (ESV) 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Kerruso:
Matthew 10:27 (ESV) 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
A Message of ______________________
Jonah 3:4 (ESV) 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
Matthew 1:18–21 (ESV) 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Questions to Consider
Why does the doctrine of Inspiration instill confidence in the message we proclaim?
What does it say about how we should approach God’s Word?
Can you think of any opportunities you might have this Christmas season to declare the good news of Jesus becoming flesh so that he could save us from sin?
What happens when we fail to preach a message of judgement? How does the bad news give way to the good news?
Is this salvation through the means of preaching and believing only for unbelievers? Why or why not?
