How Dare You Repent
Most likely we have all heard of the story of Jonah in Scripture. We learn from the book of Jonah that God told him to go to Nineveh and to preach against its wickedness. Jonah eventually went after gleefully submitting to God’s will and preached “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown”.
To Jonah’s surprise, I’m sure, “the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them”.
What further surprised Jonah was that “God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not”.
So we have a preacher preaching to sinners that they need to repent or be destroyed by a holy God. We have the sinners repenting and praying God will spare them. We have God accepting their repentance and changing His mind in that He would now not destroy them because they had repented of their wickedness instead of staying in it.
What did Jonah think about all of this? “It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry”. Jonah even admits “I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.”, but he is still angry that God is even as he knows He is.
Then God shows Jonah that he had more pity on a gourd which God had made for him that a worm from God had destroyed than the sinners which God had made and had now chosen not to destroy.
I ponder are we any better today? Do we call people to repentance, scare them of hell to come, explain that the wrath of God is upon all that reject Him, and then when they do come we are happy for some yet mad about others?
You say, “No, not me. I am happy for everyone that comes to Christ!” Really?
Why then do we speak mockingly about deathbed conversions, jailhouse salvation, and terrorists’ enlightenment? Sometimes we act as if God can’t or will not convert, other times it is as if we believe they are merely faking it, yet still there are times when it seems that we just don’t believe they deserve it.
Think of the worse person (whether personally known to you or not) and/or the worse place you consider the most non-Christian. Ask yourself if you honestly believe they should be granted salvation by God, would you believe their testimony if given, and would you embrace them as a brother or sister in the name of Christ?
Or would you be mad like Jonah that a sinner received mercy from God?
To Jonah’s surprise, I’m sure, “the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them”.
What further surprised Jonah was that “God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not”.
So we have a preacher preaching to sinners that they need to repent or be destroyed by a holy God. We have the sinners repenting and praying God will spare them. We have God accepting their repentance and changing His mind in that He would now not destroy them because they had repented of their wickedness instead of staying in it.
What did Jonah think about all of this? “It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry”. Jonah even admits “I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.”, but he is still angry that God is even as he knows He is.
Then God shows Jonah that he had more pity on a gourd which God had made for him that a worm from God had destroyed than the sinners which God had made and had now chosen not to destroy.
I ponder are we any better today? Do we call people to repentance, scare them of hell to come, explain that the wrath of God is upon all that reject Him, and then when they do come we are happy for some yet mad about others?
You say, “No, not me. I am happy for everyone that comes to Christ!” Really?
Why then do we speak mockingly about deathbed conversions, jailhouse salvation, and terrorists’ enlightenment? Sometimes we act as if God can’t or will not convert, other times it is as if we believe they are merely faking it, yet still there are times when it seems that we just don’t believe they deserve it.
Think of the worse person (whether personally known to you or not) and/or the worse place you consider the most non-Christian. Ask yourself if you honestly believe they should be granted salvation by God, would you believe their testimony if given, and would you embrace them as a brother or sister in the name of Christ?
Or would you be mad like Jonah that a sinner received mercy from God?
12 comments:
i think of annanias (sp?) with saul and the fear of trusting a conversion.
when i think of the person least favored.. i think of the benefits for them and those directly affected by them. but i also have to admit that i would feel a heavier responsibility to change how i respond or interact with the person.
i don't believe we have to be friends with everyone but i think people really like having their enemies. it is an easy measure to use to remind us that we are the good people. what happens when they become one of us..we are reminded of where we come from. when people's "specialness" gets threatened---("if everyone can go") they can get pretty nasty.
I pray all the time for a more forgiving and accepting heart. I realize that salvation is God's business, He decides whose heart is penitent, not me. Most of the time, I am okay with that, but sometimes I get a little Jonahesque. :)
Peace
Neva
Repent of my sin.....what sin?
Honestly, most of the sins, minus those that allude to secular laws,cannot really be criminalized or stigmatized as "sin".
Lust is not a sin. It acts as a fuel to drive the "piston" of my "engine" (i.e my mojo).
Pride gives me the extra ohm to excel in the things I do.
Sloth allows me to take a break when the time is right.
The occasional greed gives me the opportunity to grab whatever I need for myself within legal means.
If some Christian were to ask me to repent of my sins, I would have but one retort:
What Sin???
What about the sin of unbelief?
**BEAST**
Comments are okay, but pornography links are unnecessary to post here. I am asking that you refrain from such.
The Sin of Unbelief? Rubbish!
In my mind, there is but one sin, and that is really the sin of stupidity, a sin I have witnessed being perpetuated in Churches and religious institutions everywhere.
The sin of stupidity? So, you have something to repent of after all.
The Sin of Stupidity cannot be repented. Rather, it is to be corrected.
Just how does one go about doing so? Simple. Ditch your Scriptures and learn Science.
Exactly, I'm correcting you Beast.
Ditch the scriptures? You would have me get rid of a beautifully poetic book that historically spans several thousand years, contains references to ancient cultures and their customs, and gives us the clues to some of the biggest archeological finds of all time. What would you have me abandon next, the Epic of Gilgamesh perhaps or maybe the Mahabharata?
As for science, where should I begin? With evolution you say, but what do you know of quantum physics or unified field theory. And how exactly do they help me everyday in my own life? How does evolution help me? Can I live my life according to survival of the fittest or should I deny my designed nature and act according to my own wants and needs.
Go and read a real atheist like Umberto Eco, a man who understand both the beauty and function of religion.
Sean
Fuck you, Sean, and shove that fucking butt plug up your ass.
All scientific studies have their own functionalities. Advances in physics have unravelled many of Man's unresolved questions.
Obviously you know nothing about science. Go back to the bible belt or some christian hell hole you crawled out of, and snuggle up your pastor's ass. You are a fucking disgrace to mankind.
Regards
Beast
I see you've responded with a rational argument.
Actually, I am a scientist and well regarded in my field - most of which is atheist. Somehow, the people I've worked with are able to avoid the babbling knee jerk reactions that you've put on display.
Mankind (which includes you) is there for me to disgrace any which way I please. Who can tell me in a rational way otherwise without resorting to totally utilitarian means?
Another creationist "Scientist", I presume?
Go play your games in your freaking church, not in a science lab.
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