Our great, sovereign God is a merciful and gracious God. When He would have every right to condemn us to hell for our sins, He instead offers us mercy, grace, forgiveness, love, and justification. No wonder Romans 5:6 states, "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." And 2 Corinthians 5:21 expresses God's saving, sacrificial love, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
God continually sends His gracious Word of forgiveness and salvation to all people. We must repent and believe the good news (Mk. 1:14-15). The gospel of Jesus Christ is sufficient to save all people, but it is efficient only for those who repent and believe the good news. And it is efficient only for those whom the Lord calls (Jn. 6:44; Rom. 9:14-18), so if we hear the voice of God in the gospel of God we must not remain in the hardness of our hearts; God is calling we must answer.
This brings us to the life of Jonah, that reluctant, prejudice prophet who cared little for the eternal condition of the inhabitants of pagan Nineveh. When the word of the Lord came to Jonah the first time (1:1) he ran from the call of God and the God who was calling him (1:3). Though Jonah was on the run and his life was headed in a downward spiral (1:3-17), we learn much about God's mercy and grace from the entire scope of Jonah's life. We know.... Keep reading
Cartoon: Rod Anderson/Christian Post
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