If you would, open your Bibles
to Romans chapter three. Romans the third chapter. This
evening, missionary Daniel Parks, affectionately known as Moose,
will be here to preach for us. 630 this evening. We'll have
a time of fellowship afterward and the men will plan on meeting
in the study for scripture reading and prayer before the service.
Also, I have this announcement. Brandon Holbrook is in the hospital
in what sounds to me like a very serious situation. They found
out that he's got an enlarged heart. He's got congestive heart
failure and a leaky valve and is not a candidate for surgery.
So they're going to try to kind of treat this with medication
before they do something a little more drastic. So we want to remember him in
prayer. All right, Romans chapter three, we'll begin our reading
in verse 20. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by
the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law, without our obedience to the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that believe, For there is no difference for all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus,
whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission
of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare,
I say at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the
justifier. of him which believeth in Jesus.
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law
of faith. Therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the
God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles?
Yes, of the Gentiles also. Seeing it is one God which shall
justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through
faith. Do we make void the law through faith? God forbid. Yea, we establish the law. Let's stand together as Mike
leads us in singing our call to worship. The Sabbath day, that day of
rest, was sanctified and blest, to point us to our Savior Christ,
in whom alone is rest. That legal Sabbath in the twin
Christ died and rose again. Yet there's a Sabbath that remains,
a rest that's found in Him. Come unto me, the Savior said,
and I will give you rest. cease from words, trust Christ
and find sweet rest. A sweet refreshment for my soul,
the rest of faith is rest. Ceasing from works, I trust God's
Son. Christ is my Sabbath rest. Thank you. May you be seated. Let's turn now to 475. Sing it
to the tune that's in the book. 475. you Redeemed, how I love to proclaim
it, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed through His
infinite mercy, His child and forever I am. Redeemed, redeemed, Redeemed
by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, his child
and forever I am. Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,
no language my rapture can tell. I know that the light of His
presence with me doth continually dwell. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed
by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, His child
and forever I am. I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long. I sing, for I cannot be silent. His love is the theme of my song. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed
by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, His child
and forever I am. I know that I shall see His beauty,
The King in whose law I delight. who lovingly guardeth my footsteps
and giveth me songs in the night. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed
by the blood of the Lamb, Redeemed, redeemed, His child and forever
I am. Let's turn back to 232. 232. Christ our Redeemer died on the
cross, died for the sinner, paid all his dues. of the Lamb and I will pass,
will pass over you. When I see the blood, when I
see the blood, when I see the blood, I will pass, I will pass
over you. Chiefest of sinners, Jesus will
save, All He has promised that He will do. Wash in the fountain, open for
sin, And I will pass, will pass over you. When I see the blood
When I see the blood When I see the blood I will pass, I will
pass over you Judgment is coming, all will
be there, Each one receiving justly his due. Hide in the saving, sin-cleansing
blood, And I will pass, will pass over you. When I see the blood When I see
the blood When I see the blood I will pass, I will pass over
you O great compassion, O boundless
love, O loving kindness, faithful and true. Find peace and shelter
under the bluff, And I will pass, will pass over you. When I see the blood When I see
the blood When I see the blood I will pass, I will pass over
you Scripture reading will be taken
from Joshua chapter 2. You might want to mark that in
your Bibles. We'll spend the bulk of our time
this morning in Joshua chapter 2. And Joshua, the son of Nun, sent
out of Shittim two men to spy secretly. saying, go view the
land, even Jericho. And they went and came into an
harlot's house named Rahab and lodged there. And it was told
the King of Jericho saying, behold, there came in and hither tonight
of the children of Israel to search out the country. And the
King of Jericho sent under Rahab saying, bring forth the men that
are come to thee, which are entered into thine house for they become
to search out all the country. And the woman took the two men
and hid them and said, thus, There came men unto me, but I
wist not whence they were. And it came to pass about the
time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men
went out. Whether the men went, I want
not. Pursue after them quickly, for
ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to
the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax,
