Salvation is of the Lord adapted from PCC Prayer Meeting Exhortation on 31 Dec 2010 “But I will sacrificeunto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). Jonahis a famous prophet. Even our children know him. He was that prophet of Israelwho tried to run away from God. God had sent him to Nineveh to preach to the Assyrians. But Jonahhated the Assyrians. He refused to go. Instead, he hopped on a boat that washeading to Tarshish in the opposite direction. God sent a great storm. Jonahwas forced to own up to the pagan sailors that it was because of him that Godsent the storm. He suggested for them to throw him overboard, and theyeventually did. The storm then ceased; but Godsent a huge fish or a whale to swallow Jonah. I believe it was a whale asindicated in the King James translation of Matthew 12:40. Jonah repented of hisrebellious obstinacy. God instructed the whale to spit him out at Nineveh; and he proceededto preach to the people. So powerful was the ministry of the Word that therewas national repentance at Nineveh,much to Jonah’s chagrin. In the final chapter of theBook, we see Jonah sulking at the result of his obedience, and God explainingto him why he wanted him to preach to the Assyrians despite their wickedness.God’s explanation may best be summed up in the words of Jonah in the key verseof the book, namely, Jonah 2:9 (above). Now,you will realise that the content of this Book is a historical narrativealthough it is found amongst the Minor Prophets. In fact, it has only one line ofprophecy in it. And it is part of Jonah’s sermon against Nineveh: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall beoverthrown” (Jon 3:4). What about promises? Well, there are no directstatements of promise in this Book unless you consider Jonah’s threat against Nineveh as a promise.However, there is an implied promise which Jonah referred to and rested upon inhis prayer in the whale’s belly. This promise is expressed in the words:“Salvation is of the LORD” (Jon 2:9). Let’smeditate briefly on these words by considering three questions: First, whoneeds salvation? Second, how does the LORD save? Thirdly, how shall we respondto the LORD’s salvation? 1. WhoNeeds Salvation? Firstof all, what is salvation? Well, the word ‘salvation’ in our text, comes fromthe Hebrew h[;WvyÒ (yeshuah)which means ‘rescue’, ‘deliver’ or ‘help’. Someoneis in need of salvation if he falls into a situation of helplessness. If he isnot saved, he will die. Jonah was in the whale’s belly. He knewthat were it not for the LORD’s intervention, he would be dead. He knew toothat if he were to be delivered from the whale’s belly, it would be entirely bythe LORD’s mercy. “Salvation is of the LORD” he says. ButJonah knew that he was not the only one in need of salvation. The fact is: theAssyrians were much more in need of salvation than him. While Jonah would diephysically, the Assyrians were dead spiritually and would die eternally if lefton their own. This was the reason why the LORD sent him to Nineveh in the first place. TheAssyrians did not know Jehovah. They trusted in their idols. They wereperishing in sin. “Theythat observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy” says Jonah (Jon 2:8). Thatis to say: “Those who worship false gods,—which are really nothing, but thewicked imagination of man,—are forfeiting any opportunity of mercy which couldbe theirs. They will perish in sin.” Butof course the Assyrians were not the only ones in need of salvation. The factis: All men descending from Adam by natural generation sinned in him and fellwith him. We all fall short of the glory of God and are become children ofGod’s wrath. We are dead in sin and trespasses. Left to ourselves, we will livelives of sin which will end in eternal misery. All men need salvation. Weneed to be saved from our sins and our self-destruction. If you are notsaved,—whether you are young or old,—you are living a life of emptiness andmisery which will end with destruction. Nothing in this world will fill thevoid in your heart permanently. Nothing in this world can save you fromdestruction today and in eternity. Only the LORD can. “Salvation is of theLORD.” This is a promise that all who trust in the Lord will experience in thislife and the life to come. But… 2. How Does the LORD Save? The LORDsaved Jonah by commanding the whale to swallow him. And he would save Jonah bycommanding the whale to spit him out on dry land. Jonah was saved and would besaved from physical death by the LORD, using the whale. What about salvation from spiritual and eternaldeath? How does the LORD save sinners from death and destruction? The answer isfound in the words of the angel Gabriel to Joseph regarding Mary— “And she shall bring forth a son, and thoushalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). Years later, the Apostle Peter would add: “Neither is there salvation in any other: forthere is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must besaved” (Acts 4:12). Godwould save sinners though Christ Jesus, His only begotten son, whom He wouldsend to live, suffer and die on behalf of those who were appointed to live. It is instructive to note that the word translated‘salvation’ (h[;WvyÒ, yeshuah)is