RAHAB- FROM UNSAVORY TO ELITE BY
FAITH
Heb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not
with them that believed not, when she had received the
spies with peace.
Her faith caused her to ACT.
James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot
justified by works, when she had received the
messengers, and had sent them out another way?
Her action in saving the spies resulted in the
saving of her and her family;
Josh 6:23 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 the camp of
Israel.
I. Consider her past. [and ours]
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade
as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken
us away.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God;
Even when accepted by society, still rejected by
God.
II. She heard about God and she
believed. (In this, she did the same thing which Abraham
did;)
Rom 4:3 For what saith the scripture? [Abraham
believed God, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness.]
Josh 2:9 And she said unto the men, 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.
Josh 2:10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the
water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt;
and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that
were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye
utterly destroyed.
Josh 2:11 And as soon as we had 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 in earth beneath.
NOTE: She HEARD.
Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.
She BELIEVED
III She ACTED;
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and
I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I
will show thee my faith by my works.
.James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot
justified by works, when she had received the
messengers, and had sent them out another way?
A. Faith requires an active decision
to be made. She had to cast her lot with the conquerors
or the condemned. Like Moses, Abraham and you and me.
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. (The Bible never mentions an
uncommunicated faith.)
IV. She hid the spies. She had
chosen her course of action from which there was no
turning back.
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having
put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God.
To Turn back would get her in trouble with BOTH
sides.
The Back slider doesn't 'belong' anywhere.
V. She became responsible for her
family.
A. Her part.
Josh 2:18 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
thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all
thy father's household, home unto thee.
B. The individual's responsibility.
Josh 2:19 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.
VI. She had to carry out the plan till the
end. The Scarlet cord in the window.
2 Tim 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith:
2 Tim 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto
all them also that love his appearing.
VII. God reacted.
Josh 6:17 And the city shall be accursed, even it,
and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the
harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the
house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
Because of our faith, we too shall be saved from
God's wrath.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
VIII. The best is yet to come!.
Josephus records her inheritance in the nation, and
Matthew tells us she was the mother of Boaz and thus in
the lineage of Christ.
Who knows where one act of faith will lead?
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