which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men pursued
after them the way to Jordan unto the fords, and as soon As
they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the
gate. And before they were laid down,
she came up unto them upon the roof. And she said unto the men,
I know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror
has fallen upon us. And all the inhabitants of the
land faint because of you. We've heard how the Lord dried
up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt
and what you did under the two Kings of the Amorites that were
on the other side, Jordan. Sihon and Og, whom he utterly
destroyed. As soon as we heard these things,
our hearts 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 on earth beneath. Now, therefore,
I pray you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have showed you
kindness, that you will also show kindness into my father's
house and give me a true token. and that you will save alive
my father and my mother and my brethren and my sisters and all
that they have and deliver our lives from death. And the men
answered her, our life for yours, if you utter not this our business,
and it should be when the Lord has given us the land that we
will do kindly and truly with thee. Then she let them down
by a cord through the window for her house was upon the town
wall and she dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto them, get you
to the mountains lest the pursuers meet you and hide yourselves
there three days until the pursuers be returned. And afterward, may
you go your way. And the men said unto her, we
will be blameless of this fine oath, which thou hast made us
swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this
line of scarlet thread in the window, which thou hast led us
down by. And thou shalt bring thy father
and thy mother and thy brethren and all thy father's household
home unto thee. And it shall be that whosoever
shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his
blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless. And
whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall
be on our head, if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this
our business, then we will be quit of thine oath, which thou
hast made us to swear. And she said, according unto
your word, so be it. And she sent them away, and they
departed. And she bound the scarlet line in the window. And they
went and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days until
the pursuers were returned. And the pursuers sought them
throughout all the way, but found them not. So the two men returned
and descended from the mountain, and passed over and came to Joshua,
the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them.
And they said unto Joshua, truly the Lord hath delivered into
our hands all the land, for even all the inhabitants of the country
do faint because of us. God for His Word. Let's bow in
prayer. Our Father, how thankful we are
that you have given us one more opportunity to hear your gospel
preached, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, that there is salvation,
life and forgiveness of sin found in Him. Father, I pray this morning
that you would exalt the name of your son, enable us to exalt
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and everything that we do here
this morning. Father, I pray you'd bless your
word, cause it to go forth in the power of your spirit. Don't
leave us to ourselves. Don't leave us to human intellect
and ability and power to preach your word or to hear your word. Father, I pray in this hour,
that you would send your spirit, that you'd uphold me with your
spirit, that you'd speak to my heart and open my mouth to proclaim
the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in clear and simple
terms, that you give your people who are gathered here together
this morning a hearing ear and a believing heart that would
enable us to leave here believing in and rejoicing in Christ our
Savior. that he is all of our hope. Father, we freely confess how
dependent we are upon thee. We're dependent because our works
are nothing but filthy rags. The very best things that we
do are filled, corrupted with sin. how we need your grace,
how we need your mercy, how we need you to give us faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, to believe him, trust him, look to him and
him alone. Father, we're thankful for your
blessing to this congregation over all these many years, how
richly you blessed us with your word. Father, we pray that you
continue to bless your word for your namesake. Continue to bless
your word as it's preached here to your glory, for the good of
your people, for our edification, our salvation, our comfort and
assurance. Father, we pray that you'd bless
us this morning and again this evening as our brother Moose
comes to preach to us. Father, bless him in preaching
this morning there in Crow. Bless him as he travels here
and in preaching this evening. Give us a special time of worship
and fellowship, we pray. And Father, for those that you
brought in the time of trouble and trial, we pray for them.
We pray for Brandon at this difficult time, that Father, you'd undertake
in his behalf to heal and to strengthen him. Be with the doctors
and nurses that treat him and give them wisdom and understanding
of this problem and use them as an instrument to heal him
and restore him, Father, we pray. We continue to pray for Johnson
and others, Father, who need you especially. Be with them.
