Sin and sense, more or less,
no more. I look forward to that, don't
you? Hebrews 11. Go back to Hebrews 11 now, and
we'll read one verse together. Hebrews 11, verse 31. By faith, the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies
with peace." This whole chapter is, as we
know, a chapter of faith. And as we've said before, this is not praising people. These people in this chapter
don't get the praise and the honor and the glory. A harlot? Oh, no. No, no, no. Abraham was
an idolater? No, no, no. Faith is a gift. a miraculous gift of God, the
working of His mighty power. These stories are to the praise
of the glory of God's grace, that great gift of faith that
He gives to the chief of sinners like a harlot, the publicans
and the harlots. It's a faithful saying. Once
again, this is a picture of how Salvation is for sinners. Sinners. It's harlot, Rahab. This chapter
is the gospel. Salvation is of the sovereign
mercy of God. Gabe prayed, thank you for mercy,
which we don't deserve. That's what it means. Not getting
what we deserve. Salvation is by the sovereign
mercy of God. God spares some freely, sovereignly,
whom He will. But He does spare them, gracious
to whom He will. He gives this gift of faith to
whom He will, but He does give it to the praise of His glory,
of His mercy and His grace and His love. This story, there's
no story, it's a clearer picture. of God's sovereign electing mercy
and grace than this. A harlot. I had to stop just
a moment, wouldn't I, before we get into the story. This struck
me. You know, the Lord said there
are sins and iniquities I'll remember no more. In the book
of Hebrews, chapter 11, are listed all these people, and it doesn't
mention their sins. None of them. Except Rahab. It's only one. But the Lord didn't
put that there as a scarlet letter that she used to wear all her
life. Like, y'all remember that old
story back when you were in school? Scarlet letter? A. That woman
caught in the duff. You had to read it, didn't you?
She had to wear it around to her shame and her glory. Rahab
is called the harlot Rahab throughout Scripture. Every time she's mentioned,
it's the harlot Rahab. Rahab the harlot. Let me ask
you, when you think of her, when you say that, Rahab the harlot,
do you look down on her? Do you think of her as a forlorn,
a no-good, sinner woman? What do you think? Well, your
heart. Do you think that that's my sister? You don't think of that. See,
that Lord is reminding everybody throughout all eternity that
the worst person on earth is to the praise of the glory
of his mercy and grace. A harlot! You can't get any lower
than that. God for all eternity says, a
harlot Rahab. Somehow, you know, he's erased
that from her memory. No guilt. But it's a badge to
his honor, not to her shame. That struck me. I don't think
of her as a fallen woman. I think of her as an exalted
saint. When I think of Rahab, I think,
well, I hope the Lord has saved me like He did her. So that's
just a little footnote. Joshua 2 is the story. Joshua chapter 2. Joshua chapter 2 is where this
is found. Perish not with them that believe
not." Jericho. Because she received the spies
with peace. We're going to sound the trumpet
again, okay? Joshua is Rahab's Savior. And he represents the
Lord Jesus Christ. There's only one Savior. The
Lord Jesus Christ. Joshua was Lord over all. God
gave him everything. He said, go in and take it. Our
Lord Jesus Christ, all power is given unto me in heaven and
earth, all authority, all souls, all judgment, all time. And like
Joshua, the Lord has come in the second time to destroy, to
take what is his and bring his people out. of this God-forsaken
thing. Joshua sent two men to spy out
the land, to look around and report back to Joshua of all
that they see. Two men. Look at it there. It says in
verse 1, Joshua the son of Nun sent two men to spy secretly,
saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they came, and they
went, and they came into a harlot's house named Rahab and lodged
there, lived there, stayed there. These two men represent, these
two spies represent the eyes of the Lord, the Word of the
Lord. Scripture says in Psalm 11, verse
4, His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the sons of men. as Hagar
said, Thou, Lord, seest me. The Lord looked down from heaven,
Psalm 14 says. He looked down from heaven on
the sons of men. Listen to Hebrews 4. The Word
of God is quick. Powerful, sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, the
joints and marrow is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest
in his sight. All things are naked and opened
unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." Joshua was coming
through. He sent these two men to spy out the land, report back
to him because he's coming and he's taking it. Our Lord sent
His Word from the beginning, sent His prophets. Old and New
Testament, His Word, the Law and the Prophets, has sent His
Word to make bare, to reveal all things. Jericho. Jericho was a godless, decadent, wicked place about
to be destroyed, as is this present evil world. Now again, these
are not the words of some wild lunatic standing on the street
corner with a long beard, with a sign, prepare to meet thy God. Some ignorant, false prophet. These are the words of Jesus
Christ. He's going to destroy this present
evil world, but God. who is rich in mercy. God is
rich in mercy. He sends His Word not only to
make bare, to reveal the thoughts and intents of the heart, but
to bring salvation. The Word of God that is able
to make us wise unto salvation, like these men did to Rahab.
