Jonah 1:1-3 – When Christians Sin – Bible study

Jonah 1:1-3 When Christians Sin What happens when a Christian sins? I am talking about deliberately, intentionally sins. Sadly, we all have; but some still are. Some with purpose, consideration, and deliberation are living in a state of willful sin against God. Such deliberate sin has a high cost. When I think of deliberate sin, I think of Jonah. Jonah 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Lets consider this text with three thoughts: I. Jonah Sinned. A. First of all, lets get an understanding of what deliberate sin is. 1. In \#2\ God tells Jonah to do something. In \#3\, Jonah does not do it. In fact, Jonah does the opposite. a. From this, we have a very practical definition of what sin is for a Christian. b. Deliberate sin is not doing what God tells you to do. (1) In Jonahs case, John did not do what God told him to do. (2) But you could reverse it to say sin is doing what God told you NOT to do. c. If you know what God wants you to do and do not do it, you are in a state of deliberate sin. 2. But not only do we get a practical definition of what sin is, we also get a personal illustration of how sin works. a. Some may not know this but Jonah was a very godly man. (1) In fact, he was one of Gods best prophets. 2Ki 14:25 He (Jeroboam II) restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which [was] of Gathhepher (2) He had stood before Israels kings with honor in his service to the Lord. (3) In fact, you might look at this as a promotion for Jonah. (a) He had done such a good job for God in Israel, that God was sending Jonah has the very first missionary and evangelist to another nation. (b) This had not happened before and would not happen again until God sent Paul and Barnabas in Acts. b. Jonahs sin was extremely personalized. a. You will not find a command in the Bible (except for here) that says, "Thou shalt not go to Tarshish" or "Thou shalt go to Nineveh." b. The only person in the history of the world that could commit this sin was Jonah! c. A New Testament Bible verse teaches this precept: Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. c. And consider that Jonahs sin, on the surface, did not appear to be a wicked sin. a. I dont think we could put what Jonah did on the level of murder, stealing, or adultery. b. Yet, it was bad enough that God went after him for it. d. I am certain that most of us would try to reason with God, trying to lessen the awfulness of our sinful behavior. However, there is no lessening it. a. He could have said that he was too busy, trying to keep Israel straight. b. I believe he did use the patriotic excuse (1) You and I know that Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria, that nation that will come to judge and destroy the ten northern tribes of Israel. (2) Jonah stood before kings and knew what was happening in the world. (3) I believe Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because he did not want to aid Israels enemy. c. Regardless of his excuses, what Jonah did was still plain, deliberate sin. B. Most everything that happened in this book happened because of Jonahs sin. II. \#4\ God went after Jonah! Jonah 1:4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. A. There are at least six things that God did to bring Jonah back to Him. 1. He sent the storm that had Jonah tossed overboard. 2. He prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. 3. He had the fish vomit Jonah out on dry ground. 4. He prepared a gourd to shade Jonah. 5. He prepared a worm to destroy the gourd. 6. He prepared an east wind to torment Jonah. B. That is six things in five chapters! C. Why would God do all of that? 1. We might guess for the love of Nineveh and all of Assyria. a. God did love them. b. God loves the whole world, and wants everyone to be saved. c. Someone has said that God will send the gospel to every spot on the globe at least once. (1) We speak of the 10/40 Window, where 80% of the people have not heard the gospel, most have never heard the name of Jesus, and few even know a Christian; but (a) The Apostle Paul walked through much of that territory personally delivering the gospel himself! (b) The Apostle Peter signed his epistle from Babylon. (c) One of the first deacons, Philip, sent the gospel to Africa when he would the eunuch to Christ. (2) Europe and America have certainly had our opportunities. (3) Some are speculating that this is the time for the South Pacific, as the gospel is still seeing powerful results in that part of the world. (4) Maybe this was Ninevehs day. 2. However, I do not think it is just the love of the world that moved God to go after Jonah but also His love for Jonah. a. Dont ever think the worst case for a person is to be in sin and to suffer for it. b. The worst case for a person is to be in sin and to be successful with it. c. That person is likely forever lost. Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? III. So what happens when a Christian sins? Jon 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. A. This verse gives us three directional words. DOWN, DOWN, and FROM. 1. These words are showing the deteriorating relationship between Jonah and God. a. God is up. Jonah was going down. b. Jonah was going "from the presence of the Lord." c. Of course that cannot be done, but Jonah was giving a valiant effort to it. 2. Remember, Jonah had something with God, but for the sake of sin, he was willing to give it up. 3. In these Scriptures we have not only a practical definition of sin and a practical illustration of it, but we also have a practical demonstration of temptation. a. Here Jonah was being tempted to accept some of lesser value for something of greater value. b. While I know that does not make sense, it is what Jonah was doing. 4. We do the same thing. a. Six main categories of temptation: (1) Wealth (2) Acceptance (3) Power (4) Life (5) Pleasure (6) Companionship b. Wealth is a big temptation. (1) Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. (2) I have known those who took a job that they knew would knock them out of church for a quarter rise an hour. (3) I have known some who moved to a location with no good church for retirement benefits they might never enjoy! (4) You say, "Preacher, are you going to judge me for that?" (5) No. I am telling you not to judge Judah for a sin you would commit as well. c. You need to (1) Acknowledge your temptation. I have some. I will not speak of them for I do not want the devil to hear what areas I am weak in and increase the temptations there; but you need to know what areas in your life you are weak and fortify those areas. Get used to saying NO for you will have to do all of your life. (2) Pray and fast. (3) Fall in love with God \#Rom 12:21\. (4) Count of the cost of giving away your relationship with God. B. \#4\ When a Christian sins, God is obligated to deal with him. 1. I am just speaking to Christians here. God has no obligation to go after the lost. Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 1. As I already mentioned, there are two ways God can deal with you: a. God can stop you. (That is what the Book of Jonah is about.) b. God can let you go. 2. If God lets you go, be advised that sin has its own end. Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 3. If God does not intervene, sin will beat you to a pulp, strip you naked, steal you blind, and leave you to a slow, agonizing death. C. \#4-16\ When a Christian sins, the innocent are troubled. 1. The innocents by-standers in this story were the mariners. a. They had a life that Jonah put on hold. b. They had families that could have lost their loved ones. c. They had cargo on the ship that was thrown overboard. d. They had places to go and jobs to do that were interrupted. e. They had to throw a man overboard! They never knew what happened to Jonah. They would have gone through life supposing they had thrown him to his death. f. And of course, they were scared to death! g. How cold and hard Jonahs heart must have become to put these men in those situation. 2. It is always the innocent that suffer when people willingly sin. D. When a Christian sins, his heart becomes hardened. 1. Oh how hard Jonahs heart became! This cannot be the heart of the man that God used to speak to kings! a. He had no concern for the mariners on the ship. b. He had no concern for the people of Nineveh. (1) \#1:3\ He fled when he should have served. (2) \#1:5\ He sleep when he should have repented. (3) \#4:1\ He was saddened when he should have rejoiced. c. He had no concern for the position he left behind. (1) He served kings by telling them the Word of God. (2) What would they think of God, His Word, and His work now? Jonah cared not! 2. Is this the man who served God before Israeli kings with honor? I think not! E. \#4:11\ When a Christian sins, the lost perish. Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? 1. God says that more than 120,000 souls were about to perish, but Jonah did not care. a. He, a prophet of God, was more concerned for his own happiness than for theirs. b. What lead him to this pitiful condition? He sinned deliberately and took it lightly. 2. When you and I cease to care for the lost, we lose our worth to God on this earth. a. That is why we are here. To witness to and win the lost. b. And when you risk doing damage to the kingdom of God, it simply makes more sense for God to take you home than to keep you here. 3. Is that what you want? To be less than worthless to God? To become a risk that might hurt His name? 4. Then do not let yourself become this kind of Christian. Do not deliberately sin against God.