Thou art the great physician. You're our comfort, our hope,
and our peace. Comfort the hearts of your people
with your presence. All these things we ask, and
we give thanks in that name which is above every name, the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Guilty, nail-pierced, holy vain, Jesus bore the loss. There was blood with holy pain
dripping from the cross. All because He loved us so. He sustained the crimson flu. Keep my heart fixed on Thy rule. dripping from the cross. Jesus, thou hast loved us so, Saved us by the living flow,
Dripping from the cross. All because He loved us so, He
sustained the crimson flu. Keep my heart fixed on thy womb,
Dripping from the crown. Sick and faint my soul did seem,
Poisoned by sin's dross. But relief came by the stream, tripping from the cross. Thoughtless that for sin I owe,
counted not my loss. Grateful now to view the flow
Dripping from the crow All because he loved us so He sustains Prince
of Peace, Prince of Peace, Prince of Peace, Dripping from the glass. Worldly pleasures once I dreamed. Tempted by their gloss. Till I saw the scarlet stream
Dripping from the cross All because He loved us so Keep my heart fixed on thy rope
Tripping from the cross First, if you would, open your
Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11. I titled the message this morning,
A Harlot's Faith. We'll begin in Hebrews 11, verse
31. By faith, the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that believed not, but she had received the spies
with peace. Now, Rahab was a harlot. A lot
of the old writers try to make her out to be an innkeeper. They
say she wasn't a harlot. She just owned a hotel. And I
don't know why they do that. When they do that, it minimizes
God's grace. Rahab was a harlot of the basest
sort. And that's who Christ came to
save. The only hope that a harlot has to be saved is grace and
faith. Christ came to save sinners.
He came to save the chief of sinners. Christ didn't come to
save good sinners. He didn't come to save sinners
who sin less than other sinners. Christ came to save the worst
of sinners. And let's be clear when we're
talking about Rahab this morning, we're not talking about Rahab. We're talking about you and me.
If we do not see ourselves as the worst of sinners, we're not
a candidate for salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. We shouldn't
think of ourselves as better than Rahab. Like, you know, well,
so hard for God to save Rahab, then he can save me, you know,
easily. We ought not be thinking that. We shouldn't think of ourselves
as better than Rahab the harlot because we're not. We're not. Rahab was a harlot who sold her
body for money. You and I are worse. We're spiritual
harlots who have sold our souls under sin, and we'll try to do
anything that the law tells us to do. We'll try to do anything
that works religion tells us to do in order to earn salvation. We've sold our souls under sin. And in God's eyes, a spiritual
harlot is worse than a fleshly harlot, so we're worse than Rahab
the harlot. But the good news is that's who
Christ came to save. He came to save harlots. There
are four women who are listed in the genealogy of our Lord
Jesus. This shows us a picture of who it is that Christ came
to save, and Rahab the harlot's one of them. Rahab the harlot. It's listed in the genealogy
of Christ the Savior. He came through that line of
Rahab the harlot. The first woman listed in his
genealogy is Tamar. Tamar played the harlot with
her father-in-law, Judah. Second is Rahab the harlot. Third is Ruth the Moabitess. Now the Moabites were a race
of people who were cursed of God. The Moabites began with
an incestuous relationship between Lot and one of his daughters.
One of those Moabites is listed in the genealogy of the Savior.
And fourth is Bathsheba, who committed adultery with David. Those are the four women listed
in the genealogy of our Savior. And that shows us who Christ
came to save. Christ came to save a people
from Adam's cursed race. They're a sinful people. They're
spiritual adulterers. They're spiritual harlots. And
the Lord Jesus Christ came to save those people by his grace. Now that's how Rahab was saved.
By grace. By grace. Now the children of
Israel had left Egypt. And because of their sin, for
40 years, they wandered the desert. Wherever God led them, that's
where they went. And the children of Israel came to the edge of
the promised land. Moses was still a leader, had
strength and vigor. He was still the leader, but
Moses could not lead the people into the promised land. Couldn't
do it. Because Moses represents the
law and the law can never lead anybody into rest. The law could
never lead anybody into the land of promise. The land of promise
was the promise of God given to a people by his grace. Well,
then you can't earn it, can you? You can't earn it through the
law. So Moses could not lead the people into the land of promise.
And Moses couldn't go to Jericho and bring Rahab out and save
her life. Because the law will never deliver
anybody from God's justice. Jericho, where Rahab lived, we
saw this last week, is under the judgment of God. Well, the
law can't lead anybody out of judgment. The law can't save
anybody alive. The law can't make anybody free.
So Moses had to die. So that Joshua, the picture of
the Lord Jesus Christ, could become the leader. Joshua, the
picture of Christ, the Old Testament name for Jesus, He can lead the
people into the land of rest by His grace, by God's grace.
