Pod Insights Brick City Podcasts Words of Inspiration - Confession About this episode Send us Fan Mail None of us deserved the grace we received. Nineveh didn't. Jonah didn't. We don't. But God is faithful. And that faithfulness means everyone is worth His mercy—including you, including your enemies, including the people whose salvation makes you uncomfortable.
Transcript 0:38 Speaker 00 Welcome to The Bible Speaks with your host, Elgin Kerelock. The Bible Speaks is a daily podcast dedicated to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, and learning how to apply it to our daily lives. You may contact Elgin at the address given at the end of the broadcast, and now here's Elgin.
1:02 Speaker 01 Brothers and sisters, I welcome you, in the name of Yahshua, Amashia, to another edition of Words of Inspiration. This is our final episode in the book of Jonah. We've watched him run from God, survive a fish, preach to Nineveh, and then, surprisingly, get angry when his message worked. So today, we're going to examine Jonah's brutal honesty about why he ran in the first place, in a discussion titled, "Confession." Our text is Jonah, Chapter 4, Verse 2, and reading from the New International Version,
1:47 Speaker 01 it reads, "He prayed to the Lord, 'Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.'"
2:13 Speaker 01 Jonah finally tells the truth about his rebellion. So today we'll discover why confession matters even when it reveals ugly motives.
2:26 Speaker 01 Let us pray. Father God, give us Jonah's courage to be honest about our sin, even when that honesty exposes what's truly in our hearts. Help us confess not just our actions, but our motives. Teach us that repentance starts with brutal truth-telling.
2:49 Speaker 01 In Jesus Christ's name we pray, amen. Jonah's confession shocks us.
2:57 Speaker 01 He admits he ran from God not because the mission was dangerous, but because he knew it would succeed. He said, "I knew you are gracious and compassionate. I knew you would show them mercy." He fled because he didn't want his enemies forgiven. This is raw honesty. Most of us confess sanitized versions of our sin, like, "I made a mistake," or, "I wasn't thinking clearly. I let my emotions get the best of me." But Jonah strips away the religious language and admits, "I hate these people. I wanted them judged. I refuse your assignment because I disagreed with your mercy."
3:41 Speaker 01 That's confession, not excuses, not spin, just the ugly truth about what's really in his heart. Even when we know we're wrong, we need to confess to God. Jonah knew his theology wasn't correct. God is gracious, compassionate, and slow to anger. He just hated that God would extend those qualities to none of us. His head knowledge didn't match his heart condition, and that disconnect was sin. Many of us live in that gap. We know what's right. We know God's character. We know how we should respond.
4:24 Speaker 01 But our hearts resist what our heads understand. That's when confession becomes critical. Not confessing ignorance, but confessing rebellion against what we already know.
4:38 Speaker 01 Go to God with what you have done and pray for mercy. This requires specificity. Jonah didn't say, "I struggled with your assignment." He said, "I ran to Tarshish because I knew you'd saved them and I wanted them punished." That kind of precision in confession, naming exactly what you did and why, opens the door for God to address the root, not just the fruit.
5:08 Speaker 01 Let Him know you understand what you did and ask forgiveness. Jonah understood his motive was wrong. He knew hatred of Nineveh violated God's heart. The question is whether he moved from understanding to repentance. Because forgiveness doesn't flow from acknowledgement alone. It comes through repentance. Acts 3:19 says, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out." Notice the progression. Repent, turn to God, then sins are wiped out.
5:50 Speaker 01 Confession without turning is just information. Repentance changes course.
5:58 Speaker 01 Although we did not read if Jonah ultimately repented from his anger and hatred of Nineveh, his confession at least shows self-awareness. He's no longer pretending his motives were pure. He's not hiding behind excuses. He's admitting, "This is why I ran. This is what's in my heart." But confession alone doesn't guarantee transformation. Judas confessed, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood," in Matthew 27:4. He felt remorse about consequences without surrendering his heart.
6:38 Speaker 01 That's why the book ends without resolution. We don't know if Jonah's honesty led to healing or if he stayed trapped in bitterness. We do read that God tells him that Nineveh was worth it because he is faithful. Chapter 4 ends with God defending his decision. It reads, "Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh?"
7:05 Speaker 01 God doesn't apologize for showing mercy. He reaffirms that one hundred and twenty thousand people matter because he is faithful to his character. This is what Jonah needed to confess beyond his motives. "You're right, people are worth your mercy. Your faithfulness to your character matters more than my feelings." But the book ends before we hear that confession. God's question hangs in the air unanswered. So the question comes to us. Will we confess honestly what's in our hearts? Will we admit when we resent God's grace toward people we'd rather see judged?
7:49 Speaker 01 Will we repent of the ugliness we discover when we examine our motives? Jonah's partial confession teaches us that honesty is the starting point, not the destination. He told the truth about why he ran. Now he needed to repent of the hatred that drove him.
8:10 Speaker 01 Truth telling without heart changing leaves you stuck where Jonah ended. Knowing you're wrong, but still holding on to your anger. Don't stop at Jonah's confession. Move past it to genuine repentance. Tell God specifically what you've done and why. Let him expose motives you'd rather hide. Then turn from those attitudes and embrace his heart. Even when it extends grace to people you think don't deserve it. Because the stunning reality is this. None of us deserve the grace we received. Nineveh didn't, Jonah didn't, we don't. But God is faithful.
8:56 Speaker 01 And that faithfulness means everyone is worth his mercy. Including you, including your enemies, including the people whose salvation makes you uncomfortable. Heavenly Father, give us courage for brutal honesty. Help us confess not just actions, but motives. The ugly reasons we sometimes resist your mercy. Forgive us for resenting your grace toward people we'd rather see judged. We repent of hearts that look more like Jonah's than yours.
9:31 Speaker 01 Thank you that Nineveh was worth it because you're faithful. Help us believe that everyone is worth your mercy for the same reason, including us. Transform our confession into genuine repentance. In Jesus' Christian name we pray, amen. I thank you for spending time with me on today, and I look forward to our time together on tomorrow. Until then, God bless.
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10:39 Speaker 00 You may contact Elgin at P O Box 5582, Ocala, Florida 34478, or by email at [email protected] .
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