Repentance and Conversion of the Ninevites

In this part of the sermon: Martin describes the sudden and widespread nature of Nineveh's repentance, from the king to the lowest citizen, as an unparalleled historical event, emphasizing the amazement and…

Describes a typical morning in Nineveh, with merchants, farmers, and mothers going about their routines, to highlight the astonishing speed and magnitude of the city-wide repentance that occurred by sundown after Jonah's preaching.

a day's journey as he wound through the streets? Well as far as I'm concerned such detail is of little importance. The Holy Spirit has recorded this matter of a day's journey to underscore the amazing rapidity of the response of the Ninevites to the procession of the preaching of Jonah. Try to feel something of the magnitude of this work in so brief a period of time. One morning everything begins in Nineveh as usual. Merchants take their

3:14 - 3:48 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin describes the sudden and widespread nature of Nineveh's repentance, from the king to the lowest citizen, as an unparalleled historical event, emphasizing the amazement and…

Describes Jonah's likely unkempt, dusty, and foreign appearance, bearing marks of his ordeal, to emphasize the lack of human credibility and the supernatural nature of the Ninevites' response to his message.

Any observer would say everything in Nineveh this day is business as usual. Then early in that day a strange looking man, perhaps bearing in his very physical appearance the reminders of that ordeal of a symbolic death and resurrection, a man who has spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish and has been thrown up upon the land and has now made his journey and is no doubt unkempt and dead. Dusty and bearing in his physical body the marks of the arduous journey as well as that rigorous ordeal. This strange man who from his dress and countenance and bearing is obviously

4:02 - 4:47 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Cities and countries and communities have oft times, with not a little unanimity, given themselves to humiliation and fasting, but there is no event on record that can at all be compared with the fast and the repentance …

Martin states that history offers no parallel to the unanimity and depth of Nineveh's fasting and repentance, underscoring the unique and amazing work of grace.

the least of them. From the king on the throne to the meanest citizen, it is a spectacle to which I suppose history affords no parallel. Cities and countries and communities have oft times, with not a little unanimity, given themselves to humiliation and fasting, but there is no event on record that can at all be compared with the fast and the repentance of Nineveh. Do you feel something of the amazement of this incident? As we stand on

7:04 - 7:37 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The first essential ingredient is the Ninevites' belief in God's message, not merely Jonah's. They credited his pronouncement of judgment as divine, recognizing their…

Compares the Ninevites' belief to Lot's sons-in-law, who mocked Lot's warning of Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction, to highlight the Ninevites' unique and genuine faith in God's message.

We have recorded in the Old Testament another incident that in many ways is very parallel, but is in stark contrast to this passage. There was another time in human history when the sudden dramatic overthrow of a city, really two cities, was announced by God. In that passage to which Mr. Garlington made reference this morning in the adult class in Genesis 19, it is angels who come and announce to Lot that Sodom and Gomorrah will be overthrown, that God is about to destroy them.

14:00 - 14:38 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second ingredient is a thorough dealing with sin, both inwardly (crying mightily to God, turning from evil ways and violence) and outwardly (fasting, sackcloth). Martin argues…

Contrasts the king's call to 'cry mightily to God' with merely saying prayers, repeating Hail Marys, or spinning prayer wheels, to emphasize the inward, heart-level nature of true repentance.

He didn't say, let them all say prayers. Let them all repeat fifty Hail Marys, or a hundred Our Fathers. Let them all find the nearest prayer wheel and spin it and thong through their beads. No, let them cry mightily to God.

16:54 - 17:11 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second ingredient is a thorough dealing with sin, both inwardly (crying mightily to God, turning from evil ways and violence) and outwardly (fasting, sackcloth). Martin argues…

Explains that just as physical appearance can reflect inward disposition (e.g., mourning), the Ninevites' sackcloth and ashes were a concrete, external manifestation of their deep, inward humiliation and repentance.