Joshua can go to that city and save Rahab the harlot alive,
set her free and bring her out by grace through faith. Now,
Harlot, Rahab the harlot was saved alive out of Jericho, wasn't
she? Why? What does the Word of God say?
By faith. by faith. She was saved alive.
And everybody else in that city that was not in the house with
Rahab perished in one day. Why did they perish? The writer
of the Hebrews says, because they believed not. That's what
he says. They perished because they believed
not. They perished because they didn't
have faith. Well, that tells me faith in
Christ is very, very important. This is a picture of salvation.
There's no salvation without believing Christ. You and I cannot
be saved unless we believe the Lord Jesus Christ. What kind of faith saved Rahab? Now, I'm interested in that.
I want to know that because if I'm going to be saved, I'm worse
than her. So I've got to have the same
kind of faith. Rahab was a harlot. So am I. So are you. So what kind of faith
will save harlots like us. What is the harlot's faith? Well,
I want to give you six marks. Six marks of the kind of faith
that harlots like us need. Now turn back to Joshua chapter
two. Number one, Rahab had the faith of God's elect. Joshua
chapter two, verse one. Then Joshua, the son of Nun,
sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly. saying, go view
the land, even Jericho. And they went, and they came
into a harlot's house named Rahab, and they lodged there. Now here's
how I know that Rahab was one of God's elect. God only gives
faith in Christ to his elect. Faith is the gift of God, and
he gives it to his elect. That's why in Titus 1 verse 1,
the apostle Paul called faith the faith of God's elect. This
is the faith God gives the people that he chose to save. And we
find out about it when God sends his servant to us to tell us
about it. That's what these spies, they
came to this city. This is a large city. It was
a large, well defended city. It was a hugely populated city. And out of all the people in
that city, these spies just so happened to find Rahab the harlot. of all the people they could
have talked to. They talked to Rahab the harlot. God made their
paths cross Rahab the harlot. You know why? Because Rahab was
a chosen object of God's mercy. And he crossed her path with
these men. It was no accident that of all
that mass of people, those spies found Rahab. And I'll tell you something very
sobering. It's no accident that you're
here this morning. It's no accident. Maybe God would give us ears
of faith to hear. I hope so, don't you? Because
that's the only way Rahab could be saved, is if God chose to
save her. She's a sinner by birth, a sinner
by choice, and a sinner by practice. She'd never choose God. Rahab
lived in a city that had been cursed by God, condemned for
destruction. Well, how can that woman ever
be saved? This is one way. God's electing
love. It's the only way. And the same
thing is true about you and me. All we do is sin. That's all we do. And our works
that we do, what we think is the very best things that we
can do to make God happy with us, to make it easier for God
to save us, all those works do is add to our condemnation. They
don't make us better. They just add to our condemnation. We are as disgusting as a common
street harlot. Does that offend you? If so, we are
as disgusting as a common street harlot. And we come by that nature
honestly. We've been born into a race cursed
by Adam's sin. So the only way sinners like
you and me could ever be saved is if God chose to save us before
the foundation of the world. And here's how I know that Rahab
was an elect of God, one of God's elect. She had faith that acted. How is it I know Rahab had faith? Her faith acted. Look at verse
two. And it was told the king of Jericho
saying, behold, there came in and hither tonight of the children
of Israel to search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent
unto Rahab saying, bring forth the men that are come to thee,
which are entered into thine house, For they become to search
out all the country. And the woman took the two men
and hid them and said thus, there came men unto me, but I was not
once they were. And it came to pass about the
time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men
went out. And whether the men went, I want
not. Pursue after them quickly, for you shall overtake them.
But she brought them up to the roof of the house and hid them
with the stalks of flax, which she laid in order upon the roof.
And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan under the fords.
And as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they
shut the gate. Now Rahab protected those spies. And when she did, she was acting
in faith. She was acting in faith to protect
God's people. And this is a big deal. She put
her life on the line. If they found out she was not
telling them the truth, they'd kill her right on the spot. She
put her life on the line to protect those spies that she just met.
