Nearly 2,000 years ago the Apostle
Paul visited the city of Athens which of course as you know is
still there today, you can still go you can still see many of
the things that he saw, he must have stood on that Aeropagus,
that Mars Hill, that Parthenon, he saw it all, he stood there
with the philosophers of the day and he said something very
significant that is very relevant to our society today he said
this, he said while I was coming along I saw you had a memorial
he said I perceive you're all together too superstitious because
while I was coming along I saw you had this memorial to the
unknown God so why did he say they were superstitious because
they had their idols of this Greek God and that Greek God
but they thought hey I tell you what we might have got it wrong
we might have superstitiously got it wrong and maybe there's
something else So just to cover all corners, let's say this one
is to the Unknown God. We know about Zeus, we know about,
oh I can't remember the names, but you know, we know about all
these gods, but let's have one to the Unknown God, just to cover
all possible bases. He says, Whom ye therefore ignorantly
worship, Paul said, you're ignorantly worshipping a god who you say
you don't know. He said, whom you ignorantly
worship, him I declare to you. Him I declare to you. You know,
that's so much like today. That is so much. People say,
oh, religion's gone. No, it hasn't. No, it hasn't.
There are all the false religions, but I tell you, the biggest of
all is the religion of rationalistic science, so-called, of our day. It's the religion that says,
ah why are we here and what's it all, well it's all about some
big impersonal force it's some big impersonal power that started
everything there was this big bang and look how marvellous
it is and they almost sing hymns to their god of evolutionary
development which says oh look at this and oh look at that and
oh it permeates everything we took the children to the zoo
yesterday and even the talk about the Brazilian tapir, the keeper,
lovely man, doing a wonderful job caring for these animals,
he couldn't but help but tell us its evolutionary development
and what it's related to and how it got...complete work of
fiction of course, but you see that's the god of today. It's
a god of impersonal, rational force and power. A big bang that
started everything. but we believe a God who has
spoken, like Paul said, whom you ignorantly worship, world
around us, we were thinking about them last week, whom you ignorantly
worship, whom you ignorantly worship, we declare to you, him
I declare to you, we Seek to speak the words that he has spoken,
for God has spoken in his word. God has spoken in his word. He has not left us alone. He
has left us with the testimony of nature all around us. Ah yes,
but that's not enough to know. It's to leave you without excuse,
but not enough to know what it is to be right with this God.
And that is in his word. He's shown us that he is sovereign. that he is ruler of all things.
Oh, he is. He is. The breath of the King,
the heart of the King is in the hands of God, says his word. He rules everything. Things don't
just happen. Everything. Did you hear this
morning on the news? You say, oh, this is a God of
judgment and all that. Yes, he is. Did you hear this
morning that 30 plus, it might have been more, Japanese were
taken away in a moment when a volcano erupted? They thought it was
just a sleeping volcano and they went up the mountain and in an
eruption 30... it sounds like we're reading
an account of two or three thousand years ago, doesn't it? It sounds
like that kind of thing. They were taken away in the moment
because God rules over all things. He's holy in character. He is a God of strict justice. You say, oh, why does he have
to be so harsh? It's his character. He cannot be other than strictly
just. You know, God doesn't have to
give an excuse to us as to why he's so strict. It's the character
of the God who has made and upholds this universe. He cannot look
upon sin, he says. He cannot do it. It's vile and
repulsive to him. And we're sinners. And we're
accountable to him. You know, appointed to man to
die once and then the judgment. We're debtors to his law. We
owe his law a debt. We owe his person, his character,
as our creator and judge, a debt. And judgment is coming, and condemnation
is coming. And if any of you, any of us,
know this, there is one true response of the heart. It's what
must I do to be saved? I know that this is a terrible
thing to be in. What must I do to be saved? And
the answer that this book, the Bible, gives is this. It's not
what must I do to be saved, it's believe what God has done to
save his people. And that message of what God
has done to save his people, not what must I do, what God
has done to save his people, that message is illustrated in
types, in pictures, in symbols throughout the scriptures, and
explicitly proclaimed throughout the New Testament. It's explicitly
proclaimed. That which is utterly implicit
on every page of the Old Testament is explicitly made plain in the
New Testament. What God has done to save his
people. We're going to look at one of
them this morning, which is the account of Rahab and her family
in Jericho. You know the account of the children
of Israel coming out of bondage in Egypt. Why did they do that?
