God is Not Punishing You

by Chuck Adair on January 05, 2024

God is Not Punishing You 

Read Jonah 4:1-4
Today’s Truth

The Bible describes Jonah reacting angrily about God’s forgiveness for the atrocious sins of others. The Assyrians were the bully nation for decades, mercilessly oppressing and murdering thousands of Jonah’s people. Jonah basically says to God, “I ignore You once and I land inside a whale, but these people defy You for years, and You just forgive them? Just kill me now, because I can’t live with this!”

Discussion Question
  1. How does God use Jonah to demonstrate that He really does “forgive and forget”?
  2. Is your next step to experience God’s forgiveness through a relationship with Jesus? Explain.
  3. Is your next step to exchange anger for joy? God will help you transform these feelings. Explain.
Life Application

This forgiveness baffles us because we don’t freely extend mercy and love as God does. We forget we are equally “dirty” without Christ and that God expends equal forgiveness to cleanse each person. God is gracious, benevolent, and compassionate; He doesn't desire punishment for sin — He desires repentance from it.  In this grace we rejoice!

Tags: jonah

About the Author
Chuck Adair

If you ask Chuck his favorite thing in life to do, he would tell you it is the teaching and preaching of the scriptures and to call all people to engage in the great adventure of abiding with Christ. He desires to connect people with the richness, adventure, and fullness of life that comes through Christ alone and to reach the unchurched, de-churched, dead-churched, and unmoved. Chuck is married to his best friend Kristin and has two adult children, Taylor and Linley. Kris and Chuck believe the quality of their marriage rises and falls, not on circumstances or feelings, but based on their daily abiding with Jesus (Jn 15.5).

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