Salvation Belongs to the LORD, Sermon from Jonah 2 by Ps George Skariah

Salvation Belongs to the Lord

Jonah 2:1-10

How a person is saved? This has been a struggle for people all through the ages, for the wise and the unwise, for the rich and poor, for the white and the black.

·         First it is spiritual salvation.

·         Then it is physical salvation.

Spiritually, we must very clearly understand What and How of the salvation. Then, that would result in our physical salvation as well.

Jonah experienced both in his life, but it did not happen that easy for him. Finally Jonah could very confidently say, “Salvation is of the LORD” (v 9).

·         Jonah could first and foremost experience salvation of his soul in the LORD.

·         Then, when he was in the most desperate situation, he could come to God and express his faith and confidence in Him. This is the true faith, and this is the faith victorious.

·         This is the story of our forefathers, and this must be our story today as well.

How could Jonah express that Salvation is of the LORD?

In His Desperateness, He Could Pray to God (vv 1-2)

·         Prayer of Repentance >> Prayer of repentance was the sign that Jonah was truly born again and a child of God. On the contrary, those who are not truly born again, in desperateness, they would resolve to their destiny, and silently suffer or take away their lives.

In Hell-like Situation, His Hope was in the LORD (vv 2b-7)

·         Situation at the Fish’s Belly >> In the belly of the fish, Jonah was going through a hell-like situation. The word “hell” in verse 2 is “sheol” in Hebrew, and it means “grave” or a place of the dead ones. According to the Hebrew understanding sheol is the place where the souls of the dead ones will end up, especially the souls of the unrighteous ones. In the biblical understanding, it is the place called hell.

·         Life without God is a hell-like situation (vv 3-7) >> A complete hopelessness

·         Prayer of Restfulness >> For Jonah, since he was a child of God, and since he did not give up his faith and dependency upon God, he could respond to the situation differently >> “I will look again toward thy holy temple” (vv 4, 7), “thou hast brought up my life from corruption” (v 6), and “I remembered the LORD” (v 7).

When All those who are Around Him Forsake God, He Could Worship the LORD (vv 8-9)

·         Idol worshipers forsake the loving kindness of God, and choose their own path (v 8).

·         Prayer of Resolution (v 9): There are three “I Will” in this entire passage (vv 4, 9). Those who trust in God, would commit their lives for godly service. They are again and again affirmed that salvation comes only from God.

He Could Experience True Deliverance in His Life (v 10)

The faith that Jonah had shown throughout this prayer was not disappointed. God performed an act in which the deliverance prayed for was realized.

·         True faith is a victorious faith.

·         True deliverance is the calling and portion of God’s children.

·         When we run toward God, God would take control of our lives, and God’s will for our lives would be realized.

Conclusion/Application

True salvation comes to us only through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Jonah is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 12:38-41 >> Jesus here uses Jonah’s experience of being in the fish belly as a type for His suffering, crucifixion, death, and burial, and specifically being in the grave for three days and three nights. The sign of Jonah is this: Jesus swallowed our sin by His Cross. Sin may belong to us, but salvation belongs to the Lord. Jesus suffered all the punishment on the Cross, and died as the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). He went through the agony of even being in the grave.

Remember, Jesus did not say “another Jonah is here,” but He said, “One Greater then Jonah is here!”

When Jesus as our Savior, for a true believer it means:

1. Prayer of Repentance
2. Prayer of Restfulness
3. Prayer of Resolution