Jonah 3

We've already seen in the first two chapters that the book of Jonah is about so much more than a man and a big fish. We've seen God chase Jonah as he ran away in chapter one, we've seen God answer when Jonah prays in chapter two, now we're about to see what happens when we repent.

Jonah is recommissioned  in v1-2. Jonah is called again and is sent again to Nineveh, this time he goes. God tells him that Ninevah is a ‘great city,’ suggesting that He cares for it. The message looked like judgement in ch1, now it looks like grace. We see that God cares about Nineveh.

Verses 3-4 are the only lines of actually prophecy in this prophetic book. 40 days and the city will be destroyed. Jonah walked around for three days preaching. What would you do with a message like this? If you heard the call to repent, what would you do? How would you respond to being told that in a certain amount of time judgement, disaster, overthrow, was coming?

Nineveh repents in v5-9. They believe God and they repent. The message reaches the king, and he orders his people to put on the official clothes of mourning and repentance, and they wait, and they hope. Who knows? They say, maybe God will relent/ Jonah knew about God’s mercy, but didn’t repent quickly, Israel knew, but barely repented at all, Nineveh didn’t know, but repented. What do we know of God that helps us repent?

God relents in v10. When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster… Isn’t that a beautiful verse. God relented when the people repented. Jonah had won a whole city to the Lord with just one recorded verse of preaching. Nineveh repented, and God relented. The city turned away from their idols and towards the living God of the Bible.

So what would you do in Nineveh’s position? Would you hear the crazy preacher man and repent? If you’re not saved, then you are in Nineveh’s position, and this crazy preacher man needs for you to come to Christ and be saved. What did Jesus preach? Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. We need to hear Jesus just as the Ninevites needed to hear Jonah. We must hear, and we must repent. And when we do repent? God will relent. Jesus Christ is for all who will have Him. Turn from your sin, just like the Ninevites and have Christ instead.

As Jesus says in Luke 11:30 Jesus tells us that as Jonah was a sign to Nineveh, so will Jesus be to us. Jesus is a better sign than Jonah. Jonah was a miserable racist, Jesus shines from the pages of history with beauty and love. He calls us away from the things we love that would kill us to Himself, to ultimate satisfaction and fulfillment. He calls us away from judgement to life, He calls us away from death and away from sin. All of us are terminally curved in upon ourselves until Jesus calls us.

Jesus is better than Jonah, will we have Him today?

Sunday Song: It Is Well

Why Read The Bible? (Don Carson)

Apart from the Law

Sometimes when you're reading the Bible, an old truth, a known truth, will jump up from the page and hit you in the eye. I guess it's another reason why we need to read every morning. Today just that happened, Romans 3:21 was a bolt of lightening.

but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it.

So much gold here, but a few things stood out. Paul has been painting the human condition in dark terms. Sinful, lawbreakers, approvers of sin, guilty and without excuse. Just one verse earlier Paul tells us that knowing the law will save no one, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:21 finds us in dire straights. Proverbs 25:25 tells us like cold water to a thirsty soul is good news from a far country. And this is the best of news, from the furthest of countries, the Gospel is the most refreshing if waters to our sin parched souls. 

Why is it such good news that the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law? What sort of manifestation was the law? Ultimately Paul argues, a condemning one. Not because of any fault of the law. The law, like it's Giver is good and right and true and holy. But the law stands against us. We can not keep the law. We break it from the moment we're born to the moment we die. The law creates a chasm between us and God. God has graciously revealed Himself to us, but in a way that provokes sin within us. 

Which is why Paul starts with 'but now,' but now there is a manifestation of God's righteousness apart from the law. A manifestation that saves rather than condemns. What is this manifestation? How is this righteousness counted to us? Faith in Christ. Christ keeps the law, 'earns' it's righteousness and then gives it to us. The righteousness of God was manifested fully on the cross, as the wrath of the Father crushed the Son, the only Israelite upon whose heart the law had truly been written. Now, by faith, we are connected to Christ and the righteousness of God is ours.

This is not a new thing, Paul assures the Romans Jews, you can read about it in Moses, but it is a uniting thing. The righteousness of God humbles us, kills our pride, and unites us as a church. 

Good news from a far country on a Thursday morning. The righteousness of God through faith in Christ for all who believes. Let this Gospel water flood the plains burnt by sin, and bring you to Jesus!