And where it is proper for us to appear as attractive as possible to do the best with what we've got, there are times when the state of the soul is such that even the external physical appearance will reflect the inward disposition as men see themselves as sinners. They see themselves to be what God declares them to be, potential faggots for the fires of hell. The humiliators. The humiliation of that realization often causes men to desire somehow externally to express it, particularly in this cultural setting where we see the great principle again

20:47 - 21:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second ingredient is a thorough dealing with sin, both inwardly (crying mightily to God, turning from evil ways and violence) and outwardly (fasting, sackcloth). Martin argues…

Cites Herodotus's accounts of pagan nations shaving animals and removing ornaments during mourning for great personages, to show that the Ninevites' actions were culturally understandable expressions of deep grief, not mere externalism.

that grace does no violence to nature. And in a culture where these expressions of grief were common, when they would mourn for relatives and even shaving the hair off the animals, when a great personage died, Herodotus, one of the great Greek historians, a man called the father of history, records such instances in secular pagan life when a great man would die and a whole nation or whole segments of a nation would manifest their grief not only by sitting in sackcloth and ashes themselves, but by shaving the animals and taking from them all of their normal ornaments if they were such animals a...

21:31 - 22:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the total absence of any hope that God will pardon sin makes true repentance impossible. The absence of hope excludes the possibility of repentance. Despair seals and quickens the sinner's enmity and hatred of God.

Quotes a writer (Hugh Martin) who argues that without hope of pardon, true repentance is impossible, leading to despair or fury, illustrated by those in Revelation who curse God.

As one writer has said inaccurately, the total absence of any hope that God will pardon sin makes true repentance impossible. The absence of hope excludes the possibility of repentance. Despair seals and quickens the sinner's enmity and hatred of God. And it would have done so eminently eminently in the case of the Ninevites, had they viewed their doom as utterly inevitable, they would have been either paralyzed or infuriated. If you don't believe that,

25:28 - 26:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the total absence of any hope that God will pardon sin makes true repentance impossible. The absence of hope excludes the possibility of repentance. Despair seals and quickens the sinner's enmity and hatred of God.

Refers to instances in Revelation where men curse God when judgments are poured out without mercy, illustrating the point that despair hardens sinners against God, contrasting with the Ninevites' hopeful plea.

if you read through the book of the Revelation this week, which I hope you'll do, you'll see that. When the judgments of God are poured out without any hope of mercy, we read in two or three occasions in the book of the Revelation, they curse the God of their pains and they repented not. When God begins to pour out his fury without any offer of mercy, men never come to repentance. They are hardened in their impenitence and hatred to God. In some ways, that's why the day of judgment

26:06 - 26:39 Read in full sermon

The point: There must first of all be on your part, as with them, a believing reception of the message of God.

Quotes Hugh Martin: 'the negligent and the prayerless sinner is to all practical ends an atheist,' to confront those who intellectually assent to God but live in unbelief and disobedience.

I quote again from Hugh Martin, however sad the conclusion, it is evident that the negligent and the prayerless sinner is to all practical ends an atheist. Do you hear that? The negligent and prayerless sinner is to all practical ends an atheist. The negligent and prayerless sinner is to all practical ends an atheist.

36:15 - 36:41 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin urges the unconverted to have a believing reception of God's message, which declares them sinners under wrath and Christ as the only Savior. He identifies unbelief as the…

Uses Paul's commendation of the Thessalonians for receiving his preaching as the word of God, not men, to illustrate a genuine 'believing reception of the message of God.'

said of you and the people of Nineveh. Believe. You remember what the Apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians in his second chapter of the first letter. He said this, God be thanked that when you received the word of the message, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually works in those that believe the message. Just a fellow mortal

38:09 - 38:48 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin urges the unconverted to have a believing reception of God's message, which declares them sinners under wrath and Christ as the only Savior. He identifies unbelief as the…

Recalls the rich man in hell asking for a miracle for his brothers, and Jesus's response that if they don't believe Moses and the prophets, they won't believe one risen from the dead, to emphasize the sufficiency of God's revealed word.

