Principle: Only God can circumcise the human heart.

Illustration: I remember some wise counsel I received multiple times from a man in a church I pastored several years back. He and I were very closely theologically aligned. We both emphasized the sovereignty of God and the holiness of God repeatedly in our teaching. We both rejected Pelagianism and contemporary Arminianism as serious errors. But my buddy saw something in me that I did not see. He saw me growing impatient for people to see the grace of God themselves. I was working night and day at multiple jobs, teaching school, going to school for yet another earned degree, and my buddy told me, “Jon, you can sow the seeds but only God can till the heart.”

I was wearing myself out. Why? In hopes that people might see. But I needed to be humbled. I needed to be taught that I cannot do that. No matter of logic, human persuasion, fellowship, kindness, or long hours will do it. Only God redeems. Only God grants spiritual sight.

This takes us again to Jonah. He’s been thrown overboard. A large fish just happens (purely by accident, of course) swallows him. It’s for three days and nights, just as Christ was three days and nights in the heart of the earth (purely by accident, of course). Jonah’s prayer life takes it right to the PhD-level of prayer:

When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD! (Jonah 3:7-9, ESV).

And you remember what happens in v. 10, right? “And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.”

What do you know? Three days. What do you know? Jonah learned about the importance of having the One who is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11) to save and to conquer. What do you know? Salvation is God’s work, Jonah; you’re just the messenger. Know your role.

Jonah would go on to mess up again in the book that bears his name. But the lessons God’s people should learn are there to behold and inculcate.

Salvation belongs to the Lord, indeed (Jonah 2:9b). We can sow the seeds but only God can till the human heart. May we be faithful in the roles God assigns his people.

Principle: God’s Use of Suffering in the Lives of His People

Context: So far in the Jonah’s history, he has been called by God, run from God, finally come to admit publicly what he believes, been cast overboard by pagan sailors who, through it all, had become believers (1:16). “Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows” (Jonah 1:16, ESV). God used the diobedience of Jonah (a fearful believer) in the conversion of pagan sailors to become children of God.

After the men threw Jonah overboard (God is sovereign over all men’s actions, remember) Jonah “prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish” (Jonah 2:1, ESV).

And in Jonah’s prayer we see the principle we are examining today. Just listen to the words of Scripture:

I called out to the LORD, out of my idstress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; and your wwaves and your billows passed over me (Jonah 2:1b-3, ESV).

Did you catch it? Who does Jonah understand had cast him into the deep? It wasn’t ultimately the sailors, you see. It was God. God was using suffering in the life of Jonah to teach him about what it’s like to serve the Lord. Suffering is inextricable from the Christian life because it, unlike anything else, teaches lessons not otherwise learned.

Jonah is beginning to learn (albeit via a great deal of kicking against the goads of God’s grace), the purposes for which God uses suffering in the conforming of his people unto the likeness of the Christ.

I have been teaching through the gospel of Matthew to some folks from church. This past Lord’s Day, we were in chapter 8 of Matthew where Jesus calms the storm in verses 23-27 of Matthew 8. A storm had arisen on the sea and Jesus’ disciples grew afraid because they, though experienced anglers and sailors, witnessed the Messiah asleep in the vessel. They were so afraid, in fact, that they woke Jesus, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing” (Mt 8:25, ESV).

Because all of Scripture coheres, God’s people should recognize the pattern from Jonah. When even the pagan sailors were fearful of perishing due to a storm at sea, the same story in microcosm occurred:

¹¹ Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. ¹² He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” ¹³ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. ¹⁴ Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” ¹⁵ So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. ¹⁶ Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

A Great Fish Swallows Jonah

¹⁷ And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights (Jonah 1:11-17, ESV).

The same principle, you see: the gospel–a truth-telling prophet with a message of repentance towards God and faith in his Messenger.

Jonah was an imperfect messenger, of course, but Jesus wasn’t and isn’t. Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and nights, and was saved and resurrected upon the land.

Christ was three days and nights in the tomb, but was raised bodily from the grave, and showed himself to hundreds via eyewitness testimony.

The gospel, folks, the gospel. Right there in Jonah. He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church.

Principle: Fidelity and faith in the gospel, not humanism.

Context: As we covered in Part 1/5 (https://jonpirtle.com/2024/06/03/lessons-from-jonah-part-1-5/) Jonah was called to be faithful despite human hostility to his message. After all, God called him to go with a message of divine judgment, namely, to “call out against [Nineveh], for their evil had come up before [God]” (Jonah 1:2, ESV). Not exactly a message of sunshine and rainbows. Here was God’s man, and he was charged with a prophetic message of judgment, an oracle of woe aimed to prompt them to repent of sin and trust in the gospel.