Joshua sent these two men to Rahab. That's sovereign election. They
could have gone anywhere, couldn't they? There's no accident that
they ended up in Rahab's house. There were probably more harlots
there, more places. They could have gone wherever
they would. These aren't weak men. These are Joshua's men. And he sent them, and they came
to this house. Rahab was a vessel of mercy prepared
of God. Rahab was one of God's elect
that He knew before the foundation of the world. Rahab was sent,
the true messenger of God, to strike fear in her heart and
to give faith to her heart. What about you? Was it your hap
once again? Was it your hap? The Lord sent
the gospel to you, the Word to you. That's sovereign election. You
know, that's sovereign mercy. There are three women mentioned
in our Lord's lineage there in Matthew 1. Three women. Only three. Tamar. Remember the story of
Tamar? Dressed up like a harlot. and played the part of a harlot
and committed incest with her father-in-law, Judah. Rahab, the harlot. And Bathsheba. Why? Why only those mentioned? Because he's numbered with the
transgressors. Because this is a faithful saint
and worthy of all acceptation. All have sinned. Has not the
Word of God made bare your heart? Do you not feel worse than the
chief of sinners? You're not better than Rahab,
are you? Only by the grace of God you'd sold your body, isn't
it, ladies? Oh, this man receiveth sinners.
He's numbered with the transgressors. He's come to call sinners to
repent. Well, they spies came to this
woman's house and they lodged there. She's received them. Come in. Stay here. Live here. They lodged there. What did our Lord say about His
commandments, His words? If my word abide in you, you
and me. My Word abiding in you. He it
is that loveth me. He that hath my words, and keepeth
them. That is, takes them in. Hugs
up, as old brother Maurice would say. Embraces the truth. God's
Word. Receives it. Believes it. So
stay here. Stay with me. Don't leave me. Abide here. Christ said, if I
abide with you, my words abide with you, and you with me, you
will ask what you will, and it will be done unto you. These
two men came in. She received them. They abode
with her. She asked something from them,
and it was done. She asked one thing, and it was
done. One thing needful, and it was
done. These were courageous men of
Joshua. They weren't sneaking around,
really. They were called spies, but they spoke boldly and plainly.
They told this woman why they were there. They came to her.
They told her why they were there, and they told her of Joshua's
coming. She'd heard about it. The whole town had heard about
Joshua. And there was a certain fear amongst all of them that
said, all of them. But all of them didn't believe. All of them
didn't. You know, if that whole town, like none of them, Not many of them. If that whole
town had repented, had all come out with their hands tied, with
ropes around their neck, come out the door and said, Joshua,
please have mercy on us. I know Joshua. He'd have mercy
on them. Yes, sir. So it is with our Lord. But as it was, many heard. Have they not all heard? Yes. Sounds gone throughout the world.
Everybody's heard of the coming Christ, but how many? Or granted
repentance and faith. How many seek mercy? Huh? How
many? How many need to hear this gospel?