It's all pictures of salvation. It really happened, but it all
happened in the sovereign purposes of God, in the determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God, In him ruling over everything, it
all happened for this specific purpose, to illustrate, to show,
to declare, to make it absolutely clear how he saves his people
from their sins. How he, a just God, can save
those who are sinners and yet not violate his character. I
hope I've made that plain. Not violate his character, which
is a character of absolute holiness, which cannot look upon sin. And
it's illustrated as they come into the promised land, Moses
is gone, Joshua, whose name is Jesus, Jesus Joshua, that's the
same name, Jesus is the Greek of that name, Joshua is the Hebrew.
If you read in Hebrews, In one place it talks about if
Jesus could have done it, it's not talking about Jesus of Nazareth,
it's talking about Jesus who was the Joshua that led the people
into the promised land. That's the name. Joshua is the
saviour of his people in taking them into the promised land.
Picture of salvation again. And they come to Jordan. and they cross the river Jordan,
they get ready, and about six miles beyond Jordan is the city
of Jericho, a walled city, and this is the first one. And you
know, anybody that went to Sunday school knows this story, it's
the stuff of Sunday school stories, isn't it? You know, Bible Sunday
school stories. All absolutely true, as I say.
They came, the captain of the Lord's host appeared to Joshua
who is the Lord Jesus Christ telling him not to be fearful
but to do what God told them to do and they would succeed. So they sent out spies Israel
sent out spies to go and look at Jericho and to see how they
would deal with it and In going there, there was a purpose in
that, in the purposes of God. Going there was not because there
was any doubt that God would do his work, but there, God had
someone that he was going to save. God had some people that
he was going to save, Rahab and her family. Turn with me to Joshua
chapter 6, and let's just read the verses where We saw that
they came in in chapter 2, we saw the promises that the spies
made that if Rahab hung this red rope out of her window and
got all her family in, her house would be the one that was saved.
Anybody in there, they promised they would be safe. And anybody
outside, their blood be upon their own head. It was down to
them. And then we get to chapter six,
and God has given the instructions as to what to do. Go out and
walk around the city and do it once every morning. And then
on the seventh morning, walk around seven times and blow your
horns and the walls will fall down. the old song, Joshua fit
the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down. I mean
it's familiar, I'm not going into that, we're looking at Rahab
this morning. And they'd gone in and said we will look after
you and then we get to chapter 6 and it's the day that God is
going to do that which he said. So verse 22 of chapter 6 But Joshua had said unto the
two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's
house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath,
as ye 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 they brought out
all her kindred and left them without outside the camp of Israel
and they burned the city with fire and all that was therein
only the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and of 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 unto this day,
because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out
Jericho." So the walls had fallen down, but one house hadn't, because
it couldn't, because there was the promise of God on it. All
the houses had fallen down, miraculously. You can't rationalise it. It
wasn't an earthquake. If it had been a rational earthquake,
Rahab's house would have fallen down as well. But all of it fell
down, but Rahab's house didn't fall down. Why? Because God had
promised. God had someone there he was
going to save, and he saved them. He saved them all alive. That's
what I've called this, a sinner saved, I should have said sinners
saved alive, because it was more than just Rahab. Rahab was saved
by grace. Rahab was saved by blood. Rahab was saved in believing. Rahab was saved by God keeping
his promise. Those four things. Just as an
aside, You know, this woman Rahab is interesting and instructive
to note the part that she plays in the genealogy of our Lord
Jesus Christ. She was a prostitute. Various
commentators and religious people have tried to make out that,
oh no, she wasn't, she was just an innkeeper. I'm telling you,
she was a prostitute. Her house was where she'd do
the most trade, right on the wall next to the gates of the
city. That's what she was. When the men went in, it wasn't
seen as unusual for them to go into her house. She was a sinner. She was a sinner. You know, who
does God say? She was a sinner, as we'll see
in a moment. But look, in the economy of God,
you know that last verse we read, her father's household and all
that she had, and she dwelleth in Israel even to this day. She
married a man called Salmon, and they had a son called Boaz.
