“Then Jonah prayed unto the
LORD his God out of the fish's belly… Salvation is of the LORD.” —Jonah 2:9
I was reading the Old Testament Book of Jonah
the other day and stumbled across a truth that I never saw before. We often
hear the Biblical story about Jonah and the Whale; but I’ve never heard anyone
address the prayer which Jonah cried out from the whale’s belly.
Some critics of the King James Bible have
quarreled over the word “whale” in the Bible. Matthew 12:40 in the New King
James Version (NKJV) and the New International Version (NIV) errantly change
"whale" to "fish." The Greek word used in Matthew 12:40 is
ketos. The scientific study of whales just happens to be - CETOLOGY - from the
Greek ketos for whale and logos for study! The scientific name for whales just
happens to be - CETACEANS - from the Greek ketos for whale! So “whale” is the
correct translation, which the King James translators faithfully preserved.
Jonah’s Desperate Prayer from
the Whale’s Belly
Here is what Jonah prayed to God from the
inside of the whale’s belly…
“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of
the fish's belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD,
and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods
compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said,
I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The
waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about,
the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the
mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought
up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me, I
remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice
unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.
Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out
Jonah upon the dry land.” —Jonah 2:1-10
Jonah said something remarkable in his prayer
to God. Jonah stated that people who trust in “lying vanities” for their
salvation literally “forsake their own mercy.” That is to say, they forfeit the
free gift of eternal life which God in His loving mercy has made available to
all mankind through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. This would be
equivalent to the Apostle Paul’s statement in Galatians 5:4 … “Ye are fallen
from grace.” There is ONLY one way to Heaven and that is through the precious
redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18,19). Anyone who tries
to merit Heaven some “other way” has fallen from the saving grace of God, and
has forsaken the mercy which God has bestowed upon them through the gift of
eternal life found only in Christ Jesus (Acts 4:10-12; John 10:1,9).
God’s Merciful Gift of Eternal
Life Versus the Lying Vanities of a False Gospel
As I read Jonah’s plea to God, I couldn’t help
but immediately think of all the religious people in the world today who trust
in “lying vanities” to get them to Heaven. They have forsaken the very mercy
that God has bestowed upon them through His precious Son, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the wrath of God abideth upon them (John 3:36).
Jonah knew that “SALVATION IS OF THE LORD” and
pondered over it in the whale’s belly. I find it very interesting that Jonah
was thinking about the merciful gift of God, and of those who trust in “lying
vanities” which led to Hellfire. You see, when Jonah was fleeing from God he
was only thinking about himself; but now that Jonah is in woe and desperation,
he is thinking about what is important to God—SOULWINNING!!! I believe Jonah
was thinking about the unsaved inhabitants of Nineveh (where God had told him
to go preach the Gospel). Jonah promised God to obey His will if his life was
spared. God caused the whale to spew Jonah forth on dry ground. Interestingly,
Jonah made a 3-day journey in just ONE DAY. Jonah ran all the way to Nineveh
after God delivered him from being entangled in weeds in the whale’s belly in
the depths of the sea. That’s quite a testimony.
Many religious people today have a false sense
of peace, like the calm in the eye of a hurricane, because they’ve been lied to
by some unholy priest or arrogant minister. Death and destruction await them
after the calm is gone, i.e., when they enter into eternity in their sins
without the Lord. The most dangerous thing you’ll ever do is trust what men
say. You’d better do what Jesus commanded in John 5:39… SEARCH THE
SCRIPTURES!!! You’ll never go wrong listening to the Word of God.
The Bible is filled with
warnings about listening to people…
“It is better to trust in the LORD
than to put confidence in man.” —Psalm 118:8
“There is a way that seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” —Proverb 16:25
“Behold, ye trust in lying words,
that cannot profit.” —Jeremiah 7:8
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the
man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth
from the LORD.” —Jeremiah 17:5
“God forbid: yea, let God be true,
but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy
sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” —Romans 3:4
“This people draweth nigh unto me
with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from
me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
men.” —Matthew 15:8,9
Jonah knew that SALVATION IS OF THE LORD, and
that those who trust in “lying vanities” are traveling on a highway to Hell. The
only One Who can forgive anyone's sins has nail-scared hands and feet—Jesus
Christ. Believe on Him!!!
What Will it Take?
Jonah was your typical person who forgets about
God until tragedy strikes. It's sad, but true, that most of us don't think
about what pleases God until we're in the back of an ambulance or in a
dangerous situation. Whereas Jonah was stubbornly fleeing from the will of God
before; now he is in the morbid belly of a whale facing imminent death, crying
out in repentance for God to deliver him. Whereas Jonah wasn't concerned about
fulfilling the will of God just days earlier; now he is desperately desiring to
do God's will and preach the Gospel to lost sinners who trust in "lying
vanities."