How many receive the word of truth? How many? How many receive
this word? Scripture says, in the last days
they'll turn away their ears from the truth. I want to hear
that. Joshua received it. Joshua believed
it. I mean, Rahab. Rahab received
it. Rahab believed these men. And
she asked for mercy. She got it. So will anyone. There's fear before there's faith,
though. Fear before faith. Misery before
mercy. Guilt before grace. She's a harlot. Do you think she thinks she deserves
for Joshua to spare her? She's a harlot. I bet you if you asked her, Who
Joshua might have mercy on in this town? He's going to have
mercy on somebody. She said, he won't be me. How could it? There's warnings before there's
wooings. There's guilt before there's grace. And any man who
comes speaking, telling men without exception that God loves them,
God didn't send them. These men came with a message
of what? Destruction. No prophet or apostle or preacher
ever tells an unbelieving world, God loves you. But it says like
John, it says like Christ, repent. That's still the message. Flee
from the wrath. Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? Repentance before forgiveness. And so Rahab, by the mercy and
grace of God, received these men, believed them, laid hold
by faith of what they said. She hid them. David said, Thy
word have I hid in my heart. What these men said to her was
her only hope. What these men said to her was
her salvation. What they promised her, their
oath and that covenant. It was her salvation. And she
hit him. She hit him. Hit him. What about
you? Huh? What would you exchange?
She wasn't going to give them away. She dared not give these
men away. Verse 6 says, She brought them
up on the roof of the house and hid them with a sculpture of
flack. God's Word is so perfect. She
didn't hide them in a basement. She took them to an exalted place.
God's Word is exalted and elevated with the people of God. There are no secret disciples
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Secret societies. And how do
you know when they've got a fish on their car? Bologna. Well, anyway, she brought these
men up who represent the Word of God. And look at her confession
to them. Before they laid down, she came
up unto them upon the roof, and she said unto the men, I know
that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror
is fallen upon us. Fear the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom, he said. And all the inhabitants of the
land think because of you. We have heard, you see, hearing.
Faith cometh by hearing. She believed because she heard
first. We have heard how the Lord dried
up the water of the Red Sea for you, salvations of the Lord,
when you came out of Egypt, and what you did under the two kings
of the Amorites, that thou art Lord. They were on the other
side of Jordan, Sihon and Og. Verse 11, as soon as we heard
these things, our heart did melt, neither did there remain any
more courage in any man because of you. For the Lord your God,
He is God. in heaven above and in earth
beneath. That's her confession. Your God
is God. He does as He will, with whom
He will, because He will. All things are in His hand to
do with as He pleases. That's the God of the Bible.
That's the living and true God, the sovereign God. Holy God,
who will by no means clear the guilty. Sovereign God. Holy God,
who will punish sin. Sovereign Lord. God Almighty.
The God of the Bible is God. He's not trying to be God. He's not running for election.
He does elect Him. He's not hoping men will choose
Him. He does choose Him. He's not asking men to let him,
he's telling some that he's accepted them. That's the God of the mind. That's the Lord Jesus Christ
of Scripture. And that's what everyone, that's
our confession. When you hear of the true Christ,
this is eternal life, that they might know thee the only true
God, and many gods is of one true God. And Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent. Who's Jesus Christ? God, the
very God of very God, Lord over all. That's our confession, isn't
it? Alright, listen to her request. Verse 12, Now therefore I pray
you, swear unto me, make an oath unto me by the Lord, in the name
of the Lord, in the name of your God, Jehovah, since I have showed
you kindness, since I have received you, that you will also show
kindness unto my Father's house. and give me a true token, read
on, and that you will save alive my father and my mother and my
brother and my sisters and all that they have and deliver our
lives from death. She had one request. One request. Would you show kindness? The
same word as mercy. Would you have mercy? Would you
give us a sure token of that mercy? Would you save us alive? Don't destroy us. Save us from
death. Save us. Would you deliver us? We know you're coming through.
