Title: Repentance
Text: Jonah 1:5–2:10
I will never forget a particular lady who came into my office and informed me that she was a prostitute. She said, “I need help; I’m desperate.” So I presented the claims of Christ to her. Then I said, “Would you like to invite Jesus Christ into your life?” She said, “Yes,” and she prayed. I said, “Now, I want you to do something. Do you have your book with all your contacts?” She said she did. I said, “Let’s light a match to it and burn it.” She looked at me and said, “What do you mean?” I said, “If you want to live for Jesus Christ, and you’ve truly accepted His forgiveness and met Him as your Savior, then you need to prove it.” She said to me, “That book is worth a lot of money. I don’t want to burn it.” She put it back in her purse and looked me right in the eye and said, “I guess I don’t really want Jesus, do I?” Then she left.
When it came down to counting the cost, she wasn’t ready. I don’t know what the outcome of that poor woman has been. I do know that she knew the facts and believed them, but she was not willing to make the sacrifice. What she kept wasn’t worth anything compared to what she could have had in Jesus Christ. (John MacArthur)