Now, why would she do that? She may have known these men
that came into her house looking for the spies. She may have known
them for years, maybe all her life. Why would she hide these
men she just now met? Faith. She believed God. I know that so. Hold your finger
there. Look at James chapter two. This is the way we know
Rahab had faith in her heart. It was by her actions. James chapter 2, verse 24. You see then how that by works a
man is justified and not by faith only, not just by saying he has
faith, his works are the evidence he has faith. Likewise also,
was not Rahab the harlot justified by works? Her faith was, she
wasn't, her soul wasn't justified. This is the evidence of her faith.
When she received the messengers and sent them out another way.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead also. Faith acts, her faith acted.
Now you can't separate faith and love. Rahab believed God. So she loved God and she loved
the people of God. That's why she is protecting
them. She put her own life at risk to protect them because
faith and love act. Saving faith willingly and lovingly
believes Christ and receives Christ. Saving faith willingly
and lovingly believes the gospel. Saving faith willingly and lovingly
receives God's people and chooses them over the world. Now that's
a harlot's faith. It's the faith of God's elect.
All right. I know Rahab had faith. How can
I know if I've got this faith? How can I know if I'm one of
God's elect? We know it's easy to find out.
It really is. Do you believe God? Do you? Do you have a heart that believes
the gospel? Do you have a love for the gospel?
Do you find yourself needing the gospel and hearing you need
to hear of Christ? If your answer to that question
is yes, then my friend, you are one of God's elect. Because this
is the faith of God's elect. It's the gift that he gives to
everyone he chose to save. It's the faith of God's elect.
All right, secondly, Rahab received faith by hearing. Look at the
end of verse 11, Joshua chapter two. She said, for the Lord's
your God, he is God. In heaven above and earth beneath,
he rules in heaven and earth. Now, how on earth did Rahab know
that? How'd she know that? Well, human
logic didn't teach it to her, did they? Man's religion, the
religion of Jericho didn't teach her that. She knew that God is
God, because she heard about him from somebody. Look up at
verse eight. And before they were laid down,
she came unto them upon the roof. And she said unto the men, I
know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror
has fallen upon us and all the inhabitants of the land faint
because of you. For we've heard how the Lord dried up the water
of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. And we heard
what you did unto the two kings of the Amorites, which were on
the other side, Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
And as soon as we'd heard these things, Our hearts didn't melt. Neither did there remain any
more courage in any man because of you. Four, the Lord's your
God. He is God in heaven above and
in earth beneath. She heard, she heard. And if
you have saving faith, I'll tell you how you received it. You
received it by hearing the word of God preached. Look in Ephesians
chapter one. You heard and you received faith
by hearing the Word of God. You received faith in Christ
by hearing Christ preached. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God. You believed Christ when you
heard Christ preached. Ephesians 1 verse 13. In whom ye also trusted, after
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
In whom? Also after that you believed,
you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession and to the praise of his glory. You've heard Christ
preached and then you believed him. I've said it before and
I'll say it again. This is how faith is received.
This is how God gives faith. It's through the preaching of
the gospel. If you want God to save you, If you want God to
give you faith, saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then
you do whatever you have to do to be where the gospel is preached,
because that's how God gives saving faith. That's how he gave
to Rahab, by hearing. Hearing who he is, and she believed. All right, here's the third thing
about Harlot's faith. Rahab had faith that repented
and begged for mercy. Verse 12. Now, therefore, I pray
you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have showed you kindness,
that you will also show kindness unto my father's house and give
me a true token that you will save alive my father and my mother
and my brethren and my sisters and all that they have and deliver
our lives from death. Now, everybody in Jericho heard
about the God of Israel, didn't they? Everybody, she said, was
afraid. There remained no more courage
in any man. We're all afraid. But Rahab was the only one who
begged for mercy. Everybody else feared, but they
didn't beg for mercy. And they perished because they
believed not. It wasn't God's fault that they
perished, was it? No, they perished because they believed not. It's
their own fault. The writer of the Hebrew said they were disobedient.