What will it take for us to surrender our lives
to do God's will? Why does God always have to send a whale to devour us, fiery
serpents to bite us (Numbers 21:6), an evil spirit to afflict us (1st Samuel
16:14) or a thorn in the flesh to humble us (2nd Corinthians 12:7). Mankind is
sinfully proud and stubborn. Deuteronomy 6:12 warns, "Then beware lest
thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from
the house of bondage." It is so easy to become ungrateful for all the
wonderful things that God has done for us. So often as believers we forget
about the very God Who brought us forth out of darkness (bondage to sin) and
gave to us new life in Jesus Christ.
No Human Effort is Expected,
Required, Nor Allowed in Salvation
Jonah said that he would sacrifice unto the
Lord with “a voice of thanksgiving.” Mankind has no part in salvation other
than to receive it through faith in Christ's sacrifice on the cross and say,
“Thank you.” It is the precious blood of Jesus that washes away our sins, and
nothing that we have done. Many bad pastors and evangelists these days have
adopted a false plan of salvation that teaches partial faith in Christ plus
human effort. Whether the satanic Roman Catholic religion that requires good
works for salvation, or the satanic teachers of Lordship Salvation who requires
forsaking bad works to be saved, both are works, and both of these groups of
heretics are corrupting the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus (2nd Corinthians
11:4-5).
Salvation is receiving, not giving. Salvation
is received, not achieved. We have zero self-righteousness of our own. Even our
own self-perceived goodness is “filthy rags” in the sight of Almighty God
(Isaiah 64:6). The very reason why God sent His Son to die and shed His blood
at Calvary's cross for our sins is because we cannot save ourselves. If there
are any sins at all on our eternal record, no amount of good can expunge them.
Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse our sins away forever (1st John 1:7; 1st Peter
1:18-19; Revelation 1:5; 7:14).
Jonah had a spirit of thanksgiving because he
knew that salvation is based upon GOD’S MERCY and not upon man’s own
self-righteousness or any other “lying vanities.” Man has in inherent sinful
tendency to add human effort to God's simple plan of salvation by believing the
Gospel (Mark 1:15). The only thing that you need to repent of to be saved is
from whatever is hindering you from coming to Christ to be saved. Jesus told
the Scribes and Pharisees that if they had repented, they would have also
believed on Him as did the harlots and publicans. Matthew 21:32, “For John came
unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the
publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented
not afterward, that ye might believe him.”
Repentance is a Change of Mind,
Not a Change of Behavior
Repentance is necessary for salvation, but
Biblical repentance means “a change of mind” (Metanoeo), not a change of
behavior (metamellomai). The latter is what Judas experienced, feeling remorse
for betraying Christ and even bringing back the 30 pieces of silver to return
them (which the Pharisees refused, but Judas tossed them on the floor and
fled). Judas went to Hell in his sins. You don't get saved by having a
relationship with Jesus as Judas did. You don't get saved by forsaking your bad
works as Judas did. This is false repentance, and it is epidemic in our
Independent Baptist churches today, because of the wicked influence of
apostates who prorogate the heresy of Lordship Salvation.
While in the belly of the whale, Jonah pondered
the great Biblical truth that Salvation is of the Lord, not man. No human
effort is required, expected, nor allowed in God's salvation of the repentant
sinner. If a person must change their behavior to be saved, then salvation is
by partial faith in Christ plus human effort. The man who believes the gospel
has repented, for without repentance (changing one's mind from what you want to
do to get to Heaven, to what God says you must do to get to Heaven), you would
never come to Christ at all to be saved. Repentance is not the same thing as
believing, but they are two parts to one step. Repentance is not a separate
step from faith. You don't repent first and then believe second. It doesn't
work that way. Repentance and faith happen simultaneously (at the same time).
Please understand that the modern English
dictionary defines the word “repent” (remorse, sorrow, to turn from sin) very
differently than the Greek meaning which Jesus used in the Bible, which is “a
change of mind.” Modern dictionaries use the religious meaning of the word, not
the Biblical meaning. No doubt this has caused many sincere people to die in
their sins and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.
Certainly, there are people who make false
professions of faith in Christ, but it is not because they are still holding
onto their beloved pet sins; but rather, it is usually because they don't truly
understand how salvation works, having adopted Christianity as a philosophy,
culture, organization or business instead of as a new birth as God intended it
to be (John 1:12-14). Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the
Christian life without ever being born again!
Salvation is completely of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We simply receive the gift of God by completely resting in Christ's
sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection. You don't even have to ask God to
save you, because He has already told us what to do to be saved, which is to
simply believe that Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again. Jesus
is precious!
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