the word from which we get the name ['vuwhoyÒ (yehoshua) or ‘Joshua’ which istransliterated as ‘Jesus’ through the Greek New Testament. ‘Jesus’ means“Jehovah is salvation.” Whatis even more instructive is that in God’s appointment, Jonah would remain threedays in the whale’s belly as a type of Christ to foreshadow the death andresurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of His people. About 800 years after Jonah passed from thescene, the Lord Jesus was asked by the Scribes and Pharisees for a sign that Heis from God. He replied: “An evil and adulterousgeneration seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, butthe sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days andthree nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days andthree nights in the heart of the earth” (Mt 12:39-40). Itturns out that the story of Jonah is not just a curious interlude in thehistory of God’s people in the Old Testament. The fact is: the whole episode inJonah’s life recorded in this book, panned out as it did, by the sovereign handof God, so that the work of mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ,—involving His deathand resurrection,—might be illustrated, foreshadowed and preached to the peopleof God even before the fullness of the time. What is not so clear in thebook of Jonah is made clear in the New Testament. Salvation is of the LORDthrough Christ Jesus. TheLord Jesus must live, and die, and be buried, and rise again from the dead inorder that He might save His people from their sin. Jonahsuffered with the sailors in the boat, was buried in the whale’s belly andalmost died because of his sin. The Lord Jesus suffered alone. He sufferedimmensely—even to the point of experiencing the pains of hell on the Cross. Hedied and He was buried not because He had any sin, but because of the sin ofHis people. The wages of sin is death. We cannot save ourselves for all ourrighteousness are filthy rags in the sight of a thrice holy God. We cannot saveourselves from our wickedness and from death any more than the Assyrians couldsave themselves. Christhad to die to pay for our sins. But thank God that He rose again from the dead.His sacrifice was accepted. BecauseHe lives, we live and shall live. Because His sacrifice was accepted, our sins havebeen paid for. We are given spiritual life and eternal life; and one day, ourbodies, being still united to Christ, will also rise from the dead. Thisis the promise of the LORD. Salvation is of the LORD in Christ! But… 3. How Should we Respond to the LORD’s Salvation? Ifwe know that salvation is of the LORD, what should our first response be but tothank and praise the LORD? Were it not for the LORD, the Ninevites would havecontinued in their carnal prosperity and their sin. They would not think aboutrepentance and their need of salvation. Thesame is true for us. Were it not that the LORD initiated our salvation, wewould never have repented and believe in Him. Salvation is of the LORD. But now that we know, shall we not praise Him with ourlips and serve Him with gratitude and love with our lives? Those in Nineveh who returned totheir idolatry after being spared from destruction, would no doubt haveperished in their sin. So too any of us who fail to hold fast the beginning ofour faith steadfast unto the end. “For we are made partakers of Christ, if wehold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end” says the Apostle tothe Hebrews (Heb 3:14). Therefore,beloved brethren and children, will you not take a hard look at yourself and giveyourself an honest assessment of how you have been living before the face ofthe LORD hitherto. Haveyou live for the LORD? Have you sought to glorify God in all your decisions andin all that you sought to do or to refrain from doing? Or have you indulged inworldly pleasures and sin? Have you made decisions on whether they makeeconomic sense rather than spiritual sense? Have you sought first the kingdom of Christ and His righteousness? Or haveyou sought first your pleasure and your wealth? Beloved brethren, youth and children, remember that weare saved from physical death, spiritual death and eternal death. Eternal lifeis not just a life never-ending. It is a life of fellowship with God, lived inthe freedom that the Spirit and Word of God affords. Iftherefore, you are still living a worldly and sensual life without regard toholiness, will you not repent of your sins and seek the Lord’s mercy? Do notcontinue in sin thinking that you are saved. No, no; the Ninevites repented indust and ashes and were spared God’s wrath. Let us not assume that we cancontinue status quo in ungodliness and be spared God’s wrath. Youngpeople and children, take heed! Some of you are heading the path ofdestruction. Unless you repent and truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, andfollow hard after the Lord Jesus Christ, you will perish. Conclusion Salvation is of the LORD! It is the LORD whowill bless and preserve us. But let us remember that our enjoyment of Him willdepend very much on how we respond to His mercy and grace bestowed upon us inChrist through all the changing scenes of life. Amen. Ω |
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