Is It the Method or the Message?

I've been considering the lives of Jeremiah and Jonah. These two men were chosen by God to proclaim the message "repent or suffer the consequences"(my paraphrase). Although both men were called by God to spread the same message, that is about the only thing they seem to have had in common.

Consider Jonah. He was called to preach and knew that the result would be God granting forgiveness. God called him to preach to the Ninevites. These were not friends, family or even dearly loved neighbors, but rather, the enemy. To say that Jonah was not excited about the job would be an understatement. Jonah did not want to preach to the people of Nineveh because he didn't want God to forgive them and save their city. If he had thought the people would not respond positively to the message, I think he would have been happy to head over there to tell them that they were vile sinners and God was going to destroy the city. Not Jonah, he actually pouted when his preaching was used by God to change the hearts of a multitude of people. Do you know many preachers that would react that way to such an overwhelmingly positive response? Jonah went to a people he hated with a message of salvation that he didn't want to give and they were saved from destruction.

Now, think about Jeremiah. Here is a man who was humble enough to doubt his abilities in preaching God's word, yet he obeyed. Jeremiah went to his own countrymen, people he knew and loved with a message from God to repent or be destroyed. Jeremiah longed for his hearers to react positively to his message. He wept over the people who turned a deaf ear to his proclamations. For all of his desire to see repentance, how many did Jeremiah get to see change? None. Jeremiah went to the people he loved with a message from their God, and he wanted more than anything for them to be saved.

Jonah saw a whole city repent and be saved. Jeremiah saw none repent, and they were destroyed. The American church of today would declare Jonah effective and want to copy his methods. Does that mean we should hate those to whom we preach and be angry when they repent? Success in evangelism is not measured by the number of people who join the church. Success is measured in our obedience to God. Do you really think that God found Jeremiah ineffective because no one repented? God used both Jonah and Jeremiah to accomplish his purpose.

These days the church seems to be very caught up in the methods of evangelism and preaching. The methods don't matter. The message does. Like these prophets we are called to preach the gospel to all we meet. The Holy Spirit will move as God has willed to save his elect. We have nothing to do with it.