Salvation in Life and Death

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Call to Worship — Psalm 148
• Hymn — Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
• Prayer of Invocation
• Corporate Confession of Sin
• Assurance of Pardon — Psalm 28:6-7
• Reception of New Members
• Hymn — How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer of Dedication
• Hymn — O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus
• Scripture Reading — Jonah 1:17–2:10 and Matthew 12:38-42
• Sermon
• Closing Prayer
• Hymn — Be Thou My Vision
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: Salvation in Life and Death

Scripture: Jonah 2

I. Death to Sin and Alive Through Repentance

A. Jonah's rebellion in chapter 1 is depicted as a downward movement — away from the Lord's presence, descending to Joppa, to Tarshish, into the ship, into the sea, and finally into Sheol (Jonah 2:5-6)

B. Jonah's prayer itself is his repentance — a contrast to his silence before God in Jonah 1:6

1. In chapter 1, when the captain urges Jonah to cry out to God, Jonah remains silent
2. Psalm 32 warns that silence in sin causes the bones to waste away
3. Now Jonah lifts his voice upward — a movement toward God rather than away from him

C. Repentance must begin in the heart

1. Jonah hopes to see the holy temple (Jonah 2:4) because his heart already prays toward it (Jonah 2:7)
2. Prayer is the evidence of a repentant heart — there is no repentance without prayer
3. Donald Grey Barnhouse illustrated that moral reformation without Christ is not repentance

D. Repentance produces a changed life motivated by gratitude, not guilt or shame

1. Jonah 2:9 — "With the voice of thanksgiving I will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay"
2. Jonah, restored to God, is now ready to be obedient to his prophetic calling (fulfilled in chapter 3)
3. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 2: we must know the greatness of our sin, the fullness of our deliverance, and how to thank God for it

II. Death to Sin and Alive Through Remembrance

A. Jonah despairs, feeling cast off by God — sensing he is past the point of repentance (Jonah 2:4a)

1. The darkness of his circumstances causes God to appear only as a judge
2. This is the "senses versus faith" predicament that believers often face

B. The turning point: Jonah remembers who God is (Jonah 2:4b, 2:7)

1. He remembers the Lord's self-proclamation to Moses — merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love
2. Almost every verse of Jonah's prayer echoes the Psalter; Matthew Henry notes the value of hiding God's word in memory for times of distress
3. Jesus in the wilderness had no Bible in hand but quoted memorized Scripture against Satan

C. Jonah 2:8 — "Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love"

1. The rich young ruler walked away from Christ sorrowfully — fully aware of who Jesus was, yet gripped by his idol
2. No idol — money, sex, fame, popularity — can provide steadfast love in dark days
3. Hebrews 11:1 — faith is the assurance of things hoped for; it says "it both can and will be" when sense and reason say otherwise
4. Only God and his Son can be an anchor for the soul in dark days

III. Death to Sin and Alive Through Resurrection

A. Jonah's prayer heaps up the starkest language of hopelessness found anywhere in Scripture

1. Psalm 88:6-7 is echoed — the only psalm that ends without a word of hope, closing in utter darkness
2. Jonah in the belly of the fish experiences spiritual restoration, followed by physical deliverance after three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17)

B. Jonah is a type of Christ (Matthew 12:38-42)

1. Luke 12:50 — Jesus speaks of his death as a baptism; he faces the floodwaters of God's wrath at the cross
2. Christ enters the belly of Sheol; the Father turns his face away — "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
3. He descends into hell (Apostles' Creed), then after three days bodily rises and ascends to the holy temple — the right hand of the Father

C. The resurrection of Christ secures the believer's standing in life and death

1. Romans 14:8-9 — whether we live or die, we are the Lord's; Christ died and rose to be Lord of both the dead and the living
2. Philippians 1 — to die is gain; it is far better to depart and be with Christ
3. Ephesians 2 — when we were dead in sins, God made us alive together with Christ; we are even now seated in heavenly places
4. We await the final resurrection when bodies come forth from the tomb and the steadfast love of the Lord remains forever in Christ Jesus, the greater Jonah