Grace Greater Than All Our Sin, Jonah 1:7-17, Sermon Preached by Ps George Skariah

Sin Swallowed by Grace: The Reality of True Christian Life

Or, Grace Greater than All our Sin

Jonah 1:7-17

 (Sermon Preached by Ps George Skariah, Covenant Reformed Church (Covenant BPC), Bangalore, July 21, 2019)

Sin is a reality. Every person is affected by sin. But how do we deal with sin? In other words, how are we in the battle with sin? Have we given up the battle with sin or are we resolved to carry on the fight with sin?

The Apostle Paul says in Rom 7:14, “I am carnal, sold under sin.” He then cries, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (v 24). Paul found the solution in the next verse, verse 25, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Today many lives are swallowed by sin. We should never allow sin to swallow us, but we should be swallowed by the Graciousness of God.

Jonah, though ran away from the presence of God, he could not escape the graciousness of God.

Our Sin will Find Us Out (vv 7-10)

Jonah’s sin finally caught hold of him (v 7)

·         No matter who we are, how clever and capable we are, how powerful we are, we can never run away from the truth of the matter—There is a Just God and Justice must be done.

Jonah tried to cover up his sin (vv 8-9), but he could not hide it from the Creator of the heavens and earth.

We Need to Face the Consequences (vv 11-16)

Jonah finally realized that his sin has caught up with him, and he has to face the consequences (v 12)

·         Jonah gave himself up into the hands of the Lord.

God’s Grace Swallowed Up Our Sin (v 17)

Here we see grace greater than all our sin! Jonah, for his disobedience, never deserved to be persevered by the big fish, but supposed to be into the bottom of the sea and die. But, God’s sovereign providence for his life was something else.

·         God forgave his sin, and gave him another chance to live on and be his ambassador.

·         This is nothing, but God’s grace.

Through this, Jonah became a type of the Lord Jesus Christ >> Matthew 12:38-41. But remember, Jesus did not say “another Jonah is here,” but He said, “One Greater then Jonah is here!”

What way is Christ Greater than Jonah?

·         Jonah heard God’s call and said, “Not your will but mine,” but Jesus heard God’s call and said, “Not my will but thine.”

·         Jonah showed no care for the lost. The compassion of God did not melt his heart, but it angered him. But Christ came to seek and to save the lost.

·         Jonah was swallowed by the great fish that saved him from death, but Jesus swallowed sin on the Cross to save His people from eternal death.

·         God loved the Ninevites enough to send Jonah, but God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in His should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The sign of Jonah is this: Jesus swallows our sin by His Cross. Sin may belongs to us, but salvation belongs to the Lord.

Conclusion/Application

Ephesians 2:4-10

Romans 5:20-21; 6:1-2, 9-13