And you know Jonah’s initial response. “Nope. Thanks, Lord, but no thanks. I’m out of here.”

 ³ But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:3, ESV).

The key word there is away.

God’s Effectual Grace: But what does God do? Does God abandon his cowardly prophet? Does God give up on this prophet who is perverting his profession of faith? No. God uses suffering to call him back to himself:

⁴ But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. ⁶ So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish” (Jonah 1:4-6, ESV).

God ordained a storm on the sea. Why? To use pagan sailors, fear, sacrifice, and more to teach Jonah that what is required is faithfulness and obedience.

The pagan sailors confronted Jonah and Jonah finally came clean: “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (Jonah 1:9, ESV). Finally, Jonah, finally.

Encouragement & Application: What matters is not our strength but our faith and fidelity to trust the Lord’s strength. God alone saves people. He just uses us fallen, weak-faithed, scared, all-too-human weak vessels in his plan to save a people for himself. Jonah was far from perfect. Like me, like you, Jonah blew it many days. But Jonah was learning a lesson (albeit slowly) that Jonah did not have the power to save anyone. God alone does that. Jonah’s duty (and the duty of all Christian pilgrims) is to be faithful to show up and do the hard work, and watch God redeem people from every nation under heaven. We dare not trust in human efforts to redeem anyone; only God redeems. Our job is just to be faithful to him who calls.

This week I wanted to focus on main ideas from the Old Testament book of Jonah. Despite its brevity it is a leviathan of theological power. I hope you enjoy.

Context: Jonah was probably written in the 700s B.C. And Christ himself refers to the historical person of Jonah (Mt 12:39-41). Christ clearly believed Jonah and referenced Jonah’s experiences as germane to the Christian gospel. This matters because it reveals once again the coherence of the Bible’s storyline. And Jonah’s strengths and weaknesses speak directly to those who are Christian pilgrims on the way.

Issue # 1: The call to obey God despite human hostility. Jonah was a reluctant prophet. When God called him to go to Nineveh, Jonah rebelled against the Lord. Rather than accepting God’s word, he tried to evade it by literally going the opposite direction. (Jonah 1:1-3). Jonah was determined to go “away from the presence of the LORD” (Jonah 1:3, ESV).

Let that sink in. Jonah was God’s man, God’s prophet. But the scope of Jonah’s ministry was to pronounce God’s judgment to a people that hated Jonah, hated people of Jonah’s ethnicity, and certainly hated Jonah’s message. Perhaps we can cut Jonah some slack for his reluctance. In modern parlance, we might read Jonah’s initial response to God like this: “What? Them? Are you kidding? They’re the worst. They hate you (God), me (your messenger), and most of all your message (repentance of sin and faith in the Redeemer)!”

Encouragement & Application: I could go on, but for today, I just want us to consider and camp out on this one basic principle—the call to obey God despite human hostility.

The world system scoffs at the gospel message, folks. It always has. The New Testament teaches the same truth (see John 15:18-25, e.g.). Therefore, let Christian pilgrims learn from Jonah. God calls his people to go with his message despite human hostility, to count the costs, and to press on.

Saw some of the boys who’ll be men in a few years. They came out today to browse after spring showers. Their coats are russet, and their blood-filled, nutrient-rich young racks fat with velvet. These young fellows are ostensibly buds for now. But fall is coming. And the girls will work their magic, and the boys will be less friendly, and the cycle will continue. But for now, it’s just boys in the sunlight, munching on leaves and browsing upon clover and rye, etc.

Introduction: I am nervous about writing anything today because Americans are so polarized over personality. President Trump this and President Trump that … We are amidst tumultuous times, where it seems one man is a lightning rod to easily-provoked people. It’s like America is one big embarrassing Jerry Springer Show.

I don’t know where things are headed. All I know with certainty is that we’re amidst spiritually dark times. It’s a time of hate for so many. Folks are resorting into tribes and tribalistic thinking. As a student of history, what I see is a return of full-blown paganism, similar to the despotic reign of Caligula.

Evidence: We do the same things: child sacrifice, infanticide, sexual deviance, a redefining of terms, a hatred of the Bible (Christianity, in particular), etc.

And you’ll remember that Rome fell. It was not just because of foreign invasion. That was certainly part of it. But mostly it was due to internal moral rottenness. Guess what? We’re in the same kind of sinking ship.

Scripture speaks to this:  When Paul was in prison for his Christian witness (don’t miss that, Christian; persecution has been the pattern always for truth-tellers), he wrote the following … from prison:

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9, ESV).