Joshua's coming. Would you please have mercy and save and deliver me? Who did she pray for first? You
notice how she's asking that for him? Not just herself. The Lord delights in that. He
heard that. When you pray, pray in this way.
Our Father, which art in heaven, deliver us from evil. Forgive
us our trespasses. Save a life. She prayed for her
house before she prayed for herself. Have mercy upon us. Have mercy.
And she asked for a true token. A true token. Give us a token. Show us something. Give us something
to prove that you will indeed have mercy upon us, that you
will indeed save us and deliver us when you come through. Just
give us a token of that oath and that covenant. So they did. They did. Look at verse 14. They gave her
their oath and covenant and this token. Verse 14, the men answered
her and said, Our life for yours. We live, you live. If we live, you live. What did our Lord Jesus Christ
say? Because I live, you live also. What did Peter say of the Word
of God? Thou hast words of life. The Word of God is living to
you. You'll live. You'll live by it. Live. Our lives for you. Read
on. And it shall be, verse 14, not
might be, not we hope it will be, but it shall be when the
Lord hath given us the Lamb. that we will deal kindly and
truly with thee. Our Lord said, he that believeth in me shall
not perish. He said to his disciples, go
and preach the gospel. He that receiveth you Receive
of me, and receive of him that sent me." And our Lord promised. Our Lord
promised. He said, I go to prepare a place
for you. If it were not so, I would have
told you. These men said, they promised
her. We're coming back, and we will receive you. You've asked
for mercy. We will give it. Will you have
Joshua's word on it? You have our word on it. You
can depend upon it. Our life for yours. If we don't
do what we've said, our Lord will kill us. But we will. We will show kindness to you
because you've asked for mercy. And we will give it to you. That's
the promise of Joshua. And it's the promise of Jesus
Christ. All that cometh unto the Father
by Him will be received by Him. will be shown mercy by him. That's
right. That says that all the time on
the radio. That's right. Well, it is right. Everyone that
comes unto him, all that ask for mercy, all that ask for grace,
all that ask for deliverance, call on me, he said, I will deliver
you. Call on the name of the Lord
and you shall be saved. Call. What do you call for? Jot Rahab didn't say, I need
a new condominium. This one is just not suiting
me on the wall here. Mercy, one thing. Mercy. I need
mercy. I deserve to die and I need mercy.
Would you spare me? I need grace. I need deliverance. I need salvation. That's what
I need. That's the one thing needful.
And then they showed her a token. A sure token. Proof. Proof of their oath and
their covenant that it was true. Undeniable proof, a sure and
certain token that what they said will be true, that when
they come, she'll be saved. Why? For one reason. All right?
Look at it. Verse 18. Behold, verse 18, when we come
into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread In
the window. Verse 15 says, she let them down
by a cord through the window. It just happened to be red. A scarlet line. Where was that
line? I thought about that. You ever
thought about that? Where did that come from? It was there
all along. It was in her house. God's people have always been
under the blood. That's right. It was there and she didn't know
it. And those men said, get that line, that scarlet line, and
tie it in the window. This was no little meager thread.
Her salvation didn't hang on a thread. This was a strong cord
which two men, two strong men hung on. And all the promises
of God hang on. Not a slender thread. but a powerful
cord, a cord of love, the cords of a man, a red cord, a red line
of sky. I don't have my Bible. My other
Bible has a red thread, two of them. That's good. I've always wanted to take a
drill and drill a hole through my Bible and put a red line through
it because that line runs through this whole Bible. the scarlet
line of redemption, which is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sin. Our Lord God said it in the beginning
at the Passover when He was bringing all those sinful Children of
Israel out, he said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And he said it again through
the messenger through this harlot. He said, this is a token. We're
going to save you, not because you did this or did that or whatever,
but when we see that scarlet line in the window upon which
we hang, when we see that line, We're going to save you. We're going to save you, Father.