Some thoughts on CFA day

Well Wednesday came and went, and my forecast of my own thoughts was about right. I enjoyed it, but i wondered if it was really achieving anything. Here are some random thoughts:

Maybe this is what Christians should do
In America in 2012, no one is going to come at you with a knife, or a gun, or a brick, just because you're on the way to church. But the faith once for all time delivered will be mocked, and we should expect it to be. It was ever thus. Maybe this is the best way to stand together. 'If you don't like the Biblical philosophy that drives a certain restaurant, we're all going to eat there.' It wasn't violent, or angry, it was good. Maybe this is what we should be doing.

It's good to be for things
Christians are so often known for what we're against, it's good to be known for what we're in favour of. Biblical marriage and tasty chicken! But seriously, we must keep holding out our faith as that which brings life and liberty, not that which takes it away. Wednesday was at least a step towards that.

I did enjoy it
We saw people from our church, other churches, old friends, new friends with their kids. People were clearly having a good time. One of the traces of the Gospel in our hearts is that we're all designed to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and this was one such something.

It's not going to change anything
Is Rahm Emmanuel going to say 'hundreds of thousands of people in the Bible belt ate at chick-fil-a? We must build one!' Of course not. This is where we are now. The freedom to exercise one's faith is slowly being eroded. The idea that what we do on Sunday should impact our lives on Monday to Saturday will get more and more unpopular. So i think we have to take these stands.

I'm still not sure it's a Gospel issue
But maybe it is.

Good Articles on CFA and Religious Liberty

If you're interested in chick-fil-a gate and you haven't read these, you should!

Mark Steyn: The Tolerance Enforcers

The Cripplegate: 4 Thoughts on Chick-fil-a Day

Al Mohler: Religious Liberty Under Threat

Voddie Baucham: Gay Is Not The New Black

Trevin Wax: Why the Chick-fil-a boycott is really about Jesus.

Anyone have any more?

Chick -fil-a Day

Today is Chick-fil-a day. For those of you who don't know, chick-fil-a is a chicken restaurant that serves excellent food. I like it very much. It was also founded and is run by Christians. It's closed on Sundays. So why chick-fil-a day? Because the current president of Chick-fil-a, Dan Cathy, had the temerity to speak in favour of the traditional, Biblical view of a one man one woman marriage in a recent interview. These days, that's viewed as some kind of crime against humanity, and so the mayors of Chicago and Boston have said that they will oppose the building of new restaurants in their cities. You can read more about the background here and here.

Two issues need to be raised and set aside before i tell you why i'm conflicted about CFA Day. The first is, what sort of a nation is America becoming when the Mayor of a city can use his influence to stop free enterprise because he disagrees with the views of the President of a company? Secondly, when did speaking in favour of A, become committing a crime of hate speech against Not A? 2012 is a strange time, but i digress, why do i feel conflicted about CFA Day?

Rachel and I will eat at CFA three times today. It's her favourite place to eat, and i like it to0. There's no great statement in that. I think part of our make up as created people is that our hearts flourish in being part of something bigger than ourselves, it's a Gospel echo. It'll be fun to wait in line, order our food and feel like we're really part of something special. And you know what else? Part of me is looking forward to being part of the message that gets sent to the mayors of Boston and Chicago, and those who oppose a traditional view of marriage. I don't really know what that message will be, but at least i'm part of it!

But...but, there are two thoughts nagging in the back of my mind. Two thoughts that leave me conflicted about CFA Day. The first is this. Where does Jesus ever tell us to further the Kingdom by flexing our economic muscles? It's the masters of the gentiles who Lord is over their people not James and John. We worship a guy who was murdered in the most humiliating way possible, how can we think that we are in a position to show other how string we are. Christians get strong by being weak, we win by losing. Paul went to prison and the Gospel spread, the Jews killed Jesus, but here comes Peter and John. I'm just not totally comfortable with the idea that a show of force is a particularly Christian response.

My second problem is like the first. Aren't we looking like the world when we do this? We don't like the idea that the church is viewed as just another pressure group or voting bloc, so why do we act like it. Why should we employ the same tactics as, say, Planned Parenthood, and then complain because we get viewed in the same way? Are we witnessing to the world by becoming more and more like it? Are we guilty of the equal and opposite error of those who are opposing Chick-fil-a? I don't know.

I don't have any answers, i'm just thinking out loud. I'll enjoy my breakfast wrap, three piece chicken strip meal and spicy chicken sandwich. I'll enjoy the day. But all the time a voice in my head will be asking, 'what are we actually achieving here, is this a hill worth dying on?'

Like i said, there's no answers here, just questions that might be worth asking...