While reading Jonah, I think the book can really be summed up in just five words which are found in the second chapter, ninth verse, "Salvation is of the LORD."

Is that not what the Apostle Paul was getting at when he declared, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Paul was saying, "Salvation belongs to the LORD," (Psalm 3:8). Whereas today's church spends so much time in business boardroom type meetings, in which they brainstorm different ways to find people's "hot-button" by appealing to the worldly part of a person, and after luring them in with all of that, they spring the gospel on them. Of course, it isn't the true Gospel, but it is a gospel that has been watered down, refined, and fine-tuned so as not to offend anyone, a gospel that is all inclusive and more palatable because it isn't all 'doom and gloom', 'fire and brimstone.' There is no hard message of repentance and turning from sin. Instead there are only glorious promises given in which the sinner (although he is never called this) is invited to cash in all the wonderful things owed to him by god. God will make your life great! All your hearts desires will come true, every dream and wish granted, because you are sons of god! Just raise your hand, walk down that isle, and say this quick trite prayer and your in! You have received your salvation inoculation shot! God is nothing but love, and since he is all love, all the time, he wants you to be happy and fulfilled...he wants you to have your best life now!

These same Churches pack huge football stadiums, and point to their success as proof that God is with them. The false teachers think they have it all figured out. Just follow the fads, do whatever is popular and in, go with the flow, be man pleasers (Gal 1:10), and if you find a persons "hot-button" you can lead anyone to Christ says Rick Warren. So much for salvation belonging to the LORD...well at least as far as Rick Warren is concerned. Sunday after Sunday, these perverse men walk out in front of their overpopulated congregations and before numerous TV cameras, they pridefully mark the broad way of destruction with a big fat flashy sign that reads, "this way to salvation."

The problem?

Salvation belongs to the LORD. That is why God is pleased by the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. It's foolishness to the world, it's crazy, and no one will ever believe such a thing, because the world through its wisdom did not know God (1 Cor. 1:21) and by itself can never come to know God, unless God Himself grants faith to them to believe in this foolish message (Phil 1:29). That is why Paul said that he didn't come in cleverness of speech or in persuasive words or in human wisdom...because all of that is nothing, it does absolutely no good; it does not at all advance the kingdom of God. If it did, men could boast, but all the glory is to be God's alone, that is why salvation belongs to the LORD. That is why Paul preached ONLY Christ and Him crucified because Paul understood the fact that salvation belongs to the LORD.

Ok...so what about Jonah? I did mention Jonah in the title.

Jonah is the best example in all of Scripture of what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians. God said to Jonah, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” (Jonah 3:2) So Jonah goes and delivers the greatest sermon ever to be delivered. Well...greatest if your judging by the number of converts it produced. Jonah cried out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4)

Wow...that sure sounds doom and gloom to me. I wonder what all the seeker sensitive churches would have to say about this fire and brimstone message. If you go on to read the rest of Jonah, the inhabitants of Nineveh took this message that was preached as one of the dreaded, "turn or burn" type sermons, the type of message they say will loose the audience, the type of message they say we must avoid at all costs, we are told people don't want to hear that, people will be closed off to such negativity if we talk like that. Are they forgetting that salvation belongs to the LORD?

The LORD of salvation gave a message to Jonah to preach, and he preached it. Jonah even preached it reluctantly, and yet, what happened? The Word of God that is living and active accomplished it's purpose...it did not return to the LORD of salvation void, but did all that the LORD had willed it to do. Imagine that...amazing isn't it? Since salvation belongs to the LORD, and since He brings about that salvation when His Word is preached, shouldn't we be out there preaching His Word. Shouldn't we be forgetting all this nonsense about appealing to people's innate fallen natures, and just be out there boldly proclaiming judgment and repentance. Yes, I know...all the polls say people don't respond to that negative stuff, but the polls obviously do not take in to account that salvation belongs to the LORD.