Look at it. Verse 18, Behold, when we come
into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in
the window which thou didst let us down by, and thou shalt bring
your father, your mother, your brethren, your father's household
home unto thee, and whosoever, whosoever, there it is. That's under that scarlet line. When we come through, they'll
be saved. You have our word on it. You
have our word on it. How do we know that God received
sinners? Christ died. How do we know that
God will have mercy upon us? Christ died. How do we know that
God will deliver us? Because He spared not His own
Son. Christ died. How do we know that God will
save us? Because He damned His Son. That's right. That's the scarlet
line, Brother Henry. And all who believe Him, trust
Him, look to Him and His blood shall be saved. You have God's
Word on it. That's the sure token. That's the token. Look at verse
19. Every eye, young and old, look
at it. Verse 19. But whosoever shall go out of
the doors of thy house into the street, his blood is upon his
own head. We'll be guiltless. We've told
you. Stay in the house. Because whosoever is with you
in the house under that scarlet line, his blood is on our head.
Nobody is going to touch him. I'm not trying to just keep you
as a member of this church. That's not it at all. I'm not
trying to get members of this church per se. But I am telling
you without hesitation, young and old, especially young
people, if you leave the gospel, if you go out in this world where
this gospel is not preached, and you stay there out from under
the sound of this gospel, the sound of life, You may perish. And this is why we keep preaching
one thing. It's the blood. The Lord Jesus
Christ. We keep preaching this because
this was the token. This was her salvation. There
is no other salvation. There is no other way. No other
way. She's not getting out of this
town, but by one way. One hope of her salvation. One
way. One truth. Well, somebody said,
though, if you do this, you'll be spared by Jesus. A scarlet
line. Tie it in the window. Tie it
to what she said. What she said. Look at it. Verse 7. She said, Amen. Verse
21. She said, According unto your
words, so be it. She said, Amen. That's what Sobeah
meant. She said, Amen, brothers. Amen. I believe Him. I believe Him. Sobeah. She believed. She received
the man. She believed their word. And
she bound, verse 21, according to your word, Sobeah, she sent
them away, and they departed. And, buddy, she bound that scarlet
line in the windlass. She tied it. How do you reckon
she tied it? Bonnie, how tight do you reckon
she tied it? Knotted it. A double knot. Don't want this. This is my hope.
Let's put another knot in it. Let's wrap it up tight. Now, this gospel is our only
hope, isn't it? The only hope for our children.
The only hope for our children. You reckon she checked that?
Joshua didn't tell her when he was coming back. These men didn't
say when. She didn't know the day or the
hour. Did she? She didn't tell anybody. You reckon she went to that window
every day? Check that road. She believed. She remembered.
She thought on that. She was looking for His coming,
waiting on Joshua. And every day, I know she did,
Amy. I know she did. Every day she
went back to that window to see if that lion was there. That's
her hope. And that's my message Wednesday
night, if we hold fast the beginning, if I'm confident. This is why
preaching the gospel is salvation. It's not just eternal salvation,
it's daily salvation. It's how we're going to be saved
from this world. It's how we're going to be saved
daily from despair, from distress, from guilt, and from shame, and
from our sins, from the world of temptation. Not only in private, lay hold
and look for the blood. Look for the blood. When you
read the Scriptures, it tells you what to do. Look for the
blood. It's the token. You come here. Come back. We'll
come back Wednesday night. What are we going to do? We're
going to preach the token. Any rehabs? Anybody worse? Come back. We're going to tell
you what to hold to. We're going to tell you what's
our hope. We're not playing a game here,
are we? This was real. This was a true story. Everybody
in this town is going to die. And this woman's hope was that
there's a scarlet light in her window. Is it there? Is it there? Examine yourselves. Is it there? Is this my hope?
Do I really, really need, believe, trust Christ? He bound it. It says she received the men
with peace. Back in Hebrews 11, it says she
received the men with peace. She perished not, but she received
the men with peace. Up until that point, she didn't
have any peace. Up until that point, before these
men came, she was riddled with guilt. She's harlot. Her past,
her present, her future looked damned, didn't it? She didn't have any peace. All
she had was guilt. She didn't have any peace. All
she had was turmoil. She didn't have any peace. All
she had was fear. Until these men came and said,
listen, this is what's going to happen. And now listen, this
is what won't happen to you if you tie this line in the window.