Have you ever come to grips with that simple fundamental issue that when this word is expounded and applied, you're not dealing with the preacher. You're not dealing with the preacher. You could see a mirror. My friend, listen, that logic was long before now propagated. A man

39:32 - 40:01 Read in full sermon

The point: If you want mercy from the God of heaven, you've got to be prepared to get honest about your whole lifestyle, rock and barrel, the whole shebang.

Contrasts 'crying mightily to God' with 'mouthing little ditties that the personal worker puts in your mouth in the inquiry room,' to highlight the difference between genuine, heart-felt repentance and superficial religious acts.

We don't play games with God. You start crying mightily to God. Not just saying little prayers. Not mouthing little ditties that the personal worker puts in your mouth in the inquiry room and then pats you on the shoulder in 32 seconds.

42:37 - 42:48 Read in full sermon

The point: You'll never be prepared to stand with these Ninevites in the last day until you with them not only have a believing reception of the message of God, but engage in a thorough dealing with your sins.

States that God is not in the business of giving a 'new little wrinkle to your life' but of 'making new creatures,' like a person raised from the dead, to emphasize the radical, transformative nature of true conversion.

So you're going to go to God and whimper a little bit and hope He'll take that off and give you a new dimension for life. No, no. He's not in the business of giving a new little wrinkle to your life. He's in the business of making new creatures.

44:38 - 44:50 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He calls for a thorough dealing with sins, not just their fruits, but the roots of self-centeredness and specific 'darling sins.' Martin stresses that God is in the business of…

Lists various sins (lying, cheating, immorality) to assure hearers that 'no sin you've committed that God's grace cannot forgive,' emphasizing the boundless scope of Christ's atoning work.

I've lied to my own mom and dad hundreds of times. I've cheated on my wife. I've cheated on my husband. I've been immoral.

45:36 - 45:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Jesus said, except you repent, you'll perish. If you cover your sins, you will not prosper. There must be a thorough dealing with sin.

Recounts Jesus's encounter with the woman at the well, where He confronted her sin ('call your husband') before offering living water, to illustrate that God requires honesty about sin before extending grace.

When that woman at the well says, oh, this is, wonderful, living water. I never have to thirst again. Whoopee! Lord, give me some of that.

46:33 - 46:41 Read in full sermon

The point: There must be a confident pleading for the mercy of God grounded in the work of Christ.

Posits a hypothetical scenario where Jesus only promised to receive 'one-tenth' of those who labor and are heavy laden, to emphasize how much more compelling His actual promise ('I will give you rest,' 'I will in no wise cast out') should be.

And, oh, God, I would venture upon those broad, buttressed promises of mercy extended in the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will receive one-tenth of you. My friend, if He said that, I think I would go to my grave pleading that I might be one of the one-tenth. Don't you?

49:36 - 50:03 Read in full sermon

The point: You'll never come to true repentance until there is that confident resting upon God's mercy in the work of His own beloved Son.

States that doubting God's word and groveling dishonors God, while trusting His Son and His willingness to save glorifies Him, correcting the misconception that humility means doubting God's promises.

My friend, that's a lie from the... Dishonor God by your groveling on me as my son is able.

52:32 - 52:41 Read in full sermon

The point: You'll never come to true repentance until there is that confident resting upon God's mercy in the work of His own beloved Son.

Expounds the parable of the tax collector who prayed, 'God, be Thou merciful to me, a sinner,' as an example of confident pleading for mercy, owning guilt but glorifying God's greater mercy.

How thankful we should be for that record in Luke's Gospel,

53:12 - 53:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Take your place with the Ninevites. Believe God. Fill with your sin. Throw yourself upon his mercy as offered in Christ.

Refers to 'hundreds of thousands' transformed by the gospel and 'thousands' in Christian biography who faced death fearlessly, saying, 'there's nothing you can do to me but land me on the lap of Jesus,' to attest to the power and reality of Christ's work.

You have behind you the history of hundreds of thousands who believing that message have been transformed. Whole societies feeling the leavening power of that message. The record in Christian biography of thousands who have faced that grim messenger of death and looked him square in the eye and said there's nothing you can do to me but land me on the lap of Jesus. Come death, do your work.

57:18 - 57:47 Read in full sermon