That word disobedient means they believed not. To not believe
Christ is to be disobedient. Disobedience that damns us is
not disobedience to the law. It's disobedience to believe
Christ. That's why they perished. And
the fear of the law, the fear of punishment will never drive
anybody to Christ. Only God's grace and God given
faith will drive us to Christ. And God given that kind of faith
to Rahab because she begged for mercy. See, that's faith acting
again. Faith put into action. She begged
for mercy. She deserved to die just as much
as everybody else in Jericho. But she repented. She wasn't
trusting in the things that she used to trust in. I bet you,
Ray had probably been in Jericho a good long while. Until she
heard of the God of Israel, she felt real safe behind those walls,
don't you reckon? They're 30 feet high, 12 feet thick. Most
well defended city in the area. She felt pretty safe. But she
didn't trust in those walls anymore, did she? She didn't trust all
her lovers to keep her safe. All her customers that came in,
she didn't trust them to keep her safe. She turned. That's what repenting is, it's
turning. She turned from trusting in those things and she turned
to trust the Lord to deliver her. She knew the Lord was able
to deliver her. She knew that. So she begged
for mercy. Lord, you're able. Would you
save me? Lord, you're able. Would you
have mercy upon me? Now, nobody will ever be saved
until they repent and beg God for mercy. Nobody will ever be
saved until they quit trusting in whatever idol it is that they're
trusting in and beg God for mercy. But the only way we'll repent,
the only way we'll beg God for mercy is if God gives us faith
and gives us a new nature. And when he does, we'll beg for
mercy. We'll repent and we'll beg for
mercy. Right? Fourthly, This is a harlot's
faith. Rahab had faith that relied on
Christ alone, on the blood of Christ alone. Verse 14. And the man answered her, our
life for yours, if you ought or not, this our business. And
it should be when the Lord has given us the land that we will
do kindly and truly with thee. And she let them down by a court
through the window for her house was upon the town wall and she
dwelt upon the wall. And she said unto them, get you
to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you and hide yourselves
there three days until the pursuers be returned. And afterward, may
you go your way. And the men said unto her, we'll
be blameless of this fine oath, which thou hast made us swear.
We're going to keep our word here. 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
thy father and thy mother and thy brethren and all thy father's
household home unto thee. And it should be that whosoever
shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his
blood shall be upon his head, and will be guiltless. And whosoever
shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be upon our head,
and if any hand be upon him. And if thou utter this our business,
then will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
And she said, according unto your words, so be it. And she
sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet line
in the window. Now these spies made a covenant
with Rahab. They said when we come back to
destroy the city, you hang this scarlet line in the window and
no one under the protection of that scarlet line will suffer
any loss. You won't suffer any loss. Not
because you're better than anybody else in the city of Jericho.
It's because you're under the blood. You're under this scarlet
line. You're under the protection of
this scarlet line, which is the token of our promise to you.
Now, all of that is a picture of God's covenant of grace. And,
you know, the scarlet line represents the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's the blood of the covenant. It's the blood of Christ that
sealed God's covenant of grace. The father and the son entered
into a covenant, a covenant of grace, a covenant of salvation.
And the father promised. That anybody who's under the
blood of Christ, anybody who's washed in the blood of Christ,
will not suffer any loss. But they'll be saved alive. And
they won't be saved alive because they're better than anybody else.
They're going to be saved alive because that's God's promise
of grace to them. That anybody under the blood
of Christ will be saved alive. God the Son promised in His covenant
of grace that He would come. And He worked out a perfect righteousness
for His people by obeying the law for them. And He shed His
blood to put their sin away. That's God's promise. Those people
are going to be saved because of God's promise, the Father's
promise, and because of the power of the blood of Christ to save
His people, to pay for their sin and cleanse them from all
of their sin. It's the blood of Christ that sealed God's covenant
of grace. It's the blood. Scripture is
full of the blood. Life is in the blood. Atonement
for sin is in the blood. Salvation is in the blood. Forgiveness
is in the blood. Peace is in the blood. And Rahab's
scarlet line pictures the blood that runs all through the Bible. God can only be worshipped through
the blood of Christ. That's pictured by the blood
of Abel's lamb. Salvation, peace with God can
only come through the blood of Christ, which is pictured by
all the blood shed on the day of atonement. God's justice can
only be satisfied in the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ
shows there's been the death of the perfect substitute for
sin. That's what the blood shows.