We promise you. You have our oath. You have the
covenant agreement. Now she has peace. Peace by believing. By believing. Not doing. Believing. Trusting. Looking. Looking to Christ our
peace. Whose blood makes peace. Huh? That's peace. So we come back. We keep coming back. Why? Because
we've got fears and troubles and trials. Do you want to live
like that? I don't. Well, what are we going
to do? Well, Rahab, come on. Come thou with us and we'll do
you good. We'll show you the line over
and over again. Look, look, there it is. Well, what happened? Chapter
6. Chapter 6 is the end. The fulfillment of the promise.
Chapter 6. Look at it there. We'll close. Verse 22. Chapter
6. So Joshua said unto the two men
that spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house and bring
out thence the woman and all that she had. Everybody in that
house. As you swear unto her. The young men, they were spies,
went in. They brought out Rahab and her
father and her mother and her brethren and all that she had.
They brought out all her kindred and left them without the camp
of Israel. How'd they get in and how did
they come out? How'd the men get in and how'd
they come out? Same way. Scarlet line. These walls come down. Alright? But not until somebody comes
out. Scarlet line. And it says in
verse 24, "...they burnt the city with fire, and all that
was therein, only the silver and the gold, the vessels of
brass and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of
the Lord. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's
household, and all that she had. And she dwelleth in Israel even
today, because she hid the messengers." which Joshua sent. Joshua. I thought the men did. They went in. Well, they did,
but Joshua did it. He sent them. He sent them. And the Lord sends his preachers
with the gospel, but it's his voice that they hear. He gets
the glory. He brings them out. He gets all
the glory. Joshua got the glory. with it. Saved her life, everybody. And she's there today. If you
look into heaven, you'll see Rahab sitting right there in
the chief seat with the chief of sinners, with Mary Magdalene,
Tamar, Bathsheba, Mary, Martha's sister, and on and on it goes.
Thief on the cross, Saul of Tarsus, you see them all. She's there
today. But you know, really, this is
not the end of her story. Something wonderful. Something
wonderful here. You see, Rahab has to be saved.
She has to be saved. Oh, she must be saved. God's
purpose cannot be fulfilled unless Rahab is saved. Let me tell you about Rahab. They brought her out. And she
went to Israel and met a man named Salmon. Fell in love with
him and married him. Salmon. Who's Salmon? I'll tell you. They got married
and they lived in Bethlehem together. Okay? Happily. They had children. They had one son who became a
mighty man. Prosperous man. A man of wealth.
Man of great power, a kind man, a godly man. I had this one son,
and his name was Boaz. That's Rahab's son. One day,
Boaz came in one day from his barley field. He said, Mom, I'm
talking to Rahab. I want you to meet somebody. But this is Ruth. We're going
to get married. This is her former mother-in-law,
Naomi. We're going to get married, Mom.
I want you to bless her. Ruth said, Miss Rahab, I've heard
of you. Your son has spoken wonderful
things of you. And I'm so honored to meet you. And Miss Rahab, I don't deserve
to be a member of your family." And Ray had thought, Honey, you
just don't know. Honey, none of us deserve this. You are here and I am here because
of the sovereign, electing mercy and grace of our God Almighty. Because greater than your husband,
our kinsman-redeemer came and redeemed us all by his precious
blood. Honey, the otter is mine. Ruth, Rahab, Boaz, they had a
child, Boaz and And Ruth, you know, named Obed. Obed had a
son named Jesse. Jesse had a son named David. He has to. They're numbered. He's numbered His people. They're
His elect. All the Father gave Him. They've
got to come out. All those who shed the blood of Christ, shed
His blood for God too. His purpose, His power, His wisdom,
His will, His Word depends on it. And she did, and so will
we. All right, Brother Gabe, you
come.