and Boaz married another foreigner, Ruth, the Moabites. Ruth, do
you remember what we heard about Moab last week? Moab has been
settled from his youth, he's resting, he's settled on his
leaves, he's close to the people of God but he doesn't really
care and it was a warning to us. Ruth was a Moabites, she
was from then And she married Boaz, and from them came Obed,
and from him came Jesse, and from him came David, the shepherd
boy king. And from him, 14 generations
later, came our Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that marvellous, in the
economy of God, that this foreign sinful woman, Gentile sinful
woman, whose people were under the destruction and condemnation
of the justice of God, was saved, and became a great, great, great,
great, however many times, grandmother of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's
absolutely remarkable, isn't it? Who could invent such fiction? You read some good authors, but
who could invent this? Beyond the mind of man. Well, let's see. Rahab was saved
by grace. First of all, why was Rahab saved? Why weren't the rest saved? Because
Rahab was saved the way God saves everyone he saves, by his grace. Jericho was a city going about
its normal business with men and women like there are everywhere
today just like it says about the days of Noah and the flood
they were marrying and giving in marriage and doing their trade
and living side by side and so on and so forth they were just
people minding their own business they were just people getting
on with their own business in this world but they were under
the curse of God because They were sinners. To us, who are
sinners, it seems so unreasonable that they should be so harshly
treated. But when we see things from the perspective of God,
these were sinners who had utterly violated the character and person
and law and nature of God our Creator. They were under the
curse, like this world all around us, like the world of Noah was
under the curse of God for its sin. for cursed, says the law,
is everyone without exception everyone who does not continue
in all things written in the book of the law to do them not
just to agree with them but to do them every single day and
because they didn't and because none of us do cursed cursed is
everyone is the message of God's word like the world in general
but Rahab this sinner This sinner, and this is the message of Scripture,
there are sinners, there's a multitude of sinners, out of every tribe
and tongue and kindred in every age, there's a multitude of sinners
that no man can number, that are objects of God's grace, who
though they in themselves deserve the same condemnation and curse
as everybody else, they are objects of grace. This sinner Rahab was
loved of God in electing grace when? There's no doubt. When she believed? No, before
the beginning of time, which God gave us in Christ before
time began. Chosen in him before the foundation
of the world, says Ephesians 1 verse 4. She was a Gentile,
outside of Israel. She couldn't trace her ancestry
to Abraham, she was outside of Israel. But she was put in Christ
before the foundation of the world. She was the Israel of
God. She was a member of the Israel
of God, the true Israel of God. And she was saved from judgment. And that salvation from judgment
is for sinners. Do you hear that? It's not for
good people, it's for sinners. Paul says to Timothy, Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. of whom I am chief,
he said, even the Apostle Paul, of whom I am chief. Matthew 9
verses 12 and 13, the Lord Jesus Christ says, they that be whole
need not a physician. Those that are well don't need
to go to the doctor, but those that are unwell, they that are
sick, but go ye and learn what that meaneth. You know, it's
the sick, it's those that are unwell that need a doctor. Learn
what that means. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For Jesus said this, I am not
come to call the righteous, those who think they're righteous,
for in truth there is none righteous, no, not one. I am not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Romans 5 verse
8. In what condition does God in
Christ save sinners? God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners didn't look and say ah
there's basically a good person that's going to choose me no
there's a sinner worthy of nothing other than condemnation and he
loved his people it tells us in Jeremiah what sort of a love
was it an everlasting love Yes, an everlasting love. He loved
his people before the beginning of time. He chose them in Christ,
he put them in Christ, he named them in Christ, he called them
in him, he justified them from all eternity, he glorified them.
All done in Christ, before the beginning of time. Why were we
yet sinners? Christ died for us. True salvation
is not a reward for work. Don't think that Rahab was saved
because she did a favor for those spies. No, no, no. Don't think
that anybody is saved for any work. Even the work of believing
because John tells us what Jesus said, even that is the work of
God. This is the work of God that you believe in him who he
sent. Whose work is it? The work of God that you believe.