Encouragement: We’re in a mess, yes. But the answer is not a politician, folks. The answer to the sin problem is the Savior. That Savior is Christ. Look to him. Flee to him. Learn from the apostle Paul’s witness. Read church history. Be salt and light to your neighbor, to your coworker, to your child, to your friend, to your enemy. But by all means, stand your ground with grace and truth. Why? Because he who calls you is faithful.

Context: I’m redesigning training on Moral Leadership to present to my fellow Soldiers that aligns with what the Army doctrine calls “Spiritual Wellness” and Army Pamphlet 165-19, Moral Leadership. Why? Because worldview is destiny. How one answers the “big questions” shapes the individual, the organization, and the culture. The “big questions,” per James Sire, are issues like the following:

1. What is prime reality – the really real?
2. What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us?
3. What is a human being?
4. What happens to a person at death?
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?
6. How do we know what is right and wrong?
7. What is the meaning of human history?

To state the obvious, how one answers those questions reveals a person’s worldview. Is a person created in the image of God or is a person simply matter in motion, of no more value than rocks or flotsam? Is truth objective or is it just how anyone ‘feels’ at a given moment? Is something just ‘her truth’ but not ‘the truth’?

These questions are fundamental and unavoidable. Every worldview must grapple with them.

Text: And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV).

Encouragement & Application: There is always a God of the system, folks. Always, there is an authority. And that authority is rooted in the reality of the Author. It’s the root of the word. Who defines the terms defines the world. And when you see an individual, an organization, or a culture purport to define the terms with disregard for God as the authority, you find insanity. Ergo, moral leadership is to be rooted in the holy and wise Author who is goodness and holiness in His very nature. Moral leadership, therefore, invariably hinges upon the locus of authority. Moral leadership, if is to be truly moral, will reflect the author of the true, good, and beautiful, and that is God.

I had to make a Walmart run for some hotdog buns, mustard, pickles, and a few other common items as I wanted to finish my leftovers from Memorial Day weekend. I found my items easily, spoke with the friendly girl at the cash register, and was exiting through the doors when a man in a wheelchair had a box in front of him that he must’ve dropped, or it had tumbled to the floor by accident. I’m not sure what had happened, but there he was, an elderly black man in a wheelchair, and a box of items he’d purchased, but the contents of the box were scattered all over the exit.

I only had a couple of light plastic bags in one hand, so I set my bags down by the bubblegum machines, picked up the styrofoam cups, plates, napkins, and other items that had fallen from the man’s box. I repackaged them and handed the box to the man. He was so gentle and thankful.

“Thank you, my friend,” he said. We had never met before, but he had the look of a veteran. Then I noticed his cap: Vietnam vet.

“You’re welcome, brother,” I said.

I felt someone looking at us. I looked over my shoulder in the direction of where I felt the stare coming. It was another black man, but he was clearly a civilian and seemed rather miffed at this conversation and at the interaction occurring between me and my new buddy in the wheelchair.

I cannot read another’s heart, of course, but I almost wish we could have spoken longer. I think all three of us learned something that, I believe, we could use more of.

Principle: The Timbre of the Testimony

Introduction: One of my enduring favorite passages of Scripture is Paul’s conclusion to his last epistle. Paul is about to go to his death. He is writing to a man he has mentored for years. He’s telling and showing him that the Christian’s life is a battle, yes, but it is to be waged God’s way. In other words, the tone/timbre/fragrance of the Christian’s walk is to honor Christ.

Consider the opposite behavior, where it’s just rancor and screaming and childishness. This morning, for example, I read the news of how one of the great actors (in my opinion), Robet De Niro, continues to embarrass himself and those whose values align with his. It seems any effort to persuade people of one’s views via rational discourse, logic, and cool heads is off the table for some. They cannot control their emotions, and the fallout is both laughable and sad.

The Alternative: But just listen to how Christianity and the timbre of the Christian’s testimony completely differs from the childishness you see in the world:

11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen (1 Timothy 6:11-16, ESV).

Encouragement & Application: As the culture continues its descent into paganism and cruelty, this is where the metaphors of salt and light of the Christian faith should be most evident. Things are being shaken up in order that the things that cannot be shaken remain, you see (Hebrews 12:28). Just when the world system thinks they’ve shut out the Light, vanquished the Faithful and True, He walks out of the grave three days later and says to Doubting Thomas and to all who will hear: “Do not disbelieve, but believe” (John 20:27). May we be like Timothy, like Paul, like the great cloud of witnesses through the true church’s history by living out a testimony with the timbre of redeeming grace.