God's justice is satisfied in the blood, the blood of Christ,
which was pictured in the Passover lamb. The blood shed and the
blood applied on the door. And on that first Passover, what
did God say? He just said, I see the blood,
the blood, I'll Passover you. Well, when God's judgment finally
arrived at the walls of Jericho, God's judgment passed over Rahab,
didn't it? Why? Because she was under the
token of the blood of Christ. was fulfilled. Just like God's
covenant of graces was fulfilled. It is being fulfilled right now.
Look over a few pages of Joshua 6. Here's the covenant fulfilled.
Verse 21. And they utterly destroyed all
that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old and
ox and sheep and ass with the edge of the sword. But Joshua
said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go unto
the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all
that she hath, as you swear unto her. And the young men that were
spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her
mother, and her brethren, and all that she had, and brought
her out. They brought out all her kindred,
and they left them without the camp of Israel. Rahab was saved
alive, because those men kept their word, they kept their promise.
And God's people, God's elect are saved alive because God keeps
his promise to save them. And if God's given us saving
faith, we will believe just what Rahab believed, that the only
hope we have of our sin being forgiven, the only hope we have
of God's judgment passing over us is the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ has already been shed as payment for our sin to satisfy
God's justice. If God has given us saving faith,
we'll believe just what Rahab believed. The only hope we have
of eternal life is in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
He already died the death I deserve so He can save me alive. And
here's saving faith in action again. I always loved this. Those
spies told Rahab, now we come back in the land, you hang this
scarlet line in the window so we'll know where you're at, we'll
save you alive. And they climbed down the wall
ran off into the woods to escape. And right then, Rahab hung that
scar line window. She didn't wait till Israel was
knocking at the door. She immediately hung that line
in her window as a public confession. My only hope of life is in the
blood and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if God's given
us faith, we'll confess it. We'll confess it. I'll tell you
another way Rahab's faith acted. She invited her family. Come
in my house. Be under the blood with me. Come
on, there's life. What did she know? I don't know.
She knew enough to tell them get under the blood, didn't she?
There's life. Hide with me here under the blood.
That's her faith acting. And God's given us faith. We'll
do the same thing. This is how we publicly confess
Christ. Brother Henry said so many times,
if God's given you faith, if God's given you life, if he's
done a work of grace in your heart, it'll leak out on you.
It'll leak out on you because faith acts. All right, here's
the fifth thing. This is very important. Rahab
had faith that persevered. Remember those spies told Rahab,
anybody in your house, under the blood, they're going to be
saved alive. But anybody goes out of your house, they're going
to be killed and their blood will be on their head. It'll
be their fault. And when Israel marched around the city for those
seven days, on that seventh day, they shouted and the walls fell
down flat and the men just marched straight in. Nothing was stopping
them. They marched straight into the city and killed every living
thing in that city and burned it to the ground. What do you
think all that sounded like to Rahab behind closed doors? Oh, it had to be very, very, very
frightening. Very frightening. We've got a little dog who was
scared to death of thunder. I mean, just the slightest thunder.
I can't even describe what it does to him. That had to be what
it was like being behind Rahab's door. Hearing that judgment outside
her door. frightened, scared to death.
But you know what? They never opened the door and
peeked out. Nope, they stayed behind the door. They stayed
in the house. They never said, you know, it's getting a little
quiet. It's getting like, sounds like that, all the killing and burning
and stuff going on over there. Maybe we can run out and make
a run for it. You know, we can be saved by
our own, you know, ability to run how fast we can run. Nope,
they didn't make a run for it. Their faith persevered. They
stayed under the blood. And because they stayed under
the blood, they are saved alive. Now if God's given us saving
faith, I can tell you assuredly there will be many times we're
scared half to death. But if God's given us saving
faith, we'll not run from Christ. We'll not run. We're not trying
to make a run for it on our own. The evidence of genuine saving
faith is at last to the end. It won't quit. Job said the righteous
shall hold his way. He can be faithful. He will hold
his way. And if we draw back to something
other than Christ alone, the writer to the Hebrews says, my
soul has no pleasure in them. God's soul has no pleasure in
them that do such a thing because God can only be pleased with
us in Christ. And saving faith will cling to
Christ alone and won't go outside of Him. Because we know we'll
perish outside of Him, but we know we'll be saved alive in
Him. Saving faith perseveres, stays under the blood no matter
what. And then lastly, this is the
harlot's faith. Rahab had faith that received
the promise. She enjoyed all the promises
of God to her. Rahab the harlot was saved alive,
just exactly like the men promised her. And that'll happen for every
believer. Look over a few pages at Joshua
chapter 21, Joshua 21. How it was for Rahab is how it
is for every child of God. Joshua 21 verse 45. This is when
it was all done. Israel possessed the land. There
failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord has spoken
of the house of Israel. All came to pass. If you believe
God, you will enjoy. You will receive everything God
promised his people. But you know what? Ray have got so much more. She
received so much more. It was even better than those
spies promised her. Because grace always is. I suppose
one of the most difficult things about trying to tell someone
about salvation in Christ is we can't do it justice, can we?
I can't tell it. You in language can't tell it.
Grace is always better than what we heard. Rahab the harlot was
saved alive. And she didn't live in some slum
outside the camp of Israel. There are no degrees of glory.
If you believe Christ, you're not gonna have to worry about
living in some slum in heaven. Somebody else better than you,
they're gonna have a great big old mansion, you're gonna be in a slum. No,
no, no, no, no, no. Rahab the harlot is listed among
the giants of faith. There's Abraham, there's Isaac,
there's Jacob, There's David, the man after God's own heart,
and Rahab the harlot, all equally loved, all equally saved by the
same grace, by the same faith. There's not one quid difference
in glory between David, the man after God's own heart, and Rahab
the harlot, because it's all in Christ. Rahab the harlot,
she did not remain a scourge of society in Israel. Rahab the
harlot, married a prince in history. She married a man named Salmon.
Salmon and Rahab had a son. They named that bouncing baby
boy Boaz, the kinsman redeemer. That's God's grace. It's so much
better, I can tell you. God graciously gives life to
his people, just like he promised. And then He gives them everything.
Gives them everything. Salvation is not a legal document
we got saying, I got this document, I can come into glory. I can
get into the pearly gates, I got this document. Salvation is not
that. Salvation is not just saying,
God saved me from burning in hell. Salvation is a relationship
with Almighty God. Where He makes you a spiritual
harlot to be the bride of His Son, to be His child, to enjoy
that relationship of love and peace, to enjoy His comforting
hand, to have a good hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything
God has all belongs to His children, all belongs to His bride by His
grace through faith, through faith that He gives harvest. God help us. Maybe He'll just
be pleased to give us that faith this morning. Let's bow in prayer. Our Father, how can we begin
to thank You for this glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that there's salvation in Him, full and free, all given freely
by Your grace, purchased with His blood. It's free to us. but
it cost your son everything. He paid it. He paid the debt
with his precious blood that his people would have everything
freely, that you'd make us one with him. Father, how we thank
you. How we thank you for this great
gift of faith in your son. Father, I pray that you'd grant
us faith in Christ this morning. You said faith cometh by hearing.
and hearing by the Word of God. We trust that the Word of God
had been preached this morning. Father, would you give faith,
faith in the hearts of those here this morning, that we might
leave here as Rahab, our sister, under the blood, enjoying all
the promises of God in, by, and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's in his blessed name that we pray and give thanks. Amen. Some of you men would set up
the tables out in the vestibule so we have a place to put some
of our refreshments this evening. I would greatly appreciate it.
All right, Mike, you come lead us in a song. Let's stand and sing 228. And
we'll do the chorus after the second verse and the fourth.
That's two and four. My faith has found a resting
place, Not in device nor creed. I trust the Ever-Living One,
His wounds for me shall bleed. Enough for me that Jesus saves. This ends my fear and doubt. A sinful soul, I come to Him. He'll never cast me out. I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me. My heart is leaning on the Word,
the written Word of God. Salvation by my Savior's name,
salvation through His blood. My great position heals the sick,
The lost he came to save. For me his precious blood he
shed, For me his life he gave. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea, It is enough that Jesus died
and that He died for me.