Works are evidence of true belief, not the cause of salvation. Works
are evidence. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8,
right? You are saved by grace. you know,
just by the grace of God, through the means, it needs to be a means
whereby you come to know it, through faith. Ah, that's what
I do. No, that not of yourselves, even
that is the gift of God. God gives faith to his people,
he makes them willing in the day of his power, when he sends
a preacher, and faith comes by hearing the word of God, hearing
by the word of God, and it's, what do they hear? The foolishness
of preaching, foolishness to the natural man of the message
preached, the message of substitutionary atonement. That message comes,
and they submit to it, and they trust. Now look at Joshua chapter
2. Look at Joshua chapter, just
turn back a few pages, look at verse 10 of Joshua chapter 2. This is what Rahab says. you see trusting we have heard
how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you
came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites
whom you utterly destroyed verse 11 and as soon as we heard these
things our hearts did melt all of them their hearts melted because
of fear what on earth are we going to do Rahab this is a God
I need to trust this is a God I need to be right with Neither
did there remain any more courage in any man because of you. For
the Lord your God, I believe Him. He is God in heaven above
and in earth beneath. And verse 9, she said to the
men, I know. I know. What did Paul say? I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day. I know, the believer knows, I
know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror
is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint
because of you. She knew that by faith, says
Hebrews 11, 31. You know, it's talking about
all the great patriarchs of the revelation of salvation by God
to his people you know by faith Abraham did this by faith Moses
by faith da da da so on and so by faith the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that believe not. The rest believe not. But she
believed God. She believed him. She had the
same faith as all those patriarchs. She had the same faith as true
believers today, who are all, according to the scriptures,
spiritual children of Abraham, because they believe with that
same faith. But then, she was saved by the grace of God, but
she was saved by blood. Rahab was saved by blood. You
see, the fact that she was saved when others were condemned begs
a question. How is salvation from sin's consequences
achieved? How is it achieved? How can God
save sinners from his justice and his judgment and not violate
his holy character, his pure character? How can he do it?
Now, I've used this illustration before and it only goes so far
in these modern days when the banking industry is not in very
high reputation, let's put it that way but strictly speaking
if they'd done everything right every penny of value would be
absolutely accounted for it would not be possible, you know how
they have written off billions of bad debt? Do you know that's
an absolute violation of the rights of those that have been
honest with their dealings and put their money in the banks.
The fact that the banks have written off money that was owed
and not paid back is an absolute tragedy of this fallen world. It really is. It's dreadful.
It's theft of honest people who've put their money in these organizations
and their money has been profligately thrown around to causes that
would never ever pay it back and it's had to be written off.
It's a violation of justice, what has happened. But in a true
banking system, it would never happen. Oh, go on, let this poor
person up. They can't. They cannot let them
off. The books wouldn't balance. These
people that put their money in that bank for good purpose, some
of it would be gone. They cannot do it, you see. Well,
it's like that with the justice of God. It's like that with the
holiness of God. There's a debt to the law of
God. a debt that can only be cancelled in one way, only by
vicarious substitution, that's one doing the job in the place
of another. One who is able paying the debts of another who is unable. The banking system could have
written off some debts and still been honest and true if somebody
with the resources had come along and as a mark of grace and as
an act of grace and mercy had said I am going to be merciful
to these debtors who cannot pay their debts. And I am not just
going to sweep it under the carpet, but I am going to pay those debts
for them. And that's what God did. That's what God did in his
son. You see, the debt is this. The
word of God says, the soul that sins, it shall die. What does
that mean? The life is in the blood. The
blood must be poured out. The blood is the price of the
sin. The blood is the price. And only
lifeblood of sufficient worth is able to pay the debt of sinners
who cannot pay their own. Only lifeblood of sufficient
worth is able to do that. Only that lifeblood is able to
make satisfaction to the demands of justice. So that the justice
of God says, okay, stop, enough, it's paid. It's cleared. The
bank of the justice of God doesn't need any more payment. Enough.
It's done. Because the sins of these people,
their debts, their blood debt is paid. It's been paid in the
blood of one of sufficient worth. That one is our Lord Jesus Christ. Our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
who came to make satisfaction to the demands of God's justice,
that the law would cry out enough. Let them go free, as he said
when the soldiers came in the garden to arrest him. Let these
go free. You've got me. Let these go free.
Let them go free. This is what the law says to
everyone that was put in Christ before the foundation. Let these
go free. Christ has paid their debt. 1
Peter 1, 18 and 19. I think I quote it every other
time we have communion. You are not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold. Because however good gold might
be, one day it will be burnt up, it will be gone. You're redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. Acts 20, 28. Feed the church
of God, which he, God, hath purchased with his, God's, own blood in
his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, when God became man. Revelation
5, verse 9. Thou art worthy to take the book,
Christ, in heaven, in glory. They're singing a song, in heaven,
to Christ. Thou art worthy to take the book,
and open the seals thereof, for thou were slain. and has redeemed
us to God by thy, has redeemed, paid the price, bought us, paid
the price, redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred
and tongue and people and nation, even Rahab the harlot, even Ruth,
even Gentiles like we are, perfect, atoning, atoning blood, making
at one, making peace with God. It's pictured in the lamb which
Abel brought, you know the sons of Adam and Eve, the first two
sons, Abel brought a lamb and was accepted, why? Because it
spoke of blood that would have the price to pay his sin debt.
Cain brought the works of his own hands which could never justify
him, which could never satisfy God's justice. It speaks of the
Passover lamb, The Passover lamb points to this blood. The Passover
lamb. Take that lamb and kill it and
paint its blood on the doorpost and the angel of death will not
come and exact what justice requires. Paint it on the doorpost. When
he sees the blood, he will pass over. When he sees the blood,
And all of these things, all of the Old Testament sacrifice,
every day that those Jews stood there and watched those animals
be sacrificed and their blood be sprinkled and the offering
go into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, every time
they saw it, it spoke of this blood of Christ which redeems
his people. And Rahab's scarlet rope that
she tied in her window speaks of that blood. Why was that house
not destroyed? She was under the blood. She
and all her household were like the Israelites, behind the doorposts
where the blood had been painted. This is blood that assures forgiveness. My sins, what do you want? If
you know you've wronged somebody, what do you want? You want forgiveness.
What can I do to get forgiveness? This blood assures us of the
forgiveness of God. Ephesians 1.7. in whom, Christ,
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. That redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins. Of course he can forgive us,
according, in proportion to, the riches of his grace. Not
niggardly given out, according to the riches of his grace. It's
blood that provides access. Where do we want to be? In the
presence of God. accepted in the presence of God.
Having therefore Hebrews 10 19 to 22, having therefore brethren
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus and having
an high priest over the house of God let us draw near with
a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled. It's blood that speaks peace
therefore there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh in the shedding of the
blood of his Son is what is implied there. That the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in his people. In Christ, God
has justified his people. He is a just God. He's no lesser
God than before he justified. He's absolutely that holy, perfect,
sin-hating character. And yet, he's the saviour of
sinners. This is the gospel. Did you ever
hear better news? Gospel? Good news. Did you ever
hear better news? If you know anything of your
standing as a sinner who is appointed to die and meet God, you never
heard better news ever than this. that Christ Jesus died for sinners. When we see the red rope, the
spies said, in your window, the symbol of that blood, we will
pass over. That house won't fall down. It
cannot fall down. Because the decree of God has
said it cannot fall down. The promise of God has said it.
Just like when he says to the Israelites coming out of Egypt,
when I see the blood, I will pass over. So Rahab then thirdly
was saved in believing to the people that God loved in eternity
in time he gives life because as we're born and as we are we're
sinners we're children of wrath even as others we don't look
any different but in time he gives life to believe his truth. He makes his people willing in
the day of his power. He saves by grace, but through
faith that he gives to his people. It's the gift of God. And that
belief is the mark of electing love, as Paul said to the Thessalonians,
brethren, beloved of God. We know that you're beloved of
God because God has, from the beginning, chosen you to salvation. How do you know, Paul? Through
sanctification of the Spirit. And I can see that you believe
the truth. That's the evidence. The evidence of election is belief
of the truth. And belief is so important. You know, Rahab wasn't saved
and it was like, oh, nothing to do with her. She believed
what she heard. She believed the truth of God.
And sinners believe the truth of God. Sinners trust. Think of a chair. We're sitting
on chairs this morning. And, you know, by experience
you trust it. But just imagine that you'd landed
from another planet and you'd never seen a thing called a chair
before and somebody said, go on, it'll support you, just trust
it, just trust it. There are some structures, I
know, you sort of think, we walked across, do you remember walking
across the bridge yesterday and it was a bit bouncy? And when you're
halfway across that bridge you suddenly start to think, oh dear,
is this going to support us? Yeah? And you think, well I suppose
a few other people have been across before, but this faith
trusts. If I tell you that bridge will
support you, that chair will support you, you commit yourself,
you commit your safety to that device, don't you? You commit
yourself, you have faith in that chair. You know, Cliff's a big
guy, and he sits down on that little spindly chair, and he
trusts that chair to hold him, and thankfully so far it has
held him. That's what faith does. It trusts Christ. Faith trusts
Christ. Your soul's salvation, depending
on the person and work of Christ, you trust. You trust him. Hebrews 11 31 again I'll say
it. By faith the harlot Rahab perished
not with them that believed not. She believed God. She believed
God. What did it say of Abraham? He
believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. He
believed God. James 2.25, likewise also was
not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received
the messengers and sent them out another way. Don't think
for one minute he's saying that you are justified by the things
that you do. What he's saying is the proof of her justification
was the things that she did. The proof of it. The fact that
her faith worked proved that it was working faith, it was
real faith. Actions proved her faith genuine. She believed the spies regarding
salvation from certain destruction. She hid them. We read earlier
in chapter 2, verses 9 and 10. She hid them. She sought deliverance
for her family. Just look at this, verses 12
and 13 of chapter 2. 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. She hung out the scarlet rope.
She committed her and her family's safety to the symbol of the blood
of Christ. And so true faith hangs out the
scarlet rope. Your true faith, if you have
it, and mine, what is it? It hangs out that scarlet rope
of the blood of Christ. Knowing that God has said, when
I see the blood, when I see this symbol, I will pass over. Judgment
will not fall upon you. What must I do to be saved? Be
under that scarlet rope. Be in that house. Don't go out
of it. Destruction will fall all around,
but that house cannot fall. That ark that Noah and his family
were in, when the judgment of God fell on the world that then
was, they couldn't drown. Him and the animals that were
there, they couldn't drown. They were safe in that ark, which
is such a picture of Christ. She and they remained indoors,
and true faith abides in Christ. Having believed, what do we do?
What does Christ say? Abide in me. Stay in me. It's not a one-off and then you
go off and do it. Abide in me. He said, you will
bear fruit as a vine, as a branch of the vine, as long as you are
joined to the rootstock. He said, I am the true vine,
the rootstock. You are the branches. Abide in
me. Stay there. and she had to stay
in that house, her and her family, while the judgment fell, she
and her house had to stay in that family, in that house, under
that symbol of the blood, and we must abide in Christ, under
the blood, confident of salvation, though judgment and condemnation
is falling all around us. Rahab was saved in believing.
And then, finally, Rahab, and I'll be quick, Rahab was saved
by God's kept promise. God promises to his people salvation
throughout the scriptures. God's promises. I'm not talking
about, there used to be these promise boxes, didn't there,
and you'd open the box and you'd pick out a promise, or what's
today's, oh, that's a nice little thing, and it's just like little
lucky charms, really it was, it was about as spiritually significant
for most people that had them as lucky charms. But God promises
to his people that which they look to with a confident hope
that they will receive it. God promised safety in the house
on the wall where the scarlet rope hung from the window. All
of Jericho, miraculously, it was a miracle, don't try and
rationalize it, the trumpet, don't go and say, oh it was sound
at seven hertz and seven hertz sound is incredibly destructive
and can shake, well it can, physics says it is true, there's certain
frequencies that can be very damaging. That wasn't why the
house fell down. That wasn't why Jericho fell
down. If it was, Rahab's house would have fallen down as well.
But Rahab's house didn't fall down. Why? Because it was under
the protection of God, in the way that he has said, with that
scarlet rope in the window. Not that house, it couldn't fall
down. It was a house that was as safe as Noah's Ark in the
violence of that storm of judgment. And this is God who cannot lie,
who said, go in that house and judgment will fall but you will
be safe. God has said it, can it possibly
not be fulfilled? If God has said it, can it possibly
not be fulfilled? What does he say of his son In
the Old Testament he says of his son coming to redeem his
people from their sins, he says, he shall not fail. And he didn't. He shall not fail. God has promised
all who are under the blood of Christ eternal life and security. Now I'm just going to read about
five scriptures to you and then we'll be done. John 10, 28, promises
of God. These are the promises of God.
And God will save you if you're in Christ, if you're under the
blood, if you're believing the Son of God. God promises that
he will save you. And these are his promises. And
you see, as he saved Rahab and her family, he kept his promise,
he will keep his promise to his elect. on the basis of the blood
of Christ. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Promise,
number one. Second one, Romans 8, 38 and
39. For I am persuaded, said Paul,
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Philippians
1 verse 6 being confident of this very thing that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ promise he will finish it 1st Thessalonians chapter
5 verse 24 faithful is he that calleth you who also will do
it he's called you he'll complete it he'll take you to be with
him in glory Hebrews 13 verse 5 he hath said God hath said,
I will never leave you, my child. I will never leave you, nor forsake
you. Wherever you are, through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will never leave you, nor forsake
you. 1 John chapter 5, verses 11 to
13. And this is the record that God
has given to us, eternal life. He has given to his people eternal
life. And this life is in his Son. And he that hath the Son hath
life. He that hath Christ hath life.
And he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Did you
hear that, all of you? Did you hear that? He that hath
not the Son of God hath not life. You're in a perilous position.
Come to the Son, come to Him, come to Christ. He that hath
not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God. God has promised to save all
who trust His Son. It's pictured by Rahab. It's
illustrated by Raham and her household. He's promised